Who amongst us has forgotten the time when a glorious alliance of the USA and Ethiopia was going to achieve a great victory in the War on Terror in Somalia? Well, it looks like the Ethiopians are being dumped as the favourite in Horn of Africa geo-politics --
President Bush will welcome President Yoweri Museveni of the Republic of Uganda to the White House on October 30, 2007. The President and President Museveni will discuss Uganda's leadership in Somalia
For more background, here's a very well-timed Financial Times analysis.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Cooling their heels
As salient a fact as any about what is a very rough visit by Condi Rice and Robert Gates to Russia --
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Anatoliy Eduardovich Serdyukov and Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov at Putin’s residence outside of Moscow.
According to pool reports, Putin did not meet with Gates and Rice until 40 minutes after their arrival.
UPDATE: The subtle barbs continued; interview with Sergey Brilev of RTR TV --
QUESTION: How do you call yourself these days -- a Sovietologist?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, we've dropped that term, clearly.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Anatoliy Eduardovich Serdyukov and Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov at Putin’s residence outside of Moscow.
According to pool reports, Putin did not meet with Gates and Rice until 40 minutes after their arrival.
UPDATE: The subtle barbs continued; interview with Sergey Brilev of RTR TV --
QUESTION: How do you call yourself these days -- a Sovietologist?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, we've dropped that term, clearly.
It's all he knows
George Bush seemed to surprise the Wall Street Journal (subs. req'd) with the limits of his statement about the dollar --
WSJ: Next week, the G7 finance ministers are going to be meeting here. And there has been a lot of concern, obviously, about the value of the dollar around the world, and some calls for the U.S. to put more action behind its vow that we support a strong dollar. How do you respond to them, and do you think Treasury needs to intervene at all at this point?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Secretary Paulson, of course, is our main spokesman on this issue, and he reflects the view of this administration that the strong dollar policy is the correct policy. And we also believe that the best way for a currency to become valued is through the market.
WSJ: That's it?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.
The "strong dollar" mantra doesn't have quite the same weight when a dollar buys less than 50p in London.
WSJ: Next week, the G7 finance ministers are going to be meeting here. And there has been a lot of concern, obviously, about the value of the dollar around the world, and some calls for the U.S. to put more action behind its vow that we support a strong dollar. How do you respond to them, and do you think Treasury needs to intervene at all at this point?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Secretary Paulson, of course, is our main spokesman on this issue, and he reflects the view of this administration that the strong dollar policy is the correct policy. And we also believe that the best way for a currency to become valued is through the market.
WSJ: That's it?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.
The "strong dollar" mantra doesn't have quite the same weight when a dollar buys less than 50p in London.
Everyone loves the Irish
National Review's Mark Steyn, in an apparently approving reference to the fact that the Republic of Ireland is having the beginnings of a debate about integration of immigrants, which he contrasts with Britain --
John [O'Sullivan], you're right that the Steyn-Heinsohn theses on Europe's demographic weakness are not part of the debate in Britain, in part because its politico-media culture is much more centralized and so, if something doesn't seem important in a select few London postal districts, it doesn't get much play ... On the other hand, I was on a TV show last week in Dublin discussing immigrant integration. Ireland has evolved from a famous exporter of people to a voracious importer thereof: the auld sod's immigrant community has gone from nothing (save for a few English, Scots and tax-avoiding "artists") to ten per cent of the population in little more than a decade. The "Integration Minister", who was on the show, says he's confident Ireland can avoid the mistakes of Britain and the Continent, but everyone says that when in they're in the first flush of immigration romance.
Here's the segment from Prime Time. There were various interesting remarks. Steyn contrasted the inability of Irish emigrants to late 19th/early 20th century America to live in an exclusively immigrant culture compared to the opportunities offered by satellite television, the Internet, and neighbourhood clustering today where Muslim immigrants are concerned. Yet (at the risk of repeating an old point), the big northeastern cities did have heavily Irish communities for a long time, and there were also more return visits than people think. One example being Eamon DeValera, who doesn't seem to have come back from his time in America with much other than American citizenship, which of course played a crucial role in his subsequent history in Ireland.
But anyway, Steyn is right to point to Conor Lenihan's naivete. At one point Lenihan seemed to be claiming that Ireland wouldn't have any problems with integrating immigrants because it wasn't a colonising country, a bizarre theory that for one thing has trouble explaining why it's the 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants to Britain that are more alienated than their parents and grandparents who had the actual experience of colonial rule. In addition, Ireland has a dodgy cocktail of low quality housing, poorly-serviced suburbs, and a hybrid church-state education system, adding up to the classic recipe for social exclusion. Prime Time should bring back the same panel after a couple of years of slower growth to see how well things look then.
John [O'Sullivan], you're right that the Steyn-Heinsohn theses on Europe's demographic weakness are not part of the debate in Britain, in part because its politico-media culture is much more centralized and so, if something doesn't seem important in a select few London postal districts, it doesn't get much play ... On the other hand, I was on a TV show last week in Dublin discussing immigrant integration. Ireland has evolved from a famous exporter of people to a voracious importer thereof: the auld sod's immigrant community has gone from nothing (save for a few English, Scots and tax-avoiding "artists") to ten per cent of the population in little more than a decade. The "Integration Minister", who was on the show, says he's confident Ireland can avoid the mistakes of Britain and the Continent, but everyone says that when in they're in the first flush of immigration romance.
