. . . and the teams are set:

Africa: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa

Asia and Oceania: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Korea and South Korea

Europe: Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland, 

North America: Honduras, Mexico and the USA

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The draw will be critical for nations like the US, Honduras and Australia.

For the record, being a fan of both Arsenal and FC Barcelona, I'm a fan of Thierry Henry, but today he got away with one. Diego Maradona must be grinning.

I've always been a fan of etymologies. I believe that they give a greater insight into a word's meaning. The title of this post means to be inclined to fight, but comes from the name Bellona, the Roman Goddess of War.

All this is to lead up to Hugo Chavez's recent bellicosity towards Colombia. Boz has been doing yeoman work covering this story in the last week. You can read his accounts in chronological order here, here, here, here and here.

As Boz notes in his most recent post, most Venezuelans are not happy about this. Indeed, one would imagine that they would prefer consistent power and water than a war.

If this reminds me of anything, it reminds me of the Argentine Junta's decision to invade the Falklands (no, I'm not saying Chavez is like Galtieri and Videla); an attempt at using a war to rally the nation against domestic problems.

For his behavior that I discussed here and here, Diego Maradona has been punished and I believe it's largely appropriate:

Argentina manager Diego Maradona has been banned from football for two months and fined by FIFA as punishment for his rant at journalists following Argentina's qualification for the World Cup finals.

The ban, announced by a FIFA disciplinary committee after a hearing with Maradona, extends to any "football-related activity" and is effective immediately, meaning the Argentina manager is suspended from November 15 to January 15.

"The committee reached this decision following a three-hour meeting at the Home of FIFA in Zurich,'' a statement from FIFA read. "The head coach of Argentina was heard by the committee during 40 minutes and apologised to FIFA and the world football family.

"The committee took into consideration the apologies and the sincere remorse shown by Maradona in its decision, which was communicated to him at the end of the meeting. The sanction, which was taken on the basis of article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, applies from 15 November 2009 to 15 January 2010.

"The committee stressed that any breach of this decision or any repetition of a similar incident would mean that stronger sanctions would have to be imposed in the future.''

Count on that happening. Self-control is not in Maradona's vocabulary.

I think Boz and the New York Times are largely correct that the recent blackouts in Brazil and other Central and South American countries are related to infrastructure issues. While I tend to believe that diversity of supply will help Brazil, I don't believe that I addressed the overall issue with infrastructure sufficiently.

Both Boz and the article deal with issues of transmission of electricity and that is a particularly problematic issue with Brazil. While supply from different sources will aid infrastructure by furnishing some built-in redundancy when other sources falter (e.g. droughts that could impact hydroelectric supplies), infrastructure issues are ongoing problems in the region. Boz correctly points out the potential for future problems with rising income levels and increased demand only make the need for improving infrastructure more urgent.

Here:

 (N)o matter how bad all their ideas are, no matter how disastrous their governance has been, no matter how many horrible things they have done to the economy and this country, what really is killing the Republican party is that deep down, they are just complete assholes. You see it in the way they treat women, you see it in the way they treat minorities, you see it in the way they treat homosexuals, you see it in the way they treat anyone who is not a white Christian, and you see it in the way they treat anyone who disagrees with them slightly about anything. They just have no respect for anyone, and it shows. People don’t like to be treated like crap, and grown-ups don’t want to be associated with people who yell “You lie” or scream “socialism” or “Hitler” or accuse you of being a terrorist whenever they don’t get their way.

If you read the Corner or the Weekly Standard, or listen to any talk radio or any of the mouth breathers on Fox, or read any right-wing blogs, you will instantly know what I am talking about. You can’t help but notice that they are just loudmouthed jerks, stubborn bully boys, and insensitive and insecure cads. James Wolcott once wrote that Eric Cantor looked like the “pricky proprietor of the Jerk Store,” and that could be applied to the majority of the prominent Republicans out there. I guess that should be suspected from a movement in which the only thoughts are “F**k you, I got mine.”

Yet again Brazil pays a heavy price for the overreliance on hydroelectric power:

An important hydroelectric dam shared by Brazil and Paraguay failed Tuesday night, pushing a large swath of central and southern Brazil into darkness, said the country's minister of mines and energy, Edison Lobao.

At about 10:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET), the Itaipu dam shut down completely, Lobao said in a radio interview.

Itaipu is the second largest hydroelectric facility in the world and the power lost was equivalent to losing all power in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state. Yet Lula still is betting the house on more dams, including some in environmentally sensitive areas.

A severe drought in 1999 caused blackouts in Brazil. The way to avoid this in the future is to have a variety of energy sources, but no one seems that interested in Brazil; just sticking with the conventional sources. Expect more of this.

