Captain Marlow

Latest from the Captain

2010-04-26T11:28:00.001+07:00

Mugabe often said he'd transform Zimbabwe in the perfect Maoist state; he surely kept his promise.
I'd recommend to US friends & foes to disregard whatever comes out of this administration; it won't last & it's not America
If ur shy, introverted, become a muslim; nobody in the pc West will dare to mock u anymore. http://bit.ly/buO33e
@travelfish u ignore that skin clearing creams are the 1st selling product in Africa & Caribbean...
@brooksbayne the Tunguska batch, I think
I just signed the pledge to RememberNovember, do the same by visiting http://RememberNovember.com
"Researchers “Addicted” to Bogus Internet Studies" Yup. Nowadays, this is what passes for science on BBC, CNN & NYT
Ciao Fini! http://bit.ly/aYNIv9
Panic about volcanic ash over Britain which closed British airspace for five days was completely unfounded. http://bit.ly/9vVwba
Is this how NYT hopes to survive? Writing for vegan pacifist gauche caviar pinkos like it was the 60's? http://nyti.ms/aAaG4h
"Chomsky Warns of Rise of Far Right in US" Which is of course a natural reaction to Far Left policies http://is.gd/bHPax
Let me get this straight: Obama is profiling air travellers but Arizona can't profile immigrants? http://is.gd/bHPvW
“Four years of talking down to me and asking me to pay for it.” http://is.gd/bHRDq
A Southern accent now...these ppl have no dignity http://is.gd/bHTAy
“We Are All Israelis” http://is.gd/bHUsr Faster, please!
Mark Steyn cleans the floor with Bill "Pardons for Sale" Clinton. http://is.gd/bHW0d

via Writerous

A little “Engrish” in Georgetown, Penang

2010-04-26T11:25:00.001+07:00

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Latest from the Captain

2010-04-12T14:26:00.002+07:00

Beta Blackberry twitter app seems very nice, solid and fast; I'll keep u posted.
Lots of rubbish flying around the net about Bangkok red shirts; follow @bangkokpundit if you want to know http://bit.ly/9RSACK
Quite happy w/ Twitter for Blackberry; give it a try and let me know.
Obama To Host Nuclear Conference http://bit.ly/9wKRgv The incarnation of Affirmative Action keeps BS#itting his way thru life
Enjoy! How many times can you find urself in agreement w/ islamists after all? http://is.gd/boX2w
Obama's false accounting for defense; New START now counts 1 bomber (which can contain up to 20 bombs) as 1 bomb. Result: useless treaty
@KurtSchlichter Watch Chuck Norris flicks over & over again!
The most important thing to this president is how you feel and what you say, not all those annoying facts. http://is.gd/bpaDQ Funny!
Would you fly on a Tupolev? http://is.gd/bpaTV
"Lo sfregio di Praga" Che schifo... http://is.gd/bpcdd
"Da oggi il mondo è più sicuro, hanno detto Obama e Medvedev" Continuiamo a prenderci per il c%lo. http://is.gd/bpcnE
Dopo il sequestro Mastrogiacomo http://is.gd/bpdet ho pochi dubbi che Emergency sia coinvolta http://is.gd/bpdi6 Strada e' un estremista
L'Unita', toccato il fondo da tempo (e io pago...), continua a scavare imperterrita http://is.gd/bpdsO
"In Sudafrica uccidere un bianco non è reato" qualcuno comincia ad accorgersene. Grazie ai mondiali di calcio? http://is.gd/bpdzh
"Vietnamese Prime Minister said the elections in Burma should be fair, democratic, with the participation of all parties" http://is.gd/bpf21
Dicono che questa sia l'età dell'egoismo. Sbagliano. E' l'età dell'ipocrisia. http://is.gd/blkxz
"Ahmadinejad wants to relocate 5millions from Tehran over quake fears" http://is.gd/bpfpz This stinks to high heaven.
"NO COMMENT"

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Latest from the Captain

2010-04-01T12:50:00.001+07:00

La Russia sostiene di voler combattere il terrorismo islamico ma appoggia regimi islamisti http://is.gd/b7S46
se Silvio non avesse vietato Le trasmissioni di Floris e Santoro avrebbe vinto anche Puglia, Basilicata e Liguria. http://is.gd/b7T9h
The MDC’s political dominance : change is inevitable. Faster, please. http://is.gd/b7U26
Take it w/ a pinch of salt (from Debka): G8 skips Iran sanctions to boost secret US opening to Revolutionary Guards. http://is.gd/b7U9i
Olavo de Carvalho on Communism in Latin America. Don't miss it! http://is.gd/b7UzZ
Good Ole Movies: Billy Budd (1962) http://post.ly/WvXg
Good Old Movies: The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) http://post.ly/Wvoh
Good Old Movies: To Have and Have Not (1944) http://post.ly/Ww9Q
Recruiting Somali pirates against Iran? Why not! http://bit.ly/dbyXsy
Bolton 2 Netanyahu: 4 God’s sake get on w/ it before Obama destroys U; the fate of the free world rests on yr shoulders.http://bit.ly/dhRNlp

via Writerous

Good Old Movies: To Have and Have Not (1944)

2010-04-01T11:53:00.001+07:00

Forget Hemingway, this film has very little to do with the novel of the same name. Nevertheless, it is one of my favorite movies. Why? Because Humphrey Bogart is in it, because Lauren Bacall is in it and because Walter Brennan is in it!

“Slim” is as sexy as she can be. When she sings “Am I blue” with Hoagy Carmichael at the piano you’ll get shivers down your spine.

The bond between “Steve” and “Slim” is immediately evident (and we all know how it ended up...). However, I have always wondered if my favorite cinematographic couple’s chemistry would have worked in “Casablanca" (“To have and have not” tries unsuccessfully to remix all of Casablanca elements): would Bacall have been better than Bergman? I must admit that Ingrid Bergman is much more appropriate than Lauren Bacall for the part of saintly companion to a Resistance hero; had she been played by “Slim”, she and Rick would still be making wild love in Paris!

Re-watch it, if only for “Eddie” doing the forgetful drunk and “Cricket” playing and singing…

Go to IMDb page

Information © IMDb.com

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Good Old Movies: The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

2010-04-01T11:18:00.001+07:00

Great movie with a young but convincing Mel Gibson and a very sexy Sigourny Weaver. The collapse of the Soukarno regime in Indonesia in 1965 and Soukarto’s take over.

Go to IMDb page

Information © IMDb.com

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Good Ole Movies: Billy Budd (1962)

2010-04-01T10:47:00.001+07:00

Go to IMDb page

Information © IMDb.com

Fantastic moral drama based on Melville’s novel. An excellent Peter Ustinov, a terrifying Robert Ryan and a surprisingly handsome (if not beautiful) and innocent-looking Terence Stamp at his debut (I think).

If you haven’t watched it, do it now; if you have, watch it again!

