Sunday, November 15, 2009
What will happen if one escapes from prison after refusing to purchase Obama's health insurance, or pay his fines?
Date and location modified from this DailyNK story: Summary Execution of a Runaway from the Camp.
Is this the change we're supposed to believe in?
posted by Karl @ 9:14 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Date and location modified from this DailyNK story: Summary Execution of a Runaway from the Camp.
The deserter, when he was still a citizen, pursued his own comfort and profit and embezzled the precious property of the state. For that, he was sentenced to six years reeducation and admitted to Tule Lake No.12 Reeducation Camp in 2013. Having committed an indelible sin against the country and its people, it is only right for the prisoner to admit his offense and take on the reeducating labor faithfully.
However, this person challenged the generous legal punishment, filled his stomach through larceny, neglected his duties and finally betrayed the kind mother country that gave him a chance to repent and ran away. He was, however, detected by the self-conscious people of the village and got caught. Therefore, following the decision of the Democratic People’s Republic of America’s Central Reeducation Department, we sentence him to death!
However, this person challenged the generous legal punishment, filled his stomach through larceny, neglected his duties and finally betrayed the kind mother country that gave him a chance to repent and ran away. He was, however, detected by the self-conscious people of the village and got caught. Therefore, following the decision of the Democratic People’s Republic of America’s Central Reeducation Department, we sentence him to death!
Is this the change we're supposed to believe in?
Labels: DNC, Healthcare, N. Korea, Slippery Slope
posted by Karl @ 9:14 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, August 06, 2009
The personal, the political, and the impact to national security:
Personal: What a relief to get our two hostages back after their kidnapping at the border and subsequent show trial. Kudo's to the former president - now his third accomplishment and the first that cannot be undone by Obama (the others: NAFTA and Welfare Reform). Welcome home Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
Political: The picture at the top is shameful despite what we got in return. The Townhall cartoon says it best:
National Security: It appears part of the visit was used to discuss the North's nuclear program and threatened sanctions. Notice the smile in the top pic? Gordon G. Chang, in Wednesday's WSJ, Mr. Clinton Goes to Pyongyang:
And now there may be one more reason for the regime to continue its alarming conduct. If Mr. Clinton is conducting any nuclear discussions he would be rewarding Pyongyang for jailing the two reporters and making them bargaining chips.
This matters because Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee were not Pyongyang’s only hostages. In March, North Korea detained Yu Song-jin, a South Korean manager working in the Kaesong industrial zone, for criticizing Kim’s paradise. Last week, a North Korean patrol boat seized a South Korean fishing vessel that accidentally strayed into the North’s waters, and Pyongyang is now keeping the four-member crew for no good reason. North Korea may be holding 100 or more Japanese abductees and at least 1,000 South Koreans, some of them prisoners from the Korean War and others kidnapped since then. More broadly, Kim uses all his 23 million people as hostages.
This matters because Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee were not Pyongyang’s only hostages. In March, North Korea detained Yu Song-jin, a South Korean manager working in the Kaesong industrial zone, for criticizing Kim’s paradise. Last week, a North Korean patrol boat seized a South Korean fishing vessel that accidentally strayed into the North’s waters, and Pyongyang is now keeping the four-member crew for no good reason. North Korea may be holding 100 or more Japanese abductees and at least 1,000 South Koreans, some of them prisoners from the Korean War and others kidnapped since then. More broadly, Kim uses all his 23 million people as hostages.
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 11:03 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Monday, July 13, 2009
Imagine the relief we felt when we heard that our Dear Leader - no, not that one - Kim Jung Il - has been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer.
Lucky for him, he resides in a progressive country that has expelled capitalists from the health care industry. We anticipate a quick recovery... much like Steve Jobs has had.
Seriously: We think this is the most dangerous time for the region. Evil men with terminal diseases calculate risks differently. This commie might want to go out with a bang.
Reuters report
posted by Karl @ 11:21 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Lucky for him, he resides in a progressive country that has expelled capitalists from the health care industry. We anticipate a quick recovery... much like Steve Jobs has had.
Seriously: We think this is the most dangerous time for the region. Evil men with terminal diseases calculate risks differently. This commie might want to go out with a bang.
Reuters report
Labels: Healthcare, N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 11:21 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Thursday, July 09, 2009
It is doubtful Ushanka.us readers noticed the cyber attack against the White House and Treasury Department websites this past week. Those sites don't offer the objective information that we, and our blogrolled blogs, do.
Further, Ushanka.us was spared attack.
Do you rearry think the single North Korean hacker would attack a site with a hammer and sickle in the header? HA! The commies will hack every other site, then hang themselves with the one site they can't bring themselves to hack. The collapse of the North Korean communist regime will be for the greater good!
From today's WSJ Front Page:
From our friends at The Nose on Your Face:
posted by Karl @ 7:22 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Further, Ushanka.us was spared attack.
Do you rearry think the single North Korean hacker would attack a site with a hammer and sickle in the header? HA! The commies will hack every other site, then hang themselves with the one site they can't bring themselves to hack. The collapse of the North Korean communist regime will be for the greater good!
From today's WSJ Front Page:
U.S. and South Korean computer networks were besieged for days by a series of relatively unsophisticated attacks, possibly from North Korea, that were among the broadest and longest-lasting assaults perpetrated on government and commercial Web sites in both countries.
In the U.S., the main effect was to disrupt the public's ability to access Web sites temporarily.
In the U.S., the main effect was to disrupt the public's ability to access Web sites temporarily.
From our friends at The Nose on Your Face:
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 7:22 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Happy 4th! Hurry and read these top picks before you start blowing stuff up!
L.E. Ikenga, a "first generation born West African-American woman whose parents emigrated to the U.S. in the 1970's from the country now called Nigeria" finds a disturbing comparison between our new president and a common trait among African leaders. American Thinker, Obama, the African Colonial.
Kyle-Anne Shiver, also at American Thinker, comments on our 'Wimp in Chief's' position on the crisis in Honduras in, Obama's True Colors Shine in Honduras.
Careful Ms. Shiver. We don't want to be rash and label Obama a Communist!
Another from American Thinker, America's Socialist Past by Ryan Siefert, is a short but necessary historical review of the damage from socialist inspirations.
"Russian media are now abuzz with speculation about a new war in Georgia, and some Western analysts are voicing similar concerns" - so reports Cathy Young in the WSJ Opinion section on Thursday. She asks, "What would the Kremlin gain" from a war with Georgia:
YES! That was our response when reading Gordon G. Chang's WSJ Opinion, How to Stop North Korea's Weapons Proliferation. He writes about that N.K. ship, Kang Nam, that has been trailed by US warships (as if trailing is a foreign policy). Chang explains a legal way to board or sink the Kang Nam, refering to the North's May 27 rejection of the armistice that ended the fighting (not the war) in 1953. When you read this, remember how Clinton turned down a chance at Bin Laden for a lack of legal justification...
Did the North wait for Obama to replace Bush before setting sail with illicit cargo? If so, pretty smart. The only way Obama will get tough is if the criticisms of his pathetic foreign policy migrate from here to the nightly news...
posted by Karl @ 8:56 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
L.E. Ikenga, a "first generation born West African-American woman whose parents emigrated to the U.S. in the 1970's from the country now called Nigeria" finds a disturbing comparison between our new president and a common trait among African leaders. American Thinker, Obama, the African Colonial.
