Hillary's Hubris

In a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the top US diplomat reminded rich Pakistanis that they had a duty to enable their government to fund schools and hospitals and to spend more on other social projects by paying taxes.

“The very well-off” in Pakistan “do not pay their fair share for the services that are needed, in health and education primarily,” she observed.

Children Openly Brandishing Guns in Brazil

A boy steps boldly into the night traffic and waves a gun to bring the cars to a halt, clearing a path for a motorcycle which screeches into the intersection. Riding pillion is another boy, brandishing a machinegun.

Later two teenagers, also riding pillion on motorbikes, flash their guns at other motorists; nearby, a boy can be seen taking aim with a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. Other youths wander the street smoking crack.

For residents, the junction between the busy Dom Helder Câmara and dos Democráticos, in North Rio de Janeiro, has become known as the Corner of Fear — and video footage of daily life there has shocked a nation already familiar with guns and violence.

The criminal threat for Rio de Janeiro is rated by the U.S. Department of State as critical.  The Brazilian police and the Brazilian press report that crime continues to increase.  Violent crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, carjacking, armed assault, and burglary are a normal part of everyday life. . . .

The Government of Brazil (GOB) continues to be locked in an intense struggle against drug gangs for control of large areas of the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area.  The drug gangs control and in essence serve as parallel governments in the majority of the poor areas of the city known as favelas.  The drug gangs are obtaining increasingly sophisticated weapons and are demonstrating a willingness to use them in order to maintain control of the areas they occupy.  The determination of the government to wrest control of the favelas from the drug gangs has resulted in violent confrontations between the GOB security forces and the drug gangs.

69% of Haiti Charity Dollars Remain Unspent

In total, of the half a billion dollars sent to Haiti relief organizations contacted by ABC News, 18 percent is already being spent on food and water, Additionally, 11 percent is going toward medical supplies and clinics, six percent on housing, and two percent on operations.

But here's the catch. The money now being spent is only a small fraction of the total donations given. Most of the donations made to the relief efforts -- 69 percent or $325 million -- have not been spent on anything yet.

Surprise! Aid Corruption in Haiti

Donor nations have poured tens of millions of dollars into the impoverished Caribbean nation and some Haitians have blamed corruption for the sometimes sluggish distribution of aid.

Sacks of donated rice have turned up in local street markets. Aid officials said it was inevitable that some aid would find its way to the black market in Haiti, which was ranked 10th from the bottom of Transparency International's latest corruption rating of 180 nations.

H1N1 "Pandemic" Close to Over

U.S. cases have been declining since October. An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says swine flu cases are still occurring and are likely to continue a while longer at some level.

But another expert said a future large wave of cases now seems very unlikely. The expert, Vanderbilt University's Dr. William Schaffner, said the epidemic has "one foot in the grave."

Spain: Unemployment Nears 20%

With a 61 percent increase in unemployment since the start of 2008, the troubled Spanish economy is crushed under the need to support almost 20% of its workforce:

In the first year of unemployment, the government pays both unemployment benefit and some social security contributions. This will result in an unemployment benefit bill of over 30 billion euros ($43 billion) this year, up more than 50% from 2008. Payments may rise faster, as many of those made unemployed early were on fixed-term contracts and low salaries. On the revenue side, there are losses associated with lower tax receipts from the unemployed.

Worse yet, the rising deficit will breach the E.U. Stability and Growth Pact, requiring stringent budget cuts to try and reduce the deficit by 2012.

And we think we have it bad.

Honduras Embroiled in Fight for Democracy

First, some facts:

1. The Honduran Constitution limits the presidential term to 4 years.
2. Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has seen his approval ratings plummet because of soaring food prices and worsening drug violence that has given Honduras one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America.
3. The Honduran Constitution prohibits changing the duration of the presidential term.
4. In defiance of the plain language of the constitution, President Zelaya asked for a referendum on placing the extension of the presidential term on the ballot.
5. The country’s Supreme Court, Honduras's top electoral tribunal, Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubí, and human-rights ombudsman have all declared the planned referendum illegal.
6. President Zelaya attempted to hold the vote anyway, ordering the military to distribute the ballots (which is their role) and sacking General Romeo Vasquez, head of the Honduran armed forces.
7. The military, acting on a court order, responded by capturing President Zelaya and flying him out of the country, thus ending his attempted power grab.

I often judge politicians by who their friends are. Among those condemning Honduras’ removal of President Zelaya are Cuba, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and of course Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But we shouldn’t blame Hillary – she’s only doing B. Hussein Obama’s bidding. It turns out that he has been working for weeks to save President Zelaya’s job:

The Obama administration and members of the Organization of American States had worked for weeks to try to avert any moves to overthrow President Zelaya, said senior U.S. officials. Washington's ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, sought to facilitate a dialogue between the president's office, the Honduran parliament and the military.

The efforts accelerated over the weekend, as Washington grew increasingly alarmed.

Carlos Echevarria, commenting at Gateway Pundit, sums everything up nicely:

Gateway, this is not a coup, this is the Honduran Armed Forces carrying out an order of the Supreme Court of Honduras and the congress, as well as military leaders that refused to buckle to Zelaya's attempt to fully Chavez-ize the nation....

Today is a day of liberty in Honduras.

But in a sign that this will continue to escalate, the left is already tying the “military coup” to the American Department of Defense. God help me, it’s true.

Now it’s time to see if Obama will support democracy in Honduras, or will enable Chavez to put troops in Honduras to prop up a leftist friend. Anyone want to take bets?

Crime Skyrockets in Oslo

There are four times more crime in the capital of Norway than in New York, with a 20% increase in robberies over the last year alone. The Oslo police are blaming the increase on an influx of East Europeans.

Brazilian Sub Fleet to Go Nuclear

Brazil has nuclear reactors. They can turn out nuclear fuel using existing enrichment facilities. They even have a "fleet" of five submarines. What they don't have is a nuclear powered sub. But, thanks to France, all that may be about to change.

Why does Brazil want a nuclear sub anyway? Perhaps to protect them from the pirates of Costa Rica? Or to stave off invasion from Hugo Chávez of Venezuela?

Whatever the reason, it must be pretty good. They've been at it since 1979 and just last year Brazilian President Lula announced $540 million in new funding for the program (and for improving existing uranium enrichment efforts).

Over half a billion dollars! Just to go chasing a nuke dream. I'm glad they don't need that money for anything important, like cleaning up the vast "favelas" (shanty towns) that sprawl next to every major Brazilian city. [Some 3 million people live in the Rio de Janeiro slums alone, a city where murder claimed an average of 80 victims a week last year.]

Maybe a sub that can go under the ice cap will intimidate the drug lords that rule the favelas with impunity. Maybe it will inspire the police force to put a stop to rampant corruption.

And what do the French get out of it (besides a rumored $600 million for the sub, not to mention more money for any follow-up technology transfer deals)?

[Defense Ministry spokesman Jose] Ramos said Brazil wants to establish a strategic partnership with France to transfer technology. France is interested in Brazilian know-how on jungle warfare and "the use of electronic equipment in the humidity of tropical rain forests," he said.

Yeah, that "jungle warfare" will no doubt come in handy when the next time France needs to quell riots that are spreading across the country.

The Truth About Benazir Bhutto

Finally, a journalist that doesn't do the usual PC mouthings about an assassinated foreign leader:

We need have no sympathy with her Islamist assassin and the extremists behind him to recognize that Bhutto was corrupt, divisive, dishonest and utterly devoid of genuine concern for her country.

She was a splendid con, persuading otherwise cynical Western politicians and "hardheaded" journalists that she was not only a brave woman crusading in the Islamic wilderness, but also a thoroughbred democrat.

In fact, Bhutto was a frivolously wealthy feudal landlord amid bleak poverty. The scion of a thieving political dynasty, she was always more concerned with power than with the wellbeing of the average Pakistani. Her program remained one of old-school patronage, not increased productivity or social decency.

Listen to the "Global Majority"?

Whoa, here's a poll to make you think:

Almost two-thirds of the world's people say there must be urgent action to tackle global warming, a poll for the BBC World Service showed on Tuesday.

Then again, two-thirds of the world's people are illiterate, live in huts and cook over dung fires. Listen to them on matters of global policy? I don't think so. *

*Before I get flamed, this was literary exaggeration to make a point. In actuality, a report was recently released that claimed that for the first time in history half the world population is urban. But just because they live in the "big city", it doesn't mean that they aren't ignorant savages. [Heh]

Moderation, even in Mushrooms

Like much of Europe that is under attack by hordes of immigrant Muslims, the Netherlands is tilting to the Right. As a result, the home of the marijuana "coffee shops" is looking to officially ban magic mushrooms, which up until now could be obtained legally in "smartshops".

The source of public focus is the death of a 17-year-old French girl with a history of psychiatric problem who jumped from a building last March. Since then:

• A 22-year-old British tourist ran amok in a hotel, breaking his window and slicing his hand.
• A 19-year-old Icelandic tourist thought he was being chased and jumped from a balcony, breaking both his legs.
• A 29-year-old Danish tourist drove his car wildly through a campground, narrowly missing people sleeping in their tents.

It sounds to me as if the Dutch should ban tourists. Or, at least, screen them for mental disorders.

In a country with a population almost equal to that of Florida's (the fourth most populous state), one would think that there would be more incidences of deaths from drunk driving, bar fights and alcohol poisoning that there are of shroom-induced psychosis. But you don't hear anyone advocating prohibition.

Last March, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences conducted a study in which drugs were ranked according to potential harm in nine different categories.

You will note that alcohol is ranked fifth, well ahead of cannabis and even LSD. Spokesperson Professor Nutt cited the statistic that one person a week dies in the UK from alcohol poisoning.

Basically, it all comes down to personal restraint. Drink in moderation, and you probably won't choke on your own vomit. Don't eat mushrooms when you are near psychotic and you probably won't talk a walk on air while 30 feet up.

Does the world really need more drug laws?

Japanese Quake -- Been There, Done That

A quake registering 6.8 in magnitude rocked Japan's largest island (Honshu), killing at least six people, injuring over 700, leaving thousands homeless, causing a fire at the world's largest nuclear power plant and causing millions of dollars in damage. Hardest hit was the city of Kashiwazaki.

The epicenter was just off the coast, about ten miles below the earth's surface.

In May of 1968 a quake registering 7.9 struck just off the coast of the northern island of Hokkaido, leaving 52 dead. I was in band class about 200 kilometers away in Misawa when the platforms our chairs were sitting on began walking across the room and light fixtures began falling. We evacuated to the parking lot and I will never forget the sight of the asphalt rolling like small ocean waves, the cars gently bobbing up and down, the cracks forming in the hard surface. Stupidly, I straddled one crack as it formed and widened between my feet.

Some people never get over such an experience. Indeed, as aftershocks struck in the days following we would watch as people panicked and ran outside. Some were afraid to go back inside at all.

I, of course,  thought I was totally indestructible (being a young teen), and thought that it was all great fun.

Country Freedom Ratings

The Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom has released the early results of their upcoming Religious Freedom in the World 2007. Some highlights:

• The greatest persecutors of religion are Islamist and communist regimes.
• Regimes that respect religious freedom also have more civil liberties, more prosperity, better health for their people, and less militarized societies.
• All of the most religiously free countries are democracies.
• Religiously free societies encourage private initiative and entrepreneurship.
• Almost all of the most religiously free countries are culturally Christian in background.

Marshall also pointed out that some tyrannies, and their apologists in the West, prioritize "economic rights" and supposed "Asian" and "Islamic" values over religious freedom for individuals.   But non-Western and historically poor countries such as Mongolia, Thailand, Mali and Senegal have achieved relative religious freedom, without sacrificing their culture or their religion.  "It is a moral travesty of the highest order to maintain that because people are hungry or cold it is legitimate to repress their beliefs as well," Marshall riposted.

So who did the best? The top "free countries" were:

And the most repressive places on Earth:

A Matter of Perspective

Scott Adams thinks that the Taiwan government is pretty cool because "Jerry Springer-like fights" regularly break out in the legislature. Where most civilized people would look down their nose at this kind of behavior from our elected servants, Adams sees real potential:

Apparently this sort of thing happens all the time in Taiwan. A legislator objects to a parliamentary procedure and the next thing you know, the Minister of Shellfish is bitch-slapping him. A moment later, the air is filled with shoes, lunchboxes, and microphones. Can you imagine CSPAN’s ratings if we followed that model in America? I don’t think you’d be able to pry yourself away from the TV long enough to take a dump. You’d just sit there all day long with an adult diaper waiting for someone to sucker punch Teddy Kennedy.

I just can't get that picture out of my head. And he's right -- I'd pay for CSPAN to see that kind of stuff!

Adams has a thought on a withdrawal plan from Iraq. Funny stuff.

Odds 'n Ends

One of every seven Brazilian legislators are being investigated on charges ranging from corruption, embezzlement and bodily harm to manslaughter -- and that's only taking the federal courts into account.

Claudio Abramo, of the non-governmental organization Transparencia Brazil, said the numbers also were a worrying indication of corruption at local and regional levels of government.

Gee, ya think?

Villagers are puzzled by the Chinese government's decision to paint a mountain green. Theories range from improving the area's feng shui to the government wishing to appear more "green" -- the barren mountain used to be a rock quarry.

Another Hollywood myth explodes: the recent discovery of an ancient coin reveals that Cleopatra wasn't all that good looking.

Hey ladies, we just can't help it:

When a man fails to help out around the house, his poor performance might be related to a subconscious tendency to resist doing anything his wife wants, a new study suggests.

We've known for a while that our desks and computer keyboards are little germ factories. But now we find that women's work spaces have four times the bacteria than their male counterparts. My childhood best friend was right -- women are gross!

Microsoft released the first security fix for Vista on patch Tuesday. This one is especially ironic for the OS billed as the "most secure ever": the hole allows someone to take complete control of your computer.

Lula Wins, Markets Hold Steady

Incumbent Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has easily won a second term.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, Lula had 61 percent leaving his opponent, Geraldo Alckmin, only 39 percent.

While a Lula victory was expected, the margin of victory comes as a surprise; Lula's administration has been marred by a series of scandals, forcing him to fire his chief of staff and his minister of finance, as well as the president, treasurer and secretary general of the Worker Party, which Lula founded in 1980 and has led ever since.

Alckmin, nicknamed "chuchu" after a flavorless green vegetable because of his boring speaking style, received even fewer votes in the general election than he did in the primary.

Brazilian law makes it mandatory for everyone to vote, making it easy to buy votes.

In a victory address, the burly, bearded Lula promised to take care of the poor people whose support helped carry him to re-election. He said he would govern Brazil for everyone but "The poor will have preference in our government."

Lula has drastically increased spending on social programs without raising taxes. While this has raised millions out of poverty, it has also left the country in dangerous economic condition. If Lula cannot figure out how to stabilize the situation and the economy crashes, tens of millions will end up worse than when they started.

List of Lula scandals:

• 2004: An aide was caught on film soliciting campaign donations from numbers-game kingpins
• 2005: An illegal multimillion-dollar slush fund used to finance Mr. da Silva's 2002 campaign, and to pay off legislators from small political parties to support his government, was discovered.
• 2006: The police apprehended operatives of Mr. da Silva's party as they were about to pay $792,000 in cash for a dossier of dirt on Lula's opponent in the presidential race, Geraldo Alckmin.

Technorati tags: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Geraldo Alckmin, Brazil, Brasil, Brazilian Politics, President of Brazil.

Class Warfare and a Flavorless Politician in Brazil

In a stunning development in Brazilian politics, incumbent president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did not win a clear majority in Sunday's election. With only 48.6 percent of the vote, da Silva will have to face his strongest challenger in a runoff.

Da Silva is a popular figure in Brazil, responsible for instituting a sweeping series of socialist policies that have brought millions out of poverty, stabilized the economy and stopped rampant inflation — all without raising taxes.

But scandal has plagued the administration, costing da Silva his chief of staff, his finance minister and other aides. Scandal struck again in the days leading up to the election when allegations arose that leaders of da Silva's Workers Party tried to buy political dirt on the opposition — $770,000 worth of dirt! As voters tried to decide how to cast their votes, newspapers ran photos of piles of money seized in the Worker Party sting and the names of six party members that face arrest warrants.

Da Silva's main opponent, former Sao Paulo Gov. Geraldo Alckmin, is known for speeches that are so boring they would put a cheerleader with a meth addiction into a coma. While da Silva is affectionately known as "Lula" to his supporters, Alckmin has earned the nickname "chuchu" after a flavorless green vegetable.

Yet Alckmin beat predictions by inspiring 41.6 percent of the voters to side with him and now the over-confident da Silva is facing a fight for the 29 October runoff.

Markets rose on the election news, as investors believe that da Silva and Alckmin will have similar economic policies, even though Alckmin has attacked the sky-high interest rates that have kept inflation under control because they have kept Brazil's economy from growing as strongly as their Latin American neighbors. Further, da Silva's support in the legislative body has been so severely eroded by scandal that he has trouble gaining support for his initiatives.

In fact, Goldman Sachs circulated a letter to its clients stating, "We believe an Alckmin administration could have better political conditions than President Lula to push for ambitious structural reforms." And reform is necessary for this county in which companies often keep incompetent or lazy employees on the payroll because of the high costs associated with firing them.

And in the words of another disgraced president, "It's the economy, Stupid!" This is particularly true of this election.

Da Silva won his first election in 2002 with over 50 percent of the middle-class vote and only a minority of the poor's. This year da Silva has only 35 percent of the middle class.

Working class people are worried about the effect that long-term double-digit inflation has on the economy. Says one worker, "Interest rates are so high that people are starting to lose jobs -- there's no investment because of that." Others are worried that the lack of employment, banking and social security reform will lead to a collapse of the ambitious social programs that will wreck the economy.

But da Silva's support by those who earn less than $340 per month has skyrocketed to almost 60 percent. When it became apparent that this latest scandal was eroding his base, da Silva cranked up the rhetoric, returning to the firebrand working class socialist character designed to appeal to the poor. And there are a lot of poor people in Brazil.

Da Silva's programs, like giving $30 per month to needy families who agree to vaccinate their children and keep them in school, have raised over ten million people out of poverty, yet 18.5 percent (over 35 million) remain. 70 percent of the population has less than eight years of schooling.

Just how many of Brazil's poor will trouble themselves to get to the polls? Voting is mandatory in Brazil.

Links:

• Runoff may be needed in Brazil election
• Alckmin Forces Runoff in Brazil Election
• Lula shy of 50 percent in Brazil election, faces run-off, senior
• Brazil First-Round Poll Boosts Investors
• Support From Brazil's Poor Gives Lula Edge in Election
• Brazil's leader forced into runoff election
• Graphic from AFP via Yahoo! News

7-11 Severs Citgo Ties, Blows PR Opportunity

7-Eleven has announced that it will no longer use Citgo as a gas supplier, severing a 20-year relationship:

7-Eleven officials said Wednesday that the decision was partly motivated by politics.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere.

I'm thinking, "Great! I'll drive miles out of my way just to go to a 7-Eleven."

And I'm thinking that 7-Eleven will become the Gas King of Middle America because there's a whole lot of people that would feel the same way.

But no, 7-Eleven was quick to put a knife through the heart of any perception that a business decision has anything to do with keeping Americans from funding anti-American regimes or protecting Americans from terrorist-friendly, hate-spewing madmen:

The company's decision appeared to represent a broadening of U.S.-Venezuela tensions, which previously had been little more than a war of words between Chavez and the Bush administration, but 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris told Reuters that was not the case.

The decision to drop Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA, was made well before the speech, she said, and based on 7-Eleven's desire to sell its own branded gasoline.

"People are making it out to be more than it is," Chabris said.

Further, 7-Eleven's official position is that Americans should keep funding anti-American socialist regimes:

The 7-Eleven statement said it was not calling for a boycott of Citgo, which employs 4,000 people in the United States, and supplies 14,000 US retailers.

"Americans with no substantive connection to Venezuela would be economically harmed by boycotts," the statement said.

In other words, 7-Eleven believes that a boycott that harms one thousandth of one percent of Americans is a bad thing. But giving millions billions of dollars every year to a nation that harbors Arab terrorists, openly declares support for Syria and cozies up to China is just fine.

I'll not be stopping at a 7-Eleven again. Ever.

What Gore on Steroids Would Be Like

The dispute over the elections in Mexico continues . . . bizarrely.

After the top electoral court of the land confirmed Felipe Calderon's 240,000 vote margin of victory, leftist Lopez Obrador takes his fight to the streets:

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, convinced he won't be awarded the presidency, has vowed to create a parallel leftist government and is urging Mexicans not to recognize the apparent victory of the ruling party's Felipe Calderon. ...

Both scenarios are possibilities as the former Mexico City mayor lays out plans to create his own government to rule from the streets, with the support of thousands who are already occupying protest camps throughout downtown Mexico City.

There is fear that Obrador's "parallel initiative" could lead to violent revolt (violence is never far from Mexican politics), yet the split continues. (And you thought an Iraq civil war will be bad?)

There was even a newspaper ad taken out on Tuesday calling on Obrador to set up his own treasury and said all Mexicans should "should channel federal revenues to the new treasury department."

Hmmm, I wonder who backed that ad and whether Obrador will act on it.

Interestingly, Obrador's hero is 18th century President Benito Juarez, who (in addition to making many wonderful democratic reforms) suspended payment of the national debt, giving Emperor Napoleon III an excuse to invade and install their own governor, Maximilian I. Juarez ran an outlaw government during the occupation and eventually the French were driven out and Maximilian was executed.

"Juarez ran the government from a carriage and restored the republic," said Rosario Ibarra, a human rights activist who frequently shares the stage with Lopez Obrador at his rallies. "We just hope there won't be any need to shoot anyone."

What a nice "human rights" activist, not wanting to shoot someone unnecessarily.

Hat tip to Cold Fury, who quips:

Leftists here, leftists there, they’re all the same: all cut from the same sore-loser crybaby cloth. Maybe we ought to just give them their own island someplace and sit back to watch the rib-tickling fun, as they hiss and scratch each others’ eyes out over a disputed election to see whose turn it is to shin up the tree for more coconuts.

BTW, one of the major reasons the French withdrew from Mexico (other than the fierce armed resistance, of course) was the Monroe Doctrine. In addition to intense diplomatic pressure, United States positioned military forces along the Rio Grande in 1866 and viola, the French troops were removed.

So to all you Mexican flag waving, illegal alien Mechistas marching on our streets and demanding rights, your welcome!

Technorati tags: Felipe Calderon, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexican Politics, Mexican Presidential Election, Mexican Civil War, Mexican History, President Benito Juarez, Monroe Doctrine.

It's Official: Calderon Wins in Mexico

Calderon, a conservative who preached free-market values and financial stability during the campaign, was already reaching out to other parties to build a "unity government." His opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, blamed fraud for his narrow loss in the vote count and called on his supporters to fill Mexico City's main square Saturday in a show of force.

Mexican stocks opened higher and the peso rebounded Thursday on news of Calderon's apparent victory.

Other Ractions:

• Outside the Beltway quips:

  As we know from our own experience, whatever the outcome–even if the guy who “won” on the original count also “wins” on the recount–the losing side will never be satisfied with the election’s legitimacy. Therefore, I offer a modest proposal that should make everybody happy: They should give it to Al Gore.

• Q&O wonders:

  How do you say "Bush-Gore 2000" in Spanish?

• Daimnation! ferrets out the Mexican version of the red/blue electoral map on the Christian Science Monitor website

• Lifelike Pundits also sees the Bush/Gore similarities:

  Remember, Bush won the official count in Florida, and Al Gore sued to have hand recounts in heavy Democrat districts and to have all overseas ballots thrown out. Expect something similar here.

• And as expected, Mark in Mexico has been following this story closely and is the best source of factual information:

  These results will be passed within the IFE to the magistrates' tribunal, called the Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación (TEPJF) where they will be reviewed for legality. The TEPJF will also adjudicate all the complaints and charges and counter-charges, so the outcome is still somewhat in doubt. AMLO has been demanding a full recount which the TEPJF can allow, but only under the most strict of circumstances. AMLO and the PRD have, so far, been demanding that the election laws be broken. I doubt that the TEPJF will permit this. The IFE has been quite right in asserting that if it allowed the sealed ballot packages to be opened, except as prescribed by law, the entire election could be annulled.

  Technorati Tags: Felipe Calderon, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico, Mexican Politics, Mexican Presidential Race, Democrat Tactics in Mexico.

  Posted by AlphaPatriot at 5:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Quagmire in Sao Paulo

My daughter-in-law (whom I refer to as "AlphaDaughter") was born and raised in São Paulo, so when I read about the war that gangs were waging on police I called her. Having been busy with selling their home and purchasing a new one, she had missed this particular bit of news (easy to do with our MSM being so provincial) and immediately called her parents to get the scoop.