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Latest tweets from the Captain

2010-03-31T13:36:00.002+07:00

Un'analisi equilibrata della sconfitta della sinistra in Italia. http://is.gd/b6865
BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: Ricky Martin confirms he’s gay. Who’s next — Elton John? http://is.gd/b69tE
A Buddhist Monk awaits alms outside my hotel in Phnom Penh
Some more dirty background to the Obama made Honduras crisis. http://is.gd/b6cmk
Drone Attacks Are Legit Self-Defense, Says State Dept. Lawyer. Another "Bush was right" I suppose. http://is.gd/b6cJC
I hope that bloody wussy has watched the last 24 episode...might learn what a President should be...
After weeks of lies BBC has to admit Berlusconi's "big gains"; I hate these monotesticledcommieveganwarmistwussies! http://is.gd/b7oXZ
Have We Gone From Watching Movies to Just Looking At Them? Good point; watch this space (I love lil known good movies) http://is.gd/b7qHp
It Could Destroy Italy 'At Any Time'. No, it is not Di Pietro but an underwater volcano. http://is.gd/b7vCl

#Honduras forgotten in the midst of even bigger Obama's blunders

2009-11-23T20:58:00.001+07:00

I have always been extremely curious about this Administration treatment of Honduras in the aftermath of Zelaya's attempted coup and puzzled by the blatant way in which Obama leaned in favor of Chavez and his dangerous games in Latin America.

Now, thanks to Fausta, we finally understand why Obama has again changed his position by 180" (an automatic translation of the excellent Montaner article follows):

 The State Department found that the Honduran institutional support to the dismissal and arrest of Zelaya was virtually unanimous and held firm, despite sanctions and cancellation of visas. The legislature and judiciary, the churches, the army and, according to surveys, 80% of the population, preferred Zelaya from power.

The report of the legal department of the Library of Congress on the removal of Zelaya, requested by a legislator, left no doubt: Zelaya had been removed from office and replaced by Micheletti under Honduran law. Expelled from the country was probably illegal (perhaps due to leave jail), but both require restitution was like asking the Hondurans who violated the law.

The new government of Honduras, deftly, had moved the debate within American society, through Congress and Senate Republicans and the Obama administration was paying a political price for supporting internal antidemocratic stance contrary to the interests and values the American people.

At the State Department circulated two pages compiled by U.S. intelligence in which the alleged crimes were recorded and complexities of the intimate environment of Zelaya with drug trafficking and corruption. There was no point placed in the same side as Washington remained in the country Palmerola military base, supposedly dedicated to monitor and control activities related to family and friends who performed his contradictory protected.

He did not seem wise to encourage the artificial survival of a regime that was active in the field openly Chavez, allied with Iran political family. Chavez, who until recently was classified as a whimsical trouble associating itself with Iran and provide support for the development of nuclear weapons has become a dangerous enemy.

However enlightening, this doesn't explain why their initial approach was so totally wrong; I have read many theories about it, but only one fits the facts: Obama and his "experts" wanted to be seen to side with the weak (with the people, on the side of democracy, protecting the oppressed) but they completely and utterly misunderstood the situation.

Posted via email from Captain Marlow

Believing one's own propaganda can only lead to huge mistakes: Bush was well liked.

2009-09-28T13:32:00.001+07:00

There are people around the world who will always hate or distrust us, like the mullahs of Iran or Kim Jong Il or Castro. Obama seems determined to befriend these mortal enemies. Then there are peoples, nations, and leaders which share natural interests with America, like Israel, Poland, India, Columbia, and Britain. Toward these nations and their leaders, Obama seems bent on being the very ugliest Ugly American.

Bruce Walker at the American Thinker manages to put into words what I have always suspected: the only reason I can come up with to explain Obama’s absurd and inconsistent foreign policy is that, as ridiculously naïve as it may sound, Obama really believes the anti-bush propaganda the dems have circulated in the past 8 years.

As I suggested earlier, it is very simple to wake up from this – for some – daydream:

Take pen and paper and draw a divider (no pun intended) like a capital T on a sheet of paper (like an accountant’s debit and credit graph); go back in your mind to a few months or few years ago. On the left column start listing Bush’s foes and on the right his friends/allies; you will immediately realize that the list on the left contains the names of tyrants, dictators, madmen, fraudsters, corrupt politicians, etc. (Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il, the Castro brothers, Chavez, Morales, Chirac, Schroeder, Saddam Hussein, etc., etc.) and the right mostly the names of heads of state of democratic countries (Israel, Sarkozy, Merkel, Harper, John Howard and now Rudd, New Zealand, Italy, Iraq, etc., etc.).

You get the drift. So where did the myth (yes, it is a myth) of “the world hates Bush” originates? In the same place where all attacks against center and center-right parties originates: on the left (see what they are trying to do to Berlusconi, arguably the best government Italy has ever had since WWII).

The result of Obama’s gullibility? He has consistently been alienating the guys on the right side of the list: UK, Israel, Honduras, Poland, Czech Republic, etc. and getting comfy with America’s enemies. I am afraid that the next President of the USA will have a lot of apologizing to do; this time for real.

Posted via email from Captain Marlow

Latest tweets from the Captain

2009-09-28T11:34:00.001+07:00

Christiane Amanpour interviewing Mugabe on CNN; he's lying, of course, but she's toothless and unprepared. She'll never be a Fallaci.
Mixed Reactions Over CNN Interview With Mugabe. Yes, she was unprepapared. Good to see him squirm & defensive tho http://viigo.im/10vp
US welcomes #Iran inspection offer.Another "ballet" that'll give'em more time.As if Sarkozy deadline wasn't enough http://viigo.im/10vw
EU envoys return to #Honduras to help resolve coup crisis & possibly stir up some violence to help Chavez http://viigo.im/10vA
Afghanistan Troop Request Splits Advisers to Obama. No doubt he'll pick the wrong one... http://viigo.im/10vF
Chavez, Gaddafi seek new world order. Why 2 "bipolar" want a "multipolar" world beats me. http://viigo.im/10vI
Kenyan president protests U.S. warning letters. Priceless! Non-interference, sorry if Bush was pushy, no more? http://viigo.im/10vR
Obama accuses #Iran of pattern of evasion. Do'h! Ahmadinedjad must be LOL! http://viigo.im/10vU
RT @StrvingBloggist: Obama = One Big Awful Mistake America
Iran tests short-range missiles. http://tr.im/zRSq This must be the dialogue they talk about...
By keeping silent on #Iran second plant about which he knew for months, Obama has caused irreversible damage. http://bit.ly/26DDcm
Gates: No Afghan Withdrawal Date; would be a strategic mistake. Ahem, isn't this what Republicans used to say? http://viigo.im/10Yk
Brazil to lose its right to an embassy in Honduras in 10 days if it does not decide on handing over Zelaya. Good! http://viigo.im/10Yq
RT @TaoWizard: The wise one accomplishes each small task as if they were the greatest task ~ Daodejing
@badbanana of course it is! Otherwise the West'd've done something, they have known about it for a year...
Mugabe & those like him R our creation; we have feted and honored them for too long for our own reasons (cold war). What can we expect now?
If anyone wants an invite to try out Brizzly; looking really good so far. http://is.gd/3JEd3
RT @dvd493: RT @LadyImpactOhio @Ohio_Tea_Party OPERATION SENATE OVERLOAD ON HEALTHCARE HAS BEGUN. PLS RT. http://bit.ly/1ayyVS
#tcot When they start talking about "the vast right wing conspiracy" you can relax; you know they are losing. http://ow.ly/15RvtU
Sell out your friends, and you’re a cretin. Sell them out and get nothing in return, and you’re a cretin and a fool. http://bit.ly/82GVV

Ultimately, the America we love lives or dies because of the action or inaction of its citizens. Revel reminds us of the terrible responsibility of that citizenship, as we face a battle for survival, against ourselves.