Obama has been living on American soil for most of his adult life. Therefore, he has been able to masquerade as one who understands and believes in American democratic ideals. But he does not. Barack Obama is intrinsically undemocratic and as his presidency plays out, this will become more obvious.
Kyle-Anne Shiver, also at American Thinker, comments on our 'Wimp in Chief's' position on the crisis in Honduras in, Obama's True Colors Shine in Honduras.
Obama's response to the Honduran military removing a dictator-wannabe from office (at the behest, it must be noted, of the Supreme Court and the Honduran Congress), and escorting him to the border, was sure and fast. He declared the military action an "illegal coup" faster than you can say Fidel Castro. And just as quickly the rest of the region's socialist gang chimed in too. The real Castro brothers. Hugo Chavez. Daniel Ortega.
Birds of a feather do tend to flock together.
Birds of a feather do tend to flock together.
Careful Ms. Shiver. We don't want to be rash and label Obama a Communist!
Another from American Thinker, America's Socialist Past by Ryan Siefert, is a short but necessary historical review of the damage from socialist inspirations.
There seems to be a need in American society to have to relearn the same hard lessons over and over again, regardless of whether the results were seen on the other side of the planet or suffered through by our own people.
We're living in a country that elected a President that believes in redistributing wealth. He's mentioned this himself, from the "Joe the Plumber" incident[i] to his critique[ii] of the failures of the civil rights movement. Whether you call it Socialism, Communism, Marxism, or by its simpler name, theft, they are all part of the same economic system that destroys private property and puts everything in central control of the state.
We're living in a country that elected a President that believes in redistributing wealth. He's mentioned this himself, from the "Joe the Plumber" incident[i] to his critique[ii] of the failures of the civil rights movement. Whether you call it Socialism, Communism, Marxism, or by its simpler name, theft, they are all part of the same economic system that destroys private property and puts everything in central control of the state.
"Russian media are now abuzz with speculation about a new war in Georgia, and some Western analysts are voicing similar concerns" - so reports Cathy Young in the WSJ Opinion section on Thursday. She asks, "What would the Kremlin gain" from a war with Georgia:
A crushing victory in Georgia would depose the hated Mr. Saakashvili, give Russia control of vital transit routes for additional energy resources that could weaken its hold on the European oil and gas markets, humiliate the U.S., and distract Russians from their economic woes. Mr. Piontkovsky also believes the war drive comes from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is anxious to reassert himself as supreme leader.
YES! That was our response when reading Gordon G. Chang's WSJ Opinion, How to Stop North Korea's Weapons Proliferation. He writes about that N.K. ship, Kang Nam, that has been trailed by US warships (as if trailing is a foreign policy). Chang explains a legal way to board or sink the Kang Nam, refering to the North's May 27 rejection of the armistice that ended the fighting (not the war) in 1953. When you read this, remember how Clinton turned down a chance at Bin Laden for a lack of legal justification...
...an armistice as a legal matter cannot remain in existence after one of its parties, a sovereign state, announces its end. Today, whether we like it or not, there is no armistice.
Furthermore, there has never been a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War. This means the U.S., a combatant in the conflict, as leader of the U.N. Command, is free to use force against Pyongyang. On legal grounds, the U.S. Navy therefore has every right to seize the Kang Nam, treat the crew as prisoners of war, and confiscate its cargo, even if the ship is carrying nothing more dangerous than melons. Because the Navy has the right to torpedo the vessel, which proudly flies the flag of another combatant in the war, it of course has the right to board her.
Furthermore, there has never been a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War. This means the U.S., a combatant in the conflict, as leader of the U.N. Command, is free to use force against Pyongyang. On legal grounds, the U.S. Navy therefore has every right to seize the Kang Nam, treat the crew as prisoners of war, and confiscate its cargo, even if the ship is carrying nothing more dangerous than melons. Because the Navy has the right to torpedo the vessel, which proudly flies the flag of another combatant in the war, it of course has the right to board her.
Did the North wait for Obama to replace Bush before setting sail with illicit cargo? If so, pretty smart. The only way Obama will get tough is if the criticisms of his pathetic foreign policy migrate from here to the nightly news...
Labels: N. Korea, Not a Socialist, Russia, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 8:56 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Sunday, June 14, 2009
We can summarize options into three possible strategies for dealing with North Korea - all with the intent of precipitating a collapse and peninsula re-unification:
1) Direct Diplomatic Engagement. Bring pressure on the criminal regime by freezing or seizing assets when/where possible, stifling missile and counterfeit currency exports, and through consistent international condemnation of human rights abuses and illicit activities.
2) Do Nothing. Do not comment on or act on any North Korean action. Ignore the missile and nuclear tests, and all their bluster.
3) Quarantine & Forced Collapse. Saturate their coast and airspace with intent to trigger a military response or regime implosion. This includes shooting down all future missile tests, boarding all vessels that leave N. Korean waters and confiscating all weapons and weapons-related materials. Announce US intentions and preparations to use tactical nuclear weapons along the DMZ and missile sites in order to protect both Seoul from artillery attack or invasion, and neighbors from missile attack.
We have advocated the Do Nothing strategy in a previous post - here. We thought this was the Administration's 'strategy' by default, as previous actions have demonstrated, plus our belief that Obama and his team do not have the discipline, values, nor courage to pursue either of the other two options.
We also question Obama's alignment to our premise above: that the collapse of the commie regime is preferred to continued threatening behavior. Maybe an ongoing international crisis is preferred?
The missile and nuke tests of last month were followed by Obama's 'Do Nothing' approach. If those actions cannot trigger concern, then we assumed nothing would.
Now, weeks later, Secretary Clinton is sending signals that the US will react in a harsh manner if tests continue. A shift to strategy #1 above?
Bottom line: today's Democrats suck at national security. It is not strategy to let a tyrant's actions dictate your supposed 'leadership'... after the fact. Nor is it 'leadership' to pick a strategy (#2), then shift to another strategy (#1) on a whim, only to shift back to the original strategy once the Communist has
We think the risks have gone up since the Administration's recent posturing. They, and the world, had a good thing going when they tried to ignore this problem.
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 11:54 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Evan Ramstad writes in the WSJ on Friday, May 22, Gulags, Nukes and Water Slide: Citizen Spies Lift North Korea's Veil. A great piece about George Mason University's doctoral candidate Curtis Melvin's work with Google Earth to map the concentration camps and other landmarks in North Korea using Google Earth.
Melvin and others have mapped Gulags, mass-burial sites, compounds of the elites and other sites with the Google Earth tool. Many of the sites include secret sites that were found after hours of staring at the satellite images, following roads or power lines to remote locations where they then find a guard tower. Fascinating. Imagine if this had been available during the Cold War.
Below is a screenshot of concentration camp Kwan Li So 16. Notice the nuclear testing site just outside the camp's perimeter to the West.
Download the file from North Korea Economy Watch - here.
posted by Karl @ 9:32 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Melvin and others have mapped Gulags, mass-burial sites, compounds of the elites and other sites with the Google Earth tool. Many of the sites include secret sites that were found after hours of staring at the satellite images, following roads or power lines to remote locations where they then find a guard tower. Fascinating. Imagine if this had been available during the Cold War.
Below is a screenshot of concentration camp Kwan Li So 16. Notice the nuclear testing site just outside the camp's perimeter to the West.
Download the file from North Korea Economy Watch - here.
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 9:32 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Good for North Korea.
They have been part of the nuclear club since the Clinton years. It is their right to test their arsenal and make improvements. If only leaders in the US (both parties) shared the same values of testing the nation's ultimate deterrent.
