A Becon of Freedom

Fire of Liberty
Rachael Zarbarkes Friedman has a good update on Akbar Ganji's continued hunger strike against the mullahs in Tehran's Evin Prison. Though Ganji is considerably weak as water due to his two month refusal of food, he continues to inspire countless numbers of the Iranian public with his principled stand against the theocratic masters. While Ganji will probably suffer a lot of physical distress through his hunger strike, you still have to applaud his brave stand for democracy and liberty for the Iranian public. Just look at what Ganji's stand against tyranny has inspired:

“If anything ever happens to Mr. Ganji,” says Fakhravar, who was himself arrested for criticizing the regime and sentenced to eight years in prison, “a revolution will happen in Iran…. [Ganji] knows his blood will create real turmoil, which the country will never come out of.” He continues, “Ganji is not a member of a particular opposition group or party, but every group loves him and has respect for him. The whole society will rise up.”

Fakhravar is hardly sanguine about the reaction such a popular uprising would generate — after all, he knows how the regime treats its critics. Still, he continues to make his views known, and has in fact just published his second book, he says, The Scraps of Prison, written half in Farsi and half in English. “[Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is the naked image of the Islamic Republic, without any mask,” Fakhravar says. “By all means, they will beat the hell out of the people. We want the world to look at us, so we won’t be forgotten. If the regime sees so many eyes on it, it won’t be as hard on us.”

As though by way of example, Fakhravar mentions one individual in particular, Sweden’s Fred Saberi, whom he credits for helping to call attention to the plight of Iran’s dissidents and ameliorate their treatment, including by securing temporary releases from prison. Fakhravar feels the U.S. government is also paying attention. Asked how dissidents reacted to President Bush’s statement calling for Ganji’s release, he says, “As a matter of fact, it had the most wonderful reaction, and not just among the opposition. For the first time we really felt the U.S. government and the American people are behind the Iranian struggle — that the support was not just rhetoric.”

After reading this piece and many more on Akbar Ganji and his devotion to freedom and democracy in Iran, I'd have to agree with The New York Sun that he's the Iranian version of Havel.

Cameras Work

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Heather MacDonald has a good piece over at The City Journal's web-site on how the UK city-wide video camera system has been an excellent deterrent to crime in London. One only has to look at how quick the authorities identified the four terrorists in the 7/7 attacks to see how valuable this surveillance system is to the fight on terror and crime. Though I have strong libertarian feelings on most issues and value a world that preserves one's privacy, I have to draw the line with national defense. If we can prevent or slow down of acts of terrorism then we should think about putting them up. After you read MacDonald's piece you'll probably be inclined to agree as well.

US Army Re-enlistment Numbers up.

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Once again, our wonderful soldiers have come through in pushing the US Army's re-enlistment numbers well beyond its projected goal. So I guess that the media can once again remove the "US Army fails to reach its re-enlistment goal" headlines from their "Gotcha" file on President Bush.

Eastern Europe: A Friend Indeed

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I guess this is why I'm such a big fan of the people and countries of Eastern Europe.

Election Fraud in Venezuela.

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Well, it seems that the nation of Venezuela has a little explaining to do with it corrupted voting rolls. It seems that El Hefe II and his minions have failed to expunge countless citizens who have been dead for several years from their voter registries throughout the country-side but find it alright to arrest and harass citizens who are demonstrating for democracy or just support the political opposition. With the news that dead people are eligible to vote in Venezuela's various elections, it's amazing that Jimmy Carter had the audacity in the most recent elections to call them "free and fair." Anyway here's what The Financial Times has to say about the current mess in Venezuela:

"Why is there such a big fear of undertaking an audit of the electoral register?" asks Alejandro Plaz, spokesman for Sumate, which lobbies for transparency and participation in elections.

Now, the discovery that Mr Charrière, who died in 1973, is eligible to cast a ballot in local elections in August looks certain to amplify such concerns about the inadequacy of Venezuela's electoral system.

In the final pages of Papillon, Mr Charrière describes his elation at receiving a Venezuelan residency document, or cédula, in 1945, after his escape from Devil's Island and, finally, his release from El Dorado, a Venezuelan prison.

The number of the cédula, he wrote, was 1,728,629 a unique figure in the numerical issuance series of Venezuelan identity documents.

Today, that number, when introduced into the online checking facility of the National Electoral Council, reveals that Henry Charriero, his adopted name, can vote next month in Chacao, a municipality of Caracas.

It's about time the truth of Chavez's election tactics were revealed to the whole world. Lord knows what else has happened in these "democratic elections" under Chavez's reign.

Multiculturalism: A Death-nail to a Nation

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I think that Kenan Malik has pretty much hit the nail-head with this opinion piece in The Times, which notes that the UK's devotion to the silly ideology of multiculturalism is what has allowed the development of such horrific thinking that emerged on July 7, 2005. Here's a sneak peek of this excellent piece:

For an earlier generation of Muslims their religion was not so strong that it prevented them from identifying with Britain. Today many young British Muslims identify more with Islam than Britain primarily because there no longer seems much that is compelling about being British. Of course, there is little to romanticise about in old-style Britishness with its often racist vision of belonging. Back in the 1950s policy-makers feared that, in the words of a Colonial Office report, "“a large coloured community would weaken . . . the concept of England or Britain"”.

That old racist notion of identity has thankfully crumbled. But nothing new has come to replace it. The very notion of creating common values has been abandoned except at a most minimal level. Britishness has come to be defined simply as a toleration of difference. The politics of ideology has given way to the politics of identity, creating a more fragmented Britain, and one where many groups assert their identity through a sense of victimhood and grievance.

This has been particularly true of Muslim communities. Muslims have certainly suffered from racism and discrimination. But many Muslim leaders have nurtured an exaggerated sense of victimhood for their own political purposes. The result has been to stoke up anger and resentment, creating a siege mentality that makes Muslim communities more inward-looking and more open to religious extremism — — and that has helped to transform a small number of young men into savage terrorists.

I'm hope that more people in the UK will start thinking real hard about promoting a British national identity rather than departamentalising its people into p.c. identity groups. Above all else, the folks living in the UK should be proud about being a citizen of the UK rather than being a hyphenated subject of the crown. I think that these acts of terrorism in the streets and subway tunnels of London has knock the patina of of the adsurd notion and the dangers of multiculturalism. Too bad the BBC, The Independet and The Guardian are still wearing their rose colored glasses.

An Islamic Challenge

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Ralph Kinney Bennett has a good article over at Tech Central Station which shows why a lot of people in the various Muslim countries are risk averse when confronting the terrorists in their midst.

Standing up to Islamic Radicals.

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Speaking about people within the Islamic community stepping up to the plate and taking back their community from the Islamic fundamentalists, here's an example of just that. In the July 14, 2005 edition of The Financial Times, Shahid Malik, a MP in the British House of Commons, has written a wonderful commentary calling on the people in the Islamic community of England to stand up to the preachers of hate. Here's a sample of his powerful commentary:

In reflecting on the events of the past week, I am profoundly aware that the British Muslim community now faces its most difficult and profound challenge yet. We have reached a dangerous crossroads, and the direction we choose will prove to be a defining moment in our history.

The knowledge that the bombers were British Muslims, living what were, to all appearances, respectable and unremarkable lives, has sent us a signal we can no longer ignore, that there is indeed an “enemy within”. The battle for the soul of the community has begun.