Posted via email from Captain Marlow

In the end, it is up to those who get it sooner to be patient and do the hard work...

2009-09-07T13:01:00.001+07:00

I was surprised recently, when a colleague of mine, talking about one of our contractors, said that he looked honest and hard working and he was sure he would deliver in time. I had a meeting afterwards with the guy and immediately judged him a crook or at least someone who didn’t know what he was talking about; I was sure (and was proved correct) that, as soon as he got the contract, he would scout around for cheap labor, botch the work and disappear after receiving an advance payment.

This got me wondering what I have, in addition to age and experience, that others don’t; I assure you, for example, that watching someone on TV who to you is clearly lying and dissimulating, together with friends who miss all the telltale signs and take the person’s words at face value is a disheartening, irritating experience. “Can’t you see he is lying?” you feel like bursting out saying; “don’t you understand he doesn’t mean that at all?”.

Of course, after many years, I – and those like me, a bit quicker on the draw, let’s say – have learnt to be patient; we know that eventually these people will reveal themselves for what they are (I remember with a smile Dean’s horrible “aaaaarghhhh” when he lost or Edwards’ “scandal”: I wouldn’t have trusted him with a second hand toothbrush from the moment I saw him). As painful as all this is (you always have to stop yourself from saying: “I told you so” and you keep wondering how grownups and/or professionals can talk seriously about this or that person), it is also funny. I remember last year someone asking me what I thought of Obama (for me it was unbelievable to watch all these people drinking in his “hopeychangey” thing; he is perhaps the most empty, hypocritical, fake, dissimulating man I have ever watched perform in public); naively, I replied: “I don’t see how he can even win his party’s primaries”. Knowing smiles of superiority welcomed my – in their eyes – ignorant opinion.

They were right, of course; they believed as gospel what the man and MSM were saying (to the point of forgetting his ineffectual career, dark past and criminal frequentations). I had again committed the sin of thinking that no one could miss the blatant incompetence, the emptiness of the words, the disgusting moral equivalence always at the forefront. Am I happy now that I can say “I told you so” as more and more people realize the truth? No, I am not; the stakes are too high and the damage could be irreversible. It is time for those who are only waking up now to make up for the time lost.

Afghanistan: how to lose a war and blame someone else

2009-09-04T08:48:00.001+07:00

I do hope that someone in this dysfunctional administration listens to Max Boot:

Until now international forces and their Afghan partners have lacked the will and resources to implement a classic counterinsurgency plan designed to secure the populace. But that is precisely what Gen. Stanley McChrystal will undertake—assuming he gets the resources he needs from Washington. To pull the plug on our operations now, when our troops are only beginning to fight in earnest, would be even more foolish than it would have been to short-circuit the surge in Iraq in 2007—as so many who are freely offering advice on Afghanistan today once advocated.

However, I have my doubts; four main mistakes were made by Obama and his ideological cronies:

1) Spreading the word that they wanted to talk to “moderate” Taliban (there is not such a thing and it has – rightly – been interpreted as a sign of extreme weakness)

2) Hoping stupidly that the perceived European ill will against Bush (itself a fabrication of the Dems) would miraculously transform itself in love and military support for Obama’s endevours

3) Afghanistan, like Iraq and all the rest of it, is a regional problem and no amount of appeasement towards Syria or Iran will reduce their desire to do harm to US/Western interests in the region; on the contrary, it will only encourage them

4) First thing to do to protect the population is to eliminate corruption (which was the main reason of the Taliban’s’ first success); to do this allies must destroy completely poppy fields and opium cultivations which only benefit and fund the Taliban’s’ murderous activities (farmers and villagers get very little out of it anyway; they would be better off planting grains)

Of course, when you have people like Dennis Ross advising a young and inexperienced President that protecting the poppy fields must be the first objective of the counterinsurgency (a “no brainer” he calls it) you can only despair…let’s hope McCrystal, with his love of napalm, will use it where it is now needed most.

Latest tweets from the Captain

2009-09-01T11:28:00.002+07:00

'Reborn' Jesus Leads Vegans in Russia. And the "this is my body this is my blood" thing? Haven't read the fine print? http://bit.ly/2czCKA
Slogans for Windows 7. http://bit.ly/1i4SxO The best? Because owning a Mac is one step away from drinking lattes at a Green Party tweetup.
In a new, gentler time, apparently it’s now possible to swap mass murderers for oil. Think of the possibilities. http://tinyurl.com/lqb2uh
12 Facts about Global Climate Change That You Won’t Read in the Popular Press. http://tinyurl.com/kqtooo ESSENTIAL READING!
Global March against Hugo Chavez next 4 September at 12:00. http://www.nomaschavez.org/ (via @fausta)
#tcot Is this how the "reset" with Syria is working? http://tinyurl.com/lp6cn4
#iran #iranelection Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
#tcot The real Ted Kennedy. http://tinyurl.com/274evx
Chappaquiddick, the true story: when a man is not a man anymore. http://tinyurl.com/n8rey2
Splendid cartoon: British Lockerbie memorial. http://tinyurl.com/ksffb2
#tcot Kennedy tried to enlist the aid of the Soviet regime, Yuri Andropov, to get President Reagan defeated. http://tinyurl.com/ma9o9h
Following my latest tweet...British Lockerbie memorial http://post.ly/3aBb

Following my latest tweet...British Lockerbie memorial

2009-09-01T11:23:00.001+07:00

Latest tweets from the Captain

2009-08-24T12:35:00.001+07:00

Swaziland King Mswati III sent several of his 13 wives on a multi-million-dollar shopping spree. http://bit.ly/3wi3xk This is where aid goes
Brave people against medieval death cults: http://bit.ly/2H5G5
#iran #iranelection Ahmadinejad's next defense minister is wanted by Interpol for 1994 Buenos Aires atrocity. http://bit.ly/HZ2Dy
Another excellent reason to upgrade to Windows 7: a lame, paid for, non-expert opinion piece on Wired against it. http://bit.ly/10Ksbq
#tcot Gordon Brown, politically finished anyway, has just set up his pension fund in Tripoli, a la "Schroeder" (that 1 in Moscow, though)
Rafsanjani in 'conciliatory' move. He has betrayed you as you knew he would; get rid of all clerics! #iranelection http://viigo.im/0F7k
#Marlow Not my real name (do'h), just one of my favorite books...
#tcot Dear Obama, despite your birdbrained father's beliefs, communism never has worked and never will. Give it up and behave like a man.
“This Massive Expansion of Wasteful Statism Brought to You by Obama Marketing, Inc.”. http://bit.ly/dmjZg
Malaysia beer woman spared caning. http://bit.ly/1TtakR It would be nice one day to welcome back Malaysia into the civilized world.
Its a good time to be a polar bear.Unusually cool temperatures in the north produced thicker-than-usual polar ice. http://tinyurl.com/m6pqr9
Interesting backgrounder on the latest Gordon Brown blunder, freeing terrorist al-Megrahi for money. http://tinyurl.com/neqy6d
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s youngest daughter, Hyun Hee, and her husband, Chatterjee's incredible UN careers. http://tinyurl.com/lq2qtr
Evidence is mounting that there was far more to the release of Megrahi than simply compassion,” said a British MP. http://tinyurl.com/nw9mk9

#tcot And they say FOX is biased?