Here's the segment from Prime Time. There were various interesting remarks. Steyn contrasted the inability of Irish emigrants to late 19th/early 20th century America to live in an exclusively immigrant culture compared to the opportunities offered by satellite television, the Internet, and neighbourhood clustering today where Muslim immigrants are concerned. Yet (at the risk of repeating an old point), the big northeastern cities did have heavily Irish communities for a long time, and there were also more return visits than people think. One example being Eamon DeValera, who doesn't seem to have come back from his time in America with much other than American citizenship, which of course played a crucial role in his subsequent history in Ireland.
But anyway, Steyn is right to point to Conor Lenihan's naivete. At one point Lenihan seemed to be claiming that Ireland wouldn't have any problems with integrating immigrants because it wasn't a colonising country, a bizarre theory that for one thing has trouble explaining why it's the 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants to Britain that are more alienated than their parents and grandparents who had the actual experience of colonial rule. In addition, Ireland has a dodgy cocktail of low quality housing, poorly-serviced suburbs, and a hybrid church-state education system, adding up to the classic recipe for social exclusion. Prime Time should bring back the same panel after a couple of years of slower growth to see how well things look then.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Everyone has an Irish cousin
It's tough enough for every civilian in Iraq but especially difficult for Iraq's Christian community, which runs a severe danger of extinction. So to have 2 of them killed by contractors for contractors for the US State Department is a new low. Not entirely surprisingly, there is a large scattered family of the woman who was driving the car (as an informal taxi), including in Belfast --
The woman, Marany Awanees, was the youngest of nine siblings in the Mamook family, including three brothers who are part of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and the United States. One brother is a computer programmer living in Glendale, Calif., near Los Angeles ...
“She was a lovely sister, my younger sister, a lovely, lovely sister,” another brother, Paul Mamook, an electrical engineer in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said in a telephone interview ... Paul Mamook said he called his sister after the Sept. 16 shooting by guards with Blackwater USA that killed as many as 17 people who were stuck in traffic near Nisour Square in Baghdad. The shooting struck fear in him, he said, because Ms. Awanees was a taxi driver. “I phoned her, and I said, ‘Whenever you drive, watch and check, and be very careful,’” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “But I never expected it to happen to her.”
One wonders if the perilous state of Iraq's Christian community is one of the issues holding up Tony Blair's rumoured conversion to Catholicism.
The woman, Marany Awanees, was the youngest of nine siblings in the Mamook family, including three brothers who are part of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and the United States. One brother is a computer programmer living in Glendale, Calif., near Los Angeles ...
“She was a lovely sister, my younger sister, a lovely, lovely sister,” another brother, Paul Mamook, an electrical engineer in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said in a telephone interview ... Paul Mamook said he called his sister after the Sept. 16 shooting by guards with Blackwater USA that killed as many as 17 people who were stuck in traffic near Nisour Square in Baghdad. The shooting struck fear in him, he said, because Ms. Awanees was a taxi driver. “I phoned her, and I said, ‘Whenever you drive, watch and check, and be very careful,’” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “But I never expected it to happen to her.”
One wonders if the perilous state of Iraq's Christian community is one of the issues holding up Tony Blair's rumoured conversion to Catholicism.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
If you have a boat
National Review's Iain Murray, complaining about Al Gore as a likely Nobel Peace Prize recipient --
Moreover, a movie whose upshot is that the poor in Calcutta and West Africa should be denied access to the energy that can lift them out of poverty?
He couldn't have picked a worse example than Calcutta. As a city on the Bay of Bengal and in that strip of India/Bangladesh squeezed between the Bay and the mountains, it will suffer the worst from global warming as sea levels rise and snow melts become more frequent.
Moreover, a movie whose upshot is that the poor in Calcutta and West Africa should be denied access to the energy that can lift them out of poverty?
He couldn't have picked a worse example than Calcutta. As a city on the Bay of Bengal and in that strip of India/Bangladesh squeezed between the Bay and the mountains, it will suffer the worst from global warming as sea levels rise and snow melts become more frequent.
Loose lips
William Hague, paying careful attention to transcripts, yesterday in the House of Commons --
Mr. Hague: No one believes the Foreign Secretary any more when he argues that this is not the EU constitution. When the Prime Minister met the Irish Prime Minister on 17 July, even he referred to it as the European constitution.
It was actually on the 16th, but yes indeed:
Prime Minister:
Can I say first of all what a pleasure it is to be here in Belfast with the Taoiseach for this meeting of the British-Irish Council ... The Taoiseach and I have had a meeting this morning. We have discussed the European constitution and how that can move forward over the next few months.
The problem for Brown is that his counterpart had less problem calling it an EU Constitution, since the Republic of Ireland will have a referendum. Even so, Bertie was more careful --
We have had a chance of discussing some of the issues between us, obviously dealing with the reform treaty of the European Union.
Maybe Gordon should borrow one of Bertie's staffers. Incidentally, when one searches the Number 10 website for "Bertie Ahern", it asks whether you meant to search for "berate her".
Mr. Hague: No one believes the Foreign Secretary any more when he argues that this is not the EU constitution. When the Prime Minister met the Irish Prime Minister on 17 July, even he referred to it as the European constitution.
It was actually on the 16th, but yes indeed:
Prime Minister:
Can I say first of all what a pleasure it is to be here in Belfast with the Taoiseach for this meeting of the British-Irish Council ... The Taoiseach and I have had a meeting this morning. We have discussed the European constitution and how that can move forward over the next few months.