The stakes are high and the choice is stark: either we confront the voices of evil, or we sit back and allow wider British society to regard us as a community that condones such evil.

We must accept that the poisonous preachers of violence and hatred in the name of Islam, few in number though they may be, have to be halted in their actions. This means ending their access to, and their manipulation of, impressionable and vulnerable young men.

We Muslims must overcome our fear that criticising radicals in our midst gives ammunition to the far-right. In the past we have pretended not to see or hear the fanatical fringe who hang about outside our mosques, because of a genuinely held belief that their vile rhetoric could never manifest itself in action such as that which led to the carnage in London. But we can ignore them no longer. Their hate-filled rantings have now fuelled acts of hatred, with devastating consequences for innocent victims.

Lets see if the folks in the Islamic communnity has seen the light that a lot of others have seen.

Confront it and kill it

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Amir Taheri has a good column in the July 15, 2005 edition of The New York Post on how the people of the world shouldn't be lulled into thinking that the attack is something they can weather through. Those who have the silly notion that they are safe from Al Qaeda if their country plays nice and stays out of the global War on Terrorism need to think again Here's a sample:

While the stoic response may be the right one in the short run, it could lull Britain into believing that this is one brief storm that may soon blow over. Well, it is not. This is an existential threat by a force that cannot stop unless stopped by stronger moral, political and physical forces.

The comparison with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) is both foolish and dangerous. The IRA resembled a man who comes to your neighborhood every now and then to break a few of your windows, raise a scare and then establish contact to demand concessions. In time, the IRA became satisfied with jobs for its political front-men and a free hand from the British police for its clandestine cells to continue whatever racketeering they engaged in.

The Islamist terrorists, however, want to wipe out the existing society so that they can create their utopia in its place. They are not content with breaking a few windows or even murdering your son or daughter on their way to school or work, and would not be content with ministerial jobs and official limousines.

Good stuff.

Needed: Islamic Religious Orders

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Stephen Schwartz, the author of The Two Faces of Islam and Executive Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, has written a wonderful piece over at Tech Central Station calling for the establishment of a Muslim version of Opus Dei or the Legionaries of Christ, which is a fraternal order that celebrates one's devotion to their religion. So instead of allowing the extremists corrupt the youth, members of mainstream Islam should encourage their children and family to join such religious orders to devote their life to a peaceful coexistence with various religions. Here's a look at what Schwartz has proposed to ensure Islam is steeled against the ravages of Osama and his lot:

How would a Muslim equivalent of Opus Dei -- reinforcing a conservative and traditional view of faith while embodying contemporary capitalist principles, modernizing education, and fostering the common good -- affect the world of Islam? The more one examines Opus Dei the more it resembles, in a broad way, a Sufi order; it is a voluntary association of fervent believers who have come together with a common dedication to refinement of their spiritual understanding and strengthening of religious ideals in the public square. Any number of Sufi bodies in countries like Turkey could furnish the basis for such an influential development among Muslims. The largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia, possesses multimillion-member organizations like Nadhlatul Ulama that serve community needs while also nurturing a moderate form of Islam.

While the vision of modernization through traditional Islam may seem counter-intuitive to many Westerners, transformation of the Muslim world by spiritual revitalization has already been a principle visible, if little understood, in the liberation of Iraq. In the 1950s, Shia theologians defined their interpretation of Islam explicitly as a struggle between "terrorist" usurpers and proponents of "religious democracy" represented by the Shia martyr Husayn, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. With the Bush-led handover to the sect of the Shia holy sites, Karbala and Najaf, a regime is emerging in Baghdad that seeks to harmonize religious devotion and governance without transgressing pluralism and popular sovereignty. To impel the new Iraq into artificially imposed and extreme secularism would vitiate the first achievement of the liberation strategy in the Muslim world.

One might argue that Islam already has its Opus Dei in the Muslim Brotherhood, or Ikhwan, which is powerful in many Arab countries, especially Egypt. But the Muslim Brotherhood remains committed to conceptions that are radical, not conservative; these include violent hatred of the West and non-Muslims; takfir or excommunication from Islam of those who do not share the Brotherhood's ideology; and the goal of exclusive governance by religious law. Opus Dei propounds no such extreme notions: it accepts the need for peace and order in existing political systems, it does not preach against those outside its ranks, and it does not embrace theocratic politics. But above all, the dedication of Opus Dei to a healthy Catholic criterion in commercial affairs offers a new model for Muslims, absent in the Sufi tradition and enormously beneficial for the progress of the Islamic countries. For too long, the Muslim world seems to have forgotten that the Prophet Muhammad was a caravan merchant, and the traditional Islamic axiom, "Allah loves the merchant."

Until more people start standing up in the Islamic community and promoting such peaceful religious orders that actually do something beneficial we will continue to see many more young people strapping dynamite laden backpacks on their backs and setting them off on buses and subways. I sure hope they establish something like this soon.

Freedom of Choice: Cut NPR/PBS loose

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Today, I attended a gathering in which a person I was speaking with a friend noted that there needs to be more "NPR-like" news/educational programs on the radio and T.V. rather than the reality television shows that are always popping up on the boob-tube. Though I agreed that we need less of this filth T.V., I had to disagree with my friend and note that networks are looking at the numbers, ad revenues and the demands of the public rather than what a select few want. I further pointed out that there are ample amounts of T.V. networks on the cable/satellite spectrum to satisfy this thirst for knowledge. Right know, If I look through my Dish Channel lineup, I have 12 news/information channels (Ranging from CNN - FOX NEWS), 17 educational/learning channels (Animal Planet to Wisdom T.V.) as well as some 14 public interest channels (BYUTV to University of Washington TV) to choose from without someone having to promote more stations like NPR.

No matter what people might say, the right to choose(Milton and Rose Friedman version) is probably one of the best things that our capitalistic system has to offer. Now my friend has every right to demand that more of these programs be put on TV and hope to better our society through the creation of more "NPR like" networks but it is also the right of this nation to have a say in what goes on TV. It'd be nice to have less Paris Hilton, Super-Nanny, Big Brother 106 on TV and more Documentaries, In-Depth News-shows as well as C-SPAN. Fortunately, there is a simple answer to this, which is for them to use their remote control to turn the television to the networks of their choice and let the chips fall where they will.

Well, this brief look into my Saturday outing is a small snippet of a much larger debate that is occurring in the halls of Congress over the US citizenry providing a $500 million subsidy to NPR and PBS, who brings in well over $2.5 billion every year. Amongst the most vocal opponents of these costly expenditures which hand money over to an entity that can survive without such a crutch is the folks over at the CATO Institute. Well, in the opinion section of today's edition of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Bill Steigerwald has a wonderful Q&A with David Boaz, Executive Vice-President of the CATO Institute, about ending such an unnecessary government handout. While I'll let you read the full interview, I wanted to give you a brief sample of the interview:

Q: What's the moral argument for defunding NPR and PBS?

A: It is that taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize news and opinions. Thomas Jefferson said this 200 years ago. I believe the quote was, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical." When you give taxpayers' money to ideas, it's very similar to giving taxpayers' money to religion. We made a decision in this country: We're going to have freedom of religion, but we're not going to have taxpayers forced to support religions they may not agree with. Similarly, it's a moral objection that taxpayers should not be forced to contribute money to the propagation of opinions they disagree with.