I tell you this so you will know how good my sources are for this post, because I have trouble believing some of it myself. Bizarre hardly describes this story.

Background:

First, in order to understand the big picture, some information beginning with this factoid: in Brasil, most criminals are allowed to go home to be with their families on all major holidays — Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, and so on.

Let me repeat that. Criminals serving lengthy jail sentences in Brasil are allowed to go home for Mother's Day. And Father's Day, of course. So maybe they aren't "in jail" so much as "being grounded".

Not all criminals, of course, just the "good criminals", AlphaDaughter assures me, although she does not know what constitutes the distinction. Hopefully murderers and rapists are kept in jail. Perhaps aggravated assault. Who knows. Maybe they only let out the shoplifters. Still, the concept is rather extraordinary.

Second factoid: São Paulo is the largest city in South America and one of the largest in the world, with an estimated metropolitan area population of 18 to 20 million (depending on the method used), which is about the size of New York City.

Third factoid: Brasil has some of the most draconian gun control laws in the world. As a result of the Disarmament Statute of 2003, it is virtually impossible for a citizen to purchase a gun and those that are purchased must be registered. Citizens are prohibited from carrying guns in public, failure to register a weapon is punishable by up to four years in prison, gun buyers must undergo a background check and the legal age for owning a weapon was raised from 21 to 25. As a result of the statue, gun sales fell dramatically from 800,000 in 2003 to just 56,000 in 2004 (and only 7,000 of these to private citizens — out of a population of 188 million.).

Fourth factoid: Brasil ranks fourth in the world for wealth inequality. 58 million Brasilians live on less than a dollar a day and crime is rampant, particularly in the tenaments of large cities like São Paulo. The police force is corrupt and brutal, with police death squads allegedly executing hundreds, if not thousands, of people every year.

Today's Urban War in Brasil:

The war taking place in the streets of São Paulo was initiated by Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, aka Marcola, leader of the powerful gang First Command of the Capital (PCC), pictured at right.

Last week, authorities transferred Marcola, along with several hundred other inmates (seven of whom were also part of PCC's leadership) to a remote maximum-security prison over 400 miles away from São Paulo. This was a deliberate effort to break up the gangs in prisons and to isolate the most dangerous drug lords and gang leaders. Predictably, Marcola and his homies didn't like that.

Gang members that were released for Mother's Day as well as gangsters on the streets were instructed to retaliate, to literally wage a war on the police force. And they did, in a wave of violence that has left 133 people dead. Police stations were attacked, banks were sprayed with gunfire, and buses were hijacked and burned. Although the attacks were centered in the city of São Paulo, a violence occurred throughout São Paulo State. Pictured at left is a police station in Fransisco Morato, 31 miles northeast of São Paulo, which was destroyed by a bomb.

Over the past five days:

• More than 250 separate attacks on "symbols of government authority" have been reported, primarily on police stations, patrol cars, banks and buses.
• 40 police officers were killed.
• 4 innocent bystanders were killed.
• 93 suspected gang members were killed.
• 65 buses were hijacked and burned.
• At least 15 bank branches were hit by gunfire.
• "Gang-initiated uprisings" occurred in 73 prisons late Monday, in which over 200 hostages (mostly guards) were taken and at least 8 guards were killed (these 8 deaths are included in the total of 40 police officers killed).
• An additional 18 bodies were found when authorities retook control of the prisons, thought to be the result of prisoners "settling scores" with other inmates.

If this were Iraq, the MSM would be all over it.

On Sunday (the third day of the urban war), AlphaDaughter's parents (who live in a gated community in one of the more affluent portions of the city) heard sirens all day. I mean all day! It must have been terrifying.

On Monday the city was a virtual ghost town. Schools and universities closed, buses and subways stopped service, businesses shut down, roads usually clogged with traffic were clear. Cell service, which was initially overwhelmed by calls from worried residents, was shut down in an attempt to disrupt gang communications.

The federal government offered 4,000 troops to São Paulo on Monday, but the governor refused, saying that the violence was subsiding and the situation was under control. This understandably angered some of the terrified citizenry, but there is a presidential election this fall and politics is very much in play. After these attacks, gang violence is certain to be a central theme in the campaigns. São Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab has already hired 120 police officers this month and promised another 500 by the end of the year, a 10½ percent increase.

On Tuesday some bus service was restored — under the watchful eyes of armed police escorts. Today (Wednesday), the violence has quelled with only scattered outbreaks and the city is returning to normal.

Ending the Violence:

In addition to the strong police reaction (heavily armed checkpoints, frisking of citizens on the streets, blocking off streets in front of police stations, armed patrols hunting gang members by night, etc.), AlphaDaughter reports that some of the released criminals were due to return to their prison cells on Monday, more on Tuesday, and the really "good criminals" weren't due back until Wednesday. Presumably, the latter were not involved in murdering police officers.

Local media reported that government officials met with PCC leader Marcola and negotiated a settlement, but the government strongly denied it. However:

The head of the prison system, Nagashi Furukawa, told reporters Tuesday that he had allowed a lawyer to visit Marcola on Sunday and report that the gang leader had not been harmed.

In return the criminals on the street "sought to stop what they were doing," he said.

This is not the first time that the PCC has waged this kind of war. Since forming in the prison system in the 1990s the PCC has initiated at least 20 prison riots and in November 2003, launched attacks on security forces that left 11 officers and 7 gangsters dead.

Victim Disarmament:

As a dues-paying member of the GOA, I would be remiss if I did not mention that gang members were attacking and killing armed policemen. But how? Brasil has some of the most draconian gun control laws in the world! Yet gang members were armed with machine guns and hand grenades, as well as more conventional handguns, shotguns and Molotov cocktails.

200 people marched silently through a cemetery on Monday at the funeral of two of the fallen police officers:

Ten fire trucks and police forces guarded the cemetery, to prevent gang members from targeting family members.

``The concern is that the bandits attack the cemetery and we get trapped here, with our families and the dead,'' said Sylvia, 46, who attended the service for one of the fallen police officers and declined to give her surname. ``We all feel defenseless.''

Hmmm, how's that whole "population disarmament" thing working out for y'all?

Not so Humorous Notes:

From the "News from the Looney Left" department:

Of the 71 gang members killed, 33 were shot dead on Monday night and Tuesday morning as special police units hunted them down in slums and working-class districts of the city.

Nine gangsters were reported wounded, raising human rights groups' concerns that police operate a shoot-to-kill policy.

From the "why lawyers should be the first to be put up against the wall and shot" file, comes this:

A lawyer for accused PCC members, Anselmo Neves Maia, said the actions were a "natural reaction" to conditions in the overcrowded prisons, he said.

From the "depends on your point of view" file:

"The mood of terror we have had in the past few days, that civil-war like situation, cannot justify giving the police a licence to kill," said Ariel de Castro Alves, coordinator of the National Movement for Human Rights.

Fernanda Lopes, a 19-year-old college student majoring in public relations, conceded that innocent people would probably die but said there's no other way to take strong action against the PCC ...

"They all need to die," she said. "It may not be the best solution, but it's the only solution."

Update: Rumors are flying around Brasil concerning the São Paulo Governor's decision to refuse military troops from the federal government. The story is that he was paid off by the drug cartels that called for the violence in the first place.

This seems reasonable when one looks at the long history of political corruption in the country.

Sources:

• AlphaDaughter
• cnews: Scattered violence continues in Brazil as police strike back at gangs
• Scripps Howard: The Brazilian connection
• AFP: Sao Paulo gang violence toll hits 133 dead
• Reuters: Gangster attacks ease in tense Brazil city
• The Age: 81 die in gang attacks
• Bloomberg: Brazil Companies Send Staff Home Early Amid Attacks
• Bloomberg: Brazil Shops, Buses Cut Service on Sao Paulo Attacks
• Herald Sun: Sao Paulo toll rises to 81
• Detroit Free Press: Gang war with cops shakes Brazilian city
• Star Telegram: Brazilian police strike back at gangs
• MSNBC: Police strike back at Brazilian gangs
• OneNews: Brazilian gangsters step up violence
• Tiscali.news: Sao Paulo gang violence kills 81 in 4 days
• About.com: Brazil Implements Strict Gun Control Measures
• The Acronym Intitute: Disarmament Diplomacy

Technorati Tags: Brasil, Brazil, Sao Paulo, Gang Violence, Drug Lords, Second Amendment, Citizen Disarmament, Disarmament Statute of 2003, PCC, First Command of the Capital.

Most of World is Corrupt

By international standards, 72 of 158 nations monitored by Transparency International and a German-based think tank at the University of Passau are deemed corrupt. They range from the tiny military dictatorship of Myanmar to some of the world's largest countries--Russia and Indonesia. ...

Africa is clearly the most seriously corrupt region, since nine of the 16 most seriously corrupt nations are on that continent, with Chad occupying the No. 1 spot. In 2002, the African Union estimated that the continent was losing $150 billion a year to corruption, and things haven't improved much since. Two of the 16 members of the current most-corrupt list are former Soviet republics, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, while three are in Asia and two are in Latin America.

Actually, Transparency International thinks it is even more serious:

More than two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed in Transparency International’s 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scored less than 5 out of a clean score of 10, indicating serious levels of corruption in a majority of the countries surveyed. ...

“Corruption is a major cause of poverty as well as a barrier to overcoming it,” said Transparency International Chairman Peter Eigen. “The two scourges feed off each other, locking their populations in a cycle of misery. Corruption must be vigorously addressed if aid is to make a real difference in freeing people from poverty.”

Technorati Tags: Corruption, Poverty, War on Poverty.

Buycott Danish Goods

Of course, this is a rather insignificant amount when considering that 2004 exports totaled $73 billion. But wouldn't it be great if western shoppers deliberately sought out Danish goods? We would more than make up that measly million a day and in the end Denmark would come out ahead, thus striking a ringing blow for freedom of expression.

To this end a site has been set up to aid the Western shopper: Buy Danish Campaign.

HT to Deja Vu, organizer of the buycott.

Technorati Tags: Denmark, Muslim Boycott, Buycott, Mohammed Cartoons.

Don't Move to Norway

The assignments were made based on the prices of food, alcohol and tobacco, clothing, electrical goods, driving and restaurant meals. Below is the entire list:

Insanity on the rise in Norway

Norway's Directorate of Immigration (UDI) reports that despite being illegal, there are an increasing number of men with multiple wives in Norway.

The reason is married men travel to countries where polygamy is legal and then add a wife, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports.

French Violence Spreads — to Australia

Let's keep telling ourselves that this is purely an economics problem.

Italian PM Imitates the French

Of course, E-nough! has evidence otherwise.

Apropos Insanity

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez sets a new long-distance record in his travels away from reality when he says that Holloween is part of the culture of terrorism of the United States. Of course, this may be related to the jack-o'-lanterns recently found the capital city of Caracas "bearing anti-government messages and what appeared to be bomb-like fuses."

In other Holloween news, a public suicide went unnoticed when a woman hung herself and those passing by thought the body was a Holloween decoration:

The 42-year-old woman used rope to hang herself across the street from some homes on a moderately busy road late Tuesday or early Wednesday, state police said.

The body, suspended about 15 feet above the ground, could be easily seen from passing vehicles.

Why Brazil's Gun Ban Failed

I would argue it was a resounding condemnation of the failure of the Brazilian state to make true on the primary claim of any government -- i.e. that it will protect the people. The vote was essentially an indictment of the Brazilian authorities -- at all levels -- as the guarantors of social order. Brazilians massively supported the argument put forward by the spokespersons for the "no" side that banning guns would deprive the population of protection against bandits because the police, that quintessential government institution, is simply not to be trusted. For too long the Brazilian government has done all sorts of things it should have left to private initiative -- to the detriment of its basic functions. What has the result been? Brazilians' everyday-life experience of their government spells meddlesome bureaucracy, abusive corruption, and the crowding out of opportunity -- and no effective protection against predation.

Lucky Brits

The new forces' sweetheart is flying out to Basra to perform for the 8,000 British troops based in the southern city.

And the former model and Welsh Choirgirl of the Year promised she'd be wearing a glamorous frock. ...

"I said then I would like to visit troops in Iraq and was absolutely delighted when the soldiers themselves said they'd like me to go out there."

Brazilian Gun Ban Fails

"We didn't lose because Brazilians like guns. We lost because people don't have confidence in the government or the police," said Denis Mizne of anti-violence group Sou da Paz.

Many voters had expressed concern before the vote that a ban would leave them defenceless against heavily armed criminals. Public confidence is low in a police force widely seen as inefficient, abusive and corrupt. ...

The ban failed in all 26 states and the federal district of Brasilia. Rural areas rejected it overwhelmingly.

"This region is very isolated. If you don't have a gun here you don't have protection," said Igor Dedea, a logger in the rainforest state of Para.

Choosing Your Boycotts

The economy of the single-currency eurozone is five times larger than China's and per capita income is more than 20 times higher. U.S. exports to the larger European Union (EU) region, at $193 billion in 2004, were more than five times greater than to China but have grown a measly 3 percent since 2000. Imports from the European Union last year, $321 billion, were more than 60 percent higher than from China. U.S. foreign direct investment into Europe last year was $97 billion compared to just $4.2 billion into China. By virtually any measure, Western Europe is the most important trading partner, investment partner and strategic partner in the world for the United States. And the European economy is floundering.

BTW, Donald Rumsfeld has boycotted China for the last four years as well.

Update: American Thinker outlines Bill Clinton's abetting of the Chinese military program:

China is fighting a new Cold War, borne up by trade surplus dollars, which it fully intends to win. This time however, the administration of President Bill Clinton played the same role as did the Rosenbergs in the last one. Just as the infamous couple delivered critical nuclear technology to the Soviets in the late 1940’s, the Clintons allowed the sale of critical missile technology to the Communist Chinese in return for campaign contributions, the dubious nature of which vastly eclipses any accusation against Delay from even his most wild-eyed critics.

Counting on the technical ignorance of the X-Box generation, Clinton dismissed the strategic technology transfers as merely benefiting “commercial satellite technology.” But as any marginally savvy space enthusiast knows, the technology required to orbit a satellite is identical to that necessary to hurl a Chinese nuclear warhead into the American heartland.

Brazilian Gun Ban to be Defeated?

The government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, rights groups and the Roman Catholic Church are all backing the measure. But the public has swung dramatically against the proposal in recent weeks.

A Datafolha poll of 2,086 people published Saturday by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said 57 per cent of the public would vote against the measure and only 43 per cent would support it. An Ibope poll said 51 per cent would vote against it and only 41 per cent would back it.

Before the official campaign started on October 1, other polls had shown up to 76 per cent of the public in favour.

Update: So much for my prognostication abilities. I was wrong; the ban was defeated.

Quote of the Day

I do not want to name any catastrophes where you can see what happens if organised state action is absent. I could name countries, but the position I still hold forbids it, but everyone knows I mean America.
       — Outgoing German Chancellor and congenital America-basher Gerhard Schroeder

John Howard Rocks

Australia will always reserve the right to act without United Nations approval if it sees the need for another "coalition of the willing" action such as the invasion of Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard says. ...

Mr Howard cited the case of Kosovo when foreign forces intervened to stop ethnic cleansing in Serbia without a UN Security Council resolution authorising the action.

"Quite plainly, the UN, because of its institutional structure, wasn't going to be able to authorise certain things being done which clearly were required to be done," he said.

"I'm not anti-United Nations, I'm just anti a belief that only the United Nations can deal with issues, because plainly there are circumstances where it can't because of its structure and because of the need to have a political consensus."

Anniversary of Freedom in Poland

Today, 25 years later, those who created the organization admit they did not dare to dream of changing the system, believing it was then impossible. They even refrained from postulating free parliamentary elections. And yet, it was Solidarity that laid the foundation for the avalanche of changes in Europe.

On the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement, Poles celebrate in a free country. But, it is a place still ruled by some of those who created communism in Poland and where the rulers often treat the country as a private farm the way the Communist nomenklatura did. And it is still a place where the fundamental laws of economics are ignored and the people suffer from poverty. But it is not at all the same Poland as in 1980. Today we can speak openly and not risk being spied on, imprisoned, tortured or even killed.

Ironically, however, the overall opinion about the achievements of Solidarity in Poland is negative. According to a recent study by the Polish daily "Rzeczpospolita" only 24% of people think their life changed for better thanks to Solidarity, 31% think the opposite and 45% do not see any changes at all! Paradoxically, if the system had not changed such criticisms would not be uttered for fear of severe punishment.

America: Slow to War

Europeans visiting America are instantly struck by the reverence with which Americans treat their military. Buzzcuts are as familiar a sight on US streets as pony tails on European boulevards. The nation's great military memorials are not, as in Europe, principally reminders of the pity of war, but celebrations too, of the glories of human sacrifice in a noble cause.

When George Bush said in his prime-time address to the nation this week, in front of an audience of red- bereted soldiers, "There is no higher calling than service in our armed forces", it struck many Europeans as confirmation of America's distasteful inversion of priorities. No higher calling? What about nurses and doctors? But for Americans it was an affirmation of the simple truth that to fight and if necessary, to die for one's country is the noblest vocation imaginable.

Which Country Keeps Financial Promises?

[Note: The EU, while not a member, also made some commitments and tied with the U.S. and Canada by keeping 72% of them.]

What is surprising is that these are actually fairly high scores, beaten only by the results of the 2000 G8 summit held in Okinawa [so why is Russia allowed to come to thesee summits?].

The high scores reflect well on President Bush, who hosted the Sea Island meeting, Kirton said.

"George Bush is a really very good multilateralist," Kirton said in a telephone interview from Glasgow, Scotland. "Not only did he host a very successful Sea Island summit but continues to be a very good multilateralist, having America bear its fair share of the burden or more and actually putting those commitments into effect."

The high level of compliance appears to get beyond earlier divisions over the Iraq war, he said.

"This shows that everybody has bought into what they collectively did at Sea Island and they're pretty much all pulling their weight in being pretty faithful to fulfilling the promises they've made," Kirton said.

Torturer gets 90 Hours Community Service

An Oslo man in his 20s received 120 days in prison for the crime and last week a 30-year-old man from Akershus County was sentenced to 90 hours of community service for his role in the torture session.

Factors in Forming Pro-American Opinions

After all, even the most damning polls always show that some percentage of even the most anti-American countries remains pro-American. According to the new poll, some 43 percent of the French, 41 percent of Germans, 42 percent of Chinese and 42 percent of Lebanese say they like us. Maybe it's time to ask: Who are they?

Looking around the world, it is clear there are classes of people who might also be called aspirational. They are upwardly mobile, or would like to be. They tend to be pro-American, too.

Fox Not Racist; All Mexicans Are

Mexico unveiled a new line of postal stamps today depicting a caricature of a black boy that is popular in a Mexican comic book:

The series of five stamps released Wednesday depicts a hapless boy drawn with exaggerated features, thick lips and wide-open eyes. His appearance, speech and mannerisms are the subject of kidding by white characters in the comic book, which started in the 1940s and is still published in Mexico.

Activists criticized the stamps as offensive, though officials denied it. ...

"This is a traditional character that reflects part of Mexico's culture," Caballero said. "His mischievous nature is part of that character."

Update, 1 July: Unsurprsingly, Vicente Fox came out in support of the stamp series:

President Vicente Fox said Friday that U.S. activists who have condemned a new Mexican postage stamp as racist should read the beloved comic book on which it is based before they make judgments. ...

The stamp is recognition of "character very loved in Mexico and that has absolutely nothing discriminatory about it," said Fox, adding that he himself has been fond of the comic book since childhood.

Brazil Chooses Failed Path

First, some facts:

• Brazil has draconian gun control laws that date to the last century.
• By 2000, Brazil's gun-related murder rate was nearly four times that of the United States.
• In 2004, President Lula da Silva signed even more-restrictive laws.
• Also in 2004, the government engaged in a massive (and expensive) buy-back program that netted over 80,000 guns.

In response, the government of Brazil now wants to completely ban the sale of guns. Oh, and by the way:

Over the past year, more than 300,000 weapons have been handed into the police in return for cash as part of a pioneering disarmament scheme.

It looks like I'll have to turn my four-part series addressing the banning of guns into a five-parter. (The first post, Crime in Britain Part 1: Dunblane, Gun Laws and Violence, was made earlier today.)

On a totally unrelated note, AlphaPatriot is the top hit when searching Yahoo for "Brazil gun draconian". Now if I could only turn that into vast amounts of money . . .

Another Day of Protests for Freedom

Thousands of demonstrators chanting "Freedom" and carrying portraits of President Bush marched across Azerbaijan's capital Saturday, demanding the resignation of the government and free parliamentary elections — in the biggest protest in years. ...

About 200 police in full riot gear stood guard around a central square where protesters gathered. Brief clashes erupted when demonstrators tried to push police away from the square and officers in riot gear fought back with truncheons. Last month, police beat back protesters who tried to hold a banned rally in Baku and detained dozens.

Azerbaijan’s youth groups are poised to play a central role in the fast-approaching parliamentary election campaign. Opposition leaders believe the participation of young activists in get-out-the-vote efforts could sway the election’s outcome. The government seems to share this view, underscored by the fact that arrests of pro-opposition youth activists have become routine in recent months. At the same time, authorities are taking steps of their own to court support from Azerbaijani young people.

But then again, there's the source to consider:

In his May 10 speech in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Bush suggested that Georgia’s Rose Revolution in 2003 heralded an era of democracy across the Caucasus. "We are living in historic times when freedom is advancing, from the Black Sea to the Caspian, and to the Persian Gulf and beyond," Bush said. "Now, across the Caucasus, in Central Asia and the broader Middle East, we see the same desire for liberty burning in the hearts of young people. They are demanding their freedom -- and they will have it."

In Azerbaijan, the president’s speech resonated broadly, helping to energize opposition political supporters. In an interview shortly after Bush’s visit to Georgia, Khagani Huseynli, director of the Azerbaijani Center for Strategic Research, argued that US president’s remarks were a signal to the Azerbaijani government that free and fair elections must be held this fall. Accordingly, opposition leaders are taking action designed to ensure Bush’s message is heard by President Ilham Aliyev’s administration in Baku. On June 4, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Baku to call for a cleanly contested poll. As they marched, many protestors carried framed photos of Bush.

Italians to Abandon the Euro?

Danish Doorman is Dangerous Profession

Doormen working in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, are often armed with guns or clubs so as to be able to defend themselves against violent immigrant gangs, the owner of a private security company told Danish media this morning.

According to the security company manager, it is more dangerous than ever before to be a doorman.

There is more violence than ever before and some immigrant gangs have even been known to seek out doormen at their private homes.

Egypt Buys Votes with Viagra

The government is attempting to ensure acceptance of a constitutional amendment that allows more than one candidate to run for president, but with restrictions.

The paper described the mood among the television station's employees as "angry following strict instructions ... to be present in front of the television building in a demonstration to support Mubarak." ...

The paper indicated the government was bribing people to vote in favor of the amendment, saying "the price of each vote costs between 30 pounds ($6) and a pill of Viagra."

"To act like you can just go from here to there overnight is naive, for one thing. And especially I don't want Americans trying to tell people how you're going to go from here to here in no time," she said, gesturing a great distance with her hands. "Because we know that that's not easy and we know that it's - in many cases - not even possible."

It seems that Mrs Bush knows a lot more than chocolate pudding and children books. Today, the first lady of the US endorsed president Mubarak's decision to ammend the Egyptian constitution citing that reform should come slowly. Her statement infuriated Egypt's opposition with a muslim brotherhood spokesman saying that "Mrs. Bush statement does not represent the US administration". Ummmmm, a muslim brotherhood member is defending the US administration, that's pretty interesting!

How Can This Not be Racist?

There's no doubt that Mexican men and women — full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work — are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.

Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said Mexican and foreign news media have misinterpreted the remark as a racial slur. He said the president was speaking in defense of Mexican migrants as they come under attack by the new U.S. immigration measures that include a wall along the U.S.-California border.

Update: Fox backtracked and now "regrets" his remark:

"The president regretted any hurt feelings his statements may have caused," the Mexican government said. "He expressed the great respect he and his administration have for the African-American community in the United States."

Brit Election Update

OK, I have no idea what's going on - Lib Dems lose Newbury on a 6% swing to the Tories, but hold Cheadle (the most marginal LD seat) on a 4% swing away from the Conservatives. Now, Labour hold Edgbaston with the Tories making almost no gain against a 6% drop in Gisela Stuart's vote.

I have no idea what's going on as Labour have now held Ynys Mon (Anglesey) from Plaid, so if anyone has a clue, please say so.