The problem for Brown is that his counterpart had less problem calling it an EU Constitution, since the Republic of Ireland will have a referendum. Even so, Bertie was more careful --
We have had a chance of discussing some of the issues between us, obviously dealing with the reform treaty of the European Union.
Maybe Gordon should borrow one of Bertie's staffers. Incidentally, when one searches the Number 10 website for "Bertie Ahern", it asks whether you meant to search for "berate her".
Monday, October 08, 2007
Orange Crush
Christopher "Did that play of mine send out/certain men the English shot" Hitchens in Slate --
If any country has enjoyed a long reputation for peaceful and democratic consensus combined with civic fortitude, that country is the Netherlands. It was one of the special countries of the Enlightenment, providing refuge for the family of Baruch Spinoza and for the heterodox Pierre Bayle and René Descartes. It overcame Catholic-Protestant fratricide with a unique form of coexistence, put up a spirited resistance to Nazi occupation, evolved a constitutional form of monarchy, and managed to make a fairly generous settlement with its former colonies and their inhabitants.
History of Belgium --
The Belgian Revolution had many causes; principally the treatment of the French-speaking Catholic Walloons in the Dutch-dominated United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the difference of religion between the Belgians and their Dutch king. The main cause of the Belgian Revolution was the domination of the Dutch over the economic, political, and social institutions of the United Provinces. The Belgians had little influence over the economy and resented Dutch control ...
Also at this time, the more numerous Dutch provinces represented a majority in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands' elected Lower Assembly, where the Belgians felt significantly under-represented. However, the Belgians saw the main political domination in the fact that King William I was Dutch, lived in the present day Netherlands, and largely ignored the Belgian demands for greater self-determination ...
Another cause of the Belgian Revolution was the Belgian peoples' faith, Roman Catholicism, which conflicted with that of their Dutch King, and his belief in Calvinism. Although there were and still are many Roman Catholics in the present-day Netherlands, the Belgians saw themselves as purely Catholic and demanded a higher role for the Church, and for Catholics, in their government. In a sense, the Belgian Revolution was a revolution of a French-speaking upper and middle class that exchanged Dutch hegemony for French-speaking hegemony.
If that's Hitch's benign interpretation of Dutch history, no wonder he got Iraq so wrong.
If any country has enjoyed a long reputation for peaceful and democratic consensus combined with civic fortitude, that country is the Netherlands. It was one of the special countries of the Enlightenment, providing refuge for the family of Baruch Spinoza and for the heterodox Pierre Bayle and René Descartes. It overcame Catholic-Protestant fratricide with a unique form of coexistence, put up a spirited resistance to Nazi occupation, evolved a constitutional form of monarchy, and managed to make a fairly generous settlement with its former colonies and their inhabitants.
History of Belgium --
The Belgian Revolution had many causes; principally the treatment of the French-speaking Catholic Walloons in the Dutch-dominated United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the difference of religion between the Belgians and their Dutch king. The main cause of the Belgian Revolution was the domination of the Dutch over the economic, political, and social institutions of the United Provinces. The Belgians had little influence over the economy and resented Dutch control ...
Also at this time, the more numerous Dutch provinces represented a majority in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands' elected Lower Assembly, where the Belgians felt significantly under-represented. However, the Belgians saw the main political domination in the fact that King William I was Dutch, lived in the present day Netherlands, and largely ignored the Belgian demands for greater self-determination ...
Another cause of the Belgian Revolution was the Belgian peoples' faith, Roman Catholicism, which conflicted with that of their Dutch King, and his belief in Calvinism. Although there were and still are many Roman Catholics in the present-day Netherlands, the Belgians saw themselves as purely Catholic and demanded a higher role for the Church, and for Catholics, in their government. In a sense, the Belgian Revolution was a revolution of a French-speaking upper and middle class that exchanged Dutch hegemony for French-speaking hegemony.
If that's Hitch's benign interpretation of Dutch history, no wonder he got Iraq so wrong.
The W is for Dubya
An interesting correction from the New York Times --
An article on Sept. 26 about the controversy surrounding an antiwar advertisement placed in The Times by MoveOn.org misstated the middle initial of the commander of American troops in Iraq who was the target of the ad. He is Gen. David H. Petraeus, not David W.
A Freudian slip, since the initial of course belongs to the man who delegated to Petraeus the policymaking powers regarding Iraq.
An article on Sept. 26 about the controversy surrounding an antiwar advertisement placed in The Times by MoveOn.org misstated the middle initial of the commander of American troops in Iraq who was the target of the ad. He is Gen. David H. Petraeus, not David W.
A Freudian slip, since the initial of course belongs to the man who delegated to Petraeus the policymaking powers regarding Iraq.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Free trade, on our terms
Tomorrow the people of Costa Rica will vote by referendum on accepting Costa Rica's endorsement of the US-Central American (+Dom. Rep.) Free Trade Agreement. The US has been using bilateral and regional free trade agreements as leverage to force other countries to sign deals on similar terms i.e. by saying to Country Y, "we're going to give country X this deal so they'll have an advantage over you unless you sign this deal too."
There are many problems with those mode of moving to freer trade, not least that it goes against the basic free trade principle of giving all your partners the same terms without any one of them having to negotiate for it. But George Bush is an Imperial Preference trader at heart.
Anyway, back to Costa Rica. Lest the people get too uppity and reject the deal, the White House has issued an extremely rare eve-of-voting statement regarding a vote in another country (the only precedent being their assistance to Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad). Included in the statement is the following --
With respect to trade preferences provided under the Caribbean Basin Initiative which will expire in September 2008, the United States has never before confronted the question of extending unilateral trade preferences to a country that has rejected a reciprocal trade agreement.