I'd have to say that Boaz hit it on the nail-head with this argument , it's about time that the folks in D.C. gets the drift of Boaz and a large section of the American public who feel that it's time to let the highly profitable NPR/PBS fly on their own. This money could be sent back to the people or put it towards our national defense or boarder security rather than this silly boondoggle that few people approve of.

A Two Pronged War

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Austin Bay has a good column over at Tech Central Station about how the war against Al Qaeda will only be won if we target the nations that provide a haven for terrorists and beat them at the media game. We've got to convince the terrorists and their sponsors that they cannot win a protracted war against free nations while at the same time demonstrating to the folks in the Arab/Islamic world how much more democracy has to offer than Osama's death-cult. Take a look:

Maj. Gen. Doug Lute, operations officer for CENTCOM, argues that IEDs (improvised explosive devices, bombs like those used in London) are "perfect asymmetric warfare weapons" for 21st century terrorists. ("Asymmetric warfare" pits mismatched enemies -- the weak side tries to avoid its own destruction, while targeting the strong side's political or military vulnerabilities.)

"IEDs are relatively effective," Lute says -- meaning when they go off, they usually kill and wound. "IEDs are cheap to make. They are available (i.e., explosives and triggers, as well as skills required to assemble them)." But, moreover: "IEDs are anonymous. This makes them the enemy's most effective weapon because they are really an IO (information operations) weapon. They intimidate, sow fear, but do so without certain identification."

Anonymity means "the terrorists can be a very small group" of people or politically weak organization, Lute adds.

What makes the small and anonymous appear powerful and strong? In the 21st century, intense media coverage magnifies the terrorists' capabilities. This suggests that winning the global war against Islamist terror ultimately means accomplishing two things: denying the terrorists' weapons of mass destruction and curbing what is currently Al Qaeda's greatest strategic capability: media magnification and occasional media enhancement of its bombing campaigns and political theatrics.

In fact it looks like we're winning on the "democracy is better than terror" front, especially after reading an article over at Yahoo News titled "Support for bin Laden falls in Muslim countries." Sounds great to me, Lets continue on the other fronts.

Islamic radicals in UK

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Stephen Schwartz has an interesting piece over @ The Weekly Standard noting the prevalence of a Islamist fundamentalist sect known as Jama'at-i-Islami within the Pakistani immigrant population in Great Britain. Such is really important due to the fact that the individuals who partook in the July 7 terrorist attacks in London were of Pakistani dissent. Seems to me the UK version of INS aren't living up to the standards of screening and monitoring the immigrants who enter this island nation.

Bush wins big @ G8

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According to Robert D. Novak's recent column, President Bush has won a major victory against the Kyoto Accord-Global Warming alarmist supporters during his most recent trip to the G-8 Summit in Scotland. It seems that the major nations attending the meeting decided that they shouldn't rush in head long in declaring global warming as the most pressing problems facing the world, yet alone advocating the costly and ineffective Kyoto protocols. It seems that President Bush has convinced the various leaders that the science is not clear enough about global warming or that C02 emissions are the chief culprit of such a phenomenon. So score up a major point for a cooler head like President Bush.

Little Platoons help Africa

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Here's yet another wonderful column by Marvin Olasky, demonstrating once again how successful private groups and religious groups can be for the people of Africa compared to the "more money" crowd. Luckily, the people of Africa know first hand what the classical economics/small government groups can do. It'd be nice if the folks who continue calling the US and the West "greedy" would discover the power of such "little platoons." We'll see.

Iraq: Keep Chasing Goal

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Ralph Peters had a great Op/Ed in Tuesday's edition of USA Today on the strategic importance of winning Iraq. I'd have to say that Peters has demonstrated once again how much more important it is to look beyond the small tactical issues and focus on the big picture of securing Iraq for democracy and the Iraqi people. Above all of the petty barbs by dished out at President Bush on Iraq by the likes of Senator Kennedy and Kerry as well as the complaints by the small contingent of the Pat Buchanan wing of the Right(We have a eclectic mix of folks like this in the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy), the US winning the day in Iraq should be the chief objective. So, if you will, check out the Op/Ed. You won't be disappointed.

Ganji has Friends in America

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Aside from the President calling for the immediate release of Ganji and the reform of human rights in Iran, it seems that Senators Biden (D-RI) Brownback (R-KS) and Santorum (R-PA) have also called for the release of Ganji. Here's a sample of Senator Brownback's statement:

"Mr. Ganji represents many other political prisoners who are denied of their basic rights. Many Iranians claim that they live their daily lives as prisoners to the regime where they are denied most every fundamental human right."

I just wished that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan would find a spine to speak out on behalf of Ganji instead of saying "I don't know enough about the case, so I'd prefer not to comment." I guess if Ganji was a terrorist locked in Gitmo, Saddam or some tin-pot dictator then he might get noticed. I guess it goes to show you how much the UN really cares about the spread of democracy and human rights. Thank God for the United States.

Iran: A Dissident's Stand

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While we are constantly bombarded with story after story on Karl Rove, Supreme Court picks and countless stories on Space-shuttle Columbia on the front pages of the national newspapers and on the various cable-news stations, we are deprived of news on Akbar Ganji standing up to the tyrannical regime of Iran. According to this article by Eli Lake in The New York Sun, Ganji, who was originally arrested in 2001 for writing a book implicating members of the regime in several murders of their political opponents, has started his second month of a hunger strike in Evin prison in Tehran after being re-imprisoned for giving an interview urging the people of Iran to protest the recent presidential election.

While the MSM might find it easier to report on the latest Beltway-Buzz or the latest missing person case, they continue to ignore a growing grass-roots movement within Iran against the regime. Luckily the people of Iran have diligent reporters like Mr. Lake who has noted that Ganji's hunger strike has gained some legs with the people in Iran who have grown tired of the regime's 26 year heavy handedness. Just see what Lake reported in The Sun on the protest movement that has been spurred on by Mr. Ganji's brave and diligent stand against the mullahs:

While Mr. Ganji's case has attracted little attention here, in Iran he is emerging as a symbol of the country's democratic opposition. According to Reuters, 150 demonstrators yesterday clashed with riot police when a protest to release Mr. Ganji turned violent. Opposition groups have reported that participants in the Tehran rally numbered in the thousands, including a California-based satellite television station, IranNTV.

An e-mail translated into English announcing the rally, which was sponsored by the Student Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, also called for the release of Nasser Zarafshan, Arjang Davoudi, Heshmat Tabarzadi, Bina Daaraab-Zand, Khaaled Hardaani, Hodjat Zamaani, Behrouz Jaaveed-Tehrani, Mojtaba Samiinejad, Manouchehr Mohammadi, Mehrdad Lohrasbi, Abbass Deldaar, Mariam Araii, and Kobra Rahmanpour.

That the demonstration proceeded yesterday was itself important in the aftermath of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory in the presidential election last month. Mr. Ahmadinejad has served as mayor of Tehran and commander for intelligence for a branch of the revolutionary guard that carried out overseas assassinations against the Islamic Republic's opponents. The Austrian government last week announced that it would begin evaluating new evidence from a member of its parliament to determine whether Mr. Ahmadinejad played a role in the 1989 assassination of the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, Rahman Ghassemlou.

Until yesterday, the ascendance of Mr. Ahmadinejad, beloved by the pro-regime religious militia the Basij, seemed to pose too great a risk for Iran's restless democratic opposition to express their distaste for the government in Iran's streets. On the anniversary of the 1999 Tehran University uprisings, for example, hardly any protests took place in the country as they have in the past on July 9.