2009-08-21T13:55:00.001+07:00

So, while sitting room intellectuals joke about FOX News and wink at each other knowingly, they continue – unknowingly – to be fed s*&t like this:

MSNBC edits clip of man with gun at Obama rally to support racism narrative

</object>

I f Obama is reduced to this level of deceit to desperately cling to his dwindling ratings after only 7 months, he won’t even finish the first term…(if and when the spineless GOP manages to grow a new pair)

Oh, the irony!

Latest tweets from the Captain

2009-08-21T09:11:00.001+07:00

#iran #iranelection Hurdles Expected As Ahmadinejad Begins Second Term. http://bit.ly/zHisY Now's the hard part guys.Give it all you've got!
When, during a war, Congress starts asking precise benchmarks, like in Iraq, is the part that makes me laugh most (^_^). http://bit.ly/xj0iC
Splendid cartoon on how the "Dear Leader" secures supplies. http://bit.ly/EC4Ew
Latest Tweets from the Captain http://tinyurl.com/kjv6bm
Latest Tweets from the Captain http://post.ly/1y4s
After 6 Months, More View Obama's Presidency as a 'Failure' Than Bush's. http://bit.ly/18OF0S
When a society starts asking: "why should the brain surgeon make more than the auto worker?" like Europe did and US is doing, it is the end.
± 50% of a population is usually ignorant and stupid but the unwashed masses (and the elite who squeezes them) this time really screwed up!
Affirmative action laws are, of course, racist by definition; a first step towards abolishing meritocracy. The price will be steep indeed...
Get used to "newspeak". The U.S. is no longer engaged in a "war on terrorism" or fighting "jihadists" or a "global war." http://bit.ly/D6O0C
A calmer Iraq takes on another killer — smoking. http://bit.ly/PaLgE Best proof of "Bush was right" if anyone needed one of course...
RAI: GARIMBERTI, INFORMAZIONE PUBBLICA DEVE RACCONTARE I FATTI Quando mai Rai 3 ha fatto informazione!? http://viigo.im/0uyP
Yahoo “Never Was a Search Company,” Says CEO. On the contrary, it was nothing but...and you blew it! http://viigo.im/0uzl
Pakistani Taliban head's death a blow to militants. All Obama has to do to be right is continue Bush policies. http://viigo.im/0uzA
Happy Birthday, Singapore! You don't look your age and are as beautiful as ever!
RT @scalzi: Hey! I won a hugo! Well deserved, man! Well deserved!
Hillary Clinton: I'm secretary of state, not Bill. http://bit.ly/f68Pz The whole dog & pony show getting more ridiculous by the day!
Nobody takes seriously Joe"dumbo"Biden except Russia; and they'll make US pay for having publicly dismissed their country as a basket case.
US continues to condemn Zelaya's ouster but no sanctions means #Honduras has won. http://bit.ly/Vei3Q Why lie then? http://bit.ly/19WGem
Hillary Clinton: I'm secretary of state, not Bill. http://bit.ly/f68Pz The whole dog & pony show getting more ridiculous by the day!
Nobody takes seriously Joe"dumbo"Biden except Russia; and they'll make US pay for having publicly dismissed their country as a basket case.
US continues to condemn Zelaya's ouster but no sanctions means #Honduras has won. http://bit.ly/Vei3Q Why lie then? http://bit.ly/19WGem
I accuse Obama and those members of Congress of seeking to impose a “Cap-and-Trade” bill based entirely on the hoax. http://bit.ly/qZcU1
#indonesia #indonesiaunite Source Hints Body Not That Of Indonesia Militant Top. http://bit.ly/13x7CX
U.N.'s Ban Ki-moon congratulates Iran President Ahmadinejad. He mixed up his notes, it was "I'm deeply concerned". http://viigo.im/0xaZ
Dems seem ready to ditch the "here's what we're fighting for" to "here's what were fighting against." http://bit.ly/1TURv5 Pathetic...
It's official: President Obama is not afraid of Canadians. http://bit.ly/h4dP6
#tcot All you ever wanted to know about socialism but were afraid to ask... http://bit.ly/23aI9C
U.N.'s Ban Ki-moon congratulates #Iran President Ahmadinejad. He mixed up his notes, it was "I'm deeply concerned". http://viigo.im/0xaZ
Iraq's Bombs of August: A Return to the Bad Old Days? Obama's total lack of strategy emboldens the terrorists. http://bit.ly/8rbhp
The stench of corruption in Thailand is reaching new heights: Why the Merchant of Death May Not Stand Trial. http://bit.ly/usGzu
#iranelection vote for this, vote for that; same sickness. Only separation of church and state will bring #iran back into the world.
BULLSHIT!!! NOT A CHANCE!!! RT @andandandanda: I've had enough, the terorrism will break INDONESIA to pieces do you realize?be strong and un
Bossi: "Dialetto obbligatorio a scuola". Sembra Mugabe! Ricetta certa per I'll sottosviluppo http://viigo.im/0APK
RT @dearpacificday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY INDONESIA.
RT @JessicaTattiana: i'm stuck in singapore's crappy airport for 6 hrs! Best airport of SEA!
#iran #iranelection Some of u are young; don't fall for this crap! Religion is only an excuse to legitimate the unelected corrupt in power
RT @dvd493: RT @glockster23 @michellemalkin Maybe if O was getting a kickback from Exxon we could get some American oil drilled.
Who would win in a war between the human race and the zombies? http://post.ly/2RjZ
Ahem...talking about mathematical models again... http://post.ly/2Row
Today, the worst that can happen to any genocidal crook is that some idiot somewhere will be "deeply concerned" about "allegations" of ...

Ahem...talking about mathematical models again...

2009-08-20T11:48:00.001+07:00

The outgoing leader of Greenpeace has admitted his organization’s recent claim that the Arctic Ice will disappear by 2030 was “a mistake.” Greenpeace made the claim in a July 15 press release entitled “Urgent Action Needed As Arctic Ice Melts,” which said there will be an ice-free Arctic by 2030 because of global warming.

</object>

Sackur said the claim was inaccurate on two fronts, pointing out that the Arctic ice is a mass of 1.6 million square kilometers with a thickness of 3 km in the middle, and that it had survived much warmer periods in history than the present.