Further, we are lucky that Obama is president as North Korea is ratcheting-up the rhetoric along with missile and nuke tests. His administration's combined incompetence and impotence in foreign affairs creates the unintended, yet ideal, environment for a North Korean collapse. Obama will not do a thing. Not by choice, but because he committed to a lower priority for N. Korea long before he took office. He must have at least one smart advisor who has made the case that nearly any effort applied to N. Korea is wasted. The only options that would work are not possible when a Democrat is in the White House.
We'll now watch the UN write another letter strenuously opposed at the nuke test, and Obama explain how he is 'deeply troubled' at the recent events. Then, if we're lucky, that will be it. Why? Reason #3.
Gordon G. Chang writes in the WSJ today, North Korea Advertises Its Nukes. He reviews the four accepted motivations for the nuke and missile tests, plus adds a new, very serious, fifth reason. We add our assessments:
1) International recognition as a nuclear state. Success.
2) Destabilize the S. Korean government. Fail. The test bolsters the South's new hardline opinions.
3) Get more foreign aid. Pending. Will Obama rush to the table and offer more aid? We suspect not.
4) Improve image among starving population. Unknown. We think they'd prefer freedom to nuke tests, but we're biased.
5) Advertise N. Korea arms to Iran, Syria, etc. Success.
2) Destabilize the S. Korean government. Fail. The test bolsters the South's new hardline opinions.
3) Get more foreign aid. Pending. Will Obama rush to the table and offer more aid? We suspect not.
4) Improve image among starving population. Unknown. We think they'd prefer freedom to nuke tests, but we're biased.
5) Advertise N. Korea arms to Iran, Syria, etc. Success.
We'll add three more:
6) Show fellow thug-nation-states that the International community is all talk. Success, again.
7) Show fellow thug-nation-states that N. Korea is their de-facto leader. Success.
8) Re-establish Kim's position as the leader of N. Korea. Unknown.
It has been rumored that there is a power struggle within Kim's regime. His recent stroke is one aspect, as are the roles of his two sons in the succession plans. This dissension isn't among factions that include pro-west efforts, but are instead thug-power-plays to determine who runs the concentration camps after Kim's death.
These tests show the desperation at the top levels of the North Korean regime. The US's new lack of interest led to these tests, will lead to more desperate rhetoric and actions in the near future, and will hasten the demise of the communist prison-nation.
The only important question: Will a North Korean collapse include a mushroom cloud over Seoul?
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 9:44 AM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Monday, March 30, 2009
All quiet on the diplomatic front when it comes to North Korea. Apparently the US "will allow the launch" of North Korea's communications satellite ICBM test. The silence is understandable - Obama cannot trash missile defense as "unproven", and barter it away to Russia for empty concessions if he uses the existing system to shoot down the missile.
The silence is also understandable as to the treatment and fate the two US journalists in North Korea, Enua Lee and Laura King. They will be going on trial in Pyongyang for espionage after being captured two weeks ago on the China border. They've been sold out by the administration and any further comments would be counter-productive to our extended hand of friendship to commies around the globe.
Our national security and our value for life are being diluted in front of our eyes. If only the TelePrompTer had some balls....
posted by Karl @ 8:12 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
The silence is also understandable as to the treatment and fate the two US journalists in North Korea, Enua Lee and Laura King. They will be going on trial in Pyongyang for espionage after being captured two weeks ago on the China border. They've been sold out by the administration and any further comments would be counter-productive to our extended hand of friendship to commies around the globe.
Our national security and our value for life are being diluted in front of our eyes. If only the TelePrompTer had some balls....
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 8:12 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Sunday, February 01, 2009
What a week for Rush Limbaugh! Let's start our weekend reading list with his ingenious bipartisan plan. Why aren't the Republican's getting on board with this? Why aren't the Democrats?? If adopted, both parties would feel they were only wasting half of the total. Unless... one party knows their preference creates fiscal failure and dependence, thus leading to re-election. WSJ, My Bipartisan Stimulus.
Yes, elections have consequences. But where's the bipartisanship, Mr. Obama? This does not have to be a divisive issue. My proposal is a genuine compromise.
Fifty-three percent of American voters voted for Barack Obama; 46% voted for John McCain, and 1% voted for wackos. Give that 1% to President Obama. Let's say the vote was 54% to 46%. As a way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009: 54% of the $900 billion -- $486 billion -- will be spent on infrastructure and pork as defined by Mr. Obama and the Democrats; 46% -- $414 billion -- will be directed toward tax cuts, as determined by me.
Then we compare. We see which stimulus actually works. This is bipartisanship! It would satisfy the American people's wishes, as polls currently note; and it would also serve as a measurable test as to which approach best stimulates job growth.
Fifty-three percent of American voters voted for Barack Obama; 46% voted for John McCain, and 1% voted for wackos. Give that 1% to President Obama. Let's say the vote was 54% to 46%. As a way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009: 54% of the $900 billion -- $486 billion -- will be spent on infrastructure and pork as defined by Mr. Obama and the Democrats; 46% -- $414 billion -- will be directed toward tax cuts, as determined by me.
Then we compare. We see which stimulus actually works. This is bipartisanship! It would satisfy the American people's wishes, as polls currently note; and it would also serve as a measurable test as to which approach best stimulates job growth.
Two related blog posts:
Doug Ross lists the details of the $819 billion
Sweetness & Light convey's the bill's support from the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA).
Oliver North reacts to Obama's interview with Al-Arabiya in his Townhall article, and the administration's lowered expectations in Afghanistan, Troubling Talk.
Unfortunately, the Al-Arabiya interview isn't the only troubling talk coming from the Obama administration that could well leave members of our all-volunteer force wondering just what is expected of them. In congressional testimony this week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that even though Afghanistan is the new commander in chief's "top priority," we also "ought to keep our objectives realistic and limited in Afghanistan."
I have spent my life in and around our military. Everyone I ever have known in our armed forces has believed in "realistic" missions and goals. But I've yet to meet a man or woman in uniform who is willing to sacrifice all for "respect," a "partnership" or a "limited objective."
I have spent my life in and around our military. Everyone I ever have known in our armed forces has believed in "realistic" missions and goals. But I've yet to meet a man or woman in uniform who is willing to sacrifice all for "respect," a "partnership" or a "limited objective."
John Bolton, former UN Abassador and owner of our Commie Obama hat, discusses the State Department's lack of interest in North Korea's nuclear program. WSJ, Now Is No Time to Downplay North Korea.
Most troubling is Mrs. Clinton's unwillingness to acknowledge North Korea's uranium-enrichment efforts. In her confirmation hearing, she said these efforts were "never quite verified." Although we know precious little about the North's progress, including how much weapons-grade uranium may have been produced, Mrs. Clinton cast doubt on whether uranium enrichment was a serious subject at all. Pressed on this point on Jan. 23 at State's daily briefing, the department spokesman said "we don't know" whether such a program exists.
Of course, the easiest way to solve a difficult problem is to conclude there really isn't one. (This was John Kennedy's technique for eliminating the U.S. "missile gap" with the Soviet Union, which he had deployed so effectively against Richard Nixon.) For years, State's permanent bureaucracy has been trying to wish away North Korea's uranium-enrichment program. If President Barack Obama's State Department takes this strategy, Pyongyang will once again have occasion to contemplate the profound wisdom of the ancient North Korean riddle: Why negotiate with the Americans when we do so well by letting them negotiate with themselves?