Ganji has also received the much needed support of President Bush who released the following statement from the White House:

Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist who since 1999 has been routinely sentenced to prison by the Iranian government for advocating free speech, is again in jail because of his political views. Through his now month-long hunger strike, Mr. Ganji is demonstrating that he is willing to die for his right to express his opinion. President Bush is saddened by recent reports that Mr. Ganji's health has been failing and deeply concerned that the Iranian government has denied him access to his family, medical treatment, and legal representation. Mr. Ganji is sadly only one victim of a wave of repression and human rights violations engaged in by the Iranian regime. His calls for freedom deserve to be heard. His valiant efforts should not go in vain. The President calls on all supporters of human rights and freedom, and the United Nations, to take up Ganji's case and the overall human rights situation in Iran. The President also calls on the Government of Iran to release Mr. Ganji immediately and unconditionally and to allow him access to medical assistance. Mr. Ganji, please know that as you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

It's wonderful to have a leader like President Bush who takes an active stand for freedom by siding with the people like Ganji who risk their lives by taking an active stand against the forces of evil.

Albania: A Detailed Look

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If you've been a constant reader of Fire of Liberty, you probably know by now that I'm a big fan of the Eastern European nations or what Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld deemed "New Europe." I guess I've been a fan of these nations ever since the 1980's when President Reagan reached out to the people of these states in their battle against their Communist masters. Along with a love of their passion for freedom, I've also had the pleasure of meeting and attending college at GC&SU with several students from Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia, and various other nations in Eastern Europe.(I've also had the good luck to meet some wonderful folks from Old Europe as well.) Hopefully, you'll have the good fortune to meet and talk to such wonderful people who have experienced such horrors under the forces of Communism.

Such a love for the peoples of Eastern Europe is also shared by National Review's Managing Editor Jay Nordlinger who has written several articles/impromptus on his most recent trip to Albania. If you want to learn a lot about this small nation in Eastern Europe and don't have the time to get into an In-Depth study, then these articles here, here, and here are for you to read. So get reading and have fun doing it.

The Scrooge Factor

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I wanted to follow up on my earlier posts on how the Live 8 crowd, Kofi Annan and European leaders continued advocation of sending loads and loads of money to Africa to fight poverty and famine only leads to greater problems. Well, it seems that there is a plethora of experts and learned people who realize that as long as you continue to pour such vast amounts of money at the problem, the people will continue to suck at the teat and never learn how to let go and learn how to solve their problems on their own accord. As I continue to read Marvin Olasky's wonderful book The Tragedy of American Compassion, I discovered that up to the late 1890's in this country, you'd find countless examples of various charitable groups requiring individuals who sought help in the form of food and money would have to either chop several cords of wood or provide some kind of work instead of an outright handout like the various nations want to do in Africa. If they really wanted to improve the lot of the millions of people in Africa, they'd listen to the people who advocate the West weaning these nations off their teat of governments who continue to give money out of the fear of beeing dubbed a scrooge. In fact, I'd say that a Scrooge-like attitude is what's needed in dealing with the problems of Africa. While your allowed to argue "My dear man, your quite wrong about this," I can't ignore the whole argument about how a massive inflow of money is not good for the goose or the gander. Just look at this snippet from a recent article over at Tech Central Station by Max Borders:

And yet the answer is staring everyone in the face. One need only look at the data. But you can use common sense to understand why foreign aid doesn't work. (Most of us couldn't even tell what precisely it does not work at - only that places like Africa only languish, grow increasingly dependent, less likely to change, and more corrupt. These problems get worse as more of our money is poured in.) Fifty years of the domestic welfare-state status quo in the US should have taught us that a global welfare state would be even more expensive and even less efficacious. Only since the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 has the US seen an overall decrease in the number of people at the teat of FDR's dole. And only with some similarly half-baked reform will we start to see real GDP growth in the developing world. Why? Because it's almost an iron law of human beings: if you reward any behavior, you're more likely to get more of it.

In Africa, all the wrong behaviors are being rewarded:

Does your country have a) a dictator surrounded by ruthless cronies? Or b) the rule of law?

"Answer A!"

Give them $50 million!

Does your country have a) nationalized agriculture? Or b) privately owned farms?

"Answer A!"

Give them another $50 million!

Borders might be a tad bit on the "classical liberal" side but he still has a point in noting how this constant mantra of "more money," is probably one of the biggest reasons why poverty and famine is so prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.


Another voice calling for the West to shut-down this unlimited ATM to the nations of Africa is Michael Ledeen. Ledeen notes in a recent article over at National Review Online how the continued call to send more money to the various national government in Africa without any strings attached is yet another green light for continued corruption and wasteful spending via the powerful leaders or dictators who recieve these funds. Just look at South Africa to understand what Ledeen is meaning:

But the problem is not how the money is allocated; it'’s that the money is all allocated by the central government, and that is always a guarantee of corruption. Just as Africa needs less aid, it needs less government. In South Africa, for example, which is the best of the big states, the government is murdering its own people by urging them to use traditional remedies (ginger and garlic, sometimes flavored with lemon zest) for AIDS, rather than anti-retroviral drugs. And the leaders of the African National Congress — the governing party that holds more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament, and can therefore pass any legislation it wishes — has not lost its traditional zeal for Communism. Here'’s a newspaper account from The Star on the Fourth of July:

The ANC is not only set for a serious review of the constitutionally entrenched right to property (perhaps inspired by our very own Supreme Court?), but is also considering a moratorium on the sale of land to foreigners...

Delegates (to the party'’s national general council) also called for an investigation into the inaccessibility of prime land due to high prices and for property prices to be regulated.

Instead of wasting countless sums of money in the countries of Africa, Ledeen notes how the people would better be served by the forces of free-market capitalism and the "little platoons" espoused by Edmund Burke. For the free-market aspect these countries would be better served by establishing stronger property right laws thus providing a more stable environment for direct investment in factories and businesses by western investors. As for providing food aid and the much needed medicines to fight malaria and AIDS, the West should send more money to various private charities like the Agathos Foundation, who are held accountable for their finances and operational activities thus ensuring the monies are spent on what they were given for. Remember, that Scrooge kept his buisness going all those years because he kept a close watch on where every penny and shilling went. If you had more Scrooges in the world who were more wary of giving money wily-nily to any nation that cries "more money, more money," then the countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa would be better off instead of the status quo where the leaders grow fat and buy more fleets of S600L Mercedes-Benz for their friends and themselves.

America's Mayor

Fire of Liberty

Rudy Giuliani has once again demonstrated in his most recent Op/Ed in USA Today why he's known as "America's Mayor," with his call for America to steel itself from the forces of terror, especially with the powerful paragraphs:

Finally, Thursday's attacks demonstrate that we must remain committed to confronting and eliminating terrorism. There are those who assert that the efforts to eliminate terror are somehow provoking the terrorists. That is wrong. The terrorists have been attacking innocent people long before Sept. 11, 2001, or the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Seeing Prime Minister Blair speak so forcefully, with President Bush, President Jacques Chirac and other world leaders right behind him, was encouraging. Let's remember the unity the world shared after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Free nations can and will disagree. But let us always remember that free people must be steadfast and resilient in defending our way of life.

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy. I hope he runs for the Senate against Hillary, would garner great street cred from Conservatives and open doors in the VP spot.

Srebrenica: 10 years since.