Voters in Costa Rica should be aware that many of those assuring Costa Rica of continued access to the U.S. market have consistently opposed measures that would open the U.S. market to goods from Costa Rica and other countries, whether through trade agreements or through trade preference programs.
i.e. if the voters reject the new deal, then we'll lose interest in continuing Costa Rica's existing trade access, but it won't be our fault -- it will be those awful alter-globalization meanies who say such awful things about the wonders of free trade. So it's a threat that they won't even take responsibility for implementing. Classy people.
UPDATE: The Yes camp just shades it, 51.6 to 48.3. In fairness to the White House, it should be noted that Peter Mandelson had been issuing similar-sounding threats to developing countries in the context of EU trade negotiations but (a) not right before referenda and (b) he subsequently caved. And more context from Brad DeLong, who's wary about having a vote but in favour of the trade deal.
There are many problems with those mode of moving to freer trade, not least that it goes against the basic free trade principle of giving all your partners the same terms without any one of them having to negotiate for it. But George Bush is an Imperial Preference trader at heart.
Anyway, back to Costa Rica. Lest the people get too uppity and reject the deal, the White House has issued an extremely rare eve-of-voting statement regarding a vote in another country (the only precedent being their assistance to Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad). Included in the statement is the following --
With respect to trade preferences provided under the Caribbean Basin Initiative which will expire in September 2008, the United States has never before confronted the question of extending unilateral trade preferences to a country that has rejected a reciprocal trade agreement.
Voters in Costa Rica should be aware that many of those assuring Costa Rica of continued access to the U.S. market have consistently opposed measures that would open the U.S. market to goods from Costa Rica and other countries, whether through trade agreements or through trade preference programs.
i.e. if the voters reject the new deal, then we'll lose interest in continuing Costa Rica's existing trade access, but it won't be our fault -- it will be those awful alter-globalization meanies who say such awful things about the wonders of free trade. So it's a threat that they won't even take responsibility for implementing. Classy people.
UPDATE: The Yes camp just shades it, 51.6 to 48.3. In fairness to the White House, it should be noted that Peter Mandelson had been issuing similar-sounding threats to developing countries in the context of EU trade negotiations but (a) not right before referenda and (b) he subsequently caved. And more context from Brad DeLong, who's wary about having a vote but in favour of the trade deal.
George Bush, Dissenter
In an interview with al-Arabiya TV, with a range of low points, this is the worst --
Q: I would like to know what was your reaction the first time when you heard that 15 Saudi Muslims were among the hijackers who committed this crime and this terrorist act. How did that affect your relationship with the Kingdom, which plays a major role in the region and particularly Crown Prince Abdullah -- now King Abdullah -- who is a personal friend of yours?
THE PRESIDENT: King Abdullah is a personal friend of mine, and I respect him. You know, I have seen murder before in my own country. I have seen evil people take innocent life. And when that's happened, I haven't condemned everybody else around.
I will give you an interesting story. I was in a community yesterday [Lancaster Pa.]-- a gunman came and killed five young Amish girls -- this is last year -- and the gunman was killed. The Amish community, which is a religious community here in America, went and reached out to the wife and children of the gunman in compassion and love. And I'm not saying I was that -- you know, I hope I could be that compassionate. It was a great act of compassion.
And the reason I tell you that is my reaction on September the 11th was, I vowed to find the killers -- those who ordered the killing -- and bring them to justice. On the other hand, never did it enter my heart and my mind to be embittered toward a group of people, innocent people, who had nothing to do with the murderer. In other words, I was focused on the individuals and their commanders, not citizens in the Middle East, of any country, particularly Saudi Arabia.
It's stating the obvious, but his attempted comparison of himself to the Amish is ludicrous -- the latter who eschew most of the trappings of modern life, and of course eschew aggression and revenge, compared to the man who a few weeks after 9/11 was invading Afghanistan, and even at that time was indeed plotting aggression against citizens of one particular country. He's right that it wasn't Saudi Arabia. It was Iraq.
Why does any church let this guy in the door?
Q: I would like to know what was your reaction the first time when you heard that 15 Saudi Muslims were among the hijackers who committed this crime and this terrorist act. How did that affect your relationship with the Kingdom, which plays a major role in the region and particularly Crown Prince Abdullah -- now King Abdullah -- who is a personal friend of yours?
THE PRESIDENT: King Abdullah is a personal friend of mine, and I respect him. You know, I have seen murder before in my own country. I have seen evil people take innocent life. And when that's happened, I haven't condemned everybody else around.
I will give you an interesting story. I was in a community yesterday [Lancaster Pa.]-- a gunman came and killed five young Amish girls -- this is last year -- and the gunman was killed. The Amish community, which is a religious community here in America, went and reached out to the wife and children of the gunman in compassion and love. And I'm not saying I was that -- you know, I hope I could be that compassionate. It was a great act of compassion.
And the reason I tell you that is my reaction on September the 11th was, I vowed to find the killers -- those who ordered the killing -- and bring them to justice. On the other hand, never did it enter my heart and my mind to be embittered toward a group of people, innocent people, who had nothing to do with the murderer. In other words, I was focused on the individuals and their commanders, not citizens in the Middle East, of any country, particularly Saudi Arabia.