Of course, the easiest way to solve a difficult problem is to conclude there really isn't one. (This was John Kennedy's technique for eliminating the U.S. "missile gap" with the Soviet Union, which he had deployed so effectively against Richard Nixon.) For years, State's permanent bureaucracy has been trying to wish away North Korea's uranium-enrichment program. If President Barack Obama's State Department takes this strategy, Pyongyang will once again have occasion to contemplate the profound wisdom of the ancient North Korean riddle: Why negotiate with the Americans when we do so well by letting them negotiate with themselves?
Labels: N. Korea, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 12:38 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
From Reuters:
From the International Herald Tribune:
Washington Post: More Moscow Murder - Two critics of Vladimir Putin take bullets in the head.
Top blogs (listed to the left) are posting this interesting picture of Chavez with the daughter of our new CIA Director nominee.
And last, a man who campaigned on universal health care was sworn in as the next president of the United States.
So? When do we get our free stuff??
UPDATE 1.22:
We stand corrected! Doug Ross notifies us that our new CIA director does not have a daughter. No show trial necessary - we regret our mistake!
posted by Karl @ 6:33 PM Permalink
North Korea's army said on Saturday it would assume an "all-out confrontational posture" against the South and wipe out the conservative government in Seoul for refusing to cooperate with them.
From the International Herald Tribune:
Since Dec. 31, Russia has been playing a game of chicken with Ukraine over gas prices, transit fees and unpaid debts. On Jan. 7, after each side accused the other of cheating and stealing, Russia's Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas producer, suspended supplies to Ukraine's transit pipelines, sending a chill through much of southeastern Europe.
The supplies were to resume after the two sides signed 10-year natural-gas contracts on Monday. Putin said gas shipments to the 27-nation bloc would resume in "full volumes" through all export routes.
The supplies were to resume after the two sides signed 10-year natural-gas contracts on Monday. Putin said gas shipments to the 27-nation bloc would resume in "full volumes" through all export routes.
Washington Post: More Moscow Murder - Two critics of Vladimir Putin take bullets in the head.
Another Russian fighting for human rights and the rule of law has been murdered in Vladimir Putin's Moscow. Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who defended Chechens brutalized by Russian troops and journalists who wrote about the abuses, was shot in the head yesterday by a masked man carrying a silencer-equipped pistol. An opposition journalist who tried to intervene, Anastasia Baburova, was also fatally shot in the head. This occurred in broad daylight, on a busy street in central Moscow less than half a mile from the Kremlin. It was another demonstration that assassinations are a dominating feature of political life under Mr. Putin's regime.
Top blogs (listed to the left) are posting this interesting picture of Chavez with the daughter of our new CIA Director nominee.
And last, a man who campaigned on universal health care was sworn in as the next president of the United States.
So? When do we get our free stuff??
UPDATE 1.22:
We stand corrected! Doug Ross notifies us that our new CIA director does not have a daughter. No show trial necessary - we regret our mistake!
Labels: N. Korea, Russia, Venezuela
posted by Karl @ 6:33 PM Permalink
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Was Kim Jong Il just rude not to show up to the 60th anniversary of North Korea?
Rumors say he may have died from Diabetes. That is a stretch - N. Korea has universal health care. Of course, the word "diabetes" may be North Korean for "a starving peasant shot him in the head".
Some rumors say he died in 2003! Other excuses could include hiding in a bunker as he did at the start of Shock and Awe in Iraq. Or maybe he was busying watching the movie Team America - a movie we turn to when parades are the only thing on TV. That movie ROCKS!
The only good commie is a dead commie, so here is hoping the rumors are true.
U/T: Jawa Report
UPDATE 9.11: More info from AP. S. Korean press reported Kim collapsed two weeks ago, and rumors say he has received medical attention from Chinese doctors in some previously unknown universal health care bilateral arrangement.
posted by Karl @ 3:05 PM Permalink
Rumors say he may have died from Diabetes. That is a stretch - N. Korea has universal health care. Of course, the word "diabetes" may be North Korean for "a starving peasant shot him in the head".
Some rumors say he died in 2003! Other excuses could include hiding in a bunker as he did at the start of Shock and Awe in Iraq. Or maybe he was busying watching the movie Team America - a movie we turn to when parades are the only thing on TV. That movie ROCKS!
The only good commie is a dead commie, so here is hoping the rumors are true.
U/T: Jawa Report
UPDATE 9.11: More info from AP. S. Korean press reported Kim collapsed two weeks ago, and rumors say he has received medical attention from Chinese doctors in some previously unknown universal health care bilateral arrangement.
Labels: N. Korea
posted by Karl @ 3:05 PM Permalink
Saturday, May 10, 2008
So, Hillary is out, eh? Here are links to some of the better obituaries from this week:
Charles Krauthammer, Hillary Clinton's Long Learning Curve, at Townhall.com.
The Clinton Divorce, a WSJ editorial
George Will said it best, in his Townhall.com article, Hillary's Fuzzy Math:
Karl Rove also agrees that Hillary is out. Here are some of his predictions from his WSJ opinion article, It's Obama, Warts and All:
The proud Ushanka owner and former UN Ambassador John R. Bolton continues his criticism of the Bush Administration with regards to North Korea's nuclear program and possible Syrian proliferation cooperation - Bush's North Korea Nuclear Abdication.
posted by Karl @ 4:04 PM Permalink
Charles Krauthammer, Hillary Clinton's Long Learning Curve, at Townhall.com.
The Clinton Divorce, a WSJ editorial
George Will said it best, in his Townhall.com article, Hillary's Fuzzy Math:
After Tuesday's split decisions in Indiana and North Carolina, Clinton, the Yankee Clipperette, can, and hence eventually will, creatively argue that she is really ahead of Barack Obama, or at any rate she is sort of tied, mathematically or morally or something, in popular votes, or delegates, or some combination of the two, as determined by Fermat's Last Theorem, or something, in states whose names begin with vowels, or maybe consonants, or perhaps some mixture of the two as determined by listening to a recording of the Beach Boys' "Help Me, Rhonda" played backward, or whatever other formula is most helpful to her, and counting the votes she received in Michigan, where hers was the only contending name on the ballot (her chief rivals, quaintly obeying their party's rules, boycotted the state, which had violated the party's rules for scheduling primaries), and counting the votes she received in Florida, which, like Michigan, was a scofflaw and where no one campaigned, and dividing Obama's delegate advantage in caucus states by pi multiplied by the square root of Yankee Stadium's ZIP code.
Karl Rove also agrees that Hillary is out. Here are some of his predictions from his WSJ opinion article, It's Obama, Warts and All:
Mrs. Clinton may battle until June and possibly until the convention in August.
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As much as Mr. Obama's cheerleaders in the media hate it, Rev. Jeremiah Wright remains a large general-election challenge for Mr. Obama.
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This will be a very difficult year for Republicans. The economy's shaky state, an unpopular war, and the natural desire for partisan change after eight years of one party in the White House have helped tilt the balance to the Democrats.
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The battlegrounds will look familiar. It will be the industrial heartland from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, minus Indiana (Republican) and Illinois (Democrat); the western edge of the Midwest from Minnesota south to Missouri; Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada in the Rocky Mountains; Florida; and New Hampshire.
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As much as Mr. Obama's cheerleaders in the media hate it, Rev. Jeremiah Wright remains a large general-election challenge for Mr. Obama.
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This will be a very difficult year for Republicans. The economy's shaky state, an unpopular war, and the natural desire for partisan change after eight years of one party in the White House have helped tilt the balance to the Democrats.