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Christopher Hitchens has written a wonderful article over a Slate on the tenth anniversary of Srebrenica, where Serbian soldiers under the command of Gen. Mladic entered this Muslim town in Bosnia, which was being guarded by a contingent of Dutch soldiers, and ordered the people to give their guns, males between the age of 12 and 77 to be turned over for questioning and the rest of the population be deported to the Muslim areas. Within some two days the Dutch forces turned over some 5,000 Muslim males from Srebrenica and another 2,200 others to the Serb forces resulting in the mass slaughter of some 7,200 people. This tenth anniversary of this horror once again reminds you why the governments of Europe under the banner of the UN always have to call 1-800-HELPUSA when problems erupt. One can only imagine how Iraq would be under the Blue Helmets of the UN. In his typical fashion, Hitchens whacks a mean homerun by noting:

Stepping lightly over easy-listening moral cretinism like that of the Times' editorialist, one ought nonetheless to accept the implied challenge about Afghanistan and Iraq. Those of us who have supported the rescue of both countries have had to put up with a great deal of slander lately. We have been accused of being thoughtless war-mongers, sinister neoconservative cabalists, slaves to Halliburton, agents of Zionism, enemies of innocent Muslims, laptop bombardiers, armchair warriors, and much else besides. I generally find that these loud insults conceal a surreptitious note of queasy unease. We were right about Bosnia.

The European Union utterly failed Bosnia, which was in its very own "back yard." So did the United Nations. So did the Clinton-Gore administration, for as long as it regarded Milosevic as "containable" by the use of sanctions. Bosnia did not cease to be a killing field, and Serbia did not cease to be an aggressive dictatorship until the United States armed forces took a hand. The neoconservatives, to their great honor, mostly supported an effort to prevent genocide being inflicted on Muslims: an enterprise in which Israeli interests were not involved. Many liberal and socialist humanitarians took the same view. The argument about intervention and force changed forever as a result, except that many people did not notice. Just go and look up what the leaders of today's "anti-war" movement were saying then … too many civilian casualties (of all things!); the threat of a Vietnam-style "quagmire"; the lasting enmity of the Christian Orthodox world; above all the risk of a "longer war."

Here, here Mr. Hitchens, couldn't have said it better.

A Self-help plan for Africa

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Here's a piece from NRO's John Derbyshire which lays out an unique argument against shipping tons of cash to Africa. I think you'll find it interesting and very informative. Take a look.

Africa: A Better Solution

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Thomas Sowell has a wonderful column on how the call for pumping more money a food aid into the African continent that is trumpeted by the performers at Live 8 and by the intellectuals of the Left is actually an ineffective way of fighting poverty and famine. Sowell notes that if the people really want to solve the problems ravaging Africa then they should promote a sense of independence by allowing them to develop their own food crops thus promoting a Booker T. Washington "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps," mentality. You'll be surprized to see what nations can do when they have to grow their own corn, rice, or wheat instead or sitting idly by waiting for a government handout or a massive inflow of food from the West.

Now people will say that by shutting down such massive food shipments to Africa is cruel or greedy on the West's behalf but they fail to realize that this tough-love is Africa's solution to its continued decline. One only has to look throughout Asia, South America to discover how well off nations can be once they're released from the burdens of foreign food aid and have to grow their own crops. What's even better about producing your own food crops is that you are forced to adhere to the forces of free market capitalism and competition which generally results in an ample supply of commodities to sell nationally and to other nations thus causing all ships of these nations to rise with the tides. Along with freeing the people of Africa from massive shipments of cash and food, the leaders of the West also need to advocate that the governments of the respected nations in Africa have got to rid themselves of the corruption as well as the incompetent leaders who continue to take them down this "Highway To Hell." I think Sowell put it best about the ills of Africa in the following paragraphs:

With all its handicaps, Africa used to feed itself and even export agricultural produce to Europe. In some of the more geographically favored parts of sub-Saharan Africa, iron was smelted thousands of years ago.

During the first two decades after African nations gained their independence in the 1960s, one sub-Saharan nation that stood out with its economic prosperity and political stability amid economic disasters and social catastrophes among its neighbors was the Ivory Coast under President Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

Yet neither the Ivory Coast nor its leader attracted nearly as much attention, much less adulation, as was showered on Julius Nyerere in Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, or other big-name African leaders who led their countries into ruin.

The Ivory Coast in those days relied on markets instead of the kind of policies and rhetoric that the intelligentsia favored. When its policies changed, it became just another African basket case.

Unless the West begins to promote policies of self-dependence and oversight and shy away from policies that are just altruistic handouts, they will further chain the souls of the African people into even greater poverty and hunger. Lets pray someone is taking a look at wiser voices like Thomas Sowell when it comes to Africa.

Carry on Britannia

Fire of Liberty

Here's a good column in The Times by Gerard Baker. Take a peek:

But, my goodness, through the sorrow, the pride welled up in me yesterday. Pride at the selflessness of emergency workers, blood donors, plain ordinary people eager to help. Pride at the matter-of-fact, dignified calm with which Londoners faced unexpected horror. And I'’ll even admit to a little bit of pride for the first time ever in Ken Livingstone, whose remarks in Singapore managed to hit precisely the right tone.
But above all, I felt a surge of pride at the resilience and defiance of Londoners. They showed once again that fierce solidarity we have seen so many times when they have been tested; a determination to face down nihilistic terror and intimidation. What poured through the television screens yesterday was their will to elevate life over death, freedom over tyranny, love over hate. Nothing could better illustrate why our cause is right than what happened yesterday in Bloomsbury, the West End and the City.

I guess the fire is still in the great lion of England after all. I can just picture Churchill smiling in heaven on the wonderful fighting spirit of London Town.

Look inward for solutions

Fire of Liberty

While I've combed through the various articles and commentaries on the recent terrorist attacks in London, I seem to have found one of the best pieces so far in The Times by the wonderful Roger Scruton. The basic thesis of Scruton's Op/Ed is that the terrorists who launched the attacks did not set of these bombs because of a some past grievance or even socio-economic deficit but launched the it out of pure jealously of the advances in the Western world. As with all of Scruton's masterly works, one is always presented with a philosophical observation which is best told in his own unique way. So without further adieu, here's a taste of Scruton's work:

Success breeds resentment, and resentment breeds hate. This simple observation was made into the root of his political psychology by Nietzsche, who identified ressentiment, as he called it, as the distinguishing social emotion of modern societies: an emotion once ordered and managed by Christianity, now let loose across the world. I donÂ’t say that NietzscheÂ’s analysis is correct. But surely he was right to identify this peculiar motive in human beings, right to emphasise its overwhelming importance, and right to point out that it lies deeper than the springs of rational discussion.

In dealing with terrorism you are confronting a resentment that is not concerned to improve the lot of anyone, but only to destroy the thing it hates. That is what appeals in terrorism, since hatred is a much easier and less demanding emotion to live by than love, and is much more effective in recruiting a following. And when the object of hatred is a group, a race, a class or a nation, we can furnish from our hatred a comprehensive stance towards the world. That way hatred brings order out of chaos, and decision out of uncertainty — the perfect solution to the alienated Muslim, lost in a world that denies his religion, and which his religion in turn denies.

