Michael J. Totten’s recent interview with Robert Kaplan is a college semester’s education in and of itself. It’s a longie but goodie, and some of the photos are just great. Highly recommended.
International
Posted by E!!
on July 02, 2009
accountability, Barack Obama, International, Iran, military, Scandals / No Comments
accountability, Barack Obama, International, Iran, military, Scandals / No Comments
I am shocked and outraged.
It is well-established historical and political fact that America does not negotiate with terrorists regarding the release of hostages. We do this so terrorists will not be emboldened to take even more hostages in order to have even more of their demands met.
But apparently, about two weeks ago, Obama authorized the release of an Iran-backed terrorist who is responsible for the 2007 abduction/murder of American troops (five murdered, four of them after being kidnapped) in Karbala. And did so as barter for five British hostages. Or rather, for two dead bodies of former British hostages – because that is what we actually got back. Two corpses. In exchange for the freedom of a terrorist who murdered American soldiers.
Andy McCarthy has all the details – including a very plausible theory about how Obama’s decision might be tied into some Guantanamo prisoners being sent to Bermuda. Here’s the money quote from his piece:
Back in May 2008, in a speech before the Israeli Knesset, President Bush derided the “foolish delusion” of unidentified, naïve politicians who “seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.” Exhibiting a thin-skinned consciousness of guilt, Sen. Barack Obama assumed Bush had been referring to him, and lashed out: “George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists.”
President Obama is now way beyond mere support of such engagement. Under his leadership, and even as the mullahs who have been at war with the United States for 30 years are engaged in a Tiananmen-style crackdown, Obama is neck-deep in terrorist-for-hostages negotiations with Iran-backed killers who have American blood on their hands.
A WaTi write-up is here. Senators Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Jon Kyl of Arizona have written a letter demanding answers. I would think so. And where is the LameStream Media? Still under the ether…
What a cute little spat they are having in the Iran presidential campaigns.
Be nice if Ahmie lost, tho.
(That’s my pet name for Ahmadiniejad. I like to call him that when he’s in the news. And then imagine him getting really irritated about it. ”Stop calling me that, infidel woman!”)
Ok, maybe a short glass. But I stand by the rest of the header.
Today’s Heritage Foundation Foundry quote of the day. With pic. (Check out the sunglasses on this lunatic. Talk about a Hollywood complex.)
Posted by E!!
on June 10, 2009
Cold Hard Cash, Economy, Fleecing the Taxpayers, government bailouts, Government Spending, International, Washington D.C. / No Comments
Cold Hard Cash, Economy, Fleecing the Taxpayers, government bailouts, Government Spending, International, Washington D.C. / No Comments
Excerpted and condensed from an email from Erick Erickson at RedState:
Obama has proposed sending the International Monetary Fund (IMF) billions of dollars as a quasi-bailout for European banks.
The word is, House Republicans are going to vote in a block to oppose this, which means around thirty Democrats are needed to defeat the bill. Blue Dog Dems are the key, along with Dems in districts that tilt Republican.
Call 202-224-3121. Ask for the members of Congress below and tell them to oppose H.R. 2346, the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act.
Bobby Bright AL-02
Parker Griffith AL-05
Ann Kirkpatrick AZ-01
Suzanne Kosmos FL-24
Walt Mitnick ID-01
Frank Kratovil MD-01
Glenn Nye VA-02
Tom Perriello VA-05Travis Childers (MS-01)
Harry Mitchell (AZ-05)
Gabby Giffords (AZ-08)
Jim Marshall (GA-08)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Bill Foster (IL-14)
Baron Hill (IN-09)
Posted by E!!
on March 11, 2009
Barack Obama, Down With Political Correctness, International, Political Philosphy / No Comments
Barack Obama, Down With Political Correctness, International, Political Philosphy / No Comments
One of my favorites over at The Corner, Victor Davis Hanson, explains:
When Obama said he would restore our image in the world, few were mature enough to realize that there were already sympathetic governments in Europe, India’s billion people liked us, and all of Africa was appreciative of what Bush had done. Fewer still accepted the fact that, given the sorry state of the world, the United States faces a awkward choice: It can either be largely disliked for taking a principled stance in support of constitutional government and open markets, or it can be liked for being unprincipled.
We seem to have forgotten that those who most hated the Bush-Cheney administration were Putin, Chávez, Assad, the Castro brothers, Kim Jong Il, Ahmadinejad, Hamas — and European intellectuals. So, yes, we can be liked in the age of Obama, and the way to do it is to give up Eastern Europe to Russian concerns, be praised by Chávez for our newfound socialism, drop sanctions against Cuba, talk to Iran and Syria without preconditions, ignore Korean missiles, rebuild Gaza (though I hope that does not include restoring the depleted rocket inventory), tack hard to the left of the salons and coffee houses of the EU, and drop all that bothersome talk about democracy and constitutional government.