Wow! Talking about small mistakes! Al Gore must have refused him a raise…

Who would win in a war between the human race and the zombies?

2009-08-20T10:59:00.001+07:00

Since it has now been proven beyond reasonable doubt that mathematical models are infallible (Al Gore et al.), so much so that even political decisions affecting billions of people and involving trillions of dollars are taken based on their results, I feel compelled to draw your attention to an even more momentous prediction than global warming disasters or climate change Armageddons: who would win in a war between the human race and zombies?

It is possible to successfully fend off a zombie attack, according to Canadian mathematicians. The key is to “hit hard and hit often.” Oh yes, somebody actually did a study on mathematics of a hypothetical zombie attack, and published it in a book on infectious disease. So, while we still don’t know what to do if a deadly asteroid takes aim at Earth, an unlikely but technically possible situation, we now know what to do in case of a zombie attack. “An outbreak of zombies is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead,” the authors wrote. “It is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble.”

There is hope yet.

Latest Tweets from the Captain

2009-08-07T11:20:00.001+07:00

How is Hillary doing as secretary of State? She is impotent. She is in charge of our relations with Lichtenstein. http://bit.ly/7R4tH
Krauthammer's On North Korea releasing US journalists to President Clinton: it was a hostage ransom. No question at all. http://bit.ly/EU5JM
#iran #iranelection Hurdles Expected As Ahmadinejad Begins Second Term. http://bit.ly/zHisY Now's the hard part guys.Give it all you've got!
RT @googlenews: North Korea pardons journalists - Denver Post http://bit.ly/10XESt At what price?
Top U.S. commander in Iraq said American role over the next 2 1/2 years is crucial. http://bit.ly/JahU3 Thank god for intelligent people!
Once u give in to blackmailers, u are in for the duration. Bill Clinton has found himself a permanent job; better keep the bags ready.
Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S. http://bit.ly/17kC2Y A warning to the Joker not to intervene in Georgia?
Mideast destabilized as planned, senseless religious fundamentalism is out forever; #Iran Theocracy [will] Implode[s]. http://bit.ly/o2N45
Maureen Dowd, who writes a gossip column in the NYT, has her own superficial opinion on Bill's trip to Pyongyang; she must be in love.
Zimbabwe's Vice-President Joseph Msika died on Wednesday. http://bit.ly/vr6Xj MUGABE NEXT? FASTER PLEASE!
Kim Jong Il's smile said it all; gave Kim a rare opportunity to have an ex-president appear before him as a supplicant. http://bit.ly/10n1Re
#iranelection US backtracks on #Iran poll remarks. http://bit.ly/3qMSlJ And the list of mistakes grows and grows...
U.S. Decides Not to Impose Sanctions on #Honduras. http://bit.ly/1FTEB1 And the list of mistakes grows and grows...
How is Hillary doing as secretary of State? She is impotent. She is in charge of our relations with Lichtenstein. http://bit.ly/7R4tH
Krauthammer's On North Korea releasing US journalists to President Clinton: it was a hostage ransom. No question at all. http://bit.ly/EU5JM
#iran #iranelection Hurdles Expected As Ahmadinejad Begins Second Term. http://bit.ly/zHisY Now's the hard part guys.Give it all you've got!
When, during a war, Congress starts asking precise benchmarks, like in Iraq, is the part that makes me laugh most (^_^). http://bit.ly/xj0iC
Splendid cartoon on how the "Dear Leader" secures supplies. http://bit.ly/EC4Ew

#afghanistan The end of a civilization, or the West latest fad: self-castration

2009-07-30T08:32:00.001+07:00

Taleban insurgents fighting German forces in northern Afghanistan have often lived to fight another day thanks to trilingual warnings that have to be shouted out before the men from the Bundeswehr can squeeze their triggers. The seven-page pocket guide to combat tucked into the breast pocket of every German soldier offers such instructions as: “Before opening fire you are expected to declare loudly, in English, ‘United Nations — stop, or I will fire,” followed by a version in Pashtu — Melgaero Mellatuna- Dreesch, ka ne se dasee kawum!”

The alert must also be issued in Dari, and the booklet, devised by a committee in some faraway ministerial office, adds: “If the situation allows, the warning should be repeated.” The joke going round Nato mess tents poses the question: “How can you identify a German soldier? He is the corpse clutching a pocket guide.”

When we will stumble about, our only eye burned to charcoal by a red hot pointed log, in horrible pain, crying “who did this to us?”, someone will answer: “Nobody!”, and he will be right.

#Obama: the mask slips and the arrogance, ignorance and racism surface for all to see

2009-07-28T14:03:00.001+07:00

Melanie, great as always:

For the President of the United States to get involved at all in such a local matter was off-limits. For him to do so without even bothering to discover the facts was disturbing. For him to damn the Cambridge police as ‘stupid’ whereas it was clearly Gates who was ‘stupid’(and worse), thereby demonstrating how the Presidential knee automatically jerks to the crudest of anti-white (and anti-police) tunes regardless of the facts, was deeply alarming.

But not surprising.

#Burma #myanmar #assk Excellent article: Clinton's myopia on Burma

2009-07-28T13:48:00.001+07:00

An excellent article by Enzo Reale on Burma and the umpteenth foreign policy mistake of the current Administration:

The attempt to buy Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom by the promise of new investments shows an amount of improvisation and naivety that should worry activists for democracy inside and outside Burma and, in general, all those who have always looked at U.S. as a force for democratic change in authoritarian countries. Instead of working to free Burma and its citizens, Mrs. Clinton chooses to concentrate U.S. efforts in pursuing a symbolic, popular and limited goal, the liberation of the Nobel Prize laureate. "What about reconciliation dialogue, the election in 2010 and ethnic issues? Don’t they know that they would detain her again?" veteran journalist and opposition leader Win Tin observed, when asked about Mrs. Clinton's remarks.

Read it all.

Anyone would like to vomit on the latest European hypocrisy?

2009-07-28T10:52:00.001+07:00

Sweden called on Venezuela Monday to explain how Swedish-made weapons sold to the South American country ended up in the hands of Colombian FARC guerillas. The revelation of the weapons acquisition by the Marxist group -- long a thorn in Bogota's side -- has strained already tense relations between the South American neighbors which have been at stark odds over various military issues, including US involvement in anti-drug operations in the region. "We have asked the officials of the government of Venezuela to give us information on how they believe this material was found in Colombia," said Jens Eriksson, a political advisor to the Swedish ministry of commerce.

If you are thinking that the Swedes must be complete idiots, you would be wrong; they know very well that arms sold to Chavez end up in the hands of the FARC terrorists. They have cultivated this aura of pacifism for years but only a moron would be fooled by their Nobel Peace Prize antics.

"We have it confirmed that a small amount of (defence) material made in Sweden has been found in a FARC camp," Eriksson said, stressing that no Swedish company had ever been granted a permit to sell to Colombia.

Note how they are careful to say: ”small amount” of defence material! Small amount? Sweden Ranks Second in the World in Per Capita Weapons Exports, and Saab is the biggest one (and not even all Swedes are aware of it).