Of course hatred has other causes besides resentment. Someone who has suffered an injustice may very well hate the person who committed it. However, such hatred is precisely targeted, and cannot be satisfied by attacking some innocent substitute. Hatred born of resentment is not like that. It is a passion bound up with the very identity of the one who feels it, and rejoices in damaging others purely by virtue of their membership of the targeted group. Resentment will always prefer indiscriminate mass murder to a carefully targeted punishment. Indeed, the more innocent the victim, the more satisfying the act. For this is the proof of holiness, that you are able to condemn people to death purely for being bourgeois, rich, Jewish, or whatever, and without examining their moral record.

As you can see, the societies that allow such ideologies to fester and spur the actions of these deadly attacks in the Underground of London, need to take a more introspective look at how they could allow their society to reach such a dearth. It really amazing that a society that was the birthplace of advanced science and mathmatics, philosophy, as well as the the three monotheistictic faiths, can decline to the semi-archiac world that most people in the West generally think of when the hear the words "The Middle East." Though the Bush administration has played its part in removing such hot-beds of Islamic fundalmentalism by setting off a democratic tidalwave in various states in the region with the removal of Saddam and his regime in Iraq, it will still take the deep soul-searching of the peoples of the societies in the Islamic world to finally say enough is enough. Lets hope they take the word of Roger Scruton as well as the great Bernard Lewis about looking inward and not outward about their condition and cast aside the hatred so common to the region.

Lebanon: Can it become Paris of the Levant again?

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Here's a National Review Online Q&A with Professor Walid Phares on the future of Lebanon. If you want the skinny on the political machinations of Lebanon and the implications of The Cedar Revolution on the Middle East as a whole, then this interview with Phares is a good place to start.

Onward we go

Fire of Liberty

Ralph Peters has a great column in today's edition of The New York Post (registration required) on how the attack on London's underground and the double-decker bus has actually backfired on the terrorists. Here's a taste:

* Instead of intimidating the the heads of state at Gleneagles — from South Africa's Thabo Mbeki to Mexico's Vicente Fox — the terrorists reminded them all of the need for unity. If you catch a rerun of Tony Blair reading their joint statement, study the worried face of Jacques Chirac. He knows it could have been Paris.

* The terrorists expect a repeat of Madrid, with British support for free Iraq collapsing. But Londoners aren't madrileños. During the Blitz, they withstood massive Nazi terror attacks night after night. They've endured decades of IRA bombings. The English intelligentsia will find a way to blame America, but the British people will not yield to terror.

* They've spoiled the party for all those sympathizers in the West who had turned their attention away from Abu Ghraib for five minutes to demand more aid for Africa. As President Bush pointed out, the terrorists disrupted a summit focused on poverty. Africans watching events unfold will realize that their continent stands to lose far more than London did. Even a rock star or two might figure this one out.

* Despite the drama of the attacks, it's revealing that the terrorists couldn't do more. 7/7 wasn't 9/11. It wasn't even Madrid. Not every attack can be prevented, but Britain's tough anti-terror efforts clearly limited what the terrorists could achieve.

It's rather interesting to see the terrorists network of Al Qaeda disintegrating before our very eyes. Though people have suffered great losses and endured horrific injuries, it still shows you how much of a toll that the US led War on Terror has enacted on the "high command" of Jihad Inc. The only option before the house is for us to keep up the charge and roll up these terrorists once and for all. So, tally-ho!!!

Stiff lip Brits

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Here's a good column by Peter Worthington in today's Toronto Sun on how this attack on London will steel the reserve of Brits rather than toss them into chaos and timidity that the terrorists achieved in Spain. It's really refreshing to see nations like the UK putting up a stiff lip and refusing to bow before tyrants and terrorists who promote death.

SCOTUS fight

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As the month of July slowly fades into the dog days of August, we come closer and closer to the Battle Royal known as the Supreme Court selection/confirmation process that will emerge within the halls of the US Senate and in the MSM. While it has been some eleven years since the confirmation of Justice Breyer and some fourteen years since see Justice Thomas on "live TV" facing down wild-eyed diatribes from various Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Pejman Yousefzadeh over at Tech Central Station has written a wonderful article that reminds us of what a long fight is before this great nation. If you want to have a short but concise summary of what awaits President Bush's Supreme Court pick, then read this article. For those who prefer a more shortened look, here's a taste of Yousefzadeh's wonderful article:

Somehow, though, I am skeptical that Senator Leahy will be so accommodating. If he isn't, I hope that President Bush will consult with someone else about his nominee -- someone like law professor Todd Zywicki:

". . . the same nasty fight is going to occur regardless of who is nominated, and be just as nasty and expensive, regardless of who is nominated and the particular perception of whether he or she is moderate or conservative. So, it seems to me, the Bush Administration would be smart to simply nominate the best person that they want, and not be tricked into thinking that they can somehow avoid a nasty confirmation battle by nominating someone with a more 'moderate' perception."

So if there is going to be a fight (which there undoubtedly will be), they may as well at least make it someone worth fighting for.

Now that's consultation I can get behind.

I'd have to say that this pretty much sums it up, so get ready for a fight.

Iran: Democratic Movement on Rise?

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Earlier this week I directed you to an article in Vanity Fair by Christopher Hitchens which revealed the dangerous nature of the regime in Iran and how the people are itching to spread freedom and democracy throughout the ancient Persia. Well today I want to give you a heads up on Akbar Ganji, a journalist and dissident, who has been on a hunger strike some 27 plus days in Iran's notorious Evin prison of Tehran. Just look at what a July 6, 2005 editorial in The New York Sun had to say about this true Iranian democrat:

Mr. Ganji is ostensibly in jail for telling the truth about Iran's sham election last month. On medical release and warned to keep a low profile, Mr. Ganji gave an interview to the online political magazine, Iran Emrooz, in which he urged Iranians to boycott the polls. In the interview, he proposed that the powerful supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stand for office. And it has become clear that Mr. Ganji is willing to die for his right to express those opinions.

He was originally jailed in 1999 for publishing a book, "The Red Eminence" that exposed the role of his country's leaders in a string of murders of prominent liberal intellectuals. While in prison, he has written two manifestos on how ordinary Iranians can oust their rulers and build a true republic through civil disobedience directed against the authoritarian clerics that have infantilized a great and proud nation by professing to rule over the souls of its people. He is also an organizer of the movement to overturn the Islamic Republic's flawed constitution that vests so much unchecked power in the hands of an unelected guardian council and the supreme leader.

So when Mr. Ganji publishes a letter addressed to "free peoples everywhere," savvy persons take note. Mr. Ganji has earned the honor of being listened to. He writes that he has lost more than 40 pounds and that his jailors keep him largely in solitary confinement and deny him time to walk outdoors. "Today my broken face is the true face of the system in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mr. Ganji writes. "I am now the symbol of justice. The justice that, if viewed correctly, puts on display the full extent of the oppression of the rulers of the Islamic Republic."

I just hope that the people of Iran who want a more democratic government will get the much needed moral, political and economic support from the US and find a way to establish a democratic foothold or even a regime change thus removing the mullah's hob-nailed boots off their backs.

A New Partnership

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Michael Barone has a good piece in US News & World Report on the ever increasing strategic relationship between India and the United States with the most recent US-India Defense Relationship signed by the Secretary Rumsfeld and Defense Minister Mukherjee. Take a look at Barone's take on this strengthened relationship:

In any case, since September 11 Bush and his administration have moved closer and closer to India. It is obvious that the two countries have much in common: the English language, representative democracy, the rule of law. Since 1991, India has dismantled much of the "permit raj" that choked its economy, and its leaders have enabled the market to do its magic work of promoting economic growth. In recent years the Indian economy has been growing about 6 percent a year, and millions of Indians have moved out of poverty. India has become a center of high-tech innovation. And India, like the United States, has long been a target of jihadist terrorists.

