Third Presidential Debate- Liveblog

Greetings,

I lied a bit in the title. Not strictly 'liveblog', but more of a minute to minute commentary while watching it on YouTube. Either way, I didn't fast forward it which I'm pretty proud of seeing how BORING it was.  Full link here.

02:30: O hello Romney. “Nice to be funny this time not on purpose- let’s see what happens”. Yes Romney, you’re quite the funny guy, I’m looking forward to this too.

03:20: He’s talking about the Arab Spring. This should be good. “Al Qaeda type of individuals”- terrorists?

04:00: He’s congratulating Obama for “taking out” bin Laden. OH MY GOD “WE CANT KILL OUR WAY OUT OF THIS MESS” DID HE JUST MAKE THE MOST UN-AMERICAN STATEMENT OF THE YEAR! “To help the world of Islam”- oh dear this cannot end well.

05:45: “What happened in Libya?”- Obama. He makes a good point about the cost of the war in Libya for America.

06:30: HE’S TALKING TO ROMNEY YESSSS. “Your strategy has been all over the map”.

06:52: “My strategy is to.. go after the bad guys” #thingsIhearduringlasertag. HE SAID “TO KILL THEM” wow someone rewind 3 minutes please.

07:30: Please stop saying “we need to help the Muslim world” my head is aching.

07:52: Stop talking about gender equality Romney.

08:15: WHAT PROGRESS IS LIBYA MAKING YOU NUTSACK?

08:55: THE 1980’S CALLED AND ARE ASKING FOR THEIR FOREIGN POLICIES OH SNAP OBAMA

09:15: Well. Apparently Romney loves the good old 20^th century.

10:20: “Strong steady leadership”- well said Obama, that’s a very good thing to say (kidding)

11:00: “Attacking me is not agenda” I disagree Romney, both of are you doing the same okay shut up.

11:30: “Rose colored glasses where it comes to Russia”- heh okay well said Romney.

13:00: Okay to be fair Obama has the distinct advantage of having been PRESIDENT FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS!!

13:30: How nice, Obama’s making a list of ‘to do’ in the middle east as well.

14:25: Ooooh Syria. Let’s go!

14:40: Obama speaks sense. To be fair, if they got militarily involved they’d be slammed even more. “Syrians are going to have to determine their own future”- cant help but agree. Wondering what Romney will say. Obama speaks well. Assad’s days are numbered.

16:05: ROMNEY!! “Syria’s an opportunity for us”- is that the most diplomatic and humanitarian thing to say right now? When you say replacement government do you mean puppet government, you capitalist scum? He’s basically saying Obama’s thoughts in different words. He’d do well in IB.

18:20: How much more of a leadership role does Romney want? God’s?!

18:50: I wouldn’t say the massacre stopped IMMIDEATELY Obama…

19:20: Gaddafi was a “friend of America”- want to say something about that Romney? “Friend of America” is NOT and I repeat NOT synonymous with “correct” or “right”.

21:25: This is beginning to sound a lot like an MUN debate- everyone saying the same thing in different words and disagreeing with everyone else just for the sake of it. I’m bored.

23:20: I kind of like Obama’s tie. It matches the background very aesthetically.

24:00: Are they going to start talking domestic policy now?

24:20: I wish YOU had a better vision of the future Romney, I wish you had a better vision full stop.

24:55: Hey the red on Romney’s ties matches the red stars in the background. Not bad at all.

25:11: “We want a peaceful planet”- is he actually saying all this?

30:10: Best education system in the world President Obama? I don’t think so. 

32:15 “Latin America’s economy is almost as big as China’s”

33:00: This guy is giving me a stomachache.

33:20: OOOOOH YESSSS IS THIS AN OPENING FOR BAIN CAPITAL?

33:45: Never mind. Education policy it is.

34:00: Don’t lie to yourself Obama, your schools suck. Have you ever SEEN Glee?!

34:11: MATH AND SCIENCE- call Divesh Shah.

35:22: “Every two years we have tests that determine how our kids are doing”. Romney, shut up.

36:35: Back to military. “Where are you going to get the money?” Well asked moderator.

37:05: “Come on our website”- Romney. NO, DON’T DO IT, I’VE BEEN ON HIS WEBSITE IT IS NOT WORTH YOUR 5 MINUTES.

39:30: I’m no mathematician but that sounds kind of impossible to me too, well said Obama.

40:10: True, his business was pretty successful and his budgets seemed to work just fine for Bain. Fair enough Romney.

40:45: “Our navy is smaller now than any time since the 1970’s”- Romney.

41:15: We’re fighting one conflict, not two, at once- uh hello Romney not necessarily a BAD thing?

