Tuesday, May 27, 2008

From Michael Totten: A Hint of Good News from Lebanon

Michael Totten, who used to live in Lebasnon, and reports on it regularly and in depth, shares that in the most recent Hezbollah flare-ups in Lebanon, that when Nasrallah's boys tried to attack Druze strongholds in the mountains overlooking Beirut, they were dealt a strong setback!

Nat Hentoff Shines a Light on Mugabe's Sheer Evil

Mugabe is a nightmare that just keeps returning -- and every time it does, it is more frightening than ever. Nat Hentoff shines a light on this evil man's deeds.

Question: Why has President Bush (along with Brith PMs Blair and Brown, successively) sat on his hands for some seven years while Zimbabwe's internal problems have increased astronomically.

(Remember: Early in his first term, he sent troops into Liberia for a brief time -- and to good effect!)

Heart-Wrenching Photos of Chinese Children Lost in Earthquake

Hugh Hewitt has posted two very moving/motivating pieces on the devastating results of the recent earthquake in China/cyclone in Myanmar.

Very moving photos of lovely children that were lost.

Jimmy Carter Undermines U.S. Foreign Policy...

... again.

Update: Whoops! He did it AGAIN!

I Confess I Believe .....

... in Creationism (contra Charles Johnson, lgf uber-blogger ...).

Geraldo Rivera: Race-Baiter

Mr. Rivera is up to no good again on the illegal immigration front. (He favors amnesty.)

Read this, also.

McCain: "I Will Never Surrender...."

...in Iraq (but I might negotiate away our nuclear arsenal to ingratiate myself to the cut-throat leaders of Russia and China.

In short: Senator McCain is not the brightest bulb in the pack -- and, as talk-radio super-star Michael Savage points out, McCain has surrounded himself with treacherously bad advisors for this leg of his Presidential campaign.

President Bush Ill-Served by Condoleeza Rice

As a "conservatarian" blogger, I will admit to having posted some pretty scorching pieces criticizing President Bush for his foreign policy missteps and weaknesses, and this is only fair, as the "buck stops" on the President's desk.

Nonetheless, one should not discount the room that a trusted, high-ranking official (e.g., SecState) has for creating mischief for the very President she is sworn to serve.

Indeed, as Stephen F. Hayes points out in this Weekly Standard piece, Ms. Rice has made mince-meat of the Bush Administration's dealings with North Korea.

Forsooth, the President has been ill served by his second-term Secretary of State.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Trouble Ahead on the China Front

Joshua Kurlantzick has written an incisive, well-thought-out, and profoundly disturbing article for the Los Angeles Times -- disturbing to those, that is, who cherish American sovereignty, America's generally positive influence on foreign affairs, and who grasp the increasing military threat that China represents.

Kurlantzick, using the recent pro-Tibet protests that followed the recent trans-global trip of the "Olympic torch" as a case study, astutely observes that, while much of the rest of the world hailed the pro-Tibet protestors, the Chinese themselves -- and younger Chinese, in particular -- seethed with anger at the perceived slights to China's good name.

I was surprised to read of disruptive pro-Chinese protests by Chinese students (many, of course, from China, but are some also Chinese-Americans?) on US campuses against Tibet and/or the Dalai Lama.

Most disturbing of all was the story that Kurlantzick relates of one female Chinese student at Duke University who -- when she attempted to act as a peace-maker between pro-Tibet and pro-China activists on campus -- was photographed and depicted on the Web as a "traitor," complete with both her and her parents' names and contact information.

As the article points out, even if China's political system becomes freer, the result might be an even more dangerous international rival for the United States, as today's college-age Chinese assume the reins of control.

Very sobering indeed.

Hat tip: RCP.