Nothing wrong with that, most industrialized countries do the same, but at least they don’t go around preaching non-violence!

Talibans' new code of conduct: join the caliphate and be happy!

2009-07-28T09:30:00.002+07:00

Taking a page from Petreus’ successful counterinsurgency manual, the Taliban have decided to adopt its core principles and try to win over Afghanistan civilian population’s hearts and minds.

The book, with 13 chapters and 67 articles, lays out what one of the most secretive organisations in the world today, can and cannot do. It talks of limiting suicide attacks, avoiding civilian casualties and winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the local civilian population. Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the capital, Kabul, said every fighter is being issued the pocket book entitled "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Rules for Mujahideen".

We have had the opportunity to peruse the manual before its release to the general terrorist public and are convinced that, if Mullah Omar succeeds in implementing it, the Taliban will shortly become a force to be reckoned with.

The basic rules, to be applied with immediate effect, are:

1) Suicide bombers, before blowing themselves up, must make sure that no one is in the vicinity; if necessary, they must jump in a ditch before exploding to avoid injuring civilians.

2) Prisoners must be treated like guests and their every wish complied with, even if it implies sacrificing wives, sisters, daughters or one’s favorite goat’s purity or impoverish the kidnapper in the process. It is imperative for our success that when released, the “guest” must speak highly of his hosts and long to return to his Afghanistan prison.

3) When flirting with a prospective bride or even a “one night wedding”, avoid the “wam, bam, thank you mam” typical macho attitude, especially if the girl is younger than 4 years old; a romantic dinner and some flowers would be in order.

4) Night clubs are a great way to win over the population, especially if drinks are cheap and women in some state of undress while dancing wildly on the “cubes”. However, avoid loud music and disorderly conduct outside these establishments if they are close to hospitals, schools or Christian churches; people will be thankful.

5) Encourage the adoption of the new burkas, the short, transparent ones; winning over the ladies is the first step towards world domination.

#iran #iranelection Anarchist/communist anti-semite Noam Chomsky gets one right?

2009-07-27T12:49:00.001+07:00

Anarchist/communist anti-semite Noam Chomsky gets one right (must have noticed his bank account wasn’t getting any fatter of late) and attacks the Iranian regime without once saying that it is America’s fault; must be some kind of record….

Stop the presses! Obama declassifies Google maps classified by the evil Bush!

2009-07-27T10:13:00.001+07:00

So funny! Someone tell the Guardian one-meter resolution images can be found everywhere online…

It is always amateur hour at the White House!

2009-07-27T10:09:00.001+07:00

Just weeks after a summit meeting intended to show a thawing in relations between the United States and Russia, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. made blistering references to Russia’s failing economy, loss of face and a leadership that is “clinging to something in the past,” in an interview published on Saturday…The Kremlin immediately responded to the comments, made in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, with a demand for a clarification of the administration’s intentions toward Russia…

It used to be common knowledge that Obama picked an idiot as his deputy in order to look good himself by comparison; it would now appear however, that he picked Joe Biden as a life insurance: the guy is so unstable, uninformed, unspeakably stupid that not even a terrorist would put Obama’s life in danger knowing that the alternative would be Biden as President.

#indonesia #indonesiaunite #Jakarta bombings. KAMI TIDAK TAKUT. We Are Not Afraid.

2009-07-20T08:54:00.001+07:00

After Friday bombings of two luxury hotels in Jakarta, the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton, which caused 9 dead and 50 wounded, the week-end was peaceful. I had just read a tweet about Los Angeles Four Seasons hotel being evacuated, when I heard alarms going off and police cars arriving in front of the Four Seasons Hotel in Jakarta, which I can see from my apartment. Apparently it was a false alarm because everything was soon quiet again.

People who live here easily forget that this country has been the target of various attacks (Bali, Marriott, Australian Embassy, etc.) and that it was inevitable that someone sometimes would attempt again to undermine this Muslim country’s road to a multiethnic and multifaith democratic society based on the five principles of Pancasila, the Indonesian state philosophical foundation. Other countries of the Region have the same problems, although the Muslim minorities of south Thailand and Philippines are fighting more for territorial gains than for a caliphate. Furthermore, South East Asian countries anti-terrorism cooperation needs much more work although it must be admitted that the logistics are appallingly difficult.

Nobody (unless serving a particular agenda that we all know too well) will ever accuse terrorists of being intelligent and in fact, their attempts in Indonesia are as hopeless as they are. Indonesia is a country where Islam lives together (and sometimes fuses) with animism, Buddhism, Christianity; where religion is more a means of social cohesion and tradition than blind belief; where some people will look surprised (and would not know what to answer) if you asked them whether they are Sunni or Shia’; where young educated people strive to be modern.

Indonesia was recently praised for having made advances in the fight against terrorism by adopting re-education techniques and demonstrating some leniency towards those who were (and now are again) suspected to be the masterminds or at least of giving their blessing and ideological inspiration to the terrorists. While this approach might work in Saudi Arabia, where the state, through an ancient covenant between the clergy and the “Royal” family reminiscent of Egypt’s pharaohs times, controls everything (including the content of Friday sermons), it is doubtful that a young democratic state like Indonesia can afford to implement it.

It is to be hoped that, having successfully won the presidential elections with ample margin, SBY will stop paying lip service to the more extreme Islamic parties in Indonesia and avoid half measures and compromises in this fight, adopting a more robust and exemplar policy against those who want to destroy his beautiful country.

#indonesia #Jakarta Hotel Marriott and Ritz-Carlton bombed: 9 dead, 50 wounded

2009-07-17T11:17:00.001+07:00

I started using twitter last year, to have fresh news on the Bombay (yes, I prefer it this way) terrorist attack and – as I was about to travel through Bangkok – the unrest in Thailand and the airport occupation. Since then, I have “followed” a number of news sources and individuals and I must say that “real time” news is addictive and – in many instances – indispensable.

This morning, at about 7:30, two powerful bombs went off five minutes apart in two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta: the Marriott Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton; a few minutes later the first tweets started appearing. What is incredible is the delay with which the main media outlets (including local ones) reported the first news.

What started as a ridiculous application for megalomaniacs intent on inflicting their moods on the world has become, surprisingly, a fantastic information (and “intelligence”?) tool; I doubt very much that the public, getting more and more used to this kind of immediate feedback, will have in future any uses for current means of information dissemination.

#iran #iranelection Revolutionaries often end up adopting to the habits and methods of those they once opposed

2009-07-16T11:31:00.001+07:00

However, because the system Ayatollah Khamenei protects is dysfunctional, and because of widespread public disaffection, the people of Iran are like tinder awaiting another spark. A people that could not be intimidated by the shah cannot be expected to remain supine for long in the face of the present incompetent and corrupt autocracy.

#iran #iranelection Will Ahmadinejad Be Absent From Friday Prayers Led By Rafsanjani with Mousavi and Khatami?

2009-07-16T09:51:00.001+07:00

Iranian websites are reporting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be absent this week from Tehran Friday prayers, which are to be led by Hashemi Rafsanjani, his main political rival, with the participation of presidential candidate Mir Hossen Mousavi and former president Mohammad Khatami.