Last Monday's agreement was another step in the process of adding to the list of America's military allies in Asia. Japan has recently been building its military forces and despite the pacifist clauses in its Constitution has aided us in Afghanistan and Iraq and has spoken out against a Chinese takeover of Taiwan. Australia was a major partner in Iraq and has taken the initiative on other occasions, notably on tsunami relief. Now we are building closer military ties with India.

I guess the Pentagon and the White House have been reading James C. Bennett's book The Anglosphere Challenge which notes that the strengthening of a relationship between nations with a common language and political systems like India and the US is essential to the future of the world and the promotion of freedom. Lets hope this relationship will blossom even further in the near future.

A light for Africa

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I think Marvin Olasky sums up the solution to the problems ravaging the African continent best in his most recent column. While we have people like Snoop Dog, Elton John and countless others at Live 8 trying to shame the G8 nations into sending more money to Africa to fight starvation, poverty and AIDS, Olasky notes that their are people who have gotten off their duffs and are doing things that garner results. One individual who's fighting the good fight in Africa is Robert Smith of the Agathos Foundation who has made it his mission in life to fight the scourge of AIDS in South Africa. Here's what Olasky has to say about Smith's work:

But the 32 orphans on the dusty Agathos property here along the almost-dry Tugela River are doing well, and Smith last month was trying to teach them not to throw their lives away. Wearing a t-shirt showing a tree planted by streams of water, he read to them the Ten Commandments, emphasizing, "Do not commit adultery," and told them of predictions that "90 percent of you will be dead by the age of 30."

Smith put his arm around one girl and said, "We're going to pretend that she's HIV-positive." He then asked her to speak to three others. Giggling, she complied. Those three then spoke to the others. "That is how AIDS spreads," he said, and contrasted that multiplication with Christ's emphasis on sex only within marriage to one other person.

That was different from what the teens hear at the nearby government medical clinic, which offers free condoms. But Smith insisted, "The Bible says sex with the person you marry is the only protected sex."

The teens were silent. Smith pressed his point: "We prevent getting AIDS by abstaining from sex until we are married. God designed sex for marriage. ... Those who are married know that sex is best when it's with one person for the rest of your life. God's design is always best for us. Right now, young men are sleeping with three, four, five girlfriends. That's why we have all these funerals."

Thank God we have people in this world like Rob Smith who actually does something rather than complain about the wealthy nations being "too stingy," to help Africa out. Lets hope more folks like Smith will step up and make a difference in the future.

Rule Britannia

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This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

--Richard II

UK's Steely Resolve

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"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''

--Winston Churchill - October 29, 1941

As we look at the horrific terrorist actions in the streets and subways of London this morning, we can be rest assured that Tony Blair will be as vigilant as Lord Churchill was during the dark days of WWII in responding to these acts of barbarism. This attack just demonstrates how important it is to take the war to the terrorist and refuse to let down on an evil that is always planning their next attack. If this doesn't demonstrate that this is a World-wide struggle against the forces of terror, I don't know what will. What I can say is that the US will be praying for the people of the UK and are ready to help. Expect the UK and US to kick the War on Terror up a notch.

Africa: More Money is not the Answer

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Paul Jackson has a good column in The Calgary Sun noting how the celebrity filled lovefest known as Live 8 is just one more example of how the elites feel they can solve any problem by throwing money at it. It's great that people and governments are willing to send more money to feed the starving children of Africa but it only tar-papers over the problem creating a mere temporary fix. You only have to look at Jackson's column to understand how such generosity can go array:

Before getting all weepy-eyed over the Live 8 stunt, I'd advise everyone to read Peter Goodspeed's probing series on Africa in the National Post. Few will be enthralled with the Live 8 circuses after that.

Goodspeed points that out over the past several decades, the western industrial democracies have poured $500 billion in foreign aid into Africa. Totalled with loans, which are frequently written off, the sum is a staggering $1 trillion U.S.

Yet, despite this largesse, Africa has become steadily poorer. In sub-Sahara Africa, the number of poor increased from 164 million in 1981 to 316 million in 2001. In 40 years Africa's share of world trade fell from 6% in 1980 to 2% today.

That's despite, Goodspeed explains, Africa having 90% of the world's cobalt, 90% of the world's platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its chromium, and 64% of its manganese. It has one-third of the world's uranium, and, Alberta's oil sands aside, more oil than North America. It is, in short, a fabulously rich continent.

Realistically, it shouldn't need foreign aid or the current write-offs on $40 billion in loans.

The Economist itself notes the so-called crushing interest on foreign-aid debts is fiction.

Madagascar, for instance, receives 14 times the amount in foreign aid than the yearly interest it pays on its debts.

Until their is a complete reform of the political system of these nations, more free trade which provides readily available markets for their goods, and donations to private charities rather than the corrupt governments of Africa, and the elimination of malaria via insecticides the nations of Africa will continue to stay on the "Highway to Hell" that they've been traveling down all these decades. We need to prescribe the theory of "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," to these nations rather than throw tons and tons of money towards some absurd boondoggle.

If you want to learn more about how this theory can be applied to the rescue of Africa, just check out Marvin O'Lasky's The Tragedy of American Compassion, P.T. Bauer's Reality and Rhetoric: Studies in Economic Development as wwell as George Ayittey's Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa's Future. Instead of falling back on the old standby of "more money," these individuals are focusing on the problems and coming up with policies that actually solve the problems at hand.

Venezuela: A Further Slide into Tyranny

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It looks like Hugo Chavez's forces of tyranny are trying their best to snuff out any group, movement that wants to spread the Fire of Liberty throughout Venezuela. Amongst the prime targets on Chavez's checklist of threats to his regime is Maria Corina Machado and her pro-democracy Sumate group, which has espoused a turn towards a more democratic government. As with all dictatorships throughout the World, Chavez has decided to revert to imprisoning his opponents via trumping up charges. Fortunately, Mrs. Machado has the eye of the State Department, The White House and the media during these momentary days of darkness. Just read what The Christian Science Monitor has to say about Machado in a recent article:

Her frustration reflects the mood of the opposition, which is still trying to pick itself up from Chávez's victory in last August's referendum. The charismatic and controversial president enjoys 70 percent support in polls and has a campaign chest filled by record world petroleum prices. The disparate opposition, meanwhile, lacks a single candidate or message to rally around. Some say that Machado, articulate and passionate about her ideas, could be the candidate to unite and motivate the opposition. She denies interest.

But that discussion will become moot if Machado goes to prison. She faces a charge of treason for allegedly signing the manifesto which dissolved the nation's democratic institutions during the ephemeral 2002 coup. Machado says she had simply visited the presidential palace and wrote her name on what she believed to be a sign-in sheet. The conspiracy charge against Machado and other Sumate directors stems from $53,000 the organization received from the US Congress-funded National Endowment for Democracy. Machado makes no apologies.

"It is legal, it is our right," she says of the foreign funds. "We have to do it, because if we concede, then the government has achieved what it wanted; they have intimidated us." But, Machado says, 95 percent of Sumate's funding comes from Venezuelans.

Machado vows she will see the trial through. Meanwhile, she is trying to continue her work. "If you're going to fight for democracy, this is something which you have to do every day, all day long," she says.