It's stating the obvious, but his attempted comparison of himself to the Amish is ludicrous -- the latter who eschew most of the trappings of modern life, and of course eschew aggression and revenge, compared to the man who a few weeks after 9/11 was invading Afghanistan, and even at that time was indeed plotting aggression against citizens of one particular country. He's right that it wasn't Saudi Arabia. It was Iraq.
Why does any church let this guy in the door?
Friday, October 05, 2007
Euphemisms are like buses
From a report about new US State Department procedures for dealing with its mercenary contractor Blackwater --
An internal State Department review ordered by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recommends overhauling U.S. diplomatic security practices in Iraq after the Blackwater USA shooting incident in which 13 Iraqis were killed, a senior U.S. official said Friday ...
"She wants to make sure there is a management feedback loop," McCormack told reporters.
The person at the top wants to start managing. Imagine that.
An internal State Department review ordered by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recommends overhauling U.S. diplomatic security practices in Iraq after the Blackwater USA shooting incident in which 13 Iraqis were killed, a senior U.S. official said Friday ...
"She wants to make sure there is a management feedback loop," McCormack told reporters.
The person at the top wants to start managing. Imagine that.
Euphemism of the Day
Rich "We're Winning" Lowry, in Baghdad --
population-control measures
i.e. turning Baghdad into a collection of walled ghettoes.
population-control measures
i.e. turning Baghdad into a collection of walled ghettoes.
One word he didn't say
National Review's Iain Murray is up in arms (following up on earlier outrage from K-Lo) --
Clinton Blames Bush for Anti-Americanism
Bill of that ilk, that is, in his latest soft-ball interview with the BBC. BritainAndAmerica has the details. He also blames the President for continuing his own policy on Kyoto, which I suggest here amounts to stirring up anti-Americanism.
Indeed BritainAndAmerica has details --
Asked why anti-Americanism is so strong at the moment, Bill Clinton said the Bush administration “squandered” the goodwill that America received after 9/11.
He didn't say "Bush administration." He said "we, the United States government." [at 6m25s mark] He took collective responsibility for decisions taken by the government, which is exactly what one would expect a former President, trying to be diplomatic, would do. It's an interesting contrast with Bush, who never takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong.
In fact Clinton hardly mentioned George Bush at all, only interviewer John Humphrys did. And he refused to get drawn into ruling out an attack in Iran. There's really nothing to complain about.
The complainers also seem to forget that Clinton was doing interviews to promote his charitable initiative and book -- itself about charitable giving. Not every interview can be about the greatness of George W. Bush.
Clinton Blames Bush for Anti-Americanism
Bill of that ilk, that is, in his latest soft-ball interview with the BBC. BritainAndAmerica has the details. He also blames the President for continuing his own policy on Kyoto, which I suggest here amounts to stirring up anti-Americanism.
Indeed BritainAndAmerica has details --
Asked why anti-Americanism is so strong at the moment, Bill Clinton said the Bush administration “squandered” the goodwill that America received after 9/11.
He didn't say "Bush administration." He said "we, the United States government." [at 6m25s mark] He took collective responsibility for decisions taken by the government, which is exactly what one would expect a former President, trying to be diplomatic, would do. It's an interesting contrast with Bush, who never takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong.
In fact Clinton hardly mentioned George Bush at all, only interviewer John Humphrys did. And he refused to get drawn into ruling out an attack in Iran. There's really nothing to complain about.
The complainers also seem to forget that Clinton was doing interviews to promote his charitable initiative and book -- itself about charitable giving. Not every interview can be about the greatness of George W. Bush.
Pushing the envelope
Via the Irish Times, here's the contribution of Martin Mansergh TD in the Dail debate on an Irish arms export control bill. It followed some remarks by Sinn Féin's Aengus Ó Snodaigh --
I was surprised by elements of the last contribution. Only Dáil Éireann has the right to declare war, therefore, there was no war over the past 30 years. It is all very well to moralise about other people exporting arms, but are we certain that the IRA did not export expertise in bomb-making and other guerrilla warfare-terrorist tactics and techniques? Many questions are unanswered about places such as Colombia where three members of, let us call it, the republican movement - although I do not believe there was very much republican about these activities - were found in Colombia in FARC-held territory where the human rights abuses are absolutely appalling. During the summer, 11 locally elected politicians were taken out and shot by FARC and other politicians have been held hostage for a period, as in the case of Ingrid Betancourt. I wish spokespersons for Sinn Féin would not moralise from a height without adopting a self-critical attitude to some of the activities they have defended and stood over in the past.
It's to say the least interesting that Mansergh would try to bait SF and the IRA in this fashion, since there are persons within those organisations who likely know far more than is publicly known about Mansergh's 1990s contacts with the IRA, a period when he presumably thinks they were waging an illegal war. It would be awful if they chose to enlighten the public about those contacts in response to yesterday's moralising.
I was surprised by elements of the last contribution. Only Dáil Éireann has the right to declare war, therefore, there was no war over the past 30 years. It is all very well to moralise about other people exporting arms, but are we certain that the IRA did not export expertise in bomb-making and other guerrilla warfare-terrorist tactics and techniques? Many questions are unanswered about places such as Colombia where three members of, let us call it, the republican movement - although I do not believe there was very much republican about these activities - were found in Colombia in FARC-held territory where the human rights abuses are absolutely appalling. During the summer, 11 locally elected politicians were taken out and shot by FARC and other politicians have been held hostage for a period, as in the case of Ingrid Betancourt. I wish spokespersons for Sinn Féin would not moralise from a height without adopting a self-critical attitude to some of the activities they have defended and stood over in the past.