The Lib Dems continue their Scottish progress - up across a range of seats and winning E Dumbarton, which suggests they will take Edinburgh S too. The Tories came close in N Perths - up 5%, but down in next door Angus. Sky have Labour on a majority of 80, which is what we predicted going in.

Okay, the Tories are gaining big from Labour and the Lib Dems in the South. The Lib Dems are gaining big from Labour in the North, but not enough to win many seats.

Britain: First Results In, Labour Wins but Exit Polls Not Encouraging

This trend is reflected across the country in exit polls that predict a Labour majority of only 66 seats in the 646-seat parliament, down from 161. If things are as bad as they appear for Labour, Blair may be forced to step down early in favor of his Treasury chief, Gordon Brown.

For the best in election liveblogging, may I recommend The Edge of England's Sword and Gordon Brown PM, although there are some pretty good posts in the comments section of this post at Harry's Place.

Around the World in Six Stories

1. It is estimated that Pakistan exports over 200 million CDs and DVDs of pirated material every year. But the RIAA is on the case, vigorously prosecuting 10-year-old American girls for downloading a few songs to her computer.

2. Now this is very definition of determination:

   Franklin E. Carver, 67, of the 2700 block of Greenwood Lane, shot himself five times - three times in the head and twice in the chest - inside his home Wednesday, but none of the shots was immediately fatal, authorities said. Carver then got into his customized van and drove 10 minutes to the Clark Bridge, where he parked in the bicycle lane and jumped off the south side of the bridge as a frantic motorist called 911 from a cell phone.

   Just imagine if we'd had gun laws. That would've stopped him from killing himself. Oh wait . . . scratch that.

3. The Canadian justice system at work: they subpoenaed a two-year-old:

   “She talks about aliens, ponies and dinosaurs,” the mother said later. “You can’t ask her questions about things. It won’t make sense.”

4. A law passed the Kenyan Parliament that could lead to the castration of rapists. Among the items in this rather humorous (although it isn't meant to be) article:
   • Rapists are unsalvagable: "...any attempted rehabilitation of convicted offenders amounted to waste of public funds."
   • It's God's will: "The Bible says if any part of your body causes you to sin, it should be removed. I want to support that this part of our body can be removed in hospitals."
   • Not PC: Castration could be viewed as "discriminatory against men". After all, "If it is important to cut the male organ that offends sexually, what do we do with an offending woman part?" [Do they really think this could be a problem?]
   • Castration's too good for 'em: At least one legislator suggested an automatic death penalty because rapists are "beyond rehabilitation".
   • One strike and you're out: Another legislator said sexual offenders should be shown no leniency whether they were first-timers or repeat offenders.
   • It's not their fault: "Mwatate MP Marsden Madoka’s suggestion that women’s scant dressing was partly responsible for the spiraling rape figures was hotly contested, with some women MPs likening the claim to a robber who claims seeing a bank motivated him to rob it."

5. The highest administrative body in France, the Council of State, has upheld the French government's decision to strike one paid holiday from the calendar. Workers will have to go to their jobs on the Monday after Pentecost, an action that should reap 2 billion euros per year. The money is intended to support the sagging health care system.

6. Here at home, Jennifer Lopez wants to be president:

   "I'm a total powerhouse. If you ask me, I'd like to become the first female president -- that would be really cool," J.Lo told German celebrity glossy Bravo in an issue to be published Wednesday.

   "The first thing I would do is redecorate the White House -- it doesn't look very cozy."

   It's important to have a president that has their priorities straight.

Germany Rejects Democracy

The Federal Constitutional Court, Germany's highest court, has rejected a legal plea for a popular vote on the EU constitution Thursday. The decision could clear the way for ratification of the charter in May.

But Schröder isn't willing to take the chance on letting the people vote. The constitution must be accepted by all 25 member states to become law.

Japan and U.S. Alike in Dislike

Sounds rather like the U.S. relationship with Mexico and Canada. Well, French Canada anyway.

Oh wait, the feeling is mutual:

Japanese also have a chilly view of their neighbors, the poll showed. Twenty-two percent said they disliked South Korea, compared with 15 percent who liked the nation. For China, 28 percent of Japanese surveyed chose ``dislike,'' almost three times the 10 percent who chose ``like.''

Italy's PM Berlusconi Resigns

Because of this, and because four minor cabinet members (from the Union of Christian Democrats party) resigned last week and others are threatening to follow suit, Berlusconi has tendered his resignation:

Under Italy's constitution, a prime minister is obliged to step down if he makes major cabinet changes. He will now try to rebuild his support through a ministerial shuffle and by doling out patronage in Italian state industries and perhaps government-run television.

Berlusconi has been in power for four years; general elections are scheduled for next spring. On Thursday and Friday, Ciampi will consult with political leaders before deciding whether to give Berlusconi a chance to reconstitute his cabinet. In the meantime, Berlusconi will stay in office as a caretaker.

In a speech to the Italian Senate, Berlusconi said:

Government partners "have all demanded a new government, to be based on the same coalition," Berlusconi said. "I accept this challenge."

Then there's this bit of analysis from the NYTimes:

This time, some analysts suggest, the crisis was prompted by his coalition parties seeking greater exposure as Mr. Berlusconi's uncontested leadership of the governing coalition begins to crack.

"There was no reason for this crisis, it was only to give visibility to his allies," said Piero Ostellino, a political editorialist for Corriere della Sera, who suggested that the Union of Christian Democrats, the centrist party that pulled four ministers last Friday, was trying to boost its standing with voters as it considered merging with other centrist forces to create a new party that would run in the 2006 elections.

"It's possible they're considering the reconstitution of a Christian Democratic party," he said.

Ouch! Mass Political Circumcision

The infant son of King Mohammed VI was circumcised Thursday, and thousands of Moroccans also went through the procedure in a massive show of solidarity for the prince, a news agency reported.

So much hoopla for such a tiny bit of skin.

Pope's Funeral a Bonding Event

William Wallace's Sword in NY

The double-handed weapon will form the centrepiece of an exhibition in New York during the city's annual Tartan Day celebrations, which begin today.

The sword, which is 5ft 4in long and weighs 6lb, was used by the Scots patriot in his famous victory over Edward I at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

It was kept at Dumbarton Castle for 600 years after his execution in 1305, and was later moved to the Wallace Monument at Stirling, where it overlooks the scene of the battle.

Blogging Torries

Seems to be hosted on Typepad and they even have an RSS feed.

Egypt's Surging Economy

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Egypt's stock market has risen 32% this year, the fastest rate among significant emerging markets, and this after gains of 81% and 119% over the past two years. Some of the credit must go to Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif, whose team has cut corporate taxes, income taxes (by half) and custom tariffs (by almost half).

That sounds remarkably similar to the supply side economic program that is proving to be so successful in the U.S. For comparison's sake, let's take a quick tour. In 2004 the:

• US economy grew by 4.4%
• Egyptian economy grew by 4.3%
• French economy grew by 2.3%
• German economy grew by 1.7% (the strongest in four years, yet the most recent unemployment figures show 12.6%, the highest since the 1930s!)

Demonstrations Around the World

Hat tip to Citizen Smash.

Spiegel Compares Bush to Reagan

Germany loves to criticize US President George W. Bush's Middle East policies -- just like Germany loved to criticize former President Ronald Reagan. But Reagan, when he demanded that Gorbachev remove the Berlin Wall, turned out to be right. Could history repeat itself?...

But history has shown that it wasn't Reagan who was the dreamer as he voiced his demand. Rather, it was German politicians who were lacking in imagination -- a group who in 1987 couldn't imagine that there might be an alternative to a divided Germany. Those who spoke of reunification were labelled as nationalists and the entire German left was completely uninterested in a unified Germany. ...

Even German conservatives find the idea that Arabic countries could transform themselves into enlightened democracies somewhat absurd.

This, in fact, is likely the largest point of disagreement between Europe and the United States -- and one that a President John Kerry likely would not have made smaller: Europeans today -- just like the Europeans of 1987 -- cannot imagine that the world might change. Maybe we don't want the world to change, because change can, of course, be dangerous. But in a country of immigrants like the United States, one actually pushes for change. In Mainz today, the stagnant Europeans came face to face with the dynamic Americans. We Europeans always want to have the world from yesterday, whereas the Americans strive for the world of tomorrow. ...

It was difficult not to cringe during Reagan's speech in 1987. He didn't leave a single Berlin cliché out of his script. At the end of it, most experts agreed that his demand for the removal of the Wall was inopportune, utopian and crazy.

Yet three years later, East Germany had disappeared from the map. ...

When the voter turnout in Iraq recently exceeded that of many Western nations, the chorus of critique from Iraq alarmists was, at least for a couple of days, quieted. Just as quiet as the chorus of Germany experts on the night of Nov. 9, 1989 when the Wall fell.

Just a thought for Old Europe to chew on: Bush might be right, just like Reagan was then.

Japan's Kids Clueless, Too

A recent survey revealed that about 40 percent of university students in Japan cannot find Iraq (news - web sites) on the map, despite a historic mission by Japanese troops in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern country.

French 48-hour Week

Other than allowing people to work for up to 48 hours in a week - the EU approved maximum - the proposal also relaxes the overtime limit from 180 hours per year to 220.

Zimbabwean Athlete: Man or Woman

However, the athlete claims he was born with both male and female genitals. He told a Kwekwe court that his parents had consulted a traditional healer in the eastern district of Chipinge and the healer had provided herbs which made him female.

However because his parents had only paid half the fee due to the healer, his male genitalia had reappeared. In fact, he said, on the day that he appeared in court he had been due to pay the settlement amount and if he had been able to do this, his male genitalia would have gone away again. Court officials said they were not sure whether to remand the athlete in male or female cells

Former Soviet Citizens Clamor for Democracy

Working in France . . . or Not

Crime Out of Control in the UK

...people are more likely to be mugged, burgled, robbed or assaulted here than in America, Germany, Russia, South Africa or any other of the world's 20 largest nations. Only the Dominican Republic, New Zealand and Finland have higher crime rates than England and Wales.

In a survey they own up to offences ranging from burglary and selling hard drugs to assault and theft.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke called the findings "appalling" and pledged to step up the fight against crime.

All violent crime was up six per cent, but when broken down, some categories were up even more. The most serious violent crimes, which include those ranging from grievous bodily harm to murder, were up three per cent, but other violent offences in which the victim was injured, generally meaning actual bodily-harm, was up 12 per cent....

Car crime fell by 17 per cent, robbery by 18 per cent and domestic burglary by 22 per cent during the same period, according to police figures.

There was mixed news on gun crime. Nationwide, police recorded a five per cent rise in incidents, driven by a worrying 48 per cent leap in the use of imitation weapons to commit crimes.

The Face of Anti-Islamic Extremism

Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, arguably the most beautiful member of the Dutch Parliament, has been in hiding, fearing that radical Muslims would slaughter her just as brutally as her friend, filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

Now Hirsi Ali has surfaced from her safe haven, reportedly a military base in the United States, to kick off a passionate campaign against Islamic extremism. ...

Having worked in women's shelters, she exposed the sexual abuse, incest, violence, frequent suicides of young girls and forced abortions in Muslim families. According to Hirsi Ali -- who as a 6-year old girl in Somalia suffered circumcision, an excruciatingly painful experience -- 60 percent of all abortions in the Netherlands are performed on Muslim women.

Hence, the anonymous letter discovered on van Gogh's body never even mentioned him but called Hirsi Ali a "soldier of evil doing the work of the enemies of Islam." Such would be her punishment that she would be well advised to wish for death.

In fact, not van Gogh but Hirsi Ali seems to have been the assassin's real target, according to Dutch police sources....

In 1992, Hirsi Ali, who is now protected by bodyguards around the clock, fled to the Netherlands via Germany to escape an arranged marriage with a cousin in Canada. As a cleaning woman and later a social worker in Amsterdam, she openly broke with her Muslim faith, one reason why her life is even more in danger than that of other critics of Islam....

But this is also a reason why "all eyes are on Hirsi Ali," Schirrmacher explains. There is among Europe's Islam watchers a general perception that Muslim women represent the militants' Achilles Heel.

Women make up the majority of the Muslim converts to Christianity in Europe, priests and pastors report. In the "Muslim ghettos" of major European cities - and in parts of North Africa -- Protestant and Catholic women's groups quietly maintain intensive and fruitful contacts with their Muslim counterparts.

For her message, deemed politically incorrect until lately, is now being echoed even among the top leadership of Western Europe's generally liberal churches: "Multiculturalism is a naïve illusion."

Just Say "Euro No!"

The European No Campaign is run by a German, financed mostly by British businesses, and brings together an odd assortment of political players:

The European No Campaign is an unlikely coalition of businesses, trade unionists, peace campaigners, democracy campaigners, socialists, conservatives and greens. UK businesses fear that the constitution will enhance trade union power. French socialists worry that it is too free-market. The Danes are worried that it undermines democracy, the Dutch are worried about their national identity, and Irish peace campaigners say that it turns the EU into a military power.

Dollar for Dollar Comparison

It took 45 minutes for the first pledge to come in: a pledge for just over a quarter million U.S.

A group of Muslim scholars sat in the channel's studios inviting viewers to donate, saying that giving aid is one of the pillars of Islam....

"I hope my donation will reach those who deserve it regardless of their religion ... These are our brothers in humanity," donor Ibrahim al-Khalidi said after he dropped off a sack of clothes....

Abdulmajeed, who was in his twenties, arrived in a small vehicle loaded with four sacks of rice and said his donation was "for his brothers in Islam".

"I do not want it to go to non-Muslims ... That would waste the reward (from Allah)," he said.

Oh yeah, and the Pentagon is spending about $6 million a day in supplying disaster relief.

Must Read

British National ID Cards Looming

... Tony Blair's Labor government estimates the cost of the system at 3 billion pounds ($5.7 billion), though opponents believe it will cost at least twice that much.

Imagine what it will cost to track every bit of information about the some 60 million people of the United Kingdom, not to mention immigrants and temporary residents (personally, I put the project the eventual cost to be over $35 billion pounds). And we're not just talking about keeping a name and address plus some static information like the make, model and serial number of a piece of hardware.

The heart of the Identity Cards Bill is the creation of a national database to contain 51 categories of detailed information on every British citizen and resident, including fingerprints and an iris scan.

The government will impose stiff fines for failing to report changes to information: the citizen must keep Big Brother's data current. Moving? Change in employment? Getting married or having a baby? On top of all the other stress in your life you'd better remember to trot down to your local registration office and get one of the highly trained data entry clerks to punch in the new information.

And how about the many hands that will be entering information about you? Will they falter? Will numbers get transposed? Will your information be suddenly contaminated with data about the guy that happened to be standing in front of you in line?

Anyone who has ever attempted to get a drivers license can well imagine the quality of "data entry clerk" that will be employed by the state. And anyone who has ever tried to get a mistake on their credit report fixed can well imagine the nightmare that will await them when trying to do a similar thing with the bureaucracy that is government.

The potential for abuse is unimaginable. Of course there will be official abuse: it is a sociological maxim that information captured will be information abused. Abuse by government officials and friends of the government will happen from time to time, engendering a great sound and fury of outrage by the out-of-power party of the moment, after which the gathering of additional information will continue.

But the abuse on a small scale will be unimaginably damaging. Imagine the cop living down the street being able to look at your personal information. Imagine someone in your PTA or Lions Club being able to call up everything about you and your family. Imagine the parents of the kid that your kid has asked to a dance being able to investigate you on such a personal level.

Don't think it won't happen? It has already happened here. Low-level IRS personnel were caught calling up information about their neighbors just a few years ago. In town after town, cops with access to arrest records have been using it for personal information or even personal gain time after time.

Furthermore, the impact of abuse will grow over time because the information gathered will grow over time. Some "visionary" in the government will champion the great good that can be gained by tying the National ID Database to their creaking socialized medicine bureaucracy, so that medical history will be brought up with a click. Another will trumpet the benefits of tying financial information to the database. Soon everything about you will be accessible by thousands of people.

Now imagine a potential employer being able to see your work history, medical history, financial history, perhaps even DNA information that could point out genetic predisposition for everything from depression to criminal activity. Don't think it can happen? Forget that your neighbor could easily supplement his income by doing a little research on you for someone. What if the potential employer was the government?

Doesn't it sound reasonable that the State Department should be able to thoroughly vet personnel that will be deployed in embassies on foreign soil? Wouldn't it make sense to allow the CIA to investigate potential agents making certain that we get the best, the brightest, the least likely to be turncoats? (Financial troubles? Oh no -- he might become a double agent!)

What about jobs in the private sector that are essential to "national security"? Going to work on a weapons system for Boeing? Better check him out!

Do you really trust the government with all your information? Do you trust them to not screw it (and your life) up? Do you trust them to keep it secure?

I don't. I won't.

Merry Christmas

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours before the runoff election the Ukranian Constitutional Court ruled that some of the rules intended to cut election fraud are unconstitutional:

The court ruled that provisions of a new electoral law limiting the right of infirm voters to cast ballots at home was unconstitutional and reinstated old procedures. But the court chairman said most of the law remained intact.

"The Constitutional Court has made the final touches so that the election can take place according to the constitution," Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted Mykola Selivon as saying.

"Now, no one will be able to say that the elected president is illegitimate or elected unconstitutionally."

India: The New Europe

While Europe continues to hold its nose at the decisive triumph of George W. Bush, the Indian establishment is quietly savoring the outcome of the recent elections in America. India and Europe, one might say, have traded places in the global arena. India, once nonaligned, used to be the first to throw stones at Washington on any issue during the Cold War; today, it sees America as a natural ally. Europe, on the other hand, now speaks the language of "nonalignment," and holds that nothing is ever right with U.S. foreign policy.

Yushchenko's Boyish Good Looks

As Ukraine's popular pro-Western opposition leader claimed victory in hotly contested presidential elections, the mystery surrounding an appearance-altering condition that twice prompted him to check into a Vienna hospital persisted.

Yushchenko accused the Ukrainian authorities of poisoning him. His detractors suggested he'd eaten some bad sushi. Adding to the intrigue, the Austrian doctors who treated him have asked foreign experts to help determine if his symptoms may have been caused by toxins found in biological weapons.

Medical experts said they may never know what befell Yushchenko. But the condition, it has dramatically changed his appearance since he first sought treatment at Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic on September 10.

Yushchenko was known for his ruggedly handsome, almost movie-star looks. Now his complexion is pockmarked and a sickly green. His face is haggard, swollen and partially paralysed. One eye often tears up.

1. The government (i.e., Putin) poisoned him using advanced chemical poisons.
2. The government (i.e., Putin) used infected him with a biological agent.
3. Yushchenko is in the prodromal stage of herpes.
4. Yushchenko had injections of botox to preserve his boyish good looks and had a very, very bad reaction to it.
5. A mixture of Japanese Sushi and pork fat were consumed on the same night, leading to a serious health condition.
6. Did I mention that many think that Putin poisoned him?

French Humor

Ukranian Tapes

In the first reported conversation, Levenets asks who is winning, and an unidentified campaign worker responds that as of 2:30 p.m. their candidate is losing by 1.46 percent, and they agree the vote needs to be rigged so that by 8 p.m. he appears to be winning.

It is not clear which district is being referred to. Nor is it clear how the vote would be rigged. According to the newspaper and Yushchenko's headquarters, the most popular method used by Yanukovych's campaign team was to obtain numerous absentee ballots and then have the same people cast them at several polling stations.

The second taped conversation allegedly features Levenets and another campaign worker, identified by his first name, Valery. The two discuss how results of a nationwide exit poll should be tweaked to give Yanukovych a 3 to 3.5-percentage-point advantage. The third tape allegedly features a brother of Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Klyuyev debating with a campaign worker how to organize fights with students.

The fourth tape allegedly records Levenets being briefed by an unidentified campaign worker on how to invalidate seven protocols from district election commissions to tilt the overall balance in the remaining protocols toward Yanukovych.

Proof that Not All French Suck

However, I never forget that the French of the cities are as different from the French of the country as the New York and Hollywood liberal elite are different from red-blooded Americans in the heartland. And it is stories like this that prove it:

This month, 50 old [American] soldiers, most with loved ones in tow, crossed the Atlantic again to return to the Moselle and be welcomed back as heroes.

For most of a week, the veterans and their families were honored with parades, banquets, speeches, receptions, religious services and the unveiling of new statues and monuments. Every stop produced its local firemen's band to play "The Star Spangled Banner" and the French national anthem, "The Marseilles."

Throngs of children waving French and American flags greeted the aging veterans at each appearance. But the most heartfelt greetings came from senior citizens who remembered the first time these soldiers arrived in a November 60 years before.

Marie-Jeanne Chablin, of Terville, remembered: "Truly, we knew they were our liberators. That was sure. We couldn't think of anything else. It was wonderful."

In Thionville, a woman who might have been Joseph Stobbe's contemporary pulled him toward her to bestow an enthusiastic kiss.

Claude Thuiller was a boy in the village of Luttange the first time he saw such a kiss.

"An enormous cry of joy went up when we saw the Americans coming," he said. "Everybody ran out to greet them. And the young women and the not-so-young women climbed up on their vehicles and kissed the Americans. It was the first time I had ever seen a man and a woman kiss each other on the mouth. That was a great surprise."

Thuiller suppressed a tear as he said, "The memory of the Americans is something extraordinary."

World Bank Ignornace

The report cites Israel's "closure" policies — a series of restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and products meant to boost Israeli security — as the main cause of economic hardship in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

It also calls on the Palestinians to carry out further economic reforms.

Nope, the World Bank knows just where to lay the blame -- on the Jeeeeewwwwwwwwsssssssssssssss!

North Korea Comes Back to the Table

"North Korea not only agreed to the format of the talks but also believes that the talks should restart urgently," Ping was quoted as saying.

"The only way to restart the talks is to give up the confrontational positions and to create a climate," Ping was quoted as saying when asked about the prospect of restarting the talks. Ping is Gabon's foreign minister.

Something has changed up there. Maybe Kim just decided to get humble after Bush's re-election, but with the nation starving to death and their neighbors aligning themselves with the US on their nuclear ambitions, one or more of the palace guard may have decided that their Nero needed to go.

Canada Agrees with the U.S.

The U.S. followed suit as Powell said that we do not consider the election results legitimate.

Now Canada agrees:

Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the federal government does not recognize the victory of Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

"Considering the allegations of serious and significant electoral fraud from international and Canadian election observers, the government of Canada cannot accept that the announced results by the central election commission reflect the true, democratic will of the Ukrainian people," said McLellan.

"Canada rejects the announced final results.

"The government of Canada calls for a full, open, transparent review of the election process and Canada will have no choice but to examine its relations with Ukraine if the authorities fail to provide election results that reflect the democratic will of the people of that country."

What does Kofi say?

"While the United Nations is not in a position to comment on the conduct of the election, the secretary general believes a credible electoral process is critical to overcoming the current impasse," a U.N. spokesman said.

The spokesman added that Annan is calling on "all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to adhere to democratic principles, vital for the consolidation of democracy in Ukraine and the unity of the nation."

Update: Being American in T.O. has an excellent roundup of news and blog posts on this subject, as well as some interesting thoughts of her own.

Time to Invade Canada?

When U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Ottawa — probably later this year — should he be welcomed? Or should he be charged with war crimes?

It's an interesting question. On the face of it, Bush seems a perfect candidate for prosecution under Canada's Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act.

Yeah, you go ahead and arrest our president. We'll send in a spare platoon or so and take your country apart.

Walkom is traditionally liberal and often blatantly anti-American, but this is plainly a damn silly suggestion and it wasn't written with tongue-in-cheek. What's sillier is that the Toronto Star gives him ink each and every week.

Note: I have nothing but respect for the soldiers serving in the Canadian military. They have performed well in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, a sniper from Newfoundland now holds the record for a long-distance kill shot with a confirmed kill in Afghanistan at 2,430 metres. But they suffer from extreme lack of support from the nation's government and it shows.

Update: Say Anything blogged the same article and asks:

On a related note, I wonder if they'd consider arresting John Kerry if he were to travel up north? He admitted to comitting war crimes in Vietnam. Something tells me they probably wouldn't.

Why so much anti-French hatred?

Imagine having to leave the place where you've spent the last two decades making your life. A comfortable, cultured life in a modern city in a country that was once held up as the model for economic development.

But the rebels refuse to talk and expats from all nations are fleeing. The French, of course, are hardest hit and many struggle to understand what has happened:

Helene, who lived for 32 years in Abidjan running a printing business, told French radio: "We spent five hours on the roof, listening to them taking our apartment to pieces and then breaking everything they couldn't remove. Our life is there; we have nothing in France. The radio was screaming at everyone to rid themselves of the 'imperialist pigs', the 'Satans'."