42:00: “FEWER HORSES AND BAYONETS” OH MY GOD OBAMA YOU ON A ROLL! “We have these ships that go underwater”- not a game of battleship or counting ships- yes Romney does like his games.

43:11: “Is an attack on Israel an attack on the United States- would either of you agree?”- oh dear. OH DEAR.

44:40: “Their economy is in shambles”- well, agreed Obama, but it isn’t as much deterrence as you’re making it out to be.

45:30: Premature military action? Bad idea Romney- “don’t do it”.

45:48: WHEN I’m President of the Untied States- ooooh Romney you cocky scumbag.

47:00: The EU isn’t in the best position right now bro, wouldn’t drag them in into this Romney.

47:45: “Military action is the last resort”- Romney……….

49:10: HAHAHHAHAHHA “You’d do the same thing we would but you’d say it louder and somehow that would make a difference”- that just woke me up (kind of). Okay 11 minutes more and then I take a break.

51:20: I think Romney just really likes saying Ahmadinejad.

57:20: “Lets not go into hypotheticals of that nature”- Romney, shut up.

58:00: I can’t stop yawning. “Iran is four years closer to a bomb”- if I had a dollar for every time he said this in the last 58 minutes.

59:00: Obama’s face when he’s watching Romney speak..

1:00:40: OBAMA JUST MENTIONED PAKISTAN okay now I’m awake.

1:01:00: And in less than 20 seconds I’m sleepy again.

1:01:36: Okay, now I really need a break.

1:02:00: I’m back

1:02:10: America’s longest war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hopefully they don’t turn this around and go back to their damned domestic policy AGAIN.

1:03:55: “I now that some people feel like they should brush their hands and walk away, and I don’t mean you Mr. President”- ouch Romney.

1:04:20: Pakistan as a failed state would be extremely dangerous- well observed Romney. Any child who did their Extended Essay on the country might be able to say the same.

1:06:20: Why is Obama still talking? Oh dear, back to “roads, bridges, schools”- this is the debate regarding foreign policy but nobody can really tell anymore.

1:07:55: “Is it time for us to divorce Pakistan?” “No it is not time for us to divorce a nation that has a 100 nuclear warheads”. I agree. Finally, Romney. “If it becomes a failed state- there are nuclear weapons there. You got terrorists there. Pakistan is technically an ally”.

1:09:55: Did he actually speak sense for 2 minutes? Kudos.

1:12:25: “We stood on the side of democracy (during the Arab Spring)”- Obama. Not much choice there Obama. It’s kind of what you’re supposed to stand for.

1:13:13: RISE OF CHINA. Predictions? “They steal all our jobs and their navy is pretty damned strong”

1:14:00: “JOBS BEING SHIPPED OVERSEAS” (Obama)- score!

1:15:20: “If we don’t have the best education system in the world”- but Obama, you don’t?

1:16:30: Romney almost sounds… reasonable.

1:17:25: Jobs mentioned again, by Romney this time. CURRENCY MANIPULATOR OH MY GOD I should have seen this coming. Damn.

1:18:50: So according to Romney they lose jobs trading and not trading with China.

1:19:50: YES SUBTLE REFERENCE TO BAIN CAPITAL- how predictable Obama.

1:22:00: SHIPS HAVE BEEN MENTIONED (therefore an indirect reference to their navy therefore I win)

1:22:44: “I like American cars”- Romney. Good on you mate, I like chairs.

1:24:40: “I want to invest in research. Research is GREAT! Companies? No.”- Romney. He was doing pretty decently; he should have quit while he was ahead.

1:27:10: How is it that they always manage to come back to the same damned domestic policy EVEN THOUGH 1) they’ve been debated a trillion times and nothing new comes out of it 2) THIS ISNT A DEBATE REGARDING DOMESTIC POLICY.

1:29:30: Is Romney trying to justify education budget cuts?

1:30:10: Obama’s closing statement. He’s such a cool guy, genuinely.

1:32:20: “Our roads, our bridges”- Obama should patent this phrase.

1:33:00: Romney’s closing statement. Saying the same thing he has been for months in a span of 2 minutes. His hairstyle is weird.

1:36:00: Done. I’m so proud of myself.

 -Lassie

P.S. I watched Student of the Year- it was a better use of my time than watching this debate was.

Leader of the Year?*

Quite a few changes are about to take place in the coming few weeks- namely the handover of the top position in 2 of the (arguably) most powerful nations today: Ukraine and Palau.

Or was it USA and China? Your pick, really.

In a two-part segment, we (I) explore who takes over these superpowers, what real changes we can expect to see, and things that will most probably not change. I might throw in some Bollywood commentary here and there if I feel up to it.