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The battlegrounds will look familiar. It will be the industrial heartland from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, minus Indiana (Republican) and Illinois (Democrat); the western edge of the Midwest from Minnesota south to Missouri; Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada in the Rocky Mountains; Florida; and New Hampshire.
The proud Ushanka owner and former UN Ambassador John R. Bolton continues his criticism of the Bush Administration with regards to North Korea's nuclear program and possible Syrian proliferation cooperation - Bush's North Korea Nuclear Abdication.
The strategic folly here is rooted in the administration's decision to focus on North Korea's plutonium supplies and stop caring what Pyongyang once did or is doing on the enriched-uranium route to nuclear weapons. That could be a fatal mistake.
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Here is the real problem. North Korean nuclear proliferation is quite likely more than a series of one-time transactions that create problems elsewhere in the world. It may very well be integral to its own nuclear weapons program.
The Bush administration can wish away these possibilities and still achieve its deal. But it cannot wish away the underlying reality, the full scope of which we simply do not know. That reality, whatever its reach, will still be there to haunt President Bush's successor and threaten international peace.
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Here is the real problem. North Korean nuclear proliferation is quite likely more than a series of one-time transactions that create problems elsewhere in the world. It may very well be integral to its own nuclear weapons program.
The Bush administration can wish away these possibilities and still achieve its deal. But it cannot wish away the underlying reality, the full scope of which we simply do not know. That reality, whatever its reach, will still be there to haunt President Bush's successor and threaten international peace.
Labels: N. Korea, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 4:04 PM Permalink
Friday, April 18, 2008
Let's have more Philadelphia Debates! Was that a defining event, or what?! We can feel the weight of our bitterness lift from our body!
Kimberley Strassel at the WSJ, provides a great post-debate summary, A 'Bitter' Misstep:
George Will compares Obama with a previous Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, in his Tuesday Townhall.com article, Barack Obama's Bitter Liberalism:
Larry Elder looks at the media's response and role in the 'Bitter' story. Were they objective as they would have us believe? Larry writes the following in his Thursday Townhall.com article, Obama is 'Bitterly' Out of Touch:
Ushanka owner and former UN Ambassador, John R. Bolton, continues to press the Bush Administration's non-progress in the North Korean talks. It appears the US will agree to a 'trust, but not verify' policy towards the North Korean Communists. Tuesday's WSJ: Bush's North Korea Capitulation.
posted by Karl @ 1:41 PM Permalink
Kimberley Strassel at the WSJ, provides a great post-debate summary, A 'Bitter' Misstep:
So there is some irony that Mr. Obama has guaranteed this political cycle will now contain a hefty focus on . . . church and guns. The latter, by the way, is an issue some Democrats still "bitterly" credit for losing Al Gore key states in 2000. Sure enough, firearms made a prominent appearance at Wednesday's debate, forcing both candidates (who've spent the past week lauding American gun "traditions") to remember they were still fighting in a liberal, gun-control primary. Their hem-and-haw answers surely left neither gun-owners nor gun-haters happy, guaranteeing future discussion.
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At least a few on the right have decided that if the choice is between getting voters to remember why they didn't like Mrs. Clinton 15 years ago, or getting voters to remember why they didn't like Mr. Obama a few minutes ago, they'll take the fresher memories.
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At least a few on the right have decided that if the choice is between getting voters to remember why they didn't like Mrs. Clinton 15 years ago, or getting voters to remember why they didn't like Mr. Obama a few minutes ago, they'll take the fresher memories.
George Will compares Obama with a previous Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, in his Tuesday Townhall.com article, Barack Obama's Bitter Liberalism:
Stevenson, like Obama, energized young, educated professionals for whom, Barone wrote, "what was attractive was not his platform but his attitude." They sought from Stevenson "not so much changes in public policy as validation of their own cultural stance." They especially rejected "American exceptionalism, the notion that the United States was specially good and decent," rather than -- in Michelle Obama's words -- "just downright mean."
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The iconic public intellectual of liberal condescension was Columbia University historian Richard Hofstadter, who died in 1970 but whose spirit still permeated that school when Obama matriculated there in 1981. Hofstadter pioneered the rhetorical tactic that Obama has revived with his diagnosis of working-class Democrats as victims -- the indispensable category in liberal theory. The tactic is to dismiss rather than refute those with whom you disagree.
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The iconic public intellectual of liberal condescension was Columbia University historian Richard Hofstadter, who died in 1970 but whose spirit still permeated that school when Obama matriculated there in 1981. Hofstadter pioneered the rhetorical tactic that Obama has revived with his diagnosis of working-class Democrats as victims -- the indispensable category in liberal theory. The tactic is to dismiss rather than refute those with whom you disagree.
Larry Elder looks at the media's response and role in the 'Bitter' story. Were they objective as they would have us believe? Larry writes the following in his Thursday Townhall.com article, Obama is 'Bitterly' Out of Touch:
Obama, by the way, made his "bitter" analysis on a Sunday, but not until Friday did this become a major media story. Why so long? No doubt, the anti-Second Amendment, secular media -- to say nothing of those in attendance -- agreed with Obama's analysis of the unsophisticated little people. Obama is, therefore, "in touch."
But remember the recent Bush press conference, when Bush responded with skepticism about a reporter's prediction of impending $4-a-gallon gas? The next day, page A-1 in the Los Angeles Times: "$4-a-Gallon Gas? It's News To Bush; President's Surprise at the Idea Fuels a Sense That He's Out of Touch." But as to the newsworthiness of Obama's insult to Midwesterners -- it made pages A-13 and A-17, in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, respectively.
But remember the recent Bush press conference, when Bush responded with skepticism about a reporter's prediction of impending $4-a-gallon gas? The next day, page A-1 in the Los Angeles Times: "$4-a-Gallon Gas? It's News To Bush; President's Surprise at the Idea Fuels a Sense That He's Out of Touch." But as to the newsworthiness of Obama's insult to Midwesterners -- it made pages A-13 and A-17, in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, respectively.
Ushanka owner and former UN Ambassador, John R. Bolton, continues to press the Bush Administration's non-progress in the North Korean talks. It appears the US will agree to a 'trust, but not verify' policy towards the North Korean Communists. Tuesday's WSJ: Bush's North Korea Capitulation.
Pyongyang's escape from accountability could break down international counter-proliferation efforts. What possible reason will Iran now have to be transparent about its nuclear activities? If North Korea can get away with deception and be rewarded, why should Iran not do the same? In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi will kick himself for giving up his nuclear weapons program in 2003. This deal with North Korea is troubling enough, but the worst news is still to come.
Labels: N. Korea, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 1:41 PM Permalink
Saturday, March 22, 2008
John R. Bolton, an owner of our sexy Ushanka hat, offers five suggestions in the Monday WSJ in his opinion piece, "Salvaging Our North Korea Policy". His outrage our the failure of the US to push our partners to pressure the Communist regime is well founded. As Rwanda is Bill Clinton's biggest regret, this failure, and the continued suffering it has caused, may be Bush's.
The WSJ's Mary Anastasia O'Grady interviewed Yon Goicoechea, a 23 year old student activist in Venezuela who has helped organize the recent protests to Hugo's attempted media grab last year, and to thwart the referendum for dictatorial powers.
The quote below caught our eye for a common component for Communism to take hold - a public so anxious for a change they do not care what change they will get. We see this as a DNC strategy - Bush Fatigue Syndrome - and see a Hillary or Obama election as an unconscious move toward Socialism. Do you see that too?