In other words, the way to be liked is to become like those who don’t like us. Who knows — maybe the U.S. will now be asked to chair the U.N. Human Rights Council?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection provides a map and photos showing the current status of The Fence between the U.S. and Mexico.
Hat Tip: Mark Krikorian @ The Corner
Posted by E!!
on October 10, 2008
Energy Policy, Global Warming, International, Nuclear Energy, Yucca Mountain / 1 Comment
Energy Policy, Global Warming, International, Nuclear Energy, Yucca Mountain / 1 Comment
This paper is the best, most concise argument for nuclear power I’ve read yet. If you are against or on the fence on nuclear energy, you should read it and consider the facts. If you are already in favor, you’ll be delighted and probably learn a few things.
Be assured, this is not some partisan policy paper. It’s full of hard data and as such is very compelling. It has been entered into the Congressional Record twice (once during Senate testimony for the budget for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, once during a House hearing on environmental benefits of nuclear power).
The paper states that nuclear waste disposal “is a political problem in the United States because of widespread fear disproportionate to the reality of risk” and contends and concludes that nuclear power is in fact “environmentally safe, practical, and affordable.”
It includes facts and citations from the British Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Internationl Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Energy Council, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey, MIT, the Harvard School of Public Health, Houston’s Institute for Energy Research, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
One of the authors, Dr. Denis Beller, recently completed a sabbatical from Los Alamos National Laboratory to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he coordinated university participation for UNLV’s Transmutation Research Program for reducing, reusing, and recycling spent nuclear fuel. Beller is now a Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNLV and a Visiting Research Professor at Idaho State University.
The other author, Richard Rhodes, is a journalist, historian and author. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986), and most recently penned Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race (2007). Rhodes has been awarded grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He is an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and frequently gives lectures and talks, including testifying before the U.S. Senate on nuclear energy.
Posted by E!!
on September 26, 2008
China, Events, International, Random Bloggy Stuff, Time Travel / No Comments
China, Events, International, Random Bloggy Stuff, Time Travel / No Comments
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An online news story reports the successful launch of China’s long-awaited space mission. The account includes a riveting account of the take off as well as detailed account of the snappy inter-astronaut dialogue.
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Even more thrilling is the fact that the story was posted online by China’s official news agency Xinhua many hours before the rocket left the ground.
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In a bold move that has stunned the entire planet, the Chinese, in addition to building a spaceworthy vehicle, have mastered the art of time travel and are now able to report their achievements from the future.
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The Shenzhou 7 mission, which will feature China’s first-ever spacewalk, was set to launch yesterday between 9:07 a.m. EDT and 10:27 p.m. EDT.
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The Xinhua story was dated September 27, two days later.
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Electrifying as this is, with the rising super power now able to send operatives forward in time, hard questions must be asked about potential temporal rifts and disturbances, causality paradoxes, and the stability of the space-time continuum.
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The UN should immediately call a special meeting of the Assembly to discuss the appropriate response and prevent a cataclysm that could wipe out most of the solar system.
6:19 a.m.
ABC is saying Palin has NOT left Alaska.
And in re: to the Foreign Affairs Experience (or lack thereof) of Palin (or any candidate), Andy McCarthy said this:
…a lot of the experience talk is overblown when it comes to foreign affairs. John O’Sullivan is the expert on this, but I don’t think Lady Thatcher had much foreign affairs experience to speak of when she became PM. In contrast, Sen. Biden has a ton of foreign policy experience — enough to have been wrong on just about every major issue over the last 30 years.
Seems to me the people with loads of foreign policy experience are drenched in the Kennedy School/Wilson School/internationalist view of the world. As between that and someone who’s smart, has sensible instincts, and has a healthy Washingtonian suspicion of international entanglements, I’ll take the latter, thank you.
Posted by E!!
on August 14, 2008
2008 Elections, Barack Obama, Fred Thompson, International / No Comments
2008 Elections, Barack Obama, Fred Thompson, International / No Comments
Those acquainted with me pre-E!! know I was a Fred Thompson supporter before he dropped out of the presidential race. I believed then (and still think) he was the most reliably Conservative of all the GOP candidates in all the areas that matter most.
One of my favorite things about Fred was that he wasn’t overtly enthusiastic about getting The Job. This annoyed a lot of people and probably cost him a spot in the top 3, but I considered his reserve – i.e. his lack of zeal for politicking - a big plus. It was (and will continue to be) my contention that our pick should always be the man most qualified to lead but least lustful for power and the public eye.
Thompson’s analysis on the Russian invasion of Georgia and other international issues today is just excellent. Be sure to read his conclusion, with which I thoroughly agree and would add: the White House driveway is a dangerous place for Obama to practice his driving skills.
