Subchat: She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain (hopefully)

Subchat sucks. Nah, it's nuttier than usual. Look at all the crap that some of us put up... funnier than hell... but some certain Subchatters are being pains in the neck about the alleged "stupidity" of my posts. Subchat is supposed to be a CONVERSATION about trains and buses and et cetera, and (of course) this entails the occasional "stupid" post. When I want to get my word in edgewise, I post. Why can't some of the folks understand that? nudniks.

Improve Haiti and East Timor, don't "Dili" Dally

It has come to my attention that there are at least two countries which could use a good deal of diplomacy and nation-building. One is a brand-new, poverty sticken country that has been helped (belatedly) by international forces to complete its secession from Indonesia. The other is a 200-year-old, poverty stricken country with a violence problem, on the island of Hispaniola, in the Caribbean.

The Haiti problem is probably worse, because of the violence. Over there, the main issue seems to be class-based, although ethnicity may have something to do with it (conflict often does involve ethnicity). Even worse, the United Nations, which has been so helpful in calming down the Timorese situation (as far as I know), has shown cowardliness and apparently participated in the Haiti violence.

According to the United Nations, people are attacking the troops, and so they set up checkpoints to try to eliminate the attacks. Meanwhile, the wealthier Haitians have hired mercenaries to put down activity on behalf of the poorer Haitians. This situation could also come to Timor if the Timorese aren't too careful - after all, power by means of the control of violence is a seductive prospect, and it's relatively easy and tempting in countries without much of an army to go about raising private armies.

Unfortunately, the UN has been goaded into carrying out a My Lai massacre (several months ago), and this incident was used as leverage by bullies to convince most Haitians to stay home during a strike called by the Chamber of Commerce (someone warned - or rumored - that UN troops and mercenaries would kill anyone out on the streets). If New York pounces on Haiti like that, I'm concerned, for the UN is supposed to be an organization of PEACE. If you want to go around fighting, send in an army, not a bunch of "peacekeepers". Furthermore, to those that support this nonsense:
-War is bad for business, unless you're a weapons supplier. If you're a weapons suppliers, I advocate turning your guns into tractors and your military mines into tools for building mineral mines (pun intended).
-Killing of people only causes folks to get more upset.
- A peaceful (and democratic) Haiti will likely be worth more money to the wealthy (as well as everyone else) than a warlike and dangerous climate in Haiti, and could be another jewel in the Caribbean.
- Instead of war, use due process of law and a court-and-punishment system. Mercenary nonsense destabilizes the country.

On the part of East Timor, it is a young country. Its founding fathers and mothers are today's generation. What the country needs, however, is a Benjamin Franklin, and what it has is numerous Paul Reveres and George Washingtons. Those are fine and dandy for getting a country to secede from another country and winning sympathy, but when it comes to nation-building, they need someone willing to work towards improving the infrastructure, improving international relations, improving the economy (and not just by tourism and whining about Australians stealing oil fields, even though Oz really OUGHT to mind its own business there), and establishing and improving national institutions - exactly what Ben Franklin did. (And, oh yeah, being a scientist can't hurt, either. Such a person could start by running a press in Dili (hopefully, with an online edition), and focusing interest on electric lighting and improving the roadways. Also, at the same time, a focus should be about coining money and getting the goods and services to back up the money. Too little coinage would lead to unused supplies and further impoverishment (as well as much bartering); too much coinage would lead to inflation, and coinage not backed with goods and services would also lead to inflation. I think East Timor already has a university. If that's the case, then the university should be improved upon as much as possible. Services and goods not provided in Dili ought to be provided, by networking with sensible folks from abroad (presumably, the more level-headed Indonesians and Aussies). And East Timor needs a railroad, too. (It doesn't have any; I've checked.) Railroads would be good for carrying freight and passengers overland, and such a thing would help investment in East Timor a great deal, if properly advertised and managed.

Storm and the Caribbean

Extry! Extry! Extry! This is Ye Olde Time Newsy, bringing you reports of George Stewart’s “Storm”, a decent book, although it goes on about the storm Maria’s precipitation a bit too long. However, the accounts of snow in the Donner Pass are quite interesting, as the blizzards there pile the snow up to a depth of SEVERAL FEET in a storm, oftentimes. (In New York City, a “big” blizzard is, like, about fifteen to twenty inches, if even that much!)

We went to the Caribbean. We saw San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as Roseau and vicinity, Dominica, Oranjestad and a resort district, Aruba, and Willemstad and the Hato caves, Curacao. San Juan is a large city with bland modern “Mexican” architecture, although its Old Town (which we visited) has a different – and much more enchanting – cityscape and architectural style. I would recommend looking into the forts, which provide an interesting maze of scenery in their own right. Dominica, the rustic “Yellowstone of the Caribbean”, has yet to develop much of a tourist industry – thus, many tourists have to “rough it” – in other words, engage in “ecotourism”. (This refers to, essentially, heading out into the woods, letting out a whoop or two, and setting up camp or hiking or rafting or going bike-riding or whatever one does in the woods, since there are few resorts around for the purpose of sleeping on the beaches in the sun.) Nonetheless, Roseau is also on the isle, and it’s a charming and somewhat sleepy little town (note, however, that my description is colored by the fact that it was Boxing Day upon my visit). Further along, we hit upon Aruba, which had a nice chunk of urban gentrification in downtown Oranjestad to photograph for the Bloustein School, and Curacao, with its picturesque Dutch buildings (which made me wonder what New York might've looked like under the Dutch) and interesting urban landscapes at Willemstad. The Hato Caves reminded me of the formations at Yellowstone’s Mammoth Hot Springs.