It's to say the least interesting that Mansergh would try to bait SF and the IRA in this fashion, since there are persons within those organisations who likely know far more than is publicly known about Mansergh's 1990s contacts with the IRA, a period when he presumably thinks they were waging an illegal war. It would be awful if they chose to enlighten the public about those contacts in response to yesterday's moralising.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
How international treaties work
According the US. Every country gets to decide for themselves what the Geneva Conventions mean. So says the White House --
Q But what's to stop another country from then taking their own definition and interpretation based on the administration's --
MS. PERINO: As I understand it, under the Geneva Conventions, every country was supposed to interpret it for themselves, and now we have.
Q You don't think there's any ambiguity there in the definition of torture for other countries to abuse Americans if they are captured?
MS. PERINO: No, I think that the countries that we deal with that are our allies, that are a party to the Geneva Conventions, follow that, and they follow their laws. And obviously, if any American was tortured anywhere, we would have big problems with that
...
Q Back on Elaine's question about clarity, you said something that if there's a problem with understanding, it's left up to the countries to try to decipher --
MS. PERINO: As I understand it, I believe that the Geneva Conventions, that every country could interpret for themselves what those -- what that language meant. I'm recalling that from the debate that we had in this country from a year and a half ago.
In fact, as a reporter pointed out, questions of interpretation are resolved by an International Criminal Court. Without wanting to seem overly dramatic, we seem to be getting to a point where an ICC indictment of George Bush is not beyond the bounds of possibility.
Q But what's to stop another country from then taking their own definition and interpretation based on the administration's --
MS. PERINO: As I understand it, under the Geneva Conventions, every country was supposed to interpret it for themselves, and now we have.
Q You don't think there's any ambiguity there in the definition of torture for other countries to abuse Americans if they are captured?
MS. PERINO: No, I think that the countries that we deal with that are our allies, that are a party to the Geneva Conventions, follow that, and they follow their laws. And obviously, if any American was tortured anywhere, we would have big problems with that
...
Q Back on Elaine's question about clarity, you said something that if there's a problem with understanding, it's left up to the countries to try to decipher --
MS. PERINO: As I understand it, I believe that the Geneva Conventions, that every country could interpret for themselves what those -- what that language meant. I'm recalling that from the debate that we had in this country from a year and a half ago.
In fact, as a reporter pointed out, questions of interpretation are resolved by an International Criminal Court. Without wanting to seem overly dramatic, we seem to be getting to a point where an ICC indictment of George Bush is not beyond the bounds of possibility.
A huge victory over Islamo-Euro-metricism
Diageo is allowed to continue selling those little Bailey's bottles across the European Union. They're 1/8 of a pint = 0.071 of a litre, which was not an admissible size. In reality the case says more about German protectionism than a supposed EU metric rampage, such as the one that was going to get rid of the pint of plain.
No we're not being ironic
This Mark Steyn post about David Cameron's speech and its media reception is excellent. He doesn't even point out the oddity of the Telegraph using a hyperbolic quote from Iain Dale, prolific blogger but also occasional Telegraph writer and presumed Conservative Party member. It makes for an interesting counterpoint to Andrew Sullivan's opinion of the speech. See also Mike Power.
Irish expletives, or not
With the hilarious news that the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, got into a fight in a pub in Limerick comes the crucial and poorly understood distinction (outside Ireland) between the 4 letter f-words "feck" and the other one. The former is semi-acceptable and can be printed while the latter is not. Note that Bono's Grammy obscenity case relies on exactly this distinction.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
It's not personal if the President does it
Truly a mother lode in the George Bush Q&A in Lancaster Pa today --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. You know, probably the most disappointing thing about my experience in Washington is the harshness of the discourse; is the zero-sum attitude. And I've tried to do my part by holding people with respect and to -- you know, talking about people in such a way that it doesn't degrade the process. I want this little guy to look at Washington and say, wow, this is something I may aspire to.
... I'll still try to do my best to treat people with respect. It's the best thing a President can do, it seems like to me. And the other leaders ought to be doing the same thing. If you disagree with a person, don't make it personal. Don't feel like you have to tear the other person down in order to make a political point. (Applause).
George Bush, in an election rally in Sugar Land, Tex. last year --
Well, however they [Democrats] put it, their approach comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. You know, probably the most disappointing thing about my experience in Washington is the harshness of the discourse; is the zero-sum attitude. And I've tried to do my part by holding people with respect and to -- you know, talking about people in such a way that it doesn't degrade the process. I want this little guy to look at Washington and say, wow, this is something I may aspire to.
... I'll still try to do my best to treat people with respect. It's the best thing a President can do, it seems like to me. And the other leaders ought to be doing the same thing. If you disagree with a person, don't make it personal. Don't feel like you have to tear the other person down in order to make a political point. (Applause).
George Bush, in an election rally in Sugar Land, Tex. last year --
Well, however they [Democrats] put it, their approach comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses.
The insurgency will not be televised
George Bush, recapturing the spirit of his disastrous Q&A sessions which had been on hold for a while --
Q I said, are you disappointed in the Americans that condemn the Iraqi war now, since after -- right after 9/11 it seemed like we were all ready to go to war over it?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not -- listen, people don't like war. I'm not disappointed in America at all. I love America. And I fully understand, you know, that people just are anxious about seeing death on their TV screens. I also understand that, you know, the enemy understands that. And so these spectacular bombings of innocent people are meant to achieve a couple of objectives: one, shake the will of those inside of Iraq, or wherever they kill -- Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines -- all aiming to disquiet societies that live under democracy. But they're also smart people -- they know that these spectaculars will get on our TV screens.