Start taking chinese classes...

2009-07-16T09:44:00.001+07:00

China wants to explore alternate energy sources, but for reasons economic not environmental. China would like to reduce urban pollution for health reasons, but not at the cost of growth. The bottom line is that Beijing does not accept the global warming thesis, but will exploit the phobia among Western liberals to gain a competitive advantage for the Chinese economy.

#iran #iranelection Ahmadinejad can't seem to get traction for a second term. The so-called Green Revolution hardly looks to be over.

2009-07-16T09:29:00.001+07:00

"We remain ready to engage with Iran, but the time for action is now," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. So much for waiting to see how Iran's post-election drama plays out.

Premature would be a generous description of this diplomatic outreach. Leave aside that this regime can't be trusted to negotiate anything. More immediately relevant is that millions of Iranians refuse to accept the "leaders" of the "Islamic Republic" (in Mrs. Clinton's words) that the Administration so eagerly aims to engage. Massive street protests roiled Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan and other cities in the wake of the transparently fraudulent June 12 poll. The Basij and Revolutionary Guard goon squads got the people off the streets, killing an unknown number, and the regime blocked nearly all foreign reporting out of Iran.

Oh, the stupid bitch!

Goodbye Iraq, and Good Luck

2009-07-16T09:09:00.001+07:00

A very good article and a very good question by Friedman:

We have special envoys for Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Arab-Israeli affairs, but for Iraq — a country key to the Middle East in which we have lost so many lives and are spending a trillion dollars — there is no special envoy, or secretary of state, totally focused on securing a decent outcome here.

…

After we invaded and stabilized Bosnia, we didn’t just toss their competing factions the keys. President Bill Clinton organized the Dayton peace talks and Richard Holbrooke brokered a deal that has lasted to this day. Why are we not doing in Iraq what we did in Bosnia — when the outcome here is 100 times more important?

Imagine discussing the "two-state solution" with these idiots; can they even count to two?

2009-07-15T08:42:00.001+07:00

Hamas suspects that Israeli intelligence services are supplying its Gaza Strip stronghold with chewing gum that boosts the sex drive in order to "corrupt the young," an official said on Tuesday.…it has detained members of a gang that helped to bring in the products. "They admitted during the investigation they were linked to the Zionist intelligence services," he said.

The story came to light after a Palestinian man filed a complaint that his daughter had experienced "dubious side effects" after chewing the offending gum, Israeli media reported.

Yeah, right…

#iranelection the Islamic republic is irreversibly in transition, and the internal tension that exploded after June 12 won't go away

2009-07-14T15:03:00.001+07:00

But it's increasingly difficult to believe that President Obama really thinks he can stop Tehran's quest for a bomb with diplomacy and sanctions. One gets vibrations from the administration that the game is changing--that the policy of engagement is for after Ali Khamenei gets his nuke. If this is so, the supreme leader will not reciprocate the kindness. He will just view it as weakness: The Islamic republic bested the United States, and the president has come groveling. Obama's diligent attempt not to meddle in Iran during the demonstrations earned him and America no kudos.

Scary.

Obama continues to sell fluff for substance; meanwhile his interlocutors laugh and laugh...

2009-07-14T09:23:00.001+07:00

Reflecting on the hour I spent with Mr. Schlesinger, I can't help but think: Do we really want to do this?.. Are we heading toward a nuclear-free world anytime soon? He shoots back a one-word answer: ‘No.’ I keep silent, hoping he will go on. ‘We will need a strong deterrent,’ he finally says, ‘and that is measured at least in decades -- in my judgment, in fact, more or less in perpetuity. The notion that we can abolish nuclear weapons reflects on a combination of American utopianism and American parochialism.. . . . It's not based upon an understanding of reality.’”

#Iranelection Ahmadinejad will pretend to accept Obama's open hand while increasing Iran's sponsorship of terror

2009-07-14T08:57:00.001+07:00

Now, however, with Iran boiling, its leaders increasingly angry at us for their truant flock, state-sponsored Iranian terrorism could hit us with gale force. … It's a very good bet that the supreme leader, Ahmadinejad, and Rafsanjani, who has always been a fan of outreach to Sunni militants, are already hunting for foreign partners who hate the United States as much as they do. (There is a reason beyond uranium exports why Tehran loves Hugo Chávez.) Once they are backed by nuclear weapons, it's hard to see what the leaders of the Islamic republic would fear from an American president who avoids the word jihad when describing 9/11 for fear of offending Muslim sensitivities."

"G-8 Historic breakthrough on global warming" OR "G-8 Climate-Change Agreement Falls Short"?

2009-07-13T09:08:00.004+07:00

President Obama and other leaders backed historic new targets for tackling global warming last night in an agreement designed to pave the way for a world deal in the autumn.
For the first time, America and the other seven richest economies agreed to the goal of keeping the world’s average temperature from rising more than 2C (3.6F). They also agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 as they strove for a worldwide deal at Copenhagen in December.

U.S. officials framed the L'Aquila climate-change declarations as progress. Numerical targets for emissions reductions by 2050 are largely meaningless anyway, as the target is so far in the future, they said. "It would be a big mistake to look only at 2050," said Todd Stern, the chief U.S. climate-change negotiator.But it was the failure of the developed nations to set short-term goals that gave the developing countries their reason for torpedoing a broader deal that seemed within reach just a week ago. The G-8 nations also couldn't agree on a pledge to help fund poorer countries' moves toward cleaner energy sources and mitigate the effects of climate change they are already feeling.
A draft declaration had provisionally called for $400 million in this aid -- a figure many nations called too small and others called too large. In the end, they got only theoretical commitments to help with finances and technology.

So, which is which? My opinion is that, despite the Times’ bombastic title, Western leaders have started to realize (as most people) that global warming is a scam, climate change is a naïve attempt to use a nicer term for the same fraud, but all in all it would only bankrupt their countries and probably not even earn them political kudos (not anymore). The agreement to keep world average temperature from increasing more than 2C is as ridiculous as it sounds; in any case – they must have thought – if the world is in fact cooling as it has for the last 10 or 13 years, we will even be able to keep our promises!

It is unfortunate that all the noise about global warming, so clearly in bad faith, has put off both the public and politicians from facing and solving real problems like pollution, energy independence, implementation of cleaner sources of energy (real ones: atom, clean coal, etc.) at a time where all these could be easily and cheaply achieved with existing technologies; instead, we sit on our bums and wait for the wind to spin our turbines.

Funniest (saddest?) article from the great V.D.Hanson!

2009-07-07T15:35:00.003+07:00

I couldn’t stop laughing but, at a certain point, wasn’t sure if I was laughing or crying:

Here’s a tutorial for up-and-coming thugs abroad:

DRESS MATTERS
Remember: Wear anything but a suit and tie. The Iranian no-tie look impresses a lot of Americans, as it “makes a statement” that you are not part of a global conformist class, but instead deliberately challenge the norms of bourgeois dress.

