Monday, April 24, 2006

In the mine shaft

Was the story about secret CIA prisons in Europe a Canary Trap? Dafydd ab Hugh over at Big Lizards explores this hypothesis -- and makes a good case. Of course, we'll never know the truth, but I'm still glad that a leaker got caught. Now, I hope a tough US Attorney squeezes Mary McCarthy to find out who else was/is a part of this "Culture of Treason".

You can read the whole post HERE.

So much for land reform

According to The Guardian, Robert Mugabe's land seizure program has entered a new stage.

Zimbabwe's dispossessed white farmers have been invited to lease farms back from the government, a tacit admission of the failure of Robert Mugabe's land seizures.

Since 2000 the Mugabe government has taken over more than 4,000 white-owned commercial farms in often violent seizures. Some of the land was redistributed to poor black supporters of the government, but many farms went to cabinet ministers, army officers, judges and others with ties to the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Few of the new farmers have produced good harvests, because of shortages of seeds and fertiliser and lack of expertise. Mr Mugabe admitted last year that only 40% of the seized land was under cultivation. As a result, Zimbabwe has suffered widespread food shortages and has been dependent upon international food aid for four consecutive years. The economy has contracted by 40% and inflation has soared to 913%.

Another example of the wisdom of dictators rather than a market economy with enforced property rights.

Hat tip to the folks at Op For (the new incarnation of the old Officers Club blog)

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Points of light in Hollywood

I've enjoyed Gary Sinise as an actor. Now, I find that I respect him for his work off the screen. PrivatePigg at Public Figures Beware has the story of his organization "Operation Iraqi Children", which works to improve the lives of the children of Iraq. Read the whole story here.

Michelle Malkin has the story of Andy Garcia and his anti-Castro film "The Lost City. According to the article, Garcia has been working on this project for 18 years.

It's not all Streisand and Clooney and other moonbats in Hollywood. But the balance is still tilted heavily in the wrong direction.

Your UN dollars

Joe Malchow is a student at Dartmouth and publishes Joe's Dartblog. Today, he has an excellent article on the 1.6 billion dollars that the UN wants to spend to renovate its current buildings. Yes, that's $1,600,000,000 -- of which the United States contributes 25%, or $400 million. And not for new construction, just renovating and updating existing structures.

The article details how Donald Trump testified before the US Senate that the project was grossly bloated - and how the UN is pushing to spend its money on the project. Correction - it's pushing to spend OUR money. Just like "federal funds" are actually our own taxes coming back after a wild night on the town in Washington, DC, UN expenditures are just the levies that they get from member countries.

Read the whole story HERE.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Another cartoon

Michelle Malkin reports on a new cartoon - this time showing Mohammed cut in half and burning in Hell. Dante and Virgil are commenting while standing on the edge of a circle of flame.

Already the editor is backpedalling and asking for foregiveness.

Bet this hits the airwaves now that Easter is over.

UPDATE: The cartoon is shown HERE, but it doesn't include any direct representation of Mohammed, just the fires of Hell.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

An open letter

While reading the Wizbang blog, I saw the post "An open letter to non-Americans in this country". It is extremely eloquent in looking at why non-Americans are here in the USA, and one man's response.

Rather than quote at length, go read Jay Tea's words directly. I know they will make you think.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Crunchy Cons

If you've got a conservative bent, but aren't thrilled with the mainstream of the right, you might want to check out the Crunchy Con Manifesto.

I agree with at least 6 of the points, with some deferrence to a couple more.

Might just have to pick up that book.

Equality??

I've always been a believer in freedom. That includes the freedom to both succeed and also to fail. There are no guarantees in life. Growing up, I agreed with the civil rights movement of the 60's in its goals of equal treatment before the law. There was, and is, no place in American society for discrimination before the law. But that concept has been corrupted over the years.

Equality of opportunity has been replaced by equality of outcomes. The rights of one individual should not trump those of another, regardless of the skin color of EITHER person. Discrimination can run both ways. In my college years, black students wanted the right to join predominantly (or completely) white organizations. But they wouldn't let a white student join the black students organization (appropriately named For Members Only). Some discriminations were more acceptable than others.

There is a current ballot initiative in Michigan regarding "civil rights". The Detroit Free Press gets high marks for publishing this op-ed that takes the civil rights industry to task. It looks at the underlying premises of modern "civil rights" and reveals the dirty little truths that many don't want to face. Give it a read. You might agree, or disagree.

A hat tip to the excellent blog Discriminations.

Back from hibernation

Well, after missing the mark on the Canadian election, this bear decided to head for the woods to get his head back on straight. It was a good break -- now time to keep an eye on the world.