Machado also has the support of Fire of Liberty, which will continue to keep the flames of freedom burning for folks who stand up to tyrants. So keep up your good fight, we know who's wrong and a lot more people in Venezuela does to.

Live 8: Shameful

Fire of Liberty

Here's another reason why Live 8 is just another worthless lovefest of the elites in entertainment.

Hat tip to Warren Bell over @ The Corner

Go Rudy Go!

Fire of Liberty


During my daily ritual of scanning the various newspapers throughout the US, I came across a wonderful book review by Herbert London of Fred Siegel's The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life in The Washington Examiner. As you know from previous posts, I'm a big fan of Rudy and the policies that he used to turn New York City away from disaster. For anyone who hasn't had the inkling to discover the many gifts of this Giant of Gotham, Spiegel's The Prince of the City is a good starting place and is an excellent book to crack open this summer. Here's a taste of London's review:

Giuliani didn't arrive on a white horse to save the city. As Fred Siegel points out in this brilliant biography, there was great apprehension about the special prosecutor who had not held previous elected office. He didn't accept criticism gracefully. He demanded the spotlight. He was contentious and arrogant.

Yet he was also effective and thoughtful. As with many public figures, he was and remains a bundle of contradictions. He is the embodiment of New York: electric and daring, hopeful and aggressive.

Whatever the formula, Giuliani made New York work. Under his leadership, Times Square transformed from a district of iniquity into a stable family-friendly zone. As one sex hustler noted, with Giuliani there was "more police and less money. ... Makes you wanna get a regular job."

So head to the bookstore, Amazon or anywhere that sells books and get this book while the Summer is young.

RIP, Admiral Stockdale

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America has lost an genuine hero with the passing of Rear-Admiral James Stockdale who was a Medal of Honor recipient for his duty in Vietnam and 7 1/2 years of suffering and torment in a North Vietnamese POW camp. While hundreds of American officers and soldiers endured a living hell under the hands of their captors in the Hanoi Hilton, Stockdale with his strong determination and spirit seemed to find a way to torment his captors. Just look what his MOH citation had to say about this brave soul:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while senior naval officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners' of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Adm. Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt. Sensing the start of another purge, and aware that his earlier efforts at self-disfiguration to dissuade his captors from exploiting him for propaganda purposes had resulted in cruel and agonizing punishment, Rear Adm. Stockdale resolved to make himself a symbol of resistance regardless of personal sacrifice. He deliberately inflicted a near-mortal wound to his person in order to convince his captors of his willingness to give up his life rather than capitulate. He was subsequently discovered and revived by the North Vietnamese who, convinced of his indomitable spirit, abated in their employment of excessive harassment and torture toward all of the Prisoners of War. By his heroic action, at great peril to himself, he earned the everlasting gratitude of his fellow prisoners and of his country. Rear Adm. Stockdale's valiant leadership and extraordinary courage in a hostile environment sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Anyone who can endure such a hell at the hands of his enemy and not break under duress deserves the gratitude of this nation. In fact the Admiral would discover this nation's admiration for his service when he ran as Ross Perot's running mate in the 1992 Presidential Campaign. While I was only 15 when the 1992 election rolled around, I can still remember watching the Vice-Presidential Debates between Gore, Quayle, and Stockdale. Though I couldn't tell you about the policies being discussed, I can still remember Admiral Stockdale stepping up to the podium and stating "Who am I? Why am I here?" Now for a fifteen year old the man seemed to have brought a bit of humor and a breath of fresh air into what was a seemingly boring debate. In fact this humor and honesty on the behalf of Stockdale and Perot's populist message is generally seen as the reason why they both earned some 19% of the popular vote. So for those who credit Bill Clinton's flair and "third-way" as the reason for his election need to aim it towards Perot who dug a hole out of President GHW Bush's conservative fold.

Politics aside, please take a little moment from your busy lives to reflect on this American hero who failed to give into captors what spent countless days and nights trying to break him. God bless Admiral Stockdale for his service and love his nation.

Live 8, A Wasted Effort?

Fire of Liberty
Peter Worthington has a good column in The Toronto Sun noting the worthlessness of the Live 8 concert in the fight against starvation and poverty in Africa. While the aged rockers strummed their guitars, sang their songs and begged the people of the Western world to send piles and piles of money to solve the ills of Africa, they failed to condemn the actions of Mugabe, Gadafi, the tyrants in Sudan, Mubarak in Egypt and countless other leaders of African nations who grow fat while their people linger on with empty bellies and nary a shred of freedom from the government. Worthington summed it up best when he noted:

Blair, being a socialist, feels guilty about Africa and says it's a "scar on the conscience of the world" -- a basket case instead of a potential cornucopia.

This is a prevalent attitude, but it's also condescending, patronizing, elitist and nuts. Now the push is for developed countries to write off $40 billion in debts that Africa owes, as well as increasing aid to $50 billion a year by 2010, and $75 billion a year by 2015. Put that in everyday terms: Would it make debtors more responsible if banks cancelled debts and gave, rather than lent, more money? Is compulsive gambling cured by providing unlimited funds to gamblers? Are alcoholics helped by giving them free booze?

Africa's greatest problems are corruption and tribalism (i.e., racism). Foreign aid tends to keep dictators in power and prevents the people from being able to choose wise leaders and provide for themselves.

So lets depart from the "We are the World" nuttiness being promoted by the kings of the entertainment and accept the fact that actions like spreading democracy, promoting free trade, open government and ending the scourge of malaria rather than more money is the key to reversing the implosion of Africa. I guess when you live in a secluded bubble like the entertainers who appeared on the various Live 8 stages throughout the world do, then throwing money at a problem is right down their alley. Thank God these folks don't run the US Government.

Things are a changin' in Iraq

Fire of Liberty

David Frum had a good column in today's National Post on how improved the situation in Iraq has become. While the MSM has become so obsessed with the bombings that occur in Iraq, Frum notes that there have been a sea change of events throughout the Middle East since the Iraqi elections which have completely slipped below the media's radar. Here's a taste of the changes that Frum has noted in his column:

The vast majority of the victims of the insurgents' terror war are not American or coalition soldiers, but fellow-Iraqis and fellow-Muslims. The death toll by now numbers in the thousands, including bombings of the holiest site in Shiite Islam on Shiism's holiest day. The use of suicide bombings and jihad terrorism on such a large scale by Muslims against fellow-Muslims has triggered a perceptible reaction throughout the Islamic world.

In November, 2004, a group of 26 Saudi clerics issued a communique urging jihad against U.S. forces in Iraq. In the months since, coalition forces have apprehended a number of young Saudi men. Others have been identified after they carried out their terrorist attacks. As the toll has mounted, an unusual surge of self-criticism has been expressed in the tightly controlled Saudi media.

"...The propagation of [Islamic] words of wisdom and the good preaching have turned into propaganda for murder, abductions, and car bombs," complained a columnist in the official Saudi daily Al-Jazirah. "They [the preachers] have even turned suicide from something absolutely forbidden [by Islam] into something which, according to their religious law, is a means of becoming closer to Allah." (All quotes thanks to Memri.org, the Middle East translation service.)

A columnist in another official daily, Okaz, agreed:

" ...Instead of adding fuel to the fire in Iraq, these 26 clerics should have made clear the Sharia's stand concerning a Jihad of beheadings, the kidnapping of