"There is so much hatred in their faces. Why? We have many, many Ivorian friends. Why so much anti-French hatred?"

I doubt it. Too little, too far away. And so they will continue to oppose us as the tide rises around all of us until a French Theo van Gogh is murdered on a Paris street or a bomb explodes under the Eiffel Tower.

NATO Chief: Europe Must Be Like America on Terror

The head of NATO said today that there was a critical "perception gap" between Europe and the United States on the subject of global terror and that Europeans must move closer to the American view of the seriousness of the threat.

"Your country focused very much on the fight against terror while in Europe we focused to a lesser extent on the consequences for the world," Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO's secretary general, said in an interview. "We looked at it from different angles, and that for me is one of the reasons you saw such frictions in the trans-Atlantic relationship."

As a result, he said, Europe was lagging behind the United States in merging external and internal security to combat terrorism, and Europe had to catch up.

I'm starting to really like the Dutch. Funny that they should live so close to the French yet be so different.

Making Politics Illegal

The results are in and the Belgian coalition government remains in power. It was a definite victory for the liberal-socialist axis although Greens took a beating. At the same time, the far-right Vlaams Blok continued to strengthen thier position, which arguably demonstrates a widening gulf between the Dutch-speaking Flemish region and the French-speaking south.

The Vlamms Blok are becoming a major force in the culturally divided country, while the Arab European League failed to make a good showing. Soon, the government will have to start working with Vlamms Blok even though they have refused to do so to date.

Belgium's most popular political party was banned as racist by the country's high court yesterday, fuelling concerns that the judicial branch is being used to eliminate political enemies.

The Vlaams Blok, a Flemish independence party promising to abolish Belgium as a nation, now cannot receive funding of any kind, and will have to disband....

"This is an attack on democracy and free speech. Our political opponents have changed the racism laws six times in a campaign to have us condemned. What they have done today is shocking," he said.

The party leaders plan to relaunch it next week with a new name, Vlaams Belang, or Flemish Interest, and a manifesto extolling women's rights, the secular state and the rule of law.

The high court upheld an earlier ruling that party branches had violated race laws by distributing 16 leaflets in the late 1990s deemed to be incitement against immigrants. The party attacked the ruling as a breach of free speech since much of the material consisted of official statistics.

One of the tracts, denouncing female circumcision in Islamic countries, was written by a Turkish-born woman member of the Vlaams Blok but the court ruled that the arguments were intended to foment anti-Muslim feeling.

One Day, Two Presidents

That's right: America's "puppet" was elected by a clear majority of the warring tribes of Afghanistan that many thought would never be able to get along. Must be another Bush failure.

Thank God we have four more years of such failures.

Women of Afghanistan

Brazil = . . . California?

Federal congressman Reinaldo Santos e Silva proposed the law after psychologists suggested that some children may get depressed when they learn they share their first name with someone's pet, Damarias Alves, a spokeswoman for Silva, said last week.

"Names have importance," said Alves. The congressman "wants to challenge people's assumptions that it's acceptable to give animals human names," she said.

Howard in the Catbird Seat

Key priorities of Howard were blocked during his first three terms in office because his conservative coalition government did not have a majority in parliament's upper chamber, the Senate.

The results announced on Thursday made it likely Howard would succeed in his long-delayed plans to sell off a majority stake in the government's 30 billion Australian dollar ($22.4bn) majority stake in the national telecommunications giant Telstra.

Costello [Howard's deputy in the ruling Liberal Party] said the government also would push other legislation that the Senate rejected during the government's first three terms, including deregulating the labour market and reducing constraints on small businesses that want to fire staff.

Loss of Soul

The truth is, Liberal prime ministers from Pierre Trudeau to Jean Chretien to Paul Martin have carved away our country's soul. They have taken away any values our nation had, leaving us with a porridge of Lib-Left platitudes.

These are the people who have made our traditions and our emblems irrelevant. As someone pointed out when Dominion Day was changed to Canada Day, could you imagine any French man, woman or child allowing Bastille Day to be demeaned to France Day? The French would have rioted.

Dutch Pot Problems

The Dutch government is sitting on a stockpile of about 275 pounds of marijuana that it can't sell.

The Netherlands rolled out a program last year that allows patients to buy prescription marijuana at any pharmacy. Some medical insurance policies cover at least part of the cost, but often not enough to offset the pharmacy price.

In a country where any adult can walk into a "coffee shop" and smoke a joint for much less than the government price, many say the experiment is a bust....

The government says packaging and distribution push up its prices, and acknowledges its program may be foundering....

The medicinal program allows pharmacies to sell standardized, quality-controlled marijuana from authorized growers to sufferers of chronic or terminal diseases such as multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, neuralgia, cancer and Tourette's syndrome.

The competition comes from hundreds of marijuana bars, thinly disguised as "coffee shops" to maintain the fiction of legality. Though patronized mostly by recreational smokers and tourists, people in pain who find relief from cannabis are also customers, paying less than they would to a pharmacy.

James Burton is a grower who signed an exclusive contract with the government to supply their pot, but says that after only one year the program is in trouble, with less than 1,000 patients.

"The whole country is leaning to the right," he said. "I think a year from now this program's gone."

Afghan Thanks Bush

A sign is displayed at a movie theater about the Afghan elections next to a Afghan restaurant in the Little Kabul area of Fremont, Calif. Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004. Residents of Little Kabul, the nation's largest concentration of Afghan emigres, are watching closely as their homeland prepares to hold its first direct presidential election. As millions of voters in Afghanistan get ready to cast ballots Saturday, some residents of Fremont's Little Kabul see the landmark vote as a crucial step for a budding democracy.

Even More Bush Failed Diplomacy

NATO said on Wednesday it had agreed to create a military training academy in Iraq, expanding the alliance's small presence in the country after two years of feuding over the U.S.-led war.

More Failed Bush Diplomacy

Political reform in the developing world, including the Middle East, is a "necessity," Qatar's ruler told world leaders at the United Nations, addressing an issue that has come to the fore with the U.S. push to turn Iraq into a democracy.

The absence of democracy and "prolonged slackening of political reform in quite a few countries in the south" are at the root of the region's trouble, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said at Tuesday's opening of the U.N. General Assembly's ministerial session.

The emir, who heads the Group of 77, an organization of mainly developing nations and China, has repeatedly called for democratic reforms in the Middle East, arguing that Arab states should not use the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a pretext for maintaining authoritarian rule.

Qatar promulgated a new constitution on Tuesday, introducing a measure of parliamentary rule to the Gulf state. It provides for a 45-seat parliament, two-thirds elected and the remainder appointed by the emir. Parliamentary elections are expected to be held later this year.

"Political reform and the people's participation in decision making are no longer an option, but a necessity," the emir said.

He said history has shown that those states "most committed to the exercise of democracy" have had the greatest economic achievements.

Who's the Fascist?

When four Frenchmen returned home after more than two years in the Guantanamo netherworld, they expected some questions, followed by freedom and an apology.

Instead, they've been locked up for six weeks and are facing charges that their attorneys say mirror the vague legal world of detainees in the U.S. military detention facility in Cuba.

French officials' response to the detainees' return has been far more forceful than those of other European countries, and it has human rights advocates fearing the fight against terror could erode of civil liberties.

The charges they face stem from a law passed after a series of Algerian terrorist bombings on the Paris Metro in 1995, he said. The bombings killed 10 and injured 200.

"The law implies not terrorism, but the potential for terrorism," he said. "Get a tapped phone call from someone who associates with terrorists, or stand outside the wrong mosque at the wrong time, and it applies. The government position is that while they're in jail, they cannot be out doing wrong."

"Most of my work these days is defending Muslims from terror charges," he added. "These are not good times for Muslims in France."

Those Wacky Klingons Germans

In a futuristic leap, the Klingon pages appear on DW's web site under the date "September 2379", and describe Germany and the radio station at the start of the 21st Century.

The Berlin Wall has fallen, the Cold War has ended and Klingons - once the sworn enemies of Star Trek hero Captain Kirk - are now accepted as allies in the new world order.

Japan Has Mad Cow

Japan's 12th case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in Kumamoto Prefecture. The discovery is the first case of the disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, discovered since March, and the first cow from the Kyushu region to be confirmed as having mad cow disease.

Middle East Fashion

A model displays a dress with fur and embroidery for Lebanese designer khaled al-Masri for his winter 2005 collection, during the Beirut fashion week show at Dubai hall in Beirut, September 9, 2004.

Seems a little risqu� for a Middle Eastern country, even a maverick like Lebanon.

Does anybody know what it says?

Olympic Reality

After witnessing the financial aftermath of the Athens Olympics, government leaders and planners of Beijing's 2008 Olympics are now seeking to cut nearly $1 billion from their building budget. Still, it is likely to be one of the most expensive Olympics ever, originally projected at three times that of the Athen's Games, according to the Guardian.

Euthanasia for Children

Senators Jeannine Leduc and Paul Wille said in the bill that terminally ill children and teenagers had as much right to choose when they wanted to die as anyone else.

"Their suffering is as great (and) the situation they face is as intolerable and inhumane," the senators' bill read on Wednesday....

Wille and Leduc now also want to include "assisted suicide" in the current legislation as they feel patients often want to end their lives themselves.

And now minors? How can a seven-year-old decide that it's time to die? Or even a 15-year-old? They don't have the framework for such a decision.

Schroeder Trounced!

Support for Schroeder's Social Democrats plunged to 30.8 percent, a loss of nearly 14 percentage points from the last election in 1999 and the lowest in the state since 1960. The conservative Christian Democrats gained slightly and retained a majority in the state legislature, allowing them to govern for five more years, complete official results showed.

Davids Medienkritik has more, including a nice Monty Python reference and evidence of a disturbing new trend in German politics.

The Bushification of Gaddafi

"Any Jew whose home had been taken away has to be compensated or given his home back on the condition that he had not taken away the home of a Palestinian in Palestine," Gaddafi said.

Thousands of Jews were forced to leave their homes in several Arab countries, including Libya, following successive Israeli-Arab wars since 1948. But Arab leaders dismissed or ignored Jewish claims for compensations for lost assets.

Voter Fraud in Venezuela

Olympic Troubles

The Beginnings of a Successful Experiment: Afghani Democracy

Women and ethnic minorities are strongly represented among those registered for the first-ever direct vote for president. But parts of the south risk being left behind because of stepped-up attacks on election workers and Afghan and U.S. security forces.

First tallies since the eight-month registration drive began winding down on Saturday show that 8.7 million of an estimated 9.8 million eligible voters have collected ID cards for the Oct. 9 election. Forty-one percent of those registered were women.

"The participation is amazing," U.N. spokesman David Singh said. "There was a lot of skepticism about this process at the beginning, but the targets have been fulfilled."...

"We are overwhelmed with joy at the sheer enthusiasm of the people," presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said. "It's essentially the first important step toward a successful and legitimate election process."

In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Singh said the number of those registered had exceeded the projected total � suggesting either fraud or that the estimate of the electorate was far too conservative.

Officials acknowledge cases of people registering more than once, but say a dab of indelible ink on every voter's finger will limit fraud on polling day. Many underage Afghans may also have slipped through.

Israel, France -- and Kerry

If there is anything the French hate, it is moral clarity.

She continues:

It is no coincidence that France was acting in an overtly hostile manner toward the Jewish state when Sharon made his declaration.

In recent years, rarely a day has gone by without some French leader doing something to make common cause with those devoted to the annihilation of the Jewish state.

From the French ambassador to Britain's statement calling Israel a "sh-tty little country," to former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard's declaration that the creation of Israel was "a mistake", to its persistent support of Arafat despite mountains of evidence implicating him as a current and active mastermind of terror, France has made it plain that it is an opponent, not an ally, in the Arab-Muslim war to destroy us. So yes, it was sweet to see 200 Jews telling us that they see their future here and not in France.

The problem with France is not simply that one in five French citizens voted for an avowed Holocaust-denier in the last election. Nor is it just that almost every week we hear another story about a synagogue torched, a rabbi beaten, a Jewish cemetery or Holocaust memorial defaced with swastikas or Jewish children terrorized on the subway or on their way to Hebrew school. Nor is it that France hates Israel. The French hating Israel is nothing that keeps anyone here awake at night.

The problem with France, rather, is that it has appointed itself arbiter of global justice, and in so doing inserted itself as a key factor in the US presidential race.

Kerry can choose to be a friend of France, or he can choose to be a friend of Israel. But this is one area where he can't have it both ways.

French Guilt

The central African state of Rwanda is to investigate France's alleged role in genocide there 10 years ago in which the United Nations estimates 800,000 people died, the Rwandan government said.

A cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on Friday adopted a bill "to create a national independent commission charged with assembling the evidence of France's involvement in the genocide perpetrated in Rwanda in 1994," said a statement sent to AFP.

Justice in Australia

Ms Brown suffered a fractured skull, a fractured eye socket, a fractured nose, a fractured left hand and possible brain damage when the 25-year-old grabbed her hair, king-hit her, and repeatedly pounded her to the ground.

The convicted criminal then dragged her across the bitumen toward a stolen getaway car before she could release the bag she carried containing $30,000-$50,000 in hotel takings.

The controversy comes from her actions after the attack:

Witnesses say Brown, 40, screamed twice for Aquilina, who had dragged the backpack off her, to stop. But he walked to the car.

She then walked up to the closed door and fired one shot through the side window, killing him.

The attacker's parents had the good grace to apologize to the victim for their son's actions. One the other hand, they spoke of what a good kid he was, "blaming his violent behaviour on his marijuana and amphetamine addiction." News flash, people: pot addiction never made anyone violent! It just makes them hungry. Very hungry. And gives a wicked case of cotton mouth.

This was a bad kid who did a very, very bad thing. If the guard were a cop, there would be no controversy. But we have established a class system where some are allowed to cull the herd and the rest of us are allowed to be victims.

I am sorry that Karen is going to go through this, and that she will no doubt bear the psychological scars of both the beating and of taking a life for the remainder of her life. I also applaud her actions. This vermin will no longer viciously attack women, and perhaps the next vermin who considers doing so will remember what happened here.

Thankfully, 81% of Australians who participated in a poll agree -- Karen Brown should not be charged.

Leading on the World Stage

Kerry has started the last leg of the race to the White House by angering our largest Middle Eastern ally, Saudi Arabia, during his nomination acceptance speech:

Saudi Arabia on Friday criticized Democratic presidential challenger Sen. John Kerry for "bashing" the kingdom when he called on the United States to cut its dependence on the Middle East nation's oil.

"Saudi bashing is not an energy policy," an official with the Saudi Embassy in Washington said.

Meanwhile, on Bush's watch Friday, NATO agreed to train Iraqi forces:

... an agreement was reached but did not explain how it resolved a dispute between France and the United States over command and control.

Paris had objected to an American general heading the mission.

In addition, the coalition force stands an excellent chance at growing even larger: Saudi Arabia (yes, the country Kerry slammed during his speech) proposed an Arab force to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. In deference to Iraq's request that troops only come from non-contiguous nations, possible sources of troops include Bahrein, Pakistan, Malaysia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Indonesia and Morocco.

Yet truth be told, the existing coalition includes more countries than were formally united in fighting the evil of WWII (I'm excluding the insurgents in occupied nations):

As to how world leaders are reacting to Kerry, even Kerry's campaign aides say that Ariel Sharon treats Bush warmly, while turning a cold shoulder to Kerry.

One final point: Kerry is making a big show of his Vietnam experience and the fact that the handful of men that served under his command support him (well, most of them do). They stood next to him on the stage in Boston. On the other hand, nearly two hundred men who served on Swift Boats in Vietnam have signed an open letter to Kerry that very much does not support him. Two hundred. That's too many to stand on a stage.

Bottom line: Kerry is a politician -- long on talk who comes up short on delivery. I'll trust my safety to the cowboy president, thank you.

AIDS and Fuzzy Math

"At least 30 percent of the entire adult population of Central Africa is infected with the AIDS virus," a doctor tells a U.S. newspaper. A high Ugandan official says that within two years his nation will "be a desert." ABC News Nightline declares that within 12 years "50 million Africans may have died of AIDS."

Actually, those statements and predictions were all made between 1986 and 1988. Yet since 1985, Central Africa's population has increased over 70 percent while Uganda's has nearly doubled. Japan, conversely, has close to no AIDS cases yet its population growth has essentially stopped.

According to the UN's latest estimate, Nightline's predicted 50 million dead Africans by the year 2000 was actually 20 million dead worldwide by the end of last year.

AIDS is a horrible disease. But let's be sensible about the scope of the problem.

Turkey in the EU?

Chirac also had sharp words for Bush's call this weekend for the European Union to set a date to begin negotiations toward admitting Turkey. "If President Bush really said that the way I read it, well, not only did he go too far, but he went into a domain which is not his own," Chirac told reporters at the summit.

He said that Turkish EU membership would be a "crucial advance" in relations between the Muslim world and the West because Turkey was part of both....

"We must strengthen the ties and trust and good will between ourselves and the peoples of the Middle East," he said.

Bush held up Turkey as an example of a Muslim democracy.

"Including Turkey in the EU would prove that Europe is not the exclusive club of a single religion, and it would expose the 'clash of civilizations' as a passing myth of history," Bush said.

Bush knows that lucrative reconstruction contracts went to the coalition countries that helped liberate and stabilize Iraq, freezing Germany and France out of the game. Bush sees that the European economy is floundering and that German companies are looking forward to reestablishing their relationship in Iraq:

German companies exported products worth �200 million ($243 million) to Iraq in 2003. The German Chambers of Trade and Commerce (DIHK) has predicted that the volume will increase beyond that this year, though it hasn't released estimates. That's peanuts compared to the past. In 1982, before the war between Iran and Iraq, Germany exported products worth �4 billion to Iraq.

Germany expects the commission's report to be positive and EU members should support Turkey's application, Schroeder told reporters after he and French President Jacques Chirac met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Istanbul.

Small Euro-minds

Emmett Tyrell says that small minds are keeping France and Germany from being world players:

Now they are sitting back and lecturing us while our coalition attempts to lift barbarism from the Iraqis, to sober up the nihilists of the Middle East and to defeat terrorism. The French and the Germans have revealed no plan, no will and no intention of bringing justice or peace to Iraq. The only evidence I have seen of their involvement in the area is long inventories of arms they sold to Saddam Hussein and catalogues of payoffs they received from the United Nations' oil-for-food scheme....

As the French and Germans continue to dodder around in their moral and intellectual senescence, they are hastening the day when they move from being a topic for historians to being a topic for archaeologists.

Disappointment in Canada

Fresh off a financial scandal, the Liberal Party lost seats, but not enough. Canadians went to the polls yesterday a kept PM Martin and the Liberal Party in power:

Voters stripped the long-dominant Liberal Party of its outright control of Parliament, but left it enough seats to take charge of Canada's first minority government in 25 years....

Tarnished by financial scandal, the Liberals lost more than 30 seats to end an 11-year monopoly on power. In nearly complete returns, they had 135 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, compared to 99 for the Conservatives, 54 for the separatist Bloc Quebecois and 19 for the left-wing New Democratic Party.

The New Democrats, who are aligned with trade unions and advocate higher taxes on the rich, were viewed as the most likely partners for the Liberals in an informal governing coalition.

Another aspect to the election is that of the 75 seats for Quebec, separatists went from 33 seats to a total of 54 -- leading to speculation about another referendum to give Quebecians yet another shot at choosing to secede.

The Toronto Sun says:

The Liberals were battered, bruised and humbled by the campaign and the PM had to resort to an all-out assault on Harper to carry the day.

I am deeply embarassed that Laurel and Hardy of the American left came up here to intervene - Ralph Nader urged voters not to regard voting NDP as vote splitting, and Michael Moore spoke out about how it is better to vote Liberal no matter how troubling that act may be.

No members of the American right pulled that stunt, but you can bet there would have been loud screaming had they done so.

Attack ads and fear-mongering work up here, as Toronto voters swallowed their outrage at the corruption of the Liberal Party and voted "for the devils they knew" who will likely form a minority government with the New Democratic Party -who are even further to the left of the Liberals

European Productivity

In the 1980s and 1990s, many European labor unions, in response to rising unemployment, adopted the policy of "work less, work all." In other words, they obtained shorter hours (ie, more vacations) in order to keep employment up. The problem is that total compensation did not go down in proportion to the shorter hours, thus leading to an increase in pay per hour. Lower productivity and higher unit labor costs eroded firms' willingness to hire, leaving Europe with chronically higher unemployment than in the US.

Australia Has Idiots Too

Police suspect arsonists were responsible for a fire at a mosque that sent worshippers running from the building on Friday, a day after vandals desecrated a Muslim prayer hall in Sydney, smearing blood on its walls and leaving pigs' heads impaled on stakes.

More than 500 people were in the mosque in Melbourne when the fire broke out in the kitchen area. No one was injured, police said....

The attack on the prayer hall on Thursday was in Sydney. In addition to the blood-smeared walls and pig heads on stakes, pork offal was strewn across the hall.

S.A.: See the Gun or Go to Jail

Under the new Firearms Control Act, to be introduced next week, the public and property and gun owners will be compelled to be super vigilant or face the penalty.

For one thing, Alex Holmes of the South African Arms and Ammunition Dealers Association says, if you become aware of an illegal gun or ammunition you must tell the police or face the possibility of 15 years in jail.

Looking North

I'll be sure to keep a watch on Debbye's site for the results because, as the Sun hopes, there might be an upset:

The Globe and Mail has the Liberals six points ahead of the Conservatives (34% to 28%), while the National Post has the Conservatives widening their lead and likely to win 126 seats to the Liberals 95.

Soccer Fans Get Freaky

ENGLAND fans will be allowed to smoke dope before Sunday�s crunch clash with France � to keep them calm.

Cops in Lisbon plan to crack down on drunk supporters while turning a blind eye to those spotted puffing on a spliff....

�Alcohol makes fans fight. But cannabis smokers will be shaking hands and singing along together.�

Dutch police used a similar policy in Euro 2000 and England�s hooligan element were too stoned to fight.

A Lisbon police spokeswoman said: �If people cause a problem through drugs and become a menace then police will take action. But when this doesn�t happen why should the police be the ones making the fuss?�

Humor

One of Canada's unmanned spy planes crashed Saturday, damaging the remote-controlled aircraft so badly it will likely have to be returned to its manufacturers in France for repair.

Political Text Messaging in Italy

Mr Berlusconi, speaking from the US where he is attending the G8 summit, said: "We noted not all Italians were aware of the hours within which they could exercise their right to vote.

"This initiative was needed to inform the Italian people and make life easier for them."

North Korea Bans Cell Phones

Experts believe North Korea had introduced the mobile technology to make communications convenient but later realised the device caused floods of foreign culture into the reclusive country

China Today

The Communist Party signed its own death warrant that night. As Lu Xun, the great leftist writer beloved by Mao, wrote after a massacre in 1926: "This is not the conclusion of an incident, but a new beginning. Lies written in ink can never disguise facts written in blood."

The number of cafes forced to cease operations was reported by the Xinhua news agency and suggests a much more comprehensive drive to control a once-thriving industry than previously believed

China is so determined to prevent any public marking of the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre Friday that police are confining dissidents to house arrest, even pummeling one who tried to leave home.

Hu Jia, a young social activist, said police beat him Monday when he came out of his home to greet visitors.

Gasp! Arab Think Tank Says Iraq is Better Off!

Despite war and occupation, Iraq has seen a surge in human rights organizations, political parties and independent newspapers -- entities almost unheard of under Saddam Hussein, said a report by an Arab think tank.

The report by Egypt's Ibn Khaldoun Center for Development Studies welcomed the promise of elections, the freedom of expression and independence of the media but was careful not to credit the Americans for the progress.

"Even though all indications of political rights and human rights mentioned in this report clearly illustrate that the situation in Iraq after occupation is much better than Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the truth remains that any situation would have been better than Saddam Hussein," the report said.

Brasil's Green Problem

Brazil's government accused foreign media and nongovernmental organizations on Tuesday of trying to undermine Brazil's farm boom by distorting the facts and linking it to destruction of the Amazon jungle.

Environmentalists have charged that burgeoning Brazilian soybean production has contributed to growing deforestation of the world's largest tropical jungle as farmers seek new land.

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said the foreign reports of these charges showed a lack of knowledge about the Amazon and that farming there represented a tiny fraction of the jungle's total size. ...

The Amazon's continuous rain forest is just under half the size of the continental United States, but the rate of destruction of the forest jumped in 2003.

Shakeup in India

The results of these reforms were apparent most recently in the annualized 10.8 percent growth in India's GDP during the first quarter of 2004, making India the fastest growing major economy in the world. Foreign direct investment has increased 30-fold over the last decade as India has increased the limit on foreign ownership of firms, decreased the red tape around foreign direct investment and created "special economic zones" that provided the necessary infrastructure to attract foreign investment.