Marc Lynch has some important observations on the implications of how we respond to the Fort Hood tragedy, disturbing revelations about the gunman and the authorities failure to isolate him (via Kevin Drum):

(H)ow America responds to Ft. Hood really is important in the wider attempt to change the nature of its engagement with Muslim publics across the world.  Get the response right, as the administration thus far has done, and they show that things really have changed.  Get it wrong, as its critics demand, and the world could tumble back down into the 'clash of civilizations' trap which al-Qaeda so dearly wants and which the improved American approach of the last couple of years has increasingly denied it. 

 The grand strategy of al-Qaeda and its affiliated ideologues is, and has always been, to generate a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West which does not currently exist.  Their great challenge is that the vast majority of Muslims reject their theology, ideology, strategy and tactics.  That's especially true of American Muslims.  They therefore feel the need to change the environment in which Muslims live in order to change their calculations about the appropriateness of extremist identities and ideologies and actions.   

 Terrorism is a means towards that end.  The object is to create a violent, polarized environment in which Muslims are forced to embrace a narrow, extreme version of Muslim identity.   They want Muslims to accept a master narrative in which the Islamic umma is existentially threatened by Western aggression, and the only theologically and strategically appropriate individual response is to join the jihad in the path of god (as they have defined it). 

 They recognize that most Muslims won't embrace this radical conception of their identity just through messaging, internet rhetoric, or preaching. To make inroads with mainstream Muslim communities, they need to change the context in which they live -- to render their status quo unacceptable and to make their narrative resonate.  And for that to happen, they need a lot of help -- for the targeted governments to take inflammatory measures against their Muslim populations, for the non-Muslim citizens in the targeted countries to discriminate against them, and for the media to fan the flames of hatred and mistrust. 

 Understanding this strategy points towards some fairly obvious guidelines for judging various responses.   Al-Qaeda and its affiliated ideologues don't just want their targets to overreact with blanket crackdowns on the mainstream Muslim community -- they are counting on it.  They want to create a homogenous, undifferentiated Islam on whose behalf they speak and a coherent master narrative which justifies and validates their actions. American reactions which feed AQ's master narrative, lump together disparate Muslim movements, and tar a wide range of Muslims with the AQ brush therefore serve al-Qaeda's strategy.  Responses which disrupt AQ's narrative, disaggregate the Muslim world and relegate AQ to a marginal fringe frustrate its strategy.  

 A lot of people -- some well-meaning, some clowns or worse -- evidently want the American response to the Ft. Hood shootings to revive the post-9/11 "war of ideas" and "clash of civilizations" anti-Islamic discourse.  It's a jihad, they shout, demanding careful scrutiny of the loyalty of American Muslims.  That's what they seem to mean by the demand to throw away "political correctness" and confront the ideological menace.  The overall effect of their recommendations, however,  would be to revive the flagging al-Qaeda brand and to greatly strengthen the appeal of its narrative.  And that's exactly what we should not want. 

President Obama will address the memorial service at Fort Hood, Texas, this afternoon. Here are his full remarks, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House:

We come together filled with sorrow for the thirteen Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that has been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know: your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - that is their legacy.

Neither this country - nor the values that we were founded upon - could exist without men and women like these thirteen Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager. But he put himself through college, earned a PhD, and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment. He is survived by his wife, sons and step-daughters.

Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow joined the Army right after high school, married his high school sweetheart, and had served as a light wheeled mechanic and Satellite Communications Operator. He was known as an optimist, a mentor, and a loving husband and father.

After retiring from the Army as a Major, John Gaffaney cared for society's most vulnerable during two decades as a psychiatric nurse. He spent three years trying to return to active duty in this time of war, and he was preparing to deploy to Iraq as a Captain. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Specialist Frederick Greene was a Tennessean who wanted to join the Army for a long time, and did so in 2008 with the support of his family. As a combat engineer he was a natural leader, and he is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Specialist Jason Hunt was also recently married, with three children to care for. He joined the Army after high school. He did a tour in Iraq, and it was there that he re-enlisted for six more years on his 21st birthday so that he could continue to serve.

Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was an athlete in high school, joined the Army shortly after 9/11, and had since returned home to speak to students about her experience. When her mother told her she couldn't take on Osama bin Laden by herself, Amy replied: "Watch me."

Private First Class Aaron Nemelka was an Eagle Scout who just recently signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service - diffuse bombs - so that he could help save lives. He was proudly carrying on a tradition of military service that runs deep within his family.

Private First Class Michael Pearson loved his family and loved his music, and his goal was to be a music teacher. He excelled at playing the guitar, and could create songs on the spot and show others how to play. He joined the military a year ago, and was preparing for his first deployment.

Captain Russell Seager worked as a nurse for the VA, helping veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress. He had great respect for the military, and signed up to serve so that he could help soldiers cope with the stress of combat and return to civilian life. He leaves behind a wife and son.

Private Francheska Velez, the daughter of a father from Colombia and a Puerto Rican mother, had recently served in Korea and in Iraq, and was pursuing a career in the Army. When she was killed, she was pregnant with her first child, and was excited about becoming a mother.