Decision ‘08 » 2005

Archive for July, 2005

Friday, July 29th, 2005

Excellent News In the GWOT…

…as UK authorities report all four July 21st bombing suspects are now in custody. Well done…
UPDATE 2:07 p.m. central: More good news as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf orders all foreign students in the country’s religious schools (or madrasas) to leave, and promises to shut down unlicensed schools…

3 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

Friday, July 29th, 2005

The Return of Rosett

It’s been a while since Oil-For-Food has made the headlines, but that doesn’t mean the scandal has gone anywhere. Claudia Rosett returns with the story of the mysterious link between the scandal and French businessman Jean-Bernard Merimee:
Until this week, Merimee figured on the U.N. Web site’s list of “Special and Personal Representatives and Envoys […]

No Comments » - Posted in UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Friday, July 29th, 2005

Misleading Headline of the Day

CAFTA Passage May Hurt Other Deals, says the Miami Herald, and naturally I was intrigued: how can the passage of a free trade agreement hurt other free trade agreements? Let’s take a look:

After the House early Thursday passed a trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic by the narrowest of margins, […]

8 Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs by Mark

Friday, July 29th, 2005

More of This, Please

As I have been quite vocal in calling for the Muslim world to condemn terrorism, it’s only fair that I acknowledge efforts in that direction. With that in mind, this is most welcome news:

American Muslim scholars who interpret religious law for their community issued an edict Thursday condemning terrorism against civilians in response to the […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

Friday, July 29th, 2005

An Apology? No, A Condemnation

Mansour El-Kikhia is outraged that we conservative Americans keep calling on Arab Muslims to apologize for terrorism:
I am fed up with the ceaseless requests by columnists, religious personalities and other American public figures for Arabs and Muslims to apologize for terrorist acts committed by thugs and murderers in the name of Islam…There is nothing […]

No Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

A Happy 5th Anniversary…

…to James Taranto’s Best of the Web, a true daily must-read. If you haven’t caught the addiction yet, there’s no time like the present. My own favorite Taranto bit is not the massive push for ‘kerfuffle’ to join the regular lexicon, but rather his endearing habit of referring to JFK II as “the […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Linky Love by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

From The Dream To The Nightmare

We’ve come a long way from MLK’s epochal ‘I Have a Dream’; unfortunately, when it comes to black political leadership, it’s been in the wrong direction. Representative Major Owens, writing in the Democratic Gazette - sorry, the Huffington Post (who can tell the difference?) - tells of his nightmare - a nightmare consisting of Republicans […]

8 Comments » - Posted in Donkeys by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

Two Faces Have I

Thanks to the Instapundit for spotlighting this excellent blog that specializes on the German political press. The post in question spotlights the very different stances presented to the German and English audiences. As the author notes, Yasser Arafat was notorious for this tactic of throwing red meat to the Palestinians and conciliatory words […]

5 Comments » - Posted in NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

A Question For You: Whither Ann Coulter?

If anyone cares to comment, I would like to know: how seriously do you take Ann Coulter? Full disclaimer: I own or have read all of her books. I sometimes find her arguments intriguing, and I often find her wit amusing…but I must say, I tire of her apocalyptic rhetoric at times. […]

24 Comments » - Posted in NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

Kossacks on HRC: We Like Losing!

Hilariously, as Hillary Clinton tries to make a (real or perceived) shift to the center, the Kossacks are crying foul. Dan Balz of the Washington Post has a story on the far, far left Daily Kos supporters who are apparently afraid that Hillary might actually win a national election for the Democrats. The […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

The Party of Special Interests Continues To Fade

I know that Republicans are accused of special interest politics, for example with the Christian Right (though I would argue it’s more a confluence of interests, most of the time - more on this topic another time), but the Republicans actually have an agenda that they articulate and get elected on. The only two things […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Donkeys by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

Some Hither, Some Yon…

Another good update on the Shuttle and the history of foam problems from AJStrata…
The Bernoulli Effect talks about the measure of success in Iraq: guess what, folks, in the areas that count, we’re winning…
An update on that Air America corruption link and their bottom-dweller ratings from Michelle Malkin…
Tom Maguire congratulates the paper of record on […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Linky Love by Mark

Thursday, July 28th, 2005

Why CAFTA Is a Good Thing

I’m for free trade agreements, period; ideologically, it’s a no-brainer for me. There are other, more tangible reasons to support the just-passed agreement, though, and Investor’s Business Daily lays some of them out here (hat tip to RealClearPolitics):
“CAFTA is a larger U.S. export market than Russia, India and Indonesia, combined,” said Ayse Oge, trade consultant […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

More On The Shuttle, From One Who Knows Far More Than I

I posted earlier on my misgivings about this latest shuttle flight…AJStrata, who’s in a far better position to know about this things, has an excellent post up that I highly recommend. You should read it all, but I’ll highlight this:
…This foam incident is a real conundrum for NASA - and it has nothing to do […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

Miscellanea: Fair and Balanced, Al Jazeera Style Edition

Al Jazeera, that pillar of journalistic integrity, has no problem at all giving Dick Durbin plenty of coverage, but has stayed strangely silent regarding another recent controversy…
Then there’s fair and balanced, with the Wilsons, living large with the Boss…
More on everybody’s favorite intelligence-gathering couple from the typically thorough Tom Maguire…
I’ve often thought that the Left […]

No Comments » - Posted in Linky Love by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

This Is Not Good

As NASA admits that it made a mistake in declaring the Space Shuttle fleet ready to fly again, I can’t help but go back to my question of a couple of days ago: why did we launch? What was the rush? Here’s what I said at the time:
Why,…for God’s sake, are we pushing […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

If It Ain’t Broke, Let The U.N. Break It

In a sign of the brilliant planning that typifies the United Nations, the World Summit of the Information Society is being held in Tunisia, drawing the ire of free speech advocates and human rights groups.
“Putting a summit on the future of Internet in society in a country like Tunisia is like holding an environmental summit […]

9 Comments » - Posted in UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

CAFTA Passage Predicted

If this holds, it will be very welcome news indeed. House leaders are saying the votes are there to pass the Central American Free Trade Agreement this evening:

President Bush met with Republican House members on Capitol Hill this morning and personally underscored the importance of passing CAFTA. He was accompanied by […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

Kinsley Reportedly Out At L.A. Times

Editor & Publisher has the scoop on what looks like a demotion for Michael Kinsley, the short-lived top editorial gun of the L.A. Times. I don’t pretend to cover this particular beat with any frequency (though Mickey Kaus and Patterico are excellent L.A. Times watchers), but I will say this - I like […]

2 Comments » - Posted in NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005

Weasel Watching

Many thanks to the Watcher’s Council for nominating one of my posts this week. Check out all the links here; there are some excellent posts for your reading enjoyment…