That "death on our TV screens" is one of his stock lines, but ...
U.S. authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded [from Polish ambassador attack] being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told AP the government of Iraq had made it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.
Q I said, are you disappointed in the Americans that condemn the Iraqi war now, since after -- right after 9/11 it seemed like we were all ready to go to war over it?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not -- listen, people don't like war. I'm not disappointed in America at all. I love America. And I fully understand, you know, that people just are anxious about seeing death on their TV screens. I also understand that, you know, the enemy understands that. And so these spectacular bombings of innocent people are meant to achieve a couple of objectives: one, shake the will of those inside of Iraq, or wherever they kill -- Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines -- all aiming to disquiet societies that live under democracy. But they're also smart people -- they know that these spectaculars will get on our TV screens.
That "death on our TV screens" is one of his stock lines, but ...
U.S. authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded [from Polish ambassador attack] being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told AP the government of Iraq had made it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.
When spin collides
George Bush, before a sycophantic audience (except for her) in Lancaster, Pa --
That's why I brought up the example of the S-CHIP [sic] corporation. When we cut taxes on everybody who pays taxes, we cut taxes on small businesses, too
He has therefore confused S corporations, which is part of his misleading spin for tax cuts, with S-CHIP, the program which provides health insurance to poor children.
UPDATE: An apt observation from Paul Krugman --
Mark Crispin Miller, the author of “The Bush Dyslexicon,” once made a striking observation: all of the famous Bush malapropisms — “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family,” and so on — have involved occasions when Mr. Bush was trying to sound caring and compassionate.
That's why I brought up the example of the S-CHIP [sic] corporation. When we cut taxes on everybody who pays taxes, we cut taxes on small businesses, too
He has therefore confused S corporations, which is part of his misleading spin for tax cuts, with S-CHIP, the program which provides health insurance to poor children.
UPDATE: An apt observation from Paul Krugman --
Mark Crispin Miller, the author of “The Bush Dyslexicon,” once made a striking observation: all of the famous Bush malapropisms — “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family,” and so on — have involved occasions when Mr. Bush was trying to sound caring and compassionate.
What Gordon Brown should do
Call a referendum on the EU Constitution. Put the issue to rest for once and for all. Right now it looks like the only referendum will be in the Republic of Ireland.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Gordon of little faith
In Basra yesterday --
I want to thank our Australian colleagues here in advance - because of the defeat that will be inflicted in the Rugby World Cup ... So let me, on behalf of the British people, thank you [soldiers], let me say I cannot predict how the Rugby World Cup will end. I am sorry about Wales, sorry about Ireland. Scotland and England still have a chance. I suspect England have a better chance of a place than Scotland, even although I am a Scottish supporter.
Scotland are playing Argentina while England play Australia. Argentina have a nice cup so far but still would not have been a top seed going in. The Paddy Power odds on England and Scotland going out are identical. So why wouldn't he embrace his Scottish allegiance a bit more fully?
I want to thank our Australian colleagues here in advance - because of the defeat that will be inflicted in the Rugby World Cup ... So let me, on behalf of the British people, thank you [soldiers], let me say I cannot predict how the Rugby World Cup will end. I am sorry about Wales, sorry about Ireland. Scotland and England still have a chance. I suspect England have a better chance of a place than Scotland, even although I am a Scottish supporter.
Scotland are playing Argentina while England play Australia. Argentina have a nice cup so far but still would not have been a top seed going in. The Paddy Power odds on England and Scotland going out are identical. So why wouldn't he embrace his Scottish allegiance a bit more fully?
Today's Iraq Hypocrisy
Is contained in this arcane announcement from the White House. After wading through the bureaucratic jargon, one learns that the absolute most number of Iraqi refugees that the US will admit in this fiscal year (which just began) is 38,000, and that's assuming that the entire Near East/South Asia plus all the unallocated quota goes to Iraqis, which it won't, because Iraqis have so much difficulty getting passports and security clearances.
But the real weasel touch is provided by this bit --
I [George Bush] also specify that, for FY 2008, the following persons may, if otherwise qualified, be considered refugees for the purpose of admission to the United States within their countries of nationality or habitual residence:
a. Persons in Vietnam
b. Persons in Cuba
c. Persons in the former Soviet Union
d. In exceptional circumstances, persons identified by a United States Embassy in any location
So for a bit of legacy anti-Communist grandstanding, he's willing to specify that one can be current residents of these countries i.e. not internationally displaced, and still be a refugee. Iraq is not on the list, except implicitly through item (d), which probably won't be used much.
And all this is against the backdrop of 4.2 million Iraqi refugees.
But the real weasel touch is provided by this bit --
I [George Bush] also specify that, for FY 2008, the following persons may, if otherwise qualified, be considered refugees for the purpose of admission to the United States within their countries of nationality or habitual residence:
a. Persons in Vietnam
b. Persons in Cuba
c. Persons in the former Soviet Union
d. In exceptional circumstances, persons identified by a United States Embassy in any location
So for a bit of legacy anti-Communist grandstanding, he's willing to specify that one can be current residents of these countries i.e. not internationally displaced, and still be a refugee. Iraq is not on the list, except implicitly through item (d), which probably won't be used much.
And all this is against the backdrop of 4.2 million Iraqi refugees.