India has become a leading hub of high-tech manufacturing and services with its low-cost, high-skilled labor force and has drawn major foreign companies to its shores. The services sector now makes up almost 50 percent of India's GDP, up from 40 percent in 1991. Education rates have also increased from 50 percent in 1991 to 65 percent in 2001.

The BJP called early elections in a bid to capitalize on a booming economy, bumper crops, low interest rates and prospects of peace with Pakistan - a package which the party sold to voters through a campaign entitled "India Shining".

In a country of 180 million households, only about 45 million have telephone lines. Among India's 1.05 billion people, only 26.1 million have mobile phones. And while around 300 million Indians still live on less than $1 a day, only an estimated 659,000 households have computers.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Hindu nationalist leader who presided over an economic boom in India, its emergence as a declared nuclear power and a widely applauded peace initiative with Pakistan, resigned Thursday night after a secular opposition alliance led by the Congress party scored a stunning upset in parliamentary elections.

The real problem is that although the Congress party defeated the ruling coalition, it didn't garner enough seats in the 545-member parliament to achieve a majority. That means that it can only rule with the help of communists, and they will want concessions in return for their support. The fear is that they will veto policies that are necessary to the continuing reform of the labor laws -- like being able to fire workers when the market takes a downturn.

The Left is impatient, and cannot wait for trickle-down benefits that will come as a result of a booming economy. They'll screw things up and strangle the economy, and the market knows it:

India's leading stock index stumbled badly on Friday amid widespread fears that a new government led by Sonia Gandhi and backed by left-wing parties would slow recent changes and halt the privatization of government-run companies.

The Sensex index tumbled 6.1 percent, its biggest fall in over two and a half years, settling at 5,069.87 on Friday. India's markets outperformed most global markets in 2003, and its economy was among the fastest growing in the world.

I wonder what would happen if the government moves to regulate, over-tax or otherwise screw up India's booming outsourcing businesses. I guess more of the offshoring deals will go to Asia.

The Iron Lady

The parallels to Bush's policies are unmistakable:

However, opinion is sharply divided in Britain as to her legacy. For the Tory faithful, Mrs Thatcher's aggressive embracing of the free market transformed Britain's economy, banishing structural inefficiencies, thwarting the power of the trade unions and overseeing the closure of uneconomic and unviable heavy industry such as mining, shipbuilding and steel.

The Thatcher government, say her supporters, recreated Britain as a nation of "stakeholders", encouraging more than a million working class people to buy their council houses and many more to participate in the country's economic growth through the stockmarket.

She also fought, and won, the Falklands War in 1982, a campaign largely credited with winning her the 1983 general election despite record high levels of unemployment.

To many, however, Mrs Thatcher presided over the most destructive and divisive government since the war, winding back the welfare state, crushing whole communities that had depended on coal, steel and shipbuilding, presiding over a dole queue that stretched to more than 3 million and using troops against striking union members. ...

When Mrs Thatcher came to power, unemployment stood at 3.8 per cent. It peaked at more than 10 per cent in 1983 � more than 3 million � before falling to just over 5 per cent in 1990. The top tax rate was 83 per cent on earnings of over pound stg. 24,000. Mrs Thatcher's government brought it down to 40 per cent, where it has remained.

Join these fine bloggers in spreading the word every Wictory Wednesday:

Bloggers, join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. Just email PoliPundit at wictory -at- blogsforbush (insert dot here) com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs. It's good for your eco-ranking, it's good for your traffic, and it's good for your country.

And it helps to keep a hypocritical, liberal compulsive liar and waffler out of the White House!

Shades of the Civilian Conservation Corps

Today, Brasil is trying to something along the same lines, only not nearly as good and with the usual socialist authoritarian flair:

In an effort to do something about [unemployment and violent crime], Brazil's left-leaning government is preparing a drastic measure: conscription. If the plan is approved, when the army's next conscription round comes up in August it will take in an extra 30,000 young men on top of the 64,000 already planned for this year.

But they will not be ordinary soldiers. "Five thousand of them will have a short period of basic training, and then go to build popular housing in the Amazon region," an army officer who asked not to be named told the Financial Times. "The others will take part in the Citizen Soldier project." ...

The proposal has been met almost with disbelief by employment specialists.

"First, it's a distortion of the army's mission," says Ademar Faljone, a labour relations consultant in S�o Paulo. "Second, the army doesn't have the funds even to equip its normal intake. Third, it's nonsense to think the numbers involved will make any difference. There are millions of people unemployed in our cities."

US Sues EU for �1 billion

But the papers, which were sent to the WTO last week, accuse the EU of imposing a moratorium on GM products in 1998 without any scientific evidence and in defiance of WTO free trade rules. ...

In its submission it says that none of these bans can be legal. This is probably the strongest part of the US case because the trade rules allow countries to ban products on health or environmental grounds but they need to provide evidence.

Outrage of the Week

India Bans Smoking

Tough new smoking laws have come into force in India. It is now illegal to smoke in public places and to directly or indirectly advertise tobacco products. ...

Smoking in public places like streets, busses, restaurants, airports, trains and markets has also been prohibited.

A prohibition on the sale of tobacco products near educational institutions and mandatory health warnings on tobacco products and listing of tar and nicotine content are also part of the new law.

Afghanistan Capital Punishment

Shah was convicted of killing one wife by pouring boiling water over her body and murdering his infant daughter by bashing her repeatedly against a wall.

Russia Admitting Socialized Medicine Failure

The Russian medical system is left over from the communist era in which free lifetime medical care was a basic right, but it is rife with corruption and inefficiencies. Now they are proposing scrapping half of the state-paid medical positions throughout the nation:

The bill proposes abolishing the Soviet-era system of providing tens of thousands of specialists in rural areas. Some commentators say 300,000 doctors and health workers could be sacked.

Under communism free, universal healthcare was considered a basic right. Each small district had its own specialists as well as a well-staffed call-out service.

The result, according to western experts, is a creaking and unaffordable system with too many doctors and hospital beds and very low standards. Wages of medical staff average only �55 a month.

Corruption is now rampant and bribes must be paid for almost all forms of treatment and medicine. Patients who are admitted to hospital usually take their own food because the meals provided are so bad.

The state of the Russian health service has led many of the country's wealthier people to seek treatment at expensive private clinics that have mushroomed over the past decade. The World Bank has been pushing Russia for years to adopt a more affordable system.

Slavery in the 21st Century

"Trafficking in human beings" is a phrase guaranteed to cause a sharp intake of breath among listeners from the liberal and affluent and concerned West.

The view of trafficking in Nigeria is somewhat different. In fact, it is seen as an everyday part of West African life.

It starts with the promise of a better life.The parents are taken in. The children are persuaded. When they leave home they do so willingly, with some excitement, not trepidation.

The trafficker has promised a good job, a schooling, a regular income. But that is not how it works out.

In a related story, UNICEF is preparing a report covering slavery in 53 African nations:

• Children are twice as likely to be trafficked as women
• 89% of the countries had trafficking to and from neighbouring countries
• 34% also had a human trade to Europe
• 26% said trafficking was taking place to the Middle East

Keeping Up with the Oil for Food Scandal

This'll Make the Krauts Sour

But wait! The official beer of the 2006 World Cup, the beer that's going to be sold at every game in stadiums across the German nation, is going to be Budweiser!

Ach du! How can this be? How can it get any worse? Oh yeah, guess who's going to have the sausage sales contract? McDonald's!

Lord help me, I just can't stop laughing!

Canada Goes Mainstream -- Sorta . . .

But the Canadian's problems go far beyond the military:

The entire country's first responders -- those who would react in the case of a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or a public health emergency (or even some combination of the three) -- are also poorly equipped to deal with such events. So says a disturbing new 800-page report issued by a Canadian Senate National Defense committee. The country is woefully unready to communicate and act efficiently during a disaster, the report warns, and many lives are stake. But the question is, is the Canadian government ready to listen?

In the wake of 9/11, Canada has assumed a surprisingly blas� pose. Despite being so close (both physically and symbolically) to the World Trade Center attacks, Transport Canada has done little to meaningfully improve security in Canadian airports. Airport workers' passes frequently aren't checked, and airport staff members aren't being searched.

Fox News in Canada

In a capitalist country the people's desire would already be fulfilled.

I wonder how long they'll have to wait for NRA News after it gets going.

Schroeder Takes a Dive

Just 30 % of Germans still hold him and his policies in high regard. Now, the good news: Among SPD voters (SPD = Social Democrats; Schroeder's party) he still gets a top rating. The bad news: There aren't many SPD voters left...

Gerhard would kill for Dubya's poll numbers, but according to the German media it's Bush who is under pressure...go figure.

Remember the Alamo

Truth hurts, huh?

Cultural Humor

In Jordan, the big "joke" of the day was that Hamas had killed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"I had completely forgotten that it was April 1 and I rushed to the television, but after a while when there was no mentioning of the assassination I realized it was a joke," Walid said, adding: "I wish the news was real and not just a lie."

Asswipes.

Where's Sharpton Now?

The result?

• Plunging property values in the area
• Flooding of the surplus housing market
• The loss of $300 million a year to the local economy

Thanks, Al.

NATO Expansion

Fifty-five years after NATO's birth, Bush recalled that the seven new members were "captives to an empire'' when the alliance was formed.

"They endured bitter tyranny. They struggled for independence. They earned their freedom through courage and perseverance and today they stand with us as full and equal partners in this great alliance,'' he said.

The reason that these men were at the White House is because of two great leaders. The first was Ronald Regan, who stood up to the red menace and defeated it, freeing millions of people. The second is George W. Bush, who is standing up to global terrorism and defeating it, freeing millions and giving rights to women in the midst of oppressive cultures.

The picture at the right is of a man with a successful foreign policy. Just in case it isn't clear, here's another, and another, and another.

Meanwhile, Kerry keeps looking for those foreign leaders he said that he met with and supported him:

Battle of the Constitutions

The EU is a voluntary organization of democratic states. They have been working on a constitution since February of 2002. Even after the language of the constitution is agreed to, the member states will have to individually ratify the document.

Iraq, a country devastated by decades of despotic rule and deeply divided along cultural and religious lines, managed to agree to a constitution in six months.

There's no point here, just an observation . . .

Bush in France

Bush and Chirac also discussed last week's deadly bombings in Madrid, and the French president "expressed that France shares our commitment to showing strength and resolve in the fight against terrorism," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Since then France has promised substantial debt relief for Iraq once power has been handed over to a sovereign government and Washington has relented on an initial ban on French firms bidding for major reconstruction contracts there.

French Language Drive

France is launching a scheme to maintain the importance of French as a working language in the European Union (EU), in the face of a tide of new eastern European members who prefer to speak English.

Paris, which will celebrate International Francophone Day tomorrow, is backing an ambitious plan to hold nearly 200 cultural and linguistic events in the 10 new EU member states. . . .

The move reflects concern that the EU - essentially a French creation, run along French administrative lines and with French as its main language - loses more of its Gallic flavour with each wave of entrants. . . .

Until 1995, French was the only language allowed at Commission press briefings, but today, signs of the dominance of English are everywhere. In 2002, 57 per cent of documents were first written in English, double the number drafted in French.

French diplomats in Barcelona in 2002 were dismayed when leaders from all the new member states spoke English at a summit dinner.

Winds of Change II

Attacks have fallen off and the 122nd Battalion of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, which patrols the city, says proudly that while suicide attacks and car bombings continue apace in Baghdad and Fallujah, Tikrit is an oasis of relative calm. There have been no car bombs in the city for months and no American soldier has been killed here thus far in 2004.

Imagine that. Hardliners are being brought to heel because they see the writing on the wall. (Too bad Democrats aren't so perceptive.)

Next door in Saudi Arabia, women are expected to be allowed to vote in the kingdom's first elections later this year. Read that sentence again -- it deserves to be emphasized.

Oh, and the next time that Kerry throws the "unilateralist" label at Bush, remember this about a Muslim nation:

Since 9/11, Pakistan has been an important ally of the United States in the War on Terror, having captured more than 550 suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives. Pakistani authorities have also allowed the FBI to set up office in their country where its officials interrogate captured terrorists, listen in on the communications network and conduct other intelligence gathering operations.

There are those that oppose him:

Labor leaders voted Wednesday to spend $44 million to mobilize union household voters in November against President Bush, a record sum in an election they say is do-or-die for the labor movement.

Today is Wictory Wednesday, the day that bloggers across this nation ask readers to help the president fight for our safety as he campaigns against John Kerry, compulsive liar, by volunteering your time or donating money to the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign:

Conservative Tide Continues to Rise in Europe

If the results are confirmed, New Democracy will achieve a solid majority in the 300-strong parliament, running the country during the Athens Olympic Games in August and seeing through talks aimed at re-unifying the divided island of Cyprus, in which Greece and arch-rival Turkey are involved.

All About Haiti

The Evolution of a News Story

Europe's Budding M�nage � Trois:

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany meet in Berlin on Wednesday to push for further European economic cooperation. But others in the EU fear the trio are trying to run Europe.

Tony Blair put himself squarely at the heart of European decision-making last night by breaking into the Franco-German axis and persuading it to speed up economic reform.

He brushed aside criticisms from Italy and other countries which have been left out in the cold by the decision of the EU's three most influential powers to join forces and give a lead to the rest.

Jacques Chirac last night humiliated Tony Blair by dismissing him as a bit-part player in the new leadership of Europe.

The French President delivered the astonishing snub at a crucial mini- summit in Berlin.

Mr Chirac, Mr Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder were meeting to forge their masterplan for Germany, France and Britain to set the agenda in Europe.

But Mr Chirac said it was �inappropriate� for Britain to aspire to a relationship with Berlin or Paris as close as the Franco-German alliance.

These are our friends, right?

"Not a single country in the world has such a weapons system at the moment," Putin said, adding that the new "powerful means of warfare" would be deployed with Russia's strategic rocket forces "in the near future." . . .

The Cold War ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but Putin's announcement at the conclusion of Russia's biggest nuclear exercise in 20 years is a signal that Russia is prepared to commit billions of dollars to continue an arms race with the United States.

Lighten Up, eh?

Right off the bat, there's at least two things wrong with this picture.

First, the show is called "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" for a reason -- it airs late at night. Somehow it just doesn't seem plausible that shooting a comedy show from north of the border is going to instill travel fever into thousands of bartenders, waitresses, and other insomniacs. And who else is going to notice?

Second, it's February. The only people that want to go to Toronto now are migrant Eskimos. The Toronto forecast for tonight 1° F. For you metric types, that's minus eighteen! The high tomorrow is all of 8° F. That's not just cold, that's damn bloody cold! No one wants to go to Canada in February except people who live even farther north.

So of course the citizenry has a right to complain about this rather expensive four-day event.

But the show revealed something ugly in Canada -- a division that runs so deep and is so wide that we in America find it hard to fathom. For all the jokes we make about Yankees,

"I was ten years old before I learned that 'damn yankee' was two words!"

Q: How many Californians does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Six. One to turn the bulb, one for support, and four to relate to the experience

Q: Why don't Texans ask people where they are from?
A: 'Cause if they're from Texas then sooner or later they'll end up bragging about it, and if they aren't -- then, well shucks, there ain't no sense in embarrassing 'em!

Q: How many Greens does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None. Light and dark are artificial concepts forced upon people by the advertising and propaganda of the electro- illumination military industrial complex. The only solution is to return to pre-industrial methods of light generation by burning down the house.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog makes regular appearances on the Conan O'Brien show. Guess what -- he insults people. That's his gig. It's who he is. It's what he does.

And it's what he did this week. Things like:

• I can tell you're French, you know. You have that proud expression, that superior look, and I can smell your crotch from here.
• You're French, you're obnoxious and you no speekay English.
• So you're French and Canadian, yes? So you're obnoxious and dull.
• "Are you a separatist?" he asked a rotund man. "Maybe you should try separating yourself from doughnuts first."
• You're in North America, learn the language.
• To a couple who said they were separatists the puppet said, "Listen closely. Hear that? It's the sound of no one giving a bleeeep."
• Also, the O'Brien team was filmed replacing street signs in the province with those that read "Quebecqueer Street," "Rue des Pussies," "Celine Dion Sucks Street," and "Eat Me Frenchy Street".

Reaction from Canadian politicians is astounding: "racist filth", "utterly vile", "vile, vicious hatemongering", "extreme vulgarity", and "It's wrong to spread the worst possible ethnic prejudices about Quebecers, which already exist in Canada."

That last one is most telling.

Quebecers don't consider themselves Canadians or even French Canadians. They have a their language and their own culture. They are francophones isolated within a much larger population.

And they are tired of getting slammed for it every time they turn around.

You think America is "deeply divided"? Try Canada!

On the other hand ... guys, come on -- it's a puppet. Laugh it off and move on. And what do you mean "racist"? Are French Canadians a separate race from everyone else?

"This is not the kind of humour that is healthy for the country," said one politician. Maybe not, but it is humor. And if America can get endlessly slammed by the citizens of every other country on the face of this planet, then French Canadian's can take a few jokes about being a little too much like, well, the French.

Update: The always-excellent Le blog de Polyscopique has more from a French Canadian's point of view.

Also, the board dedicated to the mutt on NBC.com has comments from both sides of the matter. Some is pretty funny stuff.

Brazilian Cops "Brutal and Corrupt"

Police kill youths in Brazil's crime-ridden shantytowns by the hundreds, death squads in rural areas decapitate their victims, and the country's justice system is too weak or corrupt to stop them, according to a United Nations report.

The report painted a picture of police forces that carry out illegal killings on a broad scale.

Here's a thought

In light of the recent Beagle 2 experience, I think this is a fantastic idea.

Send the French.

Alternative Points of View

For decades now, we have alternately railed against, and revelled in, the generalized American ignorance of Canada. At the same time, we have prided ourselves on being one of our neighbour's harshest critics. At the centre of our relationship is the conceit that so much of what we produce -- resources, goods, culture, people -- flows south, that America must really need us. Now, with the U.S. showing a willingness to stand alone and demand the obeisance due to the last remaining superpower, Canada, like the rest of the world, is caught up in an uncomfortable new reality. Bush's repeated "with us or against us" declarations have made it clear that there are new, tougher requirements for being America's ally. And as long as he remains well-positioned for another four years in the White House, we may have to do our share of puckering up. Canadians know that. We just don't have to like it.

More Stories of Horror

Over the past year harrowing first-hand testimonies from North Korean defectors have detailed execution and torture, and now chilling evidence has emerged that the walls of Camp 22 hide an even more evil secret: gas chambers where horrific chemical experiments are conducted on human beings.

Witnesses have described watching entire families being put in glass chambers and gassed. They are left to an agonising death while scientists take notes. The allegations offer the most shocking glimpse so far of Kim Jong-il's North Korean regime.[SNIP]

Most are imprisoned because their relatives are believed to be critical of the regime. Many are Christians, a religion believed by Kim Jong-il to be one of the greatest threats to his power. According to the dictator, not only is a suspected dissident arrested but also three generations of his family are imprisoned, to root out the bad blood and seed of dissent.

Kofi Wins Award

Venezuela Drug Use

Aid for Post-Castro Cuba

Some 100 officials culled from the National Security Council, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and the departments of State, Housing, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security began work on the report on Dec. 5.

Washington wants to quickly deploy aid to the Cuban countryside to avoid a massive migration into urban centers or across the Florida Straits to U.S. soil. U.S. officials are urging Cuban-American charities to register with USAID to make them eligible for federal funding.

One recommendation is that relief work be carried out through local Cuban officials to strengthen a transition government that can take credit for improvements. Another proposal calls for Cuba's public schools to be kept open.

USAID plans $7 million in aid for Cuba this year, on top of the $28 million the United States has spent on non-governmental organizations it says are working to promote human rights, a free flow of information and a peaceful transition in Cuba.

Afghan Turbulence

On Monday a singer called Salma appeared on television. The supreme court reacted by writing a letter demanding that such broadcasts be stopped. Later in the week footage of Ustad Mahwash, a female singing sensation in Afghanistan during the 1960s, was shown on television.

Deputy Chief Justice Fazel Ahmed Manawi had said the supreme court was "opposed to women singing and dancing as a whole".

"This is totally against the decisions of the supreme court and it has to be stopped," he said on Wednesday.

However, Women's Affairs Minister Habiba Surabi accused the court of "interfering in issues which are not their business".

"I didn't see anything un-Islamic in Ms Salma's footage," she said. "She was just sitting politely and singing."

Women have gradually been gaining a higher profile since the fall of the Taleban - which banned television outright - just over two years ago.

The Cost of Tyranny

As in the other cells, the women are packed so tightly they can only crouch, squeezing together, for sleep. There is no room to lie down, so when one of the women goes into labour, the others stand up to make space.

They watch, but are not allowed to help, as the baby is born. One woman designated by the guards takes the baby and lies it face down on the floor.

Then the women sit again, including the bleeding mother, and the baby is left to die. If it cries for too long, more than a day or two, a guard smothers it.

No crying is allowed, by the mother or the other women. If any explanation is given, the guard says: "You should not have gone to China. This will teach you to have sex with Chinese men, to have Chinese babies."

China's greatest fear, which motivates both its policy on the nuclear issue and its unwillingness to allow a flood of refugees, is that North Korea will collapse.

Meanwhile, Washington's offer of a non-aggression agreement could, according to some analysts, give Kim Jong-il's regime another 10-20 years.

Decriminalizing Theft

Supreme Court Judge Alejandro Angulo Fontiveros said the so-called "famine theft" clause should be part of a broad penal code reform measure for humanitarian reasons.

"This is a guide for judges to avoid injustice," said Mr Fontiveros, who is in charge of drafting the reforms.

"They lock up for years a poor person who lives in atrocious misery and what they need is medicine."

But critics say the initiative will fuel crime in a country mired in a recession and where police last year reported an average of 25 murders a day and thousands of robberies a month.

Reap What ye Sow

By September, the Canadian army will have only 500 troops available for deployment, fewer soldiers than the National Hockey League has players.

I blame the French-Canadians.

What Media Bias?

Now imagine a protest of over 130,000 people. That deserves a blurb or two, would you think?

Read this. Jews turning out en masse to say they will not surrender to terrorism, they will not give land to murderers. Yet nary a peep from our press.

UN Proving Ineffective . . . Again

More than half of U.N. members have yet to report on their efforts to crack down on the al Qaeda network, as required by the Security Council in September 2001, a council diplomat said on Monday.

To date, just 93 of the United Nations' 191 member-states have filed reports with the Security Council committee charged with monitoring U.N. sanctions on al Qaeda and Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers, said Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, the committee's chairman.

The council plans to adopt a resolution on Friday that would put more pressure on noncomplying countries and also tighten the sanctions and facilitate international cooperation in battling terrorism, Munoz told reporters.

On the other hand, I'm really starting to like Algeria:

Algeria's U.N. ambassador, Abdallah Baali, called on the council committee to release the names of those countries that had failed to file their reports, along with their reasons. Baali also expressed surprise that the committee's official list named just 371 groups and individuals suspected of links to al Qaeda or the Taliban. He blamed governments that hesitated to share their intelligence findings or refused to acknowledge that al Qaeda affiliates might be operating within their borders.

Label Reform

The quality so long associated with the three little words �Made in Germany� could soon become a thing of the past, destined to be swallowed up by the wide mouth of the European Union. The Financial Times Deutschland reported Monday that the European Commission plans to implement a new pan-European label bearing the words �Made in the European Union.� The FTD report was based on an internal EU paper in which EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy the desire to establish the EU label as a mark of quality and use it to push forward domestic integration. Lamy also sees it as a way of fighting fraudulent claims of origin. The paper claimed that many companies wrongly label their products, and that many textiles which claim to be �Made in Germany� or �Made in Italy� in fact come from Thailand or India. Not surprisingly German industry is opposed to dispensing with its seal of quality. A legal expert for the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Henrike Vieregge, told the paper that the association would reject any suggestion to create an EU label law.

I can just see a French winemaker being told he has to remove region identification from the label. Va te faire foutre, mon ami!

Australia Gripped in Crime

The extent to which Middle Eastern crime gangs have moved into the drug market is breathtaking. They are now the main suppliers of cocaine in Sydney and are developing markets in southeastern Queensland and Victoria. They are leading suppliers of heroin in and around the inner city, southwest Sydney and western Sydney.