We missed Obama's speech about the Hate America pastor. Yes, the 'race' speech. But the editorial board at the WSJ didn't. It appears victim status will be something we all have in common if Obama is elected and his vision adopted. From "Discovering Obama":
James Taranto adds to the Obama/Race kerfuffle in Monday's Best of the Web with a review of "Black Liberation Theology":
Another owner of our world famous Ushanka hat, Ann Coulter, addressed the Obama/Race issue in her Thursday Townhall.com article, "Throw Grandma Under the Bus".
Tired of the MSM using polls to push their agenda? Join the club! Karl Rove uses the data from a recent poll to show us how the "Democrats are still Weak on Security". His Friday WSJ article explains that Pelosi, Clinton, Obama and others are in the 18% segment of society that wants the US out of Iraq regardless of the consequences.
Hmm, Democrats out of touch you say?
posted by Karl @ 12:00 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Declare North Korea's repeated refusal to honor its commitments, especially but not exclusively concerning full disclosure of its nuclear programs, unacceptable,
Suspend the Six-Party Talks, and reconvene talks without North Korea (to apply more pressure on China),
Strengthen international pressure on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs,
Squeeze North Korea economically,
Prepare contingency plans for humanitarian relief in the event of increased North Korean refugee flows or a regime collapse
Suspend the Six-Party Talks, and reconvene talks without North Korea (to apply more pressure on China),
Strengthen international pressure on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs,
Squeeze North Korea economically,
Prepare contingency plans for humanitarian relief in the event of increased North Korean refugee flows or a regime collapse
The WSJ's Mary Anastasia O'Grady interviewed Yon Goicoechea, a 23 year old student activist in Venezuela who has helped organize the recent protests to Hugo's attempted media grab last year, and to thwart the referendum for dictatorial powers.
The quote below caught our eye for a common component for Communism to take hold - a public so anxious for a change they do not care what change they will get. We see this as a DNC strategy - Bush Fatigue Syndrome - and see a Hillary or Obama election as an unconscious move toward Socialism. Do you see that too?
Mr. Chávez won the presidency in 1998 largely because Venezuelans were fed up with the ruling political and economic elite. Over 40 years of so-called democracy, the traditional parties had manipulated the law to grant themselves privilege and loot state coffers. When voters gambled on Mr. Chávez, it seems to have been more about rejecting the status quo than embracing the fiery newcomer.
We missed Obama's speech about the Hate America pastor. Yes, the 'race' speech. But the editorial board at the WSJ didn't. It appears victim status will be something we all have in common if Obama is elected and his vision adopted. From "Discovering Obama":
The Senator noted that the anger of his pastor "is real; it is powerful," and in fact it is mirrored in "white resentments." He then laid down a litany of American woe: "the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who has been laid off," the "shuttered mill," those "without health care," the soldiers who have fought in "a war that never should have been authorized and never should've been waged," etc. Thus Mr. Obama's message is we "need unity" because all Americans are victims, racial and otherwise; he even mentioned working for change by "binding our particular grievances."
And the cause of all this human misery? Why, "a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many." Mr. Obama's villains, in other words, are the standard-issue populist straw men of Wall Street and the GOP, and his candidacy is a vessel for liberal policy orthodoxy -- raise taxes, "invest" more in social programs, restrict trade, retreat from Iraq.
And the cause of all this human misery? Why, "a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many." Mr. Obama's villains, in other words, are the standard-issue populist straw men of Wall Street and the GOP, and his candidacy is a vessel for liberal policy orthodoxy -- raise taxes, "invest" more in social programs, restrict trade, retreat from Iraq.
James Taranto adds to the Obama/Race kerfuffle in Monday's Best of the Web with a review of "Black Liberation Theology":
Here is a quote from Cone, explaining black liberation theology (hat tip: Spengler, a pseudonymous columnist for the Asia Times):
"Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community. . . . Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love."
Could Obama really have been unaware for all these years that his spiritual mentor follows a racially adversarial theology, one that demands of God that he be "for us and against white people" and that he participate "in the destruction of the white enemy"? It doesn't exactly sound like the sort of change we can believe in.
"Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community. . . . Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love."
Could Obama really have been unaware for all these years that his spiritual mentor follows a racially adversarial theology, one that demands of God that he be "for us and against white people" and that he participate "in the destruction of the white enemy"? It doesn't exactly sound like the sort of change we can believe in.
Another owner of our world famous Ushanka hat, Ann Coulter, addressed the Obama/Race issue in her Thursday Townhall.com article, "Throw Grandma Under the Bus".
So for half of Rev. Wright's 66 years, discrimination against blacks was legal -- though he never experienced it personally because it existed in a part of the country where he did not live. For the second half of Wright's life, discrimination against whites was legal throughout the land.
Discrimination has become so openly accepted that -- in a speech meant to tamp down his association with a black racist -- Obama felt perfectly comfortable throwing his white grandmother under the bus. He used her as the white racist counterpart to his black racist "old uncle," Rev. Wright.
First of all, Wright is not Obama's uncle. The only reason we indulge crazy uncles is that everyone understands that people don't choose their relatives the way they choose, for example, their pastors and mentors. No one quarrels with idea that you can't be expected to publicly denounce your blood relatives.
Discrimination has become so openly accepted that -- in a speech meant to tamp down his association with a black racist -- Obama felt perfectly comfortable throwing his white grandmother under the bus. He used her as the white racist counterpart to his black racist "old uncle," Rev. Wright.
First of all, Wright is not Obama's uncle. The only reason we indulge crazy uncles is that everyone understands that people don't choose their relatives the way they choose, for example, their pastors and mentors. No one quarrels with idea that you can't be expected to publicly denounce your blood relatives.
Tired of the MSM using polls to push their agenda? Join the club! Karl Rove uses the data from a recent poll to show us how the "Democrats are still Weak on Security". His Friday WSJ article explains that Pelosi, Clinton, Obama and others are in the 18% segment of society that wants the US out of Iraq regardless of the consequences.
Asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Feb. 9 if she was worried that the gains of the last year might be lost, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot back: "There haven't been gains . . . This is a failure." Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee told the Associated Press the same month that the surge "has failed."
This passionate, persistent unwillingness to admit what more and more Americans are coming to believe is true about Iraq's changing situation puts Democrats in dangerous political territory. For one thing, they increasingly appear out of touch with reality, a charge they made with some success at the administration's expense before the surge began changing conditions in Iraq.
This passionate, persistent unwillingness to admit what more and more Americans are coming to believe is true about Iraq's changing situation puts Democrats in dangerous political territory. For one thing, they increasingly appear out of touch with reality, a charge they made with some success at the administration's expense before the surge began changing conditions in Iraq.
Hmm, Democrats out of touch you say?
Labels: N. Korea, Venezuela, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 12:00 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
Friday, March 07, 2008
With the rush of primaries behind us, and as the Capitalism vs. Socialism debate waits for a Democratic nominee, we'll once again avoid the political articles and return to Communism as our focus.
The WSJ's "Chavez's 'War' Drums" editorial comments on the laptop found in a raid on the FARC guerrillas in Ecuador. The Columbians went across the border into Ecuador last weekend, killed the guerrilla's second in command, Raul Reyes, and recovered his laptop. Why was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez upset by this raid on the opposite side of Columbia?