Before I begin, I know neither of us has posted for a month now. I have no excuse for this shameful lack of dedication except the Extended Essay (did mine on the Pakistani military!), UN Night, World Literature, math portfolio (just kidding- I haven’t done one since last November) and the fact that apparently Chap goes gallivanting off to Cambodia without letting me know (he’s been there for the last one week- how this escaped my notice is literally beyond me). Point being, I apologize thoroughly and whole-heartedly and would like to offer a video of us dancing to Nakka Mukka as compensation.

Now, let’s get down to business (TO DEFEAT THE HUNS!!). I spent the entire morning doing my scumbag (used in the nicest way possible) Asian history teacher’s holiday homework (I think he’s brilliant but slightly off-centered when it comes to his idea of a good holiday break) and in the process assessed what the most important factor in the Communist victory in the civil war was when I realized there were better things to do with my life like assess what the hell Xi Jinping can do as “THE NEXT LEADER OF THE UNFREE WORLD” (as dramatically proclaimed by this week’s TIME magazine cover). Here it goes-

The Chinese Communist Party has set the date for the 18^th National Congress to take place on 8^th November (in exactly 3 weeks actually!) and the most significant handover of power will take place here- Xi Jinping (current Vice President) is expected to take over from Hu Jintao. He will be sworn in as the Party’s General Secretary (formerly known as Party Chairman- read: Mao Zedong), which is the de facto leader of the country- kind of like the Indian Prime Minister but obviously far, far more efficient. Or maybe that’s just Communism at work, what do I know, I’m just a capitalist. There’s an interesting debate though- communism versus capitalism. And I don’t mean the Cold War type of debate- I mean taking into consideration the basic “rights” that we seem to demand today (freedom of speech, expression?) combined with what we consider our “rights” anyway (right to have a job, right to work, right to earn money freely?) we are faced with complications that no system seems to get right completely**.

Anyway, the Chinese decided since the post of President was only nominal and had no real power they did the smart thing and combined the post of General Secretary and President (not officially, but it is the convention) and so on November 8^th Xi Jinping will be seated at the head of the country with the biggest population and one of the fastest (or is it the fastest?) growing economy on this planet. China is richer than it was when Hu Jintao took power, but not necessarily a much better to place to live in since then. The state media is still heavily censored, the Internet search engines are switched on and off at the mercy of the government, and now more than ever (thanks to the pressure that the Arab Spring imposed on the leaders) the political leaders are very, very worried. Nevertheless, the Chinese are taking to the streets despite the threat of prosecution and the desire for change grows, as it will in any society with this much room for improvement (Machiavelli is relevant once again!). Despite such quick economic growth and development, “political change” still remains somewhat of a taboo word in the upper ranks, ensuring that China will be able to change its clothes but not its soul***.

There is little hope that Xi will make much change- it isn’t even clear if he wants to make much change. He is the son of one of the Communist guerrilla movement founders who subsequently got purged and jailed during the Cultural Revolution. With so much turmoil thanks to ‘change’ back then, it’s pretty clear why he isn’t the biggest fan of bringing about change right now (or maybe this is just me psychoanalyzing absolutely nothing). However, this won’t work for much longer. China’s stupendous growth can no longer be counted upon to propel the country forward- political turmoil will grow (at whatever rate that may be). We saw it with the Qings, the Nationalists and again with the Communists, and we’ll see it again. No matter how iron-fisted a regime seems, the more authoritarian a state becomes, the less stable it becomes. Especially in this day and age where the word “uprising” has become the in-thing to stage, China’s not going to be left behind for much longer. It would be naïve to expect a full-scale revolution or a May 4^th Movement of sorts, but the political foundation has cracks appearing- not because of actual government weakness but because of citizens’ strength. Xi won’t be enjoying as much power as his predecessor (who didn’t enjoy as much power as his own predecessor, etc.) but it is doubtful as to even if he did, what he would have done with it.

Xi’s Wikipedia page is surprisingly short (especially when compared to Mitt Romney’s page), which isn’t all that surprising. Let’s hope by the end of his term it’ll be added to significantly (and not just negatively).  

In other, possibly as interesting news, Karan Johar’s Student of the Year comes out tomorrow! I'm literally giddy with excitement, I ADORE Karan Johar. If only Xi would run the country the way KJo directed his movies- not much would change actually, 85% of the population would still hate it.

-Lassie

*an attempt to make a pun on KJo's "Student of the Year"

**PUN ON THE WORD RIGHT!

***got this from an IB past paper referring to Tokugawa Japan- score!