But what sets the Middle Eastern gangs apart from all other gangs is their propensity to use violence at any time and for any reason. Unlike their Vietnamese counterparts, Middle Eastern crime gangs roam the city and are not confined to Cabramatta or Chinatown. And even more alarming is that the violence is directed mainly against young Australian men and women. It is plain that violent attacks on our young men and women are racial as well as criminal. [SNIP]

That groups of Middle Eastern males can roam a city and assault, rob and intimidate at will can no longer be denied or excused. You need only to look at Paris and other European countries that have had mass immigration from Middle Eastern countries to see the sort of problems we can look forward to in years to come. My prediction is that within 10 years Middle Eastern crime groups will have spread and their influence will extend across Australia as they seek to expand their enterprises. There will be no-go areas in southwest Sydney just like there are in Paris.

Upside-down Employment Figures

Saudis constitute only 11.62 percent of the Kingdom�s total work force, according to Ahmad Al-Mansour Al-Zamil, deputy minister for labor affairs. �The number of workers in the Kingdom reached five million on Jan. 7 this year. Among them Saudis number 581,000,� he said, quoting the latest statistics of the information center at the Agency for Labor Affairs.

North Korea Backs Down

North Korea offered Tuesday to refrain from producing nuclear weapons as a "bold concession" to rekindle talks over its arms programs.

The move comes as the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas scramble to arrange a new round of negotiations, with South Korea and Russian saying they are unlikely this month.

North Korea has said before it is willing to freeze its "nuclear activities" in exchange for U.S. aid and being taken off Washington's roster of terrorism sponsoring nations.

On Tuesday it specified it was "set to refrain from testing and production of nuclear weapons and stop even operating (its) nuclear power industry for a peaceful purpose."

I blame the picture of Saddam being dragged from a rat-infested spider hole.

Democracy Takes Root

UK Public Vote for Self Protection

It was trailed as a "unique chance to rewrite the law of the land". Listeners to BBC Radio 4's Today programme were asked to suggest a piece of legislation to improve life in Britain, with the promise that an MP would then attempt to get it onto the statute books.

But yesterday, 26,000 votes later, the winning proposal was denounced as a "ludicrous, brutal, unworkable blood-stained piece of legislation" - by Stephen Pound, the very MP whose job it is to try to push it through Parliament.

Mr Pound's reaction was provoked by the news that the winner of Today's "Listeners' Law" poll was a plan to allow homeowners "to use any means to defend their home from intruders" - a prospect that could see householders free to kill burglars, without question.

"The people have spoken," the Labour MP replied to the programme, "... the bastards."

Having recovered his composure, Mr Pound told The Independent: "We are going to have to re-evaluate the listenership of Radio 4. I would have expected this result if there had been a poll in The Sun. Do we really want a law that says you can slaughter anyone who climbs in your window?"

The English do not have that luxury. Indeed, they don't have the option of defending their home. Indeed, they have been reduced to cowering behind reinforced doors hoping that a gang of thugs don't kick through the wall.

Journalists on Today are thought to have been taken aback by the choice of their listeners. Observers had assumed that the winning suggestion might be a little more light-hearted - and a little less illiberal.

Indeed, there were suspicions the vote may have been hijacked by supporters of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who was jailed for shooting a burglar. The winning proposal enjoyed a late surge in support in the final 24 hours of the poll, a jump attributed by the BBC to the fact that telephone votes - which were more firmly in favour of the anti-burglar proposal - were added at the last minute.

Mr Pound will go through the motions of presenting the Bill to Parliament but hoped he would fail. He said it was "the sort of idea somebody comes up with in a bar on a Saturday night between 'string 'em all up' and 'send 'em all all home'".

Wake up and smell the fear your feel-good, liberal policies have spread across the land. It's time to be a little more illiberal, Mr. Pound. A little more illiberal indeed.

Domino Theory?

North Korea said Saturday that it was willing to hold six-nation talks early next year on ending its nuclear-weapons program.

China's top diplomat on the Korean nuclear issue, Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, met North Korean leaders in Pyongyang this week, an unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the North's official news agency, KCNA.

"Both sides...expressed their willingness to make appropriate preparations so that talks can resume at an early date next year to continue the process for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue," KCNA quoted him as saying.

With Saddam Hussein in captivity, some tribal elders from his old power base are showing greater willingness to work with Iraq's American occupiers, realizing they must carve out a new political role for the Sunni Muslim minority that long ruled the country.

Leftie that is Right On

"The Europeans," explained MP Schroeder, "supported the Palestinian Authority with the aim of becoming its main sponsor, and through this, challenge the U.S. and present themselves as the future global power. Therefore, the Al-Aksa Intifada should be understood as a proxy war between Europe and the United States."

"It is an open secret within the European Parliament that EU aid to the Palestinian Authority has not been spent correctly," MP Schroeder said during a recent address in New York. "The European Parliament does not intend to verify whether European taxpayers' money could have been used to finance anti-Semitic murderous attacks. Unfortunately, this fits well with European policy in this area."

"There is no difference in the consciousness of an average member of the European Parliament and an average German peace demonstrator, and I consider this to be a mixture of naivete, moralism, anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Zionism and an altogether serious danger," she said during her U.S. speaking tour. "It is against these trends that my efforts are directed."

Proving that not all leftists are ideological hypocrites.

Coming of Thatcher's Europe

First, she was the driving political force behind the creation of the EU's single market, the legislation that created a full free-trade zone with common technical standards that did more than anything else to create a common EU economic system. Her appointee as commissioner, Lord Arthur Cockfield, drafted the legislation, and she teamed up with then EU Commission President Jacques Delors to drive it forward.

Second, she insisted that just as the EU had grown and flourished under the American security umbrella, the Atlantic Alliance of NATO must remain the core of European security, and no delusions of some putative European superstate should be allowed to undermine the essential American partnership.

Third, a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, she delivered at Bruges a speech that charted the future enlargement of the EU to include the Cold War's orphans, the countries of Eastern Europe dragooned into the Soviet embrace.

"We must never forget that East of the Iron Curtain peoples who once enjoyed a full share of European culture, freedom and identity have been cut off from their roots," she declared. "We shall always look on Warsaw, Prague and Budapest as great European cities."

In many ways, this triple Thatcherite legacy defines today's EU, or at least the central issues that command its attention. A more open and entrepreneurial EU, the pivotal question of the American relationship, and the next stage of enlargement that brings in the Eastern Europeans on May 1, can all be traced to her.

EU Divide Grows

Ahern voiced his opposition to a "core Europe" in an interview on Tuesday:

"The idea of a 'two-speed Europe' or of a 'hard core,' where certain countries would try to implement their agenda separately from the others, does not correspond to the common philosophy of the union."

He continued, "I really do not see what would justify a two-speed Europe and I am not convinced of its eventual advantages."

The future EU president may be setting himself up in opposition with the EU's motor, France and Germany, who are at the heart of the drive to establish a "core Europe," Le Monde reported.

Sacrifice for a Good Cause

Pilgrims at this year�s Haj will slaughter as many as 700,000 heads of sheep and several thousand heads of camels and cows, with much of the sacrificial meat then distributed among the poor.

The animals will be sacrificed under a special project initiated by the Kingdom two decades ago. Known as Saudi Arabia�s Sacrificial Meat Utilization Project, it is designed to make use of the meat by distributing it to the poor and needy in the Kingdom and abroad.

Around two million Muslims from all over the world, half of them from Saudi Arabia, are expected to perform the annual pilgrimage this time.

Outrage of the Day

He was sentenced to nine years in prison. (I guess in Germany each life is only worth three years, but I digress.)

He was to eligible for parole in May, having served two-thirds of his sentence. (I'm guessing that he got credit for time served before his conviction.)

On Monday, German authorities pardoned and released him.

The Hesse state justice ministry said its decision to pardon Klein followed clemency requests by "several citizens" it did not identify. A ministry statement gave no further details.

Canada Going Conservative?

Deporting Illegals

Police in Norway last month deported a record number of would-be immigrants who had no right to permanent residence in the country. It's part of a new effort to enforce immigration law.

I.N.S.? Are you listening?

Chinese Progress

China's Communist Party leaders on Monday proposed amendments to the nation's constitution enshrining a legal right to private property while broadening the focus of the party to represent private businesses.

Virtually assured of adoption in the party-controlled National People's Congress, the amendments constitute a significant advance in China's ongoing transition from communism to capitalism. They also amount to recognition that the economic future of the world's most populous country rests with private enterprise -- a radical departure from the roots of this land still known as the People's Republic of China.

Stronger Gun Control in Brazil

Under the so-called disarmament statute passed Dec. 9 by Congress, only the armed forces, police, prison guards and private security personnel can possess firearms in Brazil.

The law was "a landmark for Brazilian democracy," Silva said. "An important aim of the law is to choke off one of the sources of organized crime by denying them access to firearms."

According to World Health Organization data, a Brazilian is murdered every 12 minutes, with more than 90 percent of murders committed with firearms, the president said.

Another Example of Ineffectual UN Policy

Staff and diplomats at the United Nations are flouting their own secretary-general's health directive to quit smoking and abide by the rules of the U.N.'s own World Health Organization - not to mention the local laws of New York City.

Walk into the U.N.'s world headquarters on the East River and you'll be hit by the stale smell of smoke.

Throughout the building, clouds of smoke billow from various corners including an espresso bar and the popular delegates lounge, where representatives from 191 countries blatantly puff away, oblivious to the tobacco-stained no-smoking signs.

Last September, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a directive to his staff: No smoking in the building.

Neither Annan nor the city have the power to tell diplomats what to do - that's why the city loses out on millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets amassed by envoys successfully claiming diplomatic immunity.

But Annan does have the authority to discipline his staff.

For a while, after the directive was issued, the staff stopped smoking - at least publicly. Certain offices and hidden basement areas remained smelly, smoky bastions of defiant, butt-puffing staffers.

"We hope the staff will abide by the rules," a U.N. spokesman said. "Staff could in theory be disciplined for smoking. It's within the secretary-general's authority to do so."

But Annan never got around to setting up enforcement guidelines for his no-smoking directive. Over time, the smokers came out of their hiding holes and resumed puffing - defiantly - in U.N. lounges and coffee spots.

French Health Troubles Again

It is not known if this is what drove a Bordeaux resident to burn all his cash in the bathtub ($288,500 US) and then take a bottle of pills. He was saved by emergency services, his cash was not.

Bush in Iraq

Bush to Drop Steel Tariffs

England to Overturns Double Jeopardy

Lula Not Green Enough?

Now Brazilian environmentalists are expressing their extreme displeasure with Lula:

On virtually every major issue � from Amazon deforestation and genetically modified food to nuclear power and squatter invasions of national parks � Mr. da Silva has turned his back on them, environmentalists say, in many cases abandoning campaign pledges.

I admit that I was fearful of what would happen when Lula won the election 13 months ago. I was afraid that his communist beliefs would ruin South America's largest economy. But Lula has turned out to be far more moderate than I feared, accepting the need for a strong private sector. The man seems to have placed reality over ideology.

If only more politicians did the same.

Hat tip to Southern Exposure.

French Joke

He said France had long resisted American ideals, noting antipathy faced by the last US president to stay at Buckingham Palace, Woodrow Wilson in 1918, when he arrived in World War I Europe touting his so-called "14 points for peace."

"Many complimented him on his vision, yet some were dubious," Bush said of Wilson. "Take, for example, the prime minister of France. He complained that God, himself, had only 10 commandments."

He referred to comments at the time made by then French prime minister Georges Clemenceau who said of Wilson's 14 points: "Even the good Lord contented himself with only 10 commandments and we should not try to improve upon them."

"Sounds familiar," Bush said to appreciative laughter from an audience well steeped itself in rivalry with France.

Today's Must Read

It is pure fiction that this pro-American sentiment was either squandered after Sept. 11 or lost under the Bush Administration. It never existed. Envy for America, resentment of our power, hatred of our success has been a staple for decades, but most particularly since victory in the cold war left us the only superpower.

Bill Clinton was the most accommodating, sensitive, multilateralist President one can imagine, and yet we know that al-Qaeda began the planning for Sept. 11 precisely during his presidency. Clinton made humility his vocation, apologizing variously for African slavery, for internment of Japanese Americans, for not saving Rwanda. He even decided that Britain should return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. A lot of good that did us. Bin Laden issued his Declaration of War on America in 1996--at the height of the Clinton Administration's hyperapologetic, good-citizen internationalism.

Rebellion, Russian Style

"Introducing a ban on kissing is really taking things to the Orwellian level of an anti-sexual league and capital punishment for the offence," Ms Novodvorskaya told Echo Moskvy radio station.

"However, if this is not a joke and the mayor's office is indeed drafting such a resolution, I will from now on spend my days kissing in public places - simply out of principle.

"The moment I see a nice person I know, I will immediately kiss them - even if I don't feel like it. I invite all other Moscovites to do the same," Ms Novodvorskaya added.

Fair French

Dig up your garbage, it is fouling our soil.
Rosbeefs (Brits) go home
Saddam Hussein will win and spill your blood
Death to the Yankees

All across France anti-Semitism is on the rise marked by a growing number of attacks on Jews and firebombing of synagogues, which, although blamed on the Arab community, is actually quite widespread.

Now the bodies of 17 German soldiers from World War II have been exhumed from a shallow mass grave kept secret for all these years so that they can be laid to rest in a no-doubt picturesque military cemetery off the Atlantic coast.

Not that these soldier's decayed remains, representative of an unprovoked invasion by brutal dictator, don't deserve to be buried by the sea. Not that all of the French are evil Jew-hating anti-American/British bastards.

But really.

New Afghan Constitution

Under the draft, considerable power will be invested in the president, who will appoint one-third of the members of the upper house of parliament. Of those, half must be women, the draft says, guaranteeing Afghan women a permanent role in the country's leadership for the first time. In the lower house, at least one woman must be elected from each of Afghanistan's 32 provinces.

Arabs Rewrite History

The Arab News carries an op-ed (of course, the don't call it an op-ed - over there it's just news) that is full of historical revisionism and ends in a rallying cry to crush Israel:

In the war of October 1973, Egypt crushed the Israeli army of occupation. They destroyed the Barlief Line that was described by military experts as unparalleled in military history and ended the lie that Israel had an invincible army. This year for the first time Egypt is celebrating its victory throughout the month of October rather than just on the day of victory.

Now what really happened is that Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack against Israel, pitting over 1.2 million troops against Israel's 200,000. Israel began mobilizing its troops six hours before the attack. After beating back the Syrian front, Israel spent ten days pushing a numerically superior Egyptian force deep into Egypt:

On October 24, with Israeli soldiers about one kilometer from the main Cairo-Ismailia highway and the Soviet Union threatening direct military intervention, the UN imposed a cease-fire.

It is true that Israel was only able to survive the treacherous attack because of massive arms airlifts from the US. However, losses on the Arab side amounted to some 19,000 (5,000 were Egyptian), while Israeli losses were in numbered about 4,000.

It's sad if Egypt has nothing better to celebrate than what amounted to a crushing defeat.

The Godless French

What do Spain, Ireland, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and the Czech Republic all have in common?

The are seven of the 25 countries that want references to Europe's Christian values inserted into the European Constitution:

The Convention, which drafted the Constitution, included a reference to the religious heritage of the European identity and civilisation. But the Convention failed to make an explicit reference to the Christian heritage. The seven countries feel this is unacceptable.

Italy is also in favor, but because it holds the current EU Presidency Italy is abstaining.

Who stands opposed? Well, the other 17 countries. Still, the measure is gaining support. On the other hand:

The French President Jacques Chirac has made it clear that he will defend the lay character of the French state and is not going to accept a "religious reference" in the EU Constitution.

Is there anything that the French won't oppose?

Wise Words

from the UK Telegraph on The EU's toy soldiers:

Without America, Europe lacks the capability to project force: it has neither air- nor sea-lift capacity, nor advanced communications satellites, nor modern missile systems. During the Kosovo campaign, Europeans flew only two per cent of all missions. In such circumstances, it is provocative folly to pretend that we can manage without the Americans. They may just take us at our word.

State of Canada's Military

If the Canadian soldiers are engaged in a smile-and-wave campaign then I'm going to call reports about how this government supports the military the bobble-head campaign for reasons which anyone who has ever seen Def. Min. McCallum perform in the Commons will immediately understand. (It is common to refer to the Liberal back-benchers as trained seals, but I 've always regarded seals as intelligent life forms.)

German Taxes

Well, they already have $8.1 billion of tax cuts slated for 2004. And now they gone and piled on another $18 billion in tax cuts.

And in an effort to reduce the staggering 10% unemployment figure, they are also combining unemployment and social security benefits, reducing the handout to the long-term jobless.

The tax-cut plan which would see the lowest income tax rate fall to 15 percent from 19.9 percent and the highest rate to 42 percent from 48.5 percent. It foresees cutting tax breaks and subsidies for home-builders and commuters.

Bolivia Celebrates

Newley is a blog maintained by an American in Ecuador, and is the best source I've found for keeping up with events as they unfold.

The New Cold War

What the Times predictably enough pooh-poohs is the military aspect. The historic launch not only put a man into orbit, it also put up a Chinese military spy satillite that has an infrared camera with a resolution of 1.6 meters and is able to intercept communications. In addition to spy capabilities, the Chinese are earnestly pursuing their own GPS system.

We have full knowledge that China is pursuing a space-based military initiative, yet we continue to fund it through maintaining an outrageously high trade deficit. Andrew Roberts has it right when he says:

The Second Boxer Rising has begun, but this time it is being fought on the battlefield of trade. (Beijing's trade surplus with the US now stands at $100 billion.) China's rulers are utterly ruthless; she has an army of 2.3 million men; her neighbours are understandably fearful; and she nurses proud but wounded national ambitions. It is high time that we woke up to the threat that an awakened Chinese empire poses to our present global hegemony.

Boycott Chinese goods. If you don't, you are helping to build spy satellites that track American military units and nuclear weapons pointed at American cities.

It really is just that simple.

Update: Say Anything has a post on this subject, only his is funnier.

Fart Tax Evaporates

Pvt. Lynch's Savior

During Saddam's rule, al Rehaief said that he had seen many cruelties but had decided not to intervene in most of them.

"This once I would say no to Saddam. He could not have this girl. This once my heart won over my head," he wrote, saying that he felt helping Lynch helped him also.

"I have gotten back what Saddam tried to take from us all those years. I have my humanity, and that is enough."

Bush to Reform the UN?

Great idea. I won't hold my breath.

New Record

Taiwan now has the world's tallest skyscraper at 508 meters. For the metric-challenged, that's a half kilometer. It has 101 stories and will contain a mall, office space and an observatory.

What I find interesting is the competition between countries. Taiwan's new structure is 50 meters taller than the previous record holder, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

In Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was undaunted by the announcement that his country no longer has the world's tallest office tower. Mahathir said his nation's Petronas Towers had their own unique place in the record books.

"They have one very tall building, taller than ours, but we have two. We have the distinction of having the tallest twin towers in the world. No one else has that yet," Mahathir told journalists at a summit of Islamic nations.

The twin 88-storey structures are symbols of national pride and economic progress for mainly Muslim Malaysia.

So symbols of economic progress are a fine thing for Muslims, but if they are American they and everyone therein must be turned into rubble.

I see.

Safe in Britain?

Last year saw:

• 12% increase in violent attacks
• 7% increase in murders, manslaughters, threats to kill, serious wounding and other life-threatening offenses
• 12% increase in muggings, harassment, less serious wounding, possession of weapons, common assaults and attacks on kids

• 4.3% increase in overall crime
• 13.2% increase in murders and manslaughter

• 5.4% increase in sex crimes
• 5.3% increase in criminal damage
• 1.7% increase in drug offenses
• 10.6% increase in violence
• 5.8% increase in murder and life-endangering acts
• 4% decrease in household burglaries

Stunning Diplomatic Victory

The resolution specifically authorizes a multinational force under U.S. command and calls for troop contributions as well as �substantial pledges� from the 191 U.N. member states at a donors conference in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 23-24.

It also calls on the the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council to produce by Dec. 15 a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding elections, a process which could take several years. But it gives no date for a transfer of power.

Most significantly, I think, it means that Democrats wishing to politicize the rebuilding of Iraq have had their legs cut out from underneath them. For the love of all that's good and holy, even Syria voted in favor of making certain Iraq is given a chance at rebuilding their country. Sen. Kennedy, I encourage you to miss this opportunity to sit down and shut the hell up. Please, please show once again what an ass you are.

Colin Powell is a genius at diplomacy. I'd never vote for him for president, but once again the president's knack of hiring the right people for the right job has been confirmed.

3rd Space Nation

Well, they've done it. 38 y.o. Yang Liwei lifted off from the Gobi desert at 0100 GMT and the craft entered orbit ten minutes later, making China the third nation to put a man into space.

The craft is scheduled to make 14 orbits in 20 hours before returning to earth.

Trouble in Bolivia

This is a nation with 8.5 million people, of which 60% live on less than $2 a day. During the 1990's there was a significant progress in privatizing state-owned industries: airline, telephone, railroad, electric power, and oil. But the last three years have seen a major slowdown in the world economy and Bolivia has suffered, thus the government's anti-poverty programs have suffered.

In 2002 a general election failed to provide a clear majority for any candidate, forcing a runoff in Congress. US-educated Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is a millionaire on the center-right of the political spectrum. He won the Congressional vote. His opponent was Evo Morales, a radical Indian leader of Bolivia's coca growers.

President de Lozada oversaw much of the privatization programs in the 90's, and wishes to continue the trend. He proposed a plan to export natural gas through Chile for sale to the United States and Mexico, bringing and estimated $1.5 billion in revenue each year. This plan has set off a wave of violence that has claimed the lives of over 50 people, injured many more and has possibly sparked plans to topple him, barely one year into his five-year term. As Congressman Morales, a protest leader, said:

"What the Bolivian people want is that the gas remain in Bolivia, for the benefit of Bolivians."

There are a number of factors at work here, mostly historical.

1. The country has a long history of being exploited by foreign powers; the level of distrust is extremely high when one speaks of selling resources to other nations.
2. Bolivia is a landlocked nation, having lost its coastline to Chile way back in 1879. These people know how to carry a grudge - resentment towards Chile is still very strong and the people do not want Chile to benefit from Bolivia's natural resources.
3. The people do not believe that the economic rewards of privatization will filter down to them. With the long history of privatization and the large number of impoverished citizens, it is difficult to blame them.

As a result, the weak coalition of centrist parties is disintegrating, while the leaders of parties like the Left Revolutionary Movement and Movement Toward Socialism are taking advantage of the situation, calling for de Lozada's resignation. The protesters are further demanding that the government abandon plans to take part in the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas and renounce free market economic policies which have been in place since 1985.

De Lozada now sits in the presidential palace surrounded by a ring of tanks. He states it clearly when he says:

"Bolivia is in danger," he said. "It is being attacked by a subversive project from abroad aimed at destroying Bolivian democracy. They will not succeed because our democratic institutions are strong."

Update: InstaPundit connects the dots, and they make an outline of a terrorist.

Update: Newly blogrolled Newly.com posts a letter from his brother in Bolivia, who explains the reasons behind some of the people's sentiments:

For one thing, because many Bolivians still resent their loss of coastline to Chile over a hundred years ago, but mainly that so many industries have been privatized here (part of the IMF recommendations to stabilize Bolivian currency (which worked) and economy (which hasn�t seen much change) and there has been no benefit to the poor majority of Bolivians. For example, the train system was sold to a Chilean company and now trains don�t run to La Paz because the route wasn�t profitable. The national phone system was sold to an Italian company, etc., etc. It seemed that the rich were the only people to benefit from these changes. They don�t want to see the same thing happen again without guarantees that they will see some benefit.

Sources: CIA World Factbook
BBC News Country Profiles
CBS News: Back To The Future In Bolivia
Yahoo! News: Bolivian Leader Nixes Plan to Export Gas
MercoPress: Bolivian leader refuses to resign
SF Gate: Bolivia protest spirals into general rebellion
Forbes: Tanks shield Bolivia president from growing revolt

French Fun

France in Dire Straits

Regardless, the Straits Times reports on the plummeting morale of the French, and inventories France's troubles:

• Annual growth of the GDP is projected to be 0.2 per cent, the lowest in 10 years.
• Budget deficit will be 4 per cent (again).
• French economic performance is 10th among the 15 members of the EU.
• French economy dropped 10 places in one year to 30th most competitive economy in the world.
• The state employs seven million, or one in four, workers.
• Their salaries and perks cost 13.5 per cent of GDP.
• Their jobs are guaranteed for life, regardless of work performance.
• The pension system for civil servants is in a US$50-billion (S$86.5-billion) deficit.
• The 35-hour work week costs 13.7 billion euros ($27 billion) to subsidize work reduction and job creation.
• There is now less foreign direct investment than 10 years ago.
• Only one in two foreign companies expected to expand its French operations.
• One in four foreign companies are considering relocating.
• French companies, too, are moving abroad.