Our Dear Leader in North Korea is sending a message to the masses with a public execution of 2 men and 13 women this week. Message: "Stop trying to escape." From Time:
And in a rare link to another blog as part of our Weekend Reading, Little Green Footballs captured a whopper in California: California Dems Introduce Bill to Allow Communist Indoctrination in Public Schools. Blogger Charles Johnson comments:
Ushanka Tip to LGF.
posted by Karl @ 11:24 AM Permalink
The WSJ's "Chavez's 'War' Drums" editorial comments on the laptop found in a raid on the FARC guerrillas in Ecuador. The Columbians went across the border into Ecuador last weekend, killed the guerrilla's second in command, Raul Reyes, and recovered his laptop. Why was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez upset by this raid on the opposite side of Columbia?
What may really have upset Mr. Chávez is the capture of Reyes's laptop. According to Colombia's top police official, General Oscar Naranjo, the computer contains evidence supporting the claim that the FARC is working with Mr. Chávez. General Naranjo said Monday that Reyes's laptop records showed that Venezuela may have paid $300 million to the FARC in exchange for its recent release of six civilian hostages. Mr. Chávez had spun those releases as a triumph of his personal mediation.
General Naranjo said the laptop also contains documents showing that the FARC was seeking to buy 50 kilos of uranium, and the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo has reported that the records revealed the sale of 700 kilograms of cocaine valued at $1.5 million. The general added that the military found a thank-you note from Mr. Chávez to the FARC for some $150,000 that the rebels had sent him when he was in prison for his attempted coup d'etat in 1992.
General Naranjo said the laptop also contains documents showing that the FARC was seeking to buy 50 kilos of uranium, and the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo has reported that the records revealed the sale of 700 kilograms of cocaine valued at $1.5 million. The general added that the military found a thank-you note from Mr. Chávez to the FARC for some $150,000 that the rebels had sent him when he was in prison for his attempted coup d'etat in 1992.
Our Dear Leader in North Korea is sending a message to the masses with a public execution of 2 men and 13 women this week. Message: "Stop trying to escape." From Time:
The two men and 13 women were executed Feb. 20 by firing squad on a bridge in Onseong, a northeastern town on the border with China and Russia, the Good Friends private aid organization said in its regular newsletter.
They were accused of crossing the Tumen River into neighboring China or helping others to cross, the aid agency said.
They were accused of crossing the Tumen River into neighboring China or helping others to cross, the aid agency said.
And in a rare link to another blog as part of our Weekend Reading, Little Green Footballs captured a whopper in California: California Dems Introduce Bill to Allow Communist Indoctrination in Public Schools. Blogger Charles Johnson comments:
Yes, that’s right. The headline is no exaggeration. California Democratic Sen. Alan Lowenthal has proposed an amendment to the Educational Code that will explicitly allow the promotion of Communism in schools, and also allow groups who want to violently overthrow the US government to meet on public school property.
Ushanka Tip to LGF.
Labels: N. Korea, Venezuela, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 11:24 AM Permalink
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Putin's Political Prisoners, by WSJ's Bret Stephens is validation for us at Ushanka.us. The former KGB Colonel Vladimir Putin is putting enemies of his Proletarian Dictatorship in prison. He has created an environment where FSB agents are praised for arresting spies with no evidence of any crimes.
In her acclaimed history of the Gulag, Anne Applebaum observes that under Stalin one could easily get arrested "for nothing," whereas under his successors arrests usually happened "for something -- if not for a genuine criminal act, then for . . . literary, religious, or political opposition to the Soviet system." Of the many things that make present trends in Russia so worrying, surely one is that the line between "something" and "nothing" is becoming increasingly blurred.
A great quote from James Taranto's Best of the Web post from Wednesday about the leading Democratic candidate:
Obama seems to be serving as an inkblot to his followers, who use politics to act out their own personal psychodramas. Is this what we need in a president?
Rush Limbaugh read this entire Aspen Times article by Gary Hubbell, "In election 2008, don't forget Angry White Man". A fun read, but who's angry?
Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.
There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.
There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.
The pile-on Obama continues with Karl Rove's WSJ article, "Obama's New Vulnerability":
Unlike Bill Clinton in 1992, Mr. Obama is completely unwilling to confront the left wing of the Democratic Party, no matter how outrageous its demands, no matter how out of touch it might be with the American people. And Tuesday night, in a key moment in this race, he dropped the pretense that his was a centrist agenda. His agenda is the agenda of the Democratic left.
Michelle Malkin at NRO shares her reaction to Michelle Obama's comment this week that she is finally proud of her country:
I believe it was Michael Kinsley who quipped that a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth. In this case, it’s what happens when an elite Democratic politician’s wife says what a significant portion of the party’s base really believes to be the truth: America is more a source of shame than pride.
Michelle Obama has achieved enormous professional success, political influence, and personal acclaim in America. Ivy League-educated, she’s been lauded by Essence magazine as one of the 25 World’s Most Inspiring Women; by Vanity Fair as one of the ten World’s Best-Dressed Women; and named one of “The Harvard 100” most influential alumni. She has had an amazingly blessed life. But you wouldn’t know it from her campaign rhetoric and her griping about her and her husband’s student loans.
For years, we’ve heard liberals get offended at any challenge to their patriotism. And so they are again aggrieved and rising to explain away Mrs. Obama’s remarks.
Michelle Obama has achieved enormous professional success, political influence, and personal acclaim in America. Ivy League-educated, she’s been lauded by Essence magazine as one of the 25 World’s Most Inspiring Women; by Vanity Fair as one of the ten World’s Best-Dressed Women; and named one of “The Harvard 100” most influential alumni. She has had an amazingly blessed life. But you wouldn’t know it from her campaign rhetoric and her griping about her and her husband’s student loans.
For years, we’ve heard liberals get offended at any challenge to their patriotism. And so they are again aggrieved and rising to explain away Mrs. Obama’s remarks.
Melanie Kirkpatrick at the WSJ interviews General Bell, the commander of US forces in South Korea:
Gen. Bell describes the North Korean military as deployed in a "threatening posture" with "about 70% of their force within 90 miles of the demilitarized zone." Their equipment is old -- the Russians and the Chinese have stopped supplying them -- and training is poor. The army's capabilities have deteriorated in recent years, he says -- a factor, some argue, in Kim Jong Il's reluctance to give up his nuclear program. The North Korean dictator knows his army's potential to hammer the South with conventional arms isn't as good as it used to be.
Even so, Gen. Bell says, the North Koreans "certainly have the capability of bringing aerial fires, rocket and conventional cannon artillery to bear against Seoul . . . They don't need to bring any guns forward. So, they can certainly, at a moment's notice, engage targets in Seoul, should they choose to." He adds: "There would be casualties. But I will tell you, our purpose is to quickly eliminate that threat." Some of the missiles, many believe, would be carrying chemical weapons.
Even so, Gen. Bell says, the North Koreans "certainly have the capability of bringing aerial fires, rocket and conventional cannon artillery to bear against Seoul . . . They don't need to bring any guns forward. So, they can certainly, at a moment's notice, engage targets in Seoul, should they choose to." He adds: "There would be casualties. But I will tell you, our purpose is to quickly eliminate that threat." Some of the missiles, many believe, would be carrying chemical weapons.
Labels: N. Korea, Russia, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 3:00 PM Permalink
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The reading well was dry until Friday. We're trying not to post the primary-related articles, as many good ones as there are, because either you already read them, or like us, you are waiting for the nominations and the real campaign to start. Here is a short list, with two rare links to posts from fellow bloggers.