DON’T FORGET GROOMING
Try the perpetual three-day beard, Arafat-style, as if you’re always shaving in the field with your comrades. Next best is mangy facial hair, à la Ahmadinejad, which suggests you once were an artist, novelist, or dissident of some sort.

MILK THE U.N.
Get on as many U.N. committees as possible. The more slots you have on the Human Rights Commission and its appendages, the more you can imprison. Send a few goons to serve on a U.N. peacekeeping force. They’ll like the money and sex, and it wins you cover later on.

Jew-hating is always a win-win situation: Don’t laugh: “The Jews did it” still works. Ask Ahmadinejad about last week.

Read it all!

Obama's trip to Moscow: The main issue was missile defense and on this Putin/Medvedev didn't budge.

2009-07-07T14:28:00.003+07:00

Despite the MSM celebrations of an historical “resetting” of relations between US and Russia, Obama’s visit to Moscow was not a success. The main issue was, of course, missile defense, and on this Putin/Medvedev didn’t budge.

Furthermore, the negotiation of a new arms control treaty to replace the 1991 Start I pact which expires in December that could see the two countries reducing their nuclear warheads by up to a third has been hailed as a “breakthrough”, but it is mostly fluff: 1^st, it has not been ratified by Congress and therefore it is no binding and 2^nd, the announced “cut” would have been achieved anyway by the Moscow Treaty of 2002 by 2012.

A concession on Afghanistan though: Russia agrees to allow the US military to fly troops and weapons across its territory to Afghanistan, allowing it to avoid using supply routes through Pakistan that are attacked by militants. No big favor, this: Russia is more than happy to leave the problem of Islamic fundamentalism at his southern border to others.

What is extremely worrying is the possibility of Obama running Poland and other allies under the bus (dropping the missile shield programme) in his hopeless quest for help from Russia against a nuclear Iran.

#iranelection Did the Toppling of Saddam Hussein Lead to Recent Events in Iran?

2009-07-07T10:32:00.002+07:00

Many Iranians go as religious pilgrims to the holy sites of Najaf and Kerbala in southern Iraq. They have seen the way in which national and local elections have been held, more or less fairly and openly, with different Iraqi Shiite parties having to bid for votes (and with those parties aligned with Iran's regime doing less and less well). They have seen an often turbulent Iraqi Parliament holding genuine debates that are reported with reasonable fairness in the Iraqi media. Meanwhile, an Iranian mullah caste that classifies its own people as children who are mere wards of the state puts on a "let's pretend" election and even then tries to fix the outcome.

#iranElection I find this quite revolting: "Despite Crisis, Policy on Iran Is Engagement"

2009-07-07T08:59:00.003+07:00

In an interview with the NYT, a day before his scheduled departure for Moscow on Sunday, Mr. Obama said he had “grave concern” about the arrests and intimidation of Iran’s opposition leaders, but insisted, as he has throughout the Iranian crisis, that the repression would not close the door on negotiations with the Iranian government.

“We’ve got some fixed national security interests in Iran not developing nuclear weapons, in not exporting terrorism, and we have offered a pathway for Iran to rejoining the international community,” Mr. Obama said.

This attitude denotes, in my opinion, a total lack of flexibility, an incapacity to adapt to changing scenarios and take advantage of positive developments, almost an ideological fixity that resents anything that departs from the agreed “script”.

#iranElection Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...

2009-07-06T15:22:00.003+07:00

From my 20 June 2005 blog:

Iran Moderate Says Hard-Liners Rigged Election: Duh! Even the NYT gets it!

#iranElection Khamenei is under pressure, and he is not well equipped to deal with it.

2009-07-06T14:51:00.002+07:00

There is no longer room for new prisoners in Tehran’s jails; they are now using sports arenas as holding areas…

Meanwhile, the American Government was sending conflicting signals to Tehran. On the one hand, it seems that Obama will be going to the upcoming G8 conference with a request that there be no new sanctions on Iran. This comes at a time when the Europeans, for the first time, seem inclined to get at least a little bit tougher on the mullahs, and it effectively demolishes the myth that this administration intends to do anything to support the Iranian people in their life and death struggle for freedom.

At the same time, Vice President Joe Biden three times said the United States would do nothing to prevent an Israeli attack against Iranian nuclear targets.

So apparently we’re prepared to let the Israelis do our dirty work. A real standup sort of policy.

An excellent analysis of the situation in #Honduras by Douglas Farah

2009-07-06T14:34:00.002+07:00

Douglas Farah:

The Honduras situation leaves the United States with difficult options. How the Obama administration handles this challenge against a government that was in the process of breaching the constitutional order will have powerful repercussions across Latin America. Similar challenges could appear in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ecuador as the Bolivarian governments move to consolidate their hold on power and meet resistance.

It is tempting to see the restoration of Zelaya as the democratic imperative, and most of the international community is pressing for this outcome, while not endorsing Chávez's threats of violence. The Organization of American States is set to impose a series of crippling economic sanctions if Zelaya is not allowed to return in some form. But it is worth looking further at the implications of the Boliviarian revolution writ large.

"China Sends 'Internet Addicts' to Boot Camp". This must be the equivalent of "psychiatric institutions" in the USSR

2009-07-06T12:48:00.002+07:00

There are no “internet addicts” of course; there are only “addicts” (If not to the internet, it would be to something else) and stupid journalists always searching for a shocking headline. I doubt the Chinese ignore this, so I am very suspicious of such statements:

In a fenced off area on the edge of Beijing, an authoritarian sergeant is drilling a group of plump young people. They are not young recruits, but internet addicts who have been locked up on this military terrain for rehabilitation.

#honduras #iranelection We should never hesitate to roar our defiance, and contempt, in the faces of dictators.

2009-07-06T12:12:00.002+07:00

A very relevant post from Michelle: They have no more right to rule the people of Iran, Honduras, Cuba, or Venezuela than they did to rule Germany, Russia, or France. The language of freedom cannot be properly spoken by appeasers, manipulators, or international socialists. It is the speech of eagles and lions.

This is a moment when the U.S. ought to be on the side of the rule of law, which the Honduran court and Congress upheld.

2009-07-06T11:51:00.002+07:00

Mr. Zelaya's violations of the rule of law in recent months were numerous. But the tipping point came 10 days ago, when he led a violent mob that stormed a military base to seize and distribute Venezuelan-printed ballots for an illegal referendum…

If Washington does not reverse course, it will be one more act of appeasement toward an ambitious and increasingly dangerous dictator.

I am testing my new blog @ http://captainmarlow.posterous.com

2009-07-06T11:36:00.002+07:00

I will have both domains active (Blogger and Posterous) for a while and then I’ll decide which one to keep. I’ll inform you asap. Thank you!

Fantastic Mark Stein: Obama was supposed to be "cool." But he isn't. He's square.

2009-07-06T11:19:00.002+07:00

President Barack Obama was supposed to be "cool." But he isn't. He's square. Not just mildly so, but embarrassingly square. He's squaresville squared. It's like you're having a party with your friends, and he's the cringe-making middle-age parent who wants to show he digs where the young people are at by grooving around in the middle of the dance floor all night long. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/percent-obama-government-2483574-spending-warming.>