It shows in the dysfunctions of the public service and government system, political and business scandals, the rise of extremist parties and the marginalisation of France in Europe and in the world, due partly to its stance on Iraq and defiant violations of its financial obligations in the EU.

Mr Yvon Jacob, president of the Federation of Mechanical Industries, said the only way out was to adapt at full speed.

'Otherwise the French economy will find itself stuck in a formidable vice, between the emerging economies which are gobbling up unceasingly the market shares, and the super-power of America, which is the world leader of innovation,' he said.

International News Roundup

Interim Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia says that he will resign (again).

Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada declared martial law in the city of El Alto to quell massive protests that are taking place throughout the nation. The president wants to sell gas to the United States and Mexico, bringing an estimated $1.5 billion to the impoverished nation. Opponents argue that efforts to privatize state industries (such as petroleum companies) will not bring economic benefits to the workers. The protests have successfully stopped progress the plan, for now.

Saudi Arabia, the poster child for monarchists everywhere, will hold its first elections. Citizens will be electing municipal councils:

In taking this action, Saudi Arabia has joined a growing trend toward experiments in democracy in other Gulf Arab countries. The decision also coincided with the opening of the first human rights conference in Riyadh.

Bridging the Digital Divide

Things were slow at first. But then Sakkarai learned from a neighbor, Arumugam Gurusami, of a mysterious blight that was turning his okra crop a sickly yellow. She used her webcam to take a picture of one of the diseased plants, then e-mailed it to a scientist at a regional agricultural college. Later the same day, the scientist got back to her with a proposed remedy -- boron urea, a kind of fertilizer. Thrilled, Sakkarai printed out the response and hurried it over to Gurusami, charging him 10 rupees -- about 22 cents -- for the information.

"I didn't even know the word computer," recalled Gurusami, a grizzled man of 50. Now, he added, "I can sit at home and find answers to my problems."

As word of the okra cure spread, business began to pick up, and this summer Sakkarai crossed a critical threshold, bringing in gross monthly revenue of about $65 -- the threshold at which the kiosk business is deemed profitable.

France Sucks

It is expected to pass a floor vote in the House (275 of 435 members co-sponsored the bill) and should sail through the Senate in a few weeks. The president opposed a similar bill last year but is expected to sign this one if it reaches his desk.

France opposes placing sactions on Syria:

"France, as a general rule, is very reserved, not to say hostile, with regard to sanctions procedures, since history has shown us that they were not effective and created more problems then they solved," Chirac said in the eastern city of Fez.

Of course, this is from the country whose capital city (Paris) recently made convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal an honorary citizen.

Reaping the Rewards of Appeasement

Of course, this was a UN program and not a Clinton administration program, but hey - the Left assured us that the kids dying in Iraq before the war was Bush's fault so can't the same be said for Clinton? Especially as he didn't try to stop it.

Well OK then, how about talking about a Clinton success story? The 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea, which North Korea never had any intention of honoring. It kept America's eye elsewhere, allowing Kim Il Sung to pursue nuclear arms and missile delivery systems - with the added bonus of getting 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil each and every year from America, up until we could send them two light water nuclear reactors.

The other thing it allowed Kim to do is engage in a starvation campaign not seen since Stalin's orchestrated famine in 1932 Ukraine.

Tens of thousands starved in the latest famine, from 1995 to 1997. Lee, who asked that her given name not be used, was a clerk in a government office who notarized the deaths in her town. She is a pretty young woman, 29, with tumbling hair curling to her shoulders and smooth, flawless skin that belies the hardships she has faced and struggles to explain. "We started seeing cannibalism," she recalled, pausing. "You probably won't understand."

She went on: "When one is very hungry, one can go crazy. One woman in my town killed her 7-month-old baby, and ate the baby with another woman. That woman's son reported them both to the authorities.

"I can't condemn cannibalism. Not that I wanted to eat human meat, but we were so hungry. It was common that people went to a fresh grave and dug up a body to eat meat. I witnessed a woman being questioned for cannibalism. She said it tasted good."

Three years later (1997) it became apparent that North Korea was testing nuclear weapons devices, so the Clinton appeasement squad negotiating team went down on their knees again back to the table. Negotiating at breakneck speed, by 1999 an agreement was reached. In exchange for 500,000 tons of food (which North Korea obviously needed) we got to send in weapons inspectors. In all, the Clinton administration raised the amount of food and economic assistance for North Korea from zero to a total of almost a billion dollars over his two terms.

And what have we gotten with a negotiation through appeasement policy? In 1998 North Korea tested a multistage rocket over Japan. In 1999 Clinton eased economic sanctions. In 2000 North Korea again threatens to restart its nuclear program and in 2001 it begins work on creating missiles capable of reaching the United States with nuclear-sized payloads (and we think they already have two nukes).

With a history of smashingly successful conciliatory negotiations as these, is it any wonder that the Left wanted us to continue in the same vein with Iraq? And I wonder what reason the Left will give for continuing KIM Chong-il's regime when a Republican president decides the time is right to remove him and free another oppressed people?

Hat tip to Pathetic Earthlings for the cannibalism article.

Euroscepticism

First, there's the tiff between France and Brussels over the matter of France breaking the EU's Stability Pact for the third straight year: France is projected to yet again exceed the 3% limit on budget deficits.

The irritation in Brussels is palpable: the French understanding of rules, goes a widespread feeling, is that they apply to everybody else.

For their part, the French are exasperated by what they regard as a narrow-minded Brussels obsession with such rules and an inflexible disregard for the broader picture.

The "bigger picture", of course, is that the French have already cut taxes and pensions (angering many state workers). Now, even the Left's beloved 35-hour work week is under scrutiny:

The 35-hour week was introduced by left-wing former prime minister Lionel Jospin five years ago amid visions of a society with lower unemployment and more leisure time.

But with unemployment at 9.6 per cent and wage freezes common, 36 per cent of the French want the system scrapped and 18 per cent want it suspended, a survey by pollster CSA showed.

Many blamed the 35-hour week for cutting staff numbers in hospitals in August, contributing to 15,000 heatwave deaths.

Even in France, public opinion is turning against the concept of a united Europe.

So much for this less-than-noble experiment.

Nigeria Enters Space Age

On Earth, however, Nigeria is struggling to provide 132 million citizens with clean water, basic health services and education.

Most villages outside state capitals have no running water or electricity, 70 percent of the country's roads are dirt tracks, and over 30 percent of the population is illiterate. Only nine in every 1,000 residents has a telephone, only six in 1,000 a computer, according to the World Bank. Annual per capital income is about $290.

UN and Globalization

Here's one that wants to have one big, happy currency:

After the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, exchange rates were based on gold and were relatively stable until 1971, when rates were allowed to float.Since then, governments have sought to stabilize exchange rates by various mechanisms, such as pegging one small country's currency to that of a larger country, but nothing has worked well.

That's why we now have arrived at the time when a single global currency would be beneficial.

Thankfully, there are people like Arnold Kling that ask the important questions, like are you the US party or the UN party?

Israel flexes its muscles

It was also reported that the planes subsequently flew into Syrian airspace and buzzed a palace in which President Bashar Assad was staying.

In response to this aggressive act, France surrendered.

It's a Coup

The situation is somewhat murky, due to limited access to the region:

"Most of the phone lines appear to be down and it's very difficult to get calls in and out, so we're trying to find out what's going on," an official at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, said.

The U.S. Embassy in Senegal has had responsibility for Guinea-Bissau since the United States closed its embassy there following the 1998 rebellion.

Ahmed Qurei, friend or foe?

1. Who is Ahmed Qurei?
2. Qurei: Every inch of Jerusalem
3. More moderation from Qurei - Israel back to 1947 borders
4. Qurei the moderate: "Israel is a Jewish state. These words should not have been said."

I'll never read the word 'reforestation' the same way again

Transplanted pubic hair is the latest trend in South Korea, where it is regarded as a sign of fertility. Surgeon Afschin Fatemi, from Unna in Germany, said: "In the West, women try to reduce their genital hair as much as possible, but in Korea the trend is for forestation."

He said a mass of pubic hair was considered a sign of fertility, which was why many women were paying as much as �1,700 to have hair transplanted from their heads. Fatemi added: "The structure of head and pubic hair on Asians is quite similar. The implanted hair isn't long and rarely falls out."

The operation is conducted under local anaesthetic and bandaging can be removed after just one day.

China in Pursuit of Space Superiority

Chinese security experts have a keen appreciation of America's space-based assets and how the military envisions using them in future conflicts. Strategists in the People's Liberation Army have studied our campaigns in the 1991 Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan and this year's war in Iraq.

They have observed our overwhelming superiority in the general field of "C4ISR" (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). More importantly, they have noted that our superiority in communication, reconnaissance and surveillance depends on what we have up in space.

But a decade's-worth of technical articles in Chinese science digests discussing how to fight a war in space and analyzing U.S. strengths and vulnerability make it clear that Beijing has a long-running military program designed to challenge America's dominance in -- and dependence on -- space.

China's Technology Research Academy, for example, has been developing an advanced anti-satellite weapon called a "piggyback satellite." The system is designed to seek out an enemy satellite (or space station or space-based laser) and attach itself like a parasite, either jamming the enemy's communications or physically destroying the unit.

The PLA also is experimenting with other types of satellite killers: land-based, directed-energy weapons and "micro-satellites" that can be used as kinetic energy weapons. According to the latest (July 2003) assessment by the U.S. Defense Department, China will probably be able to field a direct-ascent anti-satellite system in the next two to six years.

2,000 Slaves Freed - and Counting

Earlier this year, the government announced a raft of initiatives to stamp out the practice.

These included increasing the number of inspectors and measures to ensure that farmers found with slave labour on their properties should not only be forced to pay them compensation but would go to prison.

Iraqi view of "Arabism"

The NY Times has a refreshing editorial about attitudes in Iraq:

But here's what is new and will have a big impact on inter-Arab politics, if Iraq can be rebuilt: Many Iraqis today express real resentment for the other Arab regimes, and even toward the Palestinians, for how they let themselves be bought off by Saddam. They feel that Saddam used the Iraqi people's oil wealth to buy popularity for himself in the Arab street � by giving Palestinians and other Arab students scholarships and nice apartments in Baghdad, and by paying off all sorts of Arab nationalist writers and newspapers. And then these same Arab intellectuals and media gave Saddam a free pass to torture, repress and starve his own people. In other words, "Arabism," in the minds of many Iraqis, is the cloak that Saddam hid behind to imprison them for 35 years, and now that they can say that out loud, they are saying it.

Following the Euro Lead

The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, is proposing that the small governments of the Pacific islands join with Australia to form a Pacific Union, similar to the European Union, with a shared currency, a common labor market, and "a regional unit to respond to complex transnational crime and terrorism issues."

Reaction from governments in the region have been rather cool.

Euro-Differences

Today's must-read comes from Ralph Peters - an op-ed entitled Europe: Worlds Apart:

For Europeans - excluding the Brits, who are more like us than they sometimes find comfortable - "freedom" means freedom from things: from social and economic risk, from workplace insecurity and personal responsibility, from too much competition in the marketplace or too much scrutiny of governing elites.

Socialism, a doctrine born in Europe, struck very deep roots. The collective takes priority over the individual. The European social contract amounts to this: We will not let the talented rise too high, and we will not let the lazy fall too low. "Equality" doesn't mean equal opportunities, but equal limitations.

For Americans, freedom means the freedom to do: To make our own way, to struggle, achieve, to rise (to climb social, educational or economic ladders), to move beyond our parents' lot in life and give our children better chances still.

My favorite one-liner from the piece:

The Europeans with whom we must deal today are those whose ancestors lacked the courage to pack their bags and board the ships in Hamburg or Antwerp or Danzig.

Germany in EconTrouble

It's official, the German economy is in recession with two, and arguably three, quarters of slowing growth. Worse, they are in the middle of the third year of near-zero growth. And how will anti-American Schroeder respond?

With unemployment above 10 percent, Schroeder has proposed limited reforms aimed at shaking up the country's costly welfare-state system of benefits and worker protections, such as reducing the duration of unemployment benefits and making it easier for small firms to fire people.

The government also plans to move up a planned tax cut worth euro15.5 billion ($17.5 billion) by a year to next January.

It turns out Schroeder is a Republican!

Monster Heatwave

Europeans have endured two grueling weeks of record temperatures as a heat wave has Europe in its grip, and at least another week of heat is forecast. British meteorologists have recorded temperatures exceeding 100F for the first time in history, and the Bavarian city of Roth set a new record for Germany at 105F.

Scores of Parisians have died as a result of the heat wave, and the Pope asked that people join him in prayer to ask relief in the form of rain.

As 20 forest fires sprang up across Italy, most were quickly controlled. But France and especially central Portugal have not been so lucky, losing 430,000 acres and 2,000 kilometers of power lines to fire with damage estimates topping a billion dollars.

It is so hot that in Britain, Virgin Rail canceled some service for fear that the tracks would bend in the heat, and Network Rail imposed speed limits of 60 mph on some routes. It is so hot, that some portions of the usually-ultra-fast autobahn swelled three feet and had to be shut down. It is so hot that two ships sunk in the Danube River during World War II have become visible for the first time, and portions of some rivers have to be dredged to allow shipping to navigate the usually-busy waterways. It is so hot that the British Airways Concorde has to make a pit stop on the usually-straight-through London-NY flight to fuel up because jets use more fuel in hot weather.

In France, it is feared that the parched ground will yield a disastrous truffle harvest, and vineyards predicting a bumper crop a month ago are now seeing their grapes burning on the vine. Ranchers, grain farmers and fruit growers are all seeing years of work being destroyed, with an estimated $6 billion loss projected for Italian farmers alone and one million chickens dying in France last week.

And even the vaunted French power supply is in danger. France usually exports power because of their 58 nuclear power plants, but it is so hot that they cannot cool the reactor casings

In fact, it is hard to find anyone in Europe happy about the weather - other than British pub and bar owners, of course. It seems that they estimated an extra three million pints of beer were expected to be consumed over the weekend.

Update: A Little More to the Right has a much better picture of the Euro-heat wave than I.

Update II: Lunch conversation turned to the heat wave in Europe and I stated that the French were battling forest fires.

The immediate reply was, "What do they do? Run up and wave a white flag at it?"

Tony Martin Speaks

The Mirror has a pair of interesting articles on Tony Martin. In the first, Mr. Martin speaks about the ordeal of the police interrogation and subsequent trial. But the second article is the one that really caught my attention, as he speaks of the wrongheadedness of English law. Selected quotes:

"Why should a criminal, a person approaching a house, an assailant who is with intent and has all the advantages, who knows what he is doing even though you have no idea - why should he have any rights? The burglar puts the householder in a legal minefield and how can that be allowed to happen? You're minding your own business but as the law stands at the moment it allows burglars all the rights."

"People say burglars don't want trouble, well if they really don't want any trouble what are they doing breaking into someone's house."

"When I was in Pentonville [prison] there was a chap who was all pleased with himself. He actually had the nerve to tell me 'I did all right, I got my sentence reduced because the house I broke into was a bit run down and the people were old'. What sort of sense does that make. I was disgusted. You get a lesser sentence because the victims were old."

"I met a bloke in prison who had over 100 convictions. The last one was for breaking in armed with a machete." He pauses and then repeats almost incredulously: "A machete! Was he planning on doing the gardening while he was there?" Visibly exasperated he went on: "Anyway, because the place wasn't occupied at the time and he was an aspiring poet he was given a suspended sentence. Needless to say he is back inside now - he didn't turn up for probation."

There's much more, well worth the read. This is what happens when people get too "civilized".

Liberia

Financial Times has a very short Liberia Primer for those wishing to come up to speed quickly.

Who says tax cuts don't work?

The Economist reports that the European economy is stuck in near-neutral, calling for some hard-to-swallow reforms that are rolling back some of the socialist measures previously put into place. In Germany, a series of rather modest health-care reforms have been passed:

The health minister, Ulla Schmidt, was forced to drop more dramatic proposals, like allowing health funds to have contracts with individual doctors, rather than collective agreements with doctors� associations.

Even so, the reform is radical by German standards, and Ms Schmidt hopes that increased transparency will cut down on fraud and increase efficiency. Moreover, the government�s success in getting even this measure of reform enacted is a sign of a new realism in Germany about the extent of the country�s economic malaise.

Chancellor Shoder failed to make promised reforms after he won election, but is set to change that:

Only this year, with the economy still reeling, has he come up with a broad reform package, known as Agenda 2010. This plan includes a reduction in Germany�s generous unemployment benefits, making it easier for small companies to hire and fire (though workers in bigger companies will retain strong protection against dismissal), as well as some pension and health-care reforms. The government claims that cuts in tax and social-security contributions have already resulted in an additional 930,000 part-time and temporary jobs.

The government is also cutting income taxes and has accelerated the cuts, which will now take effect next year. Some euro22 billion ($26 billion) will be cut from workers� tax bills from next January�equivalent, Mr Schr�der says, to a 10% tax cut for the average worker. In an effort to get workers to spend the extra money, the government has loosened laws restricting store-opening hours.

Germany, France and Italy all share one additional problem: "a killer combination of an ageing population, low birth rates and generous pension provision."

Earlier this year, France reformed the government sponsored pension plan, even though hundreds of thousands went on strike to protest the move. France is also cutting taxes, running the risk of violating the European Union's mandate that no country can run a deficit higher than 3%.

The attempts by Germany and France to deal with their stagnant economies bear striking similarities. Both are attempting to implement structural reforms, while cutting taxes, and both are certain this year to breach the stability pact�s 3% limit on budget deficits for countries within Europe�s single-currency area. The limit has already attracted widespread criticism for being too inflexible during an economic downturn.

So who says tax cuts don't work? Not France or Germany, who have even come to the realization that running a deficit during an economic downturn is what is needed to get the economy going again. Once again, the United States leads by example, and others - even the rabidly anti-American - follow.

The Danish Move to the Right

I remain fascinated by European politics, which is why I was so pleased to run across a rather good entry by Norwegian blogger Bj�rn St�rk about Danish politics. Excerpted here, this is a must read for those following our Euro-cousins:

Until 2001, that is, when something dreadful happened. Danish politics, which we had formerly assumed to be as safely social democratic as our own, took a turn to the right - no, a wild jump to the right, over the abyss that separates good and proper welfare statism from the land of the Nazi hordes. Not only was the new Danish government further to the right than our own (!), by itself a Bad Thing, it cooperated with a group of extreme, racist proto-fascists known as the Danish People's Party, who rumor had it were even worse than our own extreme, racist, proto-fascist Progress Party. Or so it went. The Danes began introducing "racist" laws and joining "imperialist" wars abroad. For many, this became the excuse unlooked for to finally question the Danish stereotype. Unsurprisingly, those who did found that it wasn't completely accurate - there was more to the Danish character than beer and good food. This was a terrible disappointment, and as tends to happens, disappointment turned unwarranted love into bitterness.

A new Danish stereotype arose among our educated people, of the xenophobe and nationalist, of the racist and the soulless free marketeer. The Danish dream was dead, they proclaimed, as they thirty years ago proclaimed that the American dream was dead - back when they discovered that America wasn't the heaven of fast cars, beautiful people and golden opportunities they had thought it were, that it had poverty and politicians who told lies, that it fought pointless wars, that in fact it had some of the same faults as Europe. (We still haven't recovered from this discovery.) Now it was Denmark's turn for naive negative stereotypes to replace naive positive stereotypes.

Once there, take a look around Bj�rn's site. It looks like I've found yet another daily must-read.

Armstrong Battles Back

If you haven't been following the Tour de France, then you've been missing the most exciting contest in five years. The last four times that Texan Lance Armstrong has ridden in this competition he has easily led the field by five minutes or more at this stage of the race. This time he is struggling and after 14 stages he maintained a slender lead of 15 seconds.

Today's Stage 15 was billed as the deciding moment and it was widely believed that Lance would lose the yellow jersey. Instead, he recovered from a fall and won the stage:

Riding like a man possessed, Lance Armstrong demolished his rivals in a drama-packed climb in the 15th stage of the Tour de France on Monday, recovering from a hard crash to stamp his authority on the race after two weeks of difficulties.

Armstrong's win at Luz-Ardiden, high in the misty mountains of the Pyrenees, greatly increased the four-time champion's chances of equaling Miguel Indurain's record of five successive Tour wins.

Go, Lance, Go!

Tour de France

The Tour just finished a grueling three days in the Alps, punctuated by a tragic crash in which Spanish rider Joseba Beloki lost control of his bike and flipped. Beloki was a serious challenger; at the time of the crash he was in second place. But he broke his right femur, his elbow and his wrist and will undergo surgury in Spain. American Lance Armstrong was following Beloki and only avoided crashing into the fallen Beloki by going off the road into a field.

Armstrong is in the lead as the racers begin the tenth stage, and should be able to keep it on Tuesday as this stage is "too flat for serious challenges but ideal for sprinters."

Unless, of course, there are unforeseen events like demonstrators sitting in the road, or the onset of acute bronchitis which took out Italian Stefano Garzelli.

Update: the indispensable Bill Hobbs has an excellent post on this subject.

Iran Protest Anniversary

Al-jazeerah reports that the chief editor (and his wife) of a local newspaper was arrested after the paper published a photograph of banned opposition People’s Mujahedeen leader Maryam Rajavi on the front page. Though out on bond, they cannot get to work as the paper has been shut down for the time being.

The government is taking steps designed to shut down protests before they start. First, they have forbidden all off-campus gatherings. Second, they have banned on-campus events by closing off the Tehran University faculty for a week and booting the students living on-campus out of the dorms for the week. Third, they are jamming satellite broadcasts and stepping up efforts to seize satellite dishes (which were made illegal in 1995) to counter the increased Voice of America activity and broadcasts from networks like LA-based National Iranian Television and Radio Iran

With the student leaders of the protest in jail (all 4,000 of them), the movement has been reduced to painting graffiti by night. Indeed, with the tight security and lack of organization, it is expected that any protests that take place will be small and quickly dispersed in spite of student bravado and increasing support from the working class.

Alas, it seems that the Iranian people will have to wait a little longer before an organized revolution can begin. Because that is what it is going to take.

Editorial Cartoons

Le Tour de France

The first race took place in 1903, so this year's event marks the 100th anniversary. The race was the idea of a young journalist in response to his editor's desire to outdo a rival newspaper. (It worked, the other newspaper went out of business.) This year's Tour consists of 21 stages over 21 days, for a grueling 3427.5 kilometers.

Lance Armstrong, winner of the last four Tours, returns with seven of his eight teammates that aided his last win. They are, once again, the U.S. Post Office Pro-Cycling Team [must resist effort to make obvious speedy delivery joke here]. Lance had a slow start in the prologue:

"I didn't feel great. I started slow. It wasn't very comfortable, and I was struggling with the pounding of the cobblestones. But the race will change."

The Scotsman has an excellent article on why Lance Armstrong is not popular with the French public:

To comprehend the iniquity of this, it is important to appreciate what the winner of the Tour means to the host nation: the yellow jersey is bigger than Thierry Henry, more widely recognised than Serge Blanco, and more popular than Jacques Chirac. As a national icon, he may even, temporarily, give Brigitte Bardot serious competition.

Armstrong may be recognisable, all right, but only in the same way that the Duke of Wellington, Henry V and George W Bush are across the Channel - as an enemy of the state.

[SNIP]

No, the reason is more basic and more French: Armstrong doesn�t give a fig for the traditions and etiquette of their Tour; he has refused to embrace its ambience and remains aloof from the hoi-polloi who line the route every year. A Tour champion has always been accessible, but Armstrong carries on like Madonna on a jog around Hyde Park, surrounded by a posse of heavies, shunning autograph-hunters and refusing media interviews. He is not a humble man.

Italy takes the helm

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the government had all the right credentials to lead the 15-member bloc as it struggles to mend strained relations with Washington, finalize its constitution and absorb 10 new members next year.

Italy assumes the helm of the European Union a "historic moment," he told Parliament. And it intends to work for the benefit of all Italians and Europeans � "even those who accuse the government with insulting and defamatory expressions."

Meddling UN

The prime minister has been urged by the United Nations to quit smoking. According to the UN, he is the biggest smoker among world leaders.

French Wine

But some people worry that the damage might not be so easily repaired. French wines never fully recovered their position in the Scandinavian market after a 1995 boycott there to protest France's nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific that year.

"It gave people the opportunity to try other wines and they never switched back," said Finance amid a clutter of half-filled wine glasses in his company's booth at the fair.

He worries that the political pall over French wines has come at a time when competition is growing and the market is in flux. By the time the pall passes, he said, it may be too late for France to recapture its former cache.