Noted without comment
[BBC] A Ballymena man accused of explosives offences has had his bail conditions altered so he can attend Celtic's Champions League football match. Liam Lyness, 23, of Fisherwick Crescent, denies possessing three incendiary devices with intent to endanger life or damage property.
Belfast Crown Court suspended a condition that Mr Lyness has to report to police on a Wednesday. This will allow him to travel to Glasgow to see Celtic play AC Milan.
OK, one comment. Hopefully he'll be clever enough to remember that there will be cameras at the match and so he'll need to avoid coming to anyone's attention.
Belfast Crown Court suspended a condition that Mr Lyness has to report to police on a Wednesday. This will allow him to travel to Glasgow to see Celtic play AC Milan.
OK, one comment. Hopefully he'll be clever enough to remember that there will be cameras at the match and so he'll need to avoid coming to anyone's attention.
On yer bike
There's no such thing as a cheap shot where George Bush is concerned, so it's easy to make fun of these proclamations that he issues as President, even though most of them are simply required by law and reflect little input from him. Of course he could absolve himself from them by citing the War on Terror but he seems to go through the motions. Nevertheless, we are in the week where he's likely to veto an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), so it's a tad embarrassing that he has to issue this proclamation --
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1, 2007, as Child Health Day. I call upon families, schools, child health professionals, faith-based and community organizations, and State and local governments to reach out to our Nation's young people, encourage them to avoid dangerous behavior, and help them make the right choices and achieve their dreams.
Note how the text is carefully calibrated to the responsibilities and choices of children and the consequences of their behaviour. He's been working these themes into the proclamation for a few years, but let's go all the way back to the first time he issued the proclamation in 2001, before the ideologues had time to work on it:
My Administration is strongly committed to supporting families and children in need and to improving our education system so that no child is left behind. Let us work together as individuals, families, communities, and Americans to ensure that the health of our children always remains a national priority. The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1, 2001, as Child Health Day. On this day, and on every day throughout the year, I call upon families, schools, child health professionals, communities, and governments to dedicate themselves to fostering the healthy development and well-being of all our children -- especially those with special health care needs.
i.e. it's all about others can help children -- who after all, are faced with the circumstances given to them by their parents, and the choices made by people and politicians, but not the children themselves.
Such as being a child in a nominally middle class family that does not have health insurance. In the 2008 Child Health Day, that's the child's problem.
UPDATE: The veto is official. The lie-filled justification is here.
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (36 U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1, 2007, as Child Health Day. I call upon families, schools, child health professionals, faith-based and community organizations, and State and local governments to reach out to our Nation's young people, encourage them to avoid dangerous behavior, and help them make the right choices and achieve their dreams.
Note how the text is carefully calibrated to the responsibilities and choices of children and the consequences of their behaviour. He's been working these themes into the proclamation for a few years, but let's go all the way back to the first time he issued the proclamation in 2001, before the ideologues had time to work on it:
My Administration is strongly committed to supporting families and children in need and to improving our education system so that no child is left behind. Let us work together as individuals, families, communities, and Americans to ensure that the health of our children always remains a national priority. The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended (U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in October as "Child Health Day" and has requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1, 2001, as Child Health Day. On this day, and on every day throughout the year, I call upon families, schools, child health professionals, communities, and governments to dedicate themselves to fostering the healthy development and well-being of all our children -- especially those with special health care needs.
i.e. it's all about others can help children -- who after all, are faced with the circumstances given to them by their parents, and the choices made by people and politicians, but not the children themselves.
Such as being a child in a nominally middle class family that does not have health insurance. In the 2008 Child Health Day, that's the child's problem.
UPDATE: The veto is official. The lie-filled justification is here.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Because Jackie could make it look good
Laura Bush, weirdly identifying one change in White House First Lady fashions --
Q Do you think the [First Ladies exhibit] show is fun?
MRS. BUSH: I do think it's fun and I hope people come see it. It's fun to get to see the fashions. I know that a lot of -- that's one of the most popular exhibits, the clothes, at the American History Museum, where these things are from, at the Smithsonian -- and that is to get to see the fashions. It's very interesting as they move down in history what the fashions are.
For instance, the Jackie Kennedy dress that she took with her after -- obviously after her husband was assassinated, and then a few years later shortened because dresses were so short. And it does look very short.
Just visit watertiger's place any day of the week to see what might have Laura a bit envious.
Q Do you think the [First Ladies exhibit] show is fun?
MRS. BUSH: I do think it's fun and I hope people come see it. It's fun to get to see the fashions. I know that a lot of -- that's one of the most popular exhibits, the clothes, at the American History Museum, where these things are from, at the Smithsonian -- and that is to get to see the fashions. It's very interesting as they move down in history what the fashions are.
For instance, the Jackie Kennedy dress that she took with her after -- obviously after her husband was assassinated, and then a few years later shortened because dresses were so short. And it does look very short.
Just visit watertiger's place any day of the week to see what might have Laura a bit envious.
One weak spot
Reuters/Dylan Martinez; caption
Gordon Brown has gotten a lot right in the last few months but the obsession with Alan Greenspan is very strange. Greenspan is well on the way to being a discredited figure in the US -- far too tolerant of George Bush's fiscal lunacy when it was obvious to others what was going on, and far too willing to err on the side of not raising interest rates even as Wall Street financing got ever more reckless. Greenspan is clever enough to know which way the wind is blowing, as his book's distancing from Bush reveals, but it's really not clear what cachet Gordon is seeking from him. Hopefully Mervyn King is not taking it personally.
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