"Lord help a diplomat who tells the truth" is what the Journal editorial board is saying about Bush's special envoy for human rights in North Korea in Friday's paper.
We are reluctant to jump on the Bush-Bashing-Bandwagon, but when it comes to North Korea, we're riding shotgun. The North Korean Communists continue to strangle their masses while they wait for an American president that will succumb to nuclear blackmail. Eight years with no progress. This is the Bush Administration's black eye.
Ok, so we'll post one primary-related opinion piece from Wednesday's WSJ, "Obama's Clinton Eduction".
Hugh Hewitt touches on something that bugged us during the Republican debates. While others feel comfortable bashing President Bush, McCain seems to enjoy bad-mouthing Donald Rumsfeld. Thanks Hugh for responding!
DougM at Sonrak.com reports of two Mesa, AZ lawmakers that are proposing a law that will allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry in Arizona's public schools.
We love Pro-Choice when it comes to packing heat!
posted by Karl @ 7:29 PM Permalink
"Lord help a diplomat who tells the truth" is what the Journal editorial board is saying about Bush's special envoy for human rights in North Korea in Friday's paper.
We are reluctant to jump on the Bush-Bashing-Bandwagon, but when it comes to North Korea, we're riding shotgun. The North Korean Communists continue to strangle their masses while they wait for an American president that will succumb to nuclear blackmail. Eight years with no progress. This is the Bush Administration's black eye.
In this Foggy Bottom version of the vanishing commissar, Mr. Lefkowitz is being written out of the Administration's North Korea policy for a speech he gave last week at the American Enterprise Institute. Noting that it has been more than two years since Pyongyang pledged to abandon its nuclear weapons program, and more than two weeks since it violated the latest deadline to disclose the full extent of that program, Mr. Lefkowitz observed that "it is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the Administration leaves office in one year."
Ok, so we'll post one primary-related opinion piece from Wednesday's WSJ, "Obama's Clinton Eduction".
The Illinois Senator is still a young man, but not so young as to have missed the 1990s. He nonetheless seems to be awakening slowly to what everyone else already knows about the Clintons, which is that they will say and do whatever they "gotta" say or do to win. Listen closely to Mr. Obama, and you can almost hear the echoes of Bob Dole at the end of the 1996 campaign asking, "Where's the outrage?"
Hugh Hewitt touches on something that bugged us during the Republican debates. While others feel comfortable bashing President Bush, McCain seems to enjoy bad-mouthing Donald Rumsfeld. Thanks Hugh for responding!
Only small-minded people think Rumsfeld is other than a great American and patriot, though of course a contrroversial one. He continues to deserve the respect and thanks of the American people.
I thus wonder whenever Senator McCain snarls out "Rumsfeld"as he does in debate after debate if others beside me find it unsettling and off-putting that there is so much venom there? Rumsfeld was an opponent of McCain's and as a result the contempt the Arizona maverick has for the former SecDef is complete, but it is also unseemly and not in the best traditions of American politics, especially when Rumsfeld has left the field.
I thus wonder whenever Senator McCain snarls out "Rumsfeld"as he does in debate after debate if others beside me find it unsettling and off-putting that there is so much venom there? Rumsfeld was an opponent of McCain's and as a result the contempt the Arizona maverick has for the former SecDef is complete, but it is also unseemly and not in the best traditions of American politics, especially when Rumsfeld has left the field.
DougM at Sonrak.com reports of two Mesa, AZ lawmakers that are proposing a law that will allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry in Arizona's public schools.
We love Pro-Choice when it comes to packing heat!
Labels: Gun Rights, N. Korea, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 7:29 PM Permalink
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Our long holiday from posting Weekend Reading suggestions is over. Here are some picks from the past weeks:
John Bolton suggests the US pull out of the February 13, 2006 nuclear agreement with North Korea after their "umpteenth violation". We concur, but for another reason. President Bush is the only one that will drive change in the N. Korea regime. If he doesn't reset the standard to full compliance, something always lacking in this agreement, we are confident his predecessor will not either. Reagan was uncomfortable knowing masses lived behind a wall, and he led with this core frustration while declining offers other presidents would have jumped at. That focus and discipline is absent today.
The criticisms of B. Hussein Obama are rolling in, and quite a few minutes too late. Kimberly Strassel dedicates two columns to this: December 28, 2007 - Change Agent? (link), and January 11, 2008 - Barack or Hillary (link). No critical comments here. We agree with her on every point, and HOPE she is right.
Charles Krauthammer reacts to Obama in his January 11 Townhall.com article, Finding the Unscripted Turning Point:
posted by Karl @ 11:44 PM Permalink
John Bolton suggests the US pull out of the February 13, 2006 nuclear agreement with North Korea after their "umpteenth violation". We concur, but for another reason. President Bush is the only one that will drive change in the N. Korea regime. If he doesn't reset the standard to full compliance, something always lacking in this agreement, we are confident his predecessor will not either. Reagan was uncomfortable knowing masses lived behind a wall, and he led with this core frustration while declining offers other presidents would have jumped at. That focus and discipline is absent today.
The criticisms of B. Hussein Obama are rolling in, and quite a few minutes too late. Kimberly Strassel dedicates two columns to this: December 28, 2007 - Change Agent? (link), and January 11, 2008 - Barack or Hillary (link). No critical comments here. We agree with her on every point, and HOPE she is right.
Charles Krauthammer reacts to Obama in his January 11 Townhall.com article, Finding the Unscripted Turning Point:
It is fitting that New Hampshire should have turned on a tear or an aside. The Democratic primary campaign has been breathtakingly empty. What passes for substance is an absurd contest of hopeful change (Obama) vs. experienced change (Clinton) vs. angry change (John Edwards playing Hugo Chavez in English).
---
The freest of all passes to Obama is the general neglect of the obvious central contradiction of his candidacy -- the bipartisan uniter who would bring us together by transcending ideology is at every turn on every policy an unwavering, down-the-line, unreconstructed, uninteresting, liberal Democrat.
---
The freest of all passes to Obama is the general neglect of the obvious central contradiction of his candidacy -- the bipartisan uniter who would bring us together by transcending ideology is at every turn on every policy an unwavering, down-the-line, unreconstructed, uninteresting, liberal Democrat.
Labels: N. Korea, Tax, Weekend Reading
posted by Karl @ 11:44 PM Permalink
Monday, July 16, 2007
Our daily assault on the MSM is as fun as it is unfair! Those poor journalists are forced to come up with news when there is none, and all this extra time allows for their commie-instincts to morph their news-reporting into agenda-setting. It will be a never-ending phenomenon, as the job market for ex-journists is... a quagmire.
Today feels different. Did you notice too? We saw a few news items today that appear more like milestones in the project plan for a more peaceful world than empty news stories.
NPR Link - Britain Expels Four Russian Diplomats
They may not refer to terrorists as "muslims" anymore, but the Brits still hold a high standard for justice when it comes to espionage-related murder on their own soil. It appears they will also review their visa-approval process for Russian government officials.
AP Link - North Korea Shuts Down Reactor
We are not celebrating yet, but this major event shows that US policy is working. Does it signal N. Korea is buying the next set of US give-aways with this shutdown, buying time before turning the reactor back on, or responding to the new US pressure such as the recent funds seizure in Macao?
UPI Link - Fatah Terrorists Disarm
Did we just wake up extra optimistic today, or did we wake up at all? Your thoughts?
posted by Karl @ 11:20 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment
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