What I find really interesting is that the left-wing, big-government, heavy regulation policies are hurting the industry:

France's heavy winemaking regulations make it difficult for French wines to compete with many American and Australian brands - particularly in the United States, where consumers value the reliability of a standardized product. American and Australian winemakers can irrigate their vineyards to control the quality of their grapes, for example, or even mellow their wine by adding oak chips to the stainless steel tanks in which the wine is aged. But that is all illegal in France.

French vintners are at the mercy of the weather and if they want to make a mellower wine, they have to invest in expensive, new oak casks. The result is wine that varies in quality from year to year, an unpredictability that is prized by connoisseurs but is lost on the average consumer.

Because of the competition amid a global wine glut, France turned 2.5 million gallons of Beaujolais wine into industrial alcohol last year.

So how bad are sales?

More typical is Bernard Hervet, the director of a large vineyard in eastern France's Burgundy region, who says over a glass of chilled Chablis that his exports to the United States had fallen by nearly a third this year. Louis Regis Affre, general manager of the France's Federation of Wine and Spirit Exporters, says retail sales of French wine continued to fall sharply in May while overall wine sales in the United States were growing.

"Most French wine promotions in the U.S. have stopped because of the brittleness over Iraq," he said.

Why the EU is fun to watch

But this is a plucky individual, and (so far) my kind of guy:

It may take much more than that to cow Berlusconi, though. He recently bucked the desires and positions of Western European leaders who are less friendly to Israel by taking a trip to the Middle East and meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon but not with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader.

After French officials publicly assailed him for that, he told reporters that France had "lost a good opportunity to keep quiet."

Iran Status Report

In a country rife with high unemployment and a growing frustration with strict Islamic laws the protests appeared unplanned and no specific leader emerged to lead it. Nevertheless when the student crowds reached an estimated 3,000 strong police and vigilantes who support the Supreme Leader moved in to crush the revolt. "We will show them no pity," Khamenei told his fanatical supporters.

Reaction in Washington and London towards the unfolding events appeared uncertain and at times contradictory. President Bush praised the Iranian protests as a "positive development". Speaking over the weekend in Maine he said, "This is the beginning of people expressing themselves toward a free Iran".

In Britain, Foreign Minister Jack Straw urged Iran to allow stricter checks of its suspicious nuclear program which the EU and the US believe is a guise for developing nuclear bombs, but warned the world to let Tehran manage pro-reform protests by itself.

Many Iranians opposing the theocratic regime were outraged by Straw's insistence that Britain's "constructive engagement" with the mullahs was slowly bearing fruit. He also urged "non-interference" by outside forces so that the Iranians could "sort out their opposition internally".

The cautious line by Britain was reflected in most of the country's press and media which contrasted with a more aggressive one by its ally the United States which applauded the student protests as a fight for freedom by the Iranian people.

But anti-Americanism here is staid. Tired of theocratic hard-line rule, the people are happy to get whatever help they can from abroad. The opposition radio and satellite television are widely used even in the poorer sections of Tehran. Accusations of American backing actually have given courage to the demonstrators. Unlike the streets of Paris, Berlin or Berkeley, anti-Americanism is not fashionable in Tehran. The regime, having adopted it for the past twenty-five years since the Islamic Revolution, has beaten the life out of it.

People are encouraged by the presence of U.S. in both the East (Afghanistan) and the West (Iraq) of Iran. The influence of opposition media from abroad cannot be under-estimated. But the accusations of American meddling are exaggerated and betray a certain helplessness on the part of the rulers in the face of their mounting unpopularity. This is a spontaneous uprising coming from the university and spreading out. It is an uprising that is unorganized, without leadership or ideology. A massive protest that comes from the deep discontent and frustration of a people tired of being bullied.

Iranians living abroad are so busy finding fault with one another's political stances that they have lost sight of the very elementary need for not being beaten up when you express your thoughts. There will be plenty of time to argue politics when this regime falls. What is important is to first make the battleground safe for expression of differences. It is easy to sit in your California homes and email passionate criticism of this or that movement's agenda.

But this very right, that Iranians abroad possess, to differ with one another, is exactly what is needed in Iran. The right to speak ones mind without fear of being imprisoned or beaten up is the most basic first step to achieving democracy. This is a right with which all, regardless of political agenda or ideology, even those presently holding power, agree (at least in theory).. The implementation of this basic human right, then, should be the single unifying demand of all Iranians inside and outside the borders of Iran.

I asked friends who live in France and have French nationality why they did nothing to protest the comment made by their foreign minister that Iran was a democratic nation. They looked stunned as if they, in fact, as French who cared for their motherland, had a duty to voice their anger about France's repeated appeasement of the theocratic regime.

Iran Unrest Continues

The Interior Ministry will not give permission to any gathering outside universities.

While different news agencies report different numbers it is clear that hundreds of students have been arrested. IRNA (Iran's official news agency) reports that "police have arrested 470 people, including an unspecified number of vigilantes." Let me guess, the "unspecified number" is a handful of inconvienent individuals who will never be heard from again. The rest of the vigilantes will remain on the government payroll.

Student leaders warn of escalating violence if the crackdown continues. Good. Things have to get worse before they get better.

And speaking of July 9, Andrew Sullivan proposes:

On July 9, as many blogs as possible focus on the struggle for freedom in Iran. It's the anniversary of the pro-democracy protests that have been going on for years. I'll devote the week after July 4 to this issue, culminating in July 9.

Belgian War Crimes

More than 60 years after the first "death train" filled with Jews left Belgium for the gas chambers of Auschwitz an unprecedented investigation into the complicity of the Belgian authorities in the final solution is to be carried out. Government historians are for the first time to be given full access to public and private archives related to occupied Belgium and will look into episodes that many would rather forget, with a mandate to "establish the eventual responsibility of the Belgian authorities for the deportation and persecution of the Jews".

A disused army barracks in the Flemish town of Mechelen - described by survivors as an antechamber of death - was where the majority were corralled before being forced on to the trains. According to official figures 30,544 Jews of mixed European nationalities were deported from Belgium to death camps such as Auschwitz between 1942 and 1944. Only 1,524 survived and at least a fifth of those who died were children.

Rumsfeld - House Connection

Now it's obviously not for outsiders, non-Belgians, to tell the Belgian government what laws it should pass and what it should not pass. With respect to Belgium's sovereignty we respect it, even though Belgium appears not to respect the sovereignty of other countries.

But Belgium needs to recognize that there are consequences to its actions and this law calls into serious question whether NATO can continue to hold meetings in Belgium and whether senior U.S. officials, military and civilian, will be able to continue to visit international organizations in Belgium. I would submit that could be the case for other NATO Allies as well.

Knack magazine quoted Willy Claes, a former Nato secretary general, who was not optimistic about the chances of rapprochement. "We have a choice between an idealistic, ethical position and a pragmatic, realistic one," he said. "For some time I have argued in favour of the second because at certain times a small country has to submit to indisputable balances of power."

It may be too late for pragmatism, Mr Claes said. "The circle is complete. The Americans clearly intend teaching the Belgians a lesson by scrapping Brussels as the headquarters of Nato."

The daily De Morgen was equally gloomy, saying the US move "could have serious economic consequences. It would be a catastrophe for the entire Brussels economy". According to the English-language weekly the Bulletin, 55,000 jobs and up to €6bn (�4bn) are on the line.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a little-noticed amendment that asks the U.S. Defense Department to research the potential costs and logistics of moving NATO's military headquarters out of Belgium.

With the administration of President George W. Bush giving increased emphasis to NATO's newer members, such as Poland, some argue that the alliance should move its center eastward to reflect new realities. Many others ask whether NATO could, in fact, survive such a move.

Even though Belgium appears close to reforming the law so that it will only apply to cases where there is a direct link to Belgium, US officials want the law abolished. Now, a former Prime Minister has come out and proposed exactly that:

"I think our ambitions are higher than our possibilities and that can jeopardize the role we have to play as European capital," Dehaene told the Canvas television network late Friday.

"It's a bit crazy to think we could be the conscience of the world," he added.

Iran the Model for Democracy

The key to a bright future for the Middle East lies not with Iraq but with its larger and more vibrant neighbour to the east. Iranians elect most of their leaders in free and fair elections for the president, parliament and thousands of local village councils. Iran is the only Muslim nation whose people successfully staged a popular revolution against a brutal dictator. This revolution has often been characterised as "Islamic". This is inaccurate. While Ayatollah Khomeini did become the symbol of the 1979 revolution, Iranians were united more by their opposition to the Shah than by any shared religious devotion. As often happens with popular revolutions, after the Shah's regime fell the mullahs outmanoeuvred other opposition groups to impose their authoritarian theocracy on Iranians.

It is this long experience with imposed Islamic governance that makes Iran unique in the Islamic world. After decades of corruption, mismanagement and repression by a clerical ruling elite, "mullah" is a dirty word for most Iranians. Islam has failed to live up to the ideals of the 1979 revolution and Iranians are poorer and less free today than they were under the Shah. Even respected members of the Iranian clerical establishment are openly calling for a retreat from politics and a return to the mosque.

'Boycott' Cottage Industries

These shops offer an imaginative array of slogans and products. One of the more innovative products is a boycott list on a handy supermarket-style keytag from MetroSpy.

Arab Prince Ousted

But the Telegraph of London reported that the crown prince had been removed over claims that he was too sympathetic to women's rights. According to the paper, a government employee close to the ruling family said the move centred on his wife, Shaikah Fawqai al-Qassimi, a playwright and women's rights activist in her early 40s.

'Sheikh Khaled was told, at a meeting with his father and six of his brothers, that he had to banish his wife from the emirate and demolish the ladies' club that helps women here if they have problems,' the employee was reported to have said. 'She has done a lot to bring the country forward, but Sheikh Saud does not feel there is a place for women in today's Arab society.'

Iranian Protests

Iranian Girl seems to think that the government is getting ready to fall because of the gunfire heard in the streets:

I don't know if hearing gunfire is true or not, but if it's true & they have really started shooting, it means that this process of revolution is coming to an end. You know when a government start shooting to people & killing them there is no hope for them to survive anymore. Let's just wish luck for that young & brave fighters & hope to see them in the free Iran that has its freedom because of their braveness & sacrifice...

Nightly riots have run for four days straight. Although dying down in Tehran, protests are popping up in other parts of the nation. The Tehran demonstrations were quelled by "hardline vigilantes" who attacked, beat, stabbed and even kidnapped students as they slept in campus dorms.

The government of Iran is blaming everybody for the violence. The protests were incited by American TV, and have begun jamming the signals. The US government is to blame for supporting the protests, and Tehran condemns the action as 'interference'. The campus attacks are the fault of the vigilantes, and (surprisingly) the government orders a crackdown and begins arresting vigilante leaders.

What does this all mean? Probably that Khamenei is cleaning house in his militia, and will come down hard on the students in a matter of days. Better pray for your "young & brave fighters", Iranian Girl. Their mettle will be tested. Freedom is never free. May God watch over you and your freedom fighters.

French under Fire

Read this article for a perspective of facing children as young as 8 armed with AK-47s. I wouldn't want to be a member of this peacekeeping force for a number of reasons.

Not quite clear on the concept

A Chinese zoo has agreed to suspend its policy of allowing visitors to shoot some of its animals. . . . Zoo staff defended themselves, saying visitors were only allowed to kill unprotected species.

Hong Kong Liberty in Danger

Atrocities do not always begin with bloodshed. Some start with genteel legalisms. Only later do you see the barrel of the gun.

This is the way of the atrocity now threatening Hong Kong. One of the world's great free societies is about to come under the direct sway of the same unrepentant Beijing security apparatus that still runs China's vast gulag of torture rooms, labor camps, Soviet-style psychiatric prisons and the rest of the machinery that in 1989 brought us Tiananmen Square. And the U.S.--that is, the freedom-promoting Bush administration--doesn't seem to care.

The French win one

BRITISH war heroes on a religious pilgrimage told last night of their shock when French police attacked them with tear gas in a hotel bar.

Scores of servicemen and their guests � some in wheelchairs � were stunned as 30 cops threw three gas canisters at them in the town of Lourdes, renowned for miracle cures.

One member of the official delegation of Catholic soldiers said: �All hell broke loose. People ran out coughing and choking. Some braved the fumes to help those in wheelchairs get out.

�They were in a terrible state afterwards. It all happened without a single word of warning.�

Tories' Radical Idea

Zimbabwe's Problems

• Soldiers went door-to-door, force-marching striking workers to the commuter trains, ordering them to go to work. But when workers got downtown they found it virtually deserted, and slipped back home.
• Demonstrators tried to march "but were swiftly dispersed with tear-gas and beatings."
• "The demonstrations may have been small, but larger ones may follow. As people get hungrier, they may feel that they have nothing to lose by confronting the regime. On the other hand, the government has shown once again that it has all the guns, and is prepared to use them."
• "...in case one arm of his terror machine falters, Mr Mugabe has reportedly distributed assault rifles to his personal militia, whose members are responsible for the worst atrocities against the opposition."
• "The economic crisis has grown so acute that the security forces are suffering, too. Many are struggling to feed their families. Last week they received only a fraction of their pay in cash."
• But not to worry. Even though the banks are running out of money, the government assures the people that more will be printed soon. "Inflation is 269% and rising."

Taking advantage of Canada's disintegration

Whenever loose talk arises of Canada becoming the 51st state, as it does from time to time, wise heads scoff at the notion. Getting into the Union isn't easy. . . .many doubt that the U.S. would even want Canada. The U.S. idealizes unbridled free enterprise, rugged individualism and a cultural melting pot; Canada more leans to public-private partnerships, a welfare state and multiculturalism. A United States that swallowed Canada, holus-bolus, would invite a host of problems.

But Alberta, on its own, holds none of Canada's liabilities for Americans. Canada's most conservative province -- anti-Kyoto, anti-gun control, hostile to national health care, receptive to plebiscites and Bible-belt Christians, free of provincial sales tax -- is in some ways more American than Canadian. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien turned his back on President Bush's plan to invade Iraq; Alberta Premier Ralph Klein forthrightly embraced it. A Crawford Ranch North would clash not at all with Republican values.

Because U.S. Democrats would balk at adding a Republican state to the Union, they would want a second, more left-leaning state to be added at the same time, to maintain a balance of power -- this was part of the bargain that had to be struck before Democratic Alaska and Republican Hawaii could be ushered into the Union. The likeliest running mate for Alberta is British Columbia -- a lush and largely liberal urbanized province that has much in common with the west coast states of Washington, Oregon and California. The Vancouver-Seattle-Portland economy is already so integrated that books extol "Cascadia," as the cross-border city-region is sometimes called. To add to America's receptivity to a State of British Columbia, B.C.'s Premier Gordon Campbell, like Premier Klein, also supported the U.S. after our federal politicians attacked it over Iraq.

EU Structure

But in a new move that goes beyond the Nice treaty, the number of commissioners who attend meetings and have the right to vote would be reduced from the current 20 to 15. Membership of this "inner cabinet" would be determined according to a principle of "equal rotation". Under this system, each country from the smallest such as Malta or Luxembourg to the largest, including Germany, France and Britain, would have a seat in the 15 member "college" for 10 out of every 15 years.

During the other five they would still have a commissioner, though in a lesser role outside the inner core and unable to vote.

Mr Hain said the new college would be the "real decision making body" of the commission, which is the executive arm of the EU that proposes legislation and polices its implementation.

"AIDS Insurance"

South Africa's top tourism trade group has launched a new "AIDS insurance" policy to provide potentially life-saving drugs to travellers who might become infected while on holiday. South Africa has the world's single highest AIDS caseload with some five million people infected with the HIV virus. . . . "People coming to South Africa are a little nervous from an AIDS perspective. This might help," McCann said.

The insurance will pay for and deliver anti-retroviral drugs so treatment can begin with a 72-hour window which doctors say may prevent infection from taking hold. South Africa currently does not provide anti-retroviral drugs in public sector hospitals, a policy government critics say is causing the AIDS deaths of some 600 people every day.

"I don' know, Baby. I don' wanna go there 'cause I might get the AIDS."

"That's OK, Sugar-pie. We 'kin get AIDS insurance. That way, even though we'll be in the backwoods of a country with an infrastructure that is more than a little on the primitive side, we can depend on them to figure out that we've been exposed to the AIDS and then get us someplace where we can be given a treatment that some doctors say might even prevent us from gettin' the AIDS."

"Well, that's OK then. Let's git ta packin'!"

[Editor's note: the previous entry is in no way meant to make fun of any sect of the population, hillbilly's included.]

A peek outside

Canadian going to pot

Nova Scotia won't prosecute

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Jamie Muir said Tuesday the province is refusing to prosecute people who do not register their rifles or shotguns. Mr. Muir said it will be up to Ottawa to prosecute.

"People who use weapons dangerously, or to commit a crime, will still face the full extent of the law," Mr. Muir said in a news release. "But it makes no sense to clog up the courts with procedural matters around long-gun registrations."

The Justice Minister said the federal gun registry "has been flawed from the start" and law-abiding Nova Scotians "who use their guns for hunting or range practice shouldn't have to pay the price."

And we think we have racism

The purpose of the new constitution, a product of nearly two years of reasonably transparent debate, is to allow more democracy without inviting another genocide. It seeks to do this by ensuring that neither of the two main ethnic groups, the Hutus or the Tutsis, can wholly dominate the other.

Constitutional study

The draft constitution is designed to limit the power of any single political party in an effort to prevent leaders from manipulating differences between the country's Hutu majority and Tutsi minority.

An extremist Hutu government orchestrated the slaughter of more than 500,000 Tutsis and Hutu political moderates in 1994. The killing was stopped after the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front under Kagame overthrew the Hutu extremists and set up a transitional government.

[...]

But the 204-article constitution does seek to prevent the domination of one party by stipulating that the president, prime minister and president of the lower house of the two-chamber parliament cannot be members of the same political party.

It also prohibits a single party from holding more than 50 percent of the seats in the Cabinet, even if a party secures an absolute majority in parliamentary elections.

The UN and the Congo

Fast forward to the current situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A total of six foreign armies and up to 11 factions (at last estimate) are locked in a violent struggle for control of various parts of a resource-rich country the size of Ontario and Quebec combined. Into this morass the UN has inserted a few hundred officer observers -- unarmed --and a few thousand lightly armed soldiers. Their mandate is to help facilitate the implementation of various flawed peace initiatives that are not honoured by the majority of the participants to the conflict. À la Somalia in 1992, the UN troops are virtually blockaded in their barracks and are at the mercy of the drugged, undisciplined and ill-led belligerents who surround them and couldn't give a damn for the UN and the utterances from its headquarters in New York. If you are invited to a knife fight you should always take a gun. But yet again, the UN has taken nothing more than a rucksack of optimism and left a UN commander out to dry.

Like it or not, the UN is no longer capable of finding adequate resources, read countries, willing to sacrifice their sons and daughters in uniform for someone else's human rights, unless the conflict threatens world peace and security or is in America's self-interest to get involved.

Cannibalism in Africa

In the meantime, brutal war rages throughout the region. The tiny UN "peacekeeping force" can only stand idly by and watch unspeakable horrors take place:

There is already a 750-strong UN peacekeeping force in Bunia but, not authorised to use force, they, like their colleagues in Uvira, have been trapped in their compound, powerless to intervene in the violence outside.

An orgy of brutal ethnic violence has gripped the town in recent weeks as Hema and Lendu tribes fight for supremacy.

High on drugs and lethal local brews, militias from both tribes have marauded through the town. Machete-wielding teenagers pinned babies to the ground and crushed their skulls underfoot before beheading their tiny victims. In recent days hundreds of bodies have been found in mass graves.

European economics

France, however, is taking a far different approach (dare I say, Bush-like?). President Chirac actually cut taxes. In the final quarter of last year, he cut income taxes by 5%, and will do another 1% this year. Spurred by the increase in consumer spending made possible by the tax reduction, France's economy grew .06% in the first quarter, while Germany, Italy and the Netherlands shrank:

France is openly flouting European Union orders to cut the budget deficit, saying tax increases would stifle the economy. Germany, the inventor of the euro deficit rules, is raising taxes to bring its deficit back below the limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product.

More detailed statistics - on consumer confidence, on jobs and investment intentions - show similar parallels between the present period and 1991-92. Even more strikingly, the economic psychology of the 1990s was exactly the same as it is today. That period too was described as a jobless recovery. The US budget was in huge deficit and the dollar apparently in free fall - the mark rose by 50 per cent against the dollar from 1989 to 1992 and more than doubled from 1985 to 1992.

[...]

With President Bush cutting taxes, the Fed opening the monetary spigots ever wider and American exporters receiving a powerful shot in the arm from the dollar's fall, US economic growth is likely to come roaring back in the next few months. Japan, too, will soon turn the corner if the authorities continue to hold down the yen and pump up the banking system with government funds.

Meanwhile, China and the rest of Asia will move towards boom conditions, if the US economy recovers and the dollar continues to fall...By the second half of this year, therefore, the only part of the world economy still in trouble will be continental Europe.

Belgian split widens?

The Vlamms Blok are becoming a major force in the culturally divided country, while the Arab European League failed to make a good showing. Soon, the government will have to start working with Vlamms Blok even though they have refused to do so to date.

But what is important is that Belgians take voting seriously, many voting in their swimwear. Guess that's what happens when voting is made mandatory.

The slimey truth

Today we were subjected to his usual verbal contortionistic performance on Fox News Sunday:

SNOW: Your government, a Wahhabi Muslim government, has a great deal of say over which clerics sit in judgment and make statements. At least three clerics before the attacks recently -- Ali al-Kudur (ph), Nasser al-Fad (ph), and Ahmed al-Khalidi (ph) -- all had not only defended but praised some of the people responsible for carrying out the bombings in Riyadh.

AL-JUBEIR: Well, Tony, the thing to keep in mind is that a lot of these clerics are underground. A lot of these clerics issue their fatwahs, which are really their opinions, on the Internet, and that gets bandied about.

But I will say that for the first time in his life Adel answered a question completely and give a truthful answer when Tony was finally successful in pinning down an issue: amongst the "democratic reforms" that the Saudi's are promising, will freedom to worship be included?

SNOW: But would this mean also the establishment of other religious facilities? In other words, a church, a Christian church, a Jewish synagogue?

AL-JUBEIR: I doubt that, because Saudi Arabia is the heart of the Islamic world. The role of Saudi Arabia in the Muslim world is similar to the role of the Vatican. And so, that's -- I think that's -- I doubt that that will happen.

The Wonder

The story of Israel these last 55 years, above all, is the wondrous realization of a 3,500-year link among a land, a faith, a language, a people and a vision. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948; the embrace of democracy and the rule of law, including an independent judiciary, free and fair elections and smooth transfers of power, and the impressive scientific, cultural and economic achievements of Israel are accomplishments beyond anyone's wildest imagination.

[...]

To be sure, nation-building is an infinitely complex process. In Israel's case, that nation-building took place against a backdrop of tensions with a local Arab population that also laid claim to the same land; as Israel's population literally doubled during its first three years of existence, putting an unimaginable strain on severely limited resources; as the nation was forced to devote a vast portion of its budget to defense expenditures, and as the country coped with forging a national identity and social consensus among a population that could not have been more geographically, linguistically, socially and culturally heterogeneous.

SARS mortality rate worse than previously projected

News in America

At this hour an agreement has been reached to free the hostages, yet the top story on the CNN website concerns the murder trial of Scott Peterson, a man who alegedly killed his wife and unborn son. While this is tragic, America breathlessly and endlessly follow these "human interest" stories while ignoring world events.

Come on, people! There is civil war in Uganda, Burundi, Liberia. and the Ivory Coast. Al-Qaeda lives and grows in Zanzibar, and the slave trade thrives in west Africa. Tyrants reign in Zimbabwe and Cuba. There are pirates, ailing economies, elections of great portent, and nuclear standoffs in the world today.

But if the media hasn't sensationalized it, if it isn't close to home, if it isn't a little bit silly, then we don't hear about it. The media sells advertising space, and the American people are cheated.

Turk's have made their bed . . .

1. They are depending on the perfidious French to remember a promise. Historically, this is not a very good bet. On the other hand, it is a very good bet that America will remember the Turk's actions for a very, very long time.
2. Turkey has the most devalued currency in the world (1.67 million lira to buy a single US dollar). Refusing billions in aid has already negatively impacted their economy.
3. We are so pissed, we are going to maky certain that Turkey doesn't take any military action of their own - against the Kurds in northern Iraq. While I very much doubt that we would ever support an independent Kurdish state in what is now northern Iraq, the Turk's should be at least a little concerned that this might happen. And if it does, Turkey's western Kurds will want to join too, costing Turkey some real estate. And the Kurds will be in prime fighting shape, with 70,000 of them honing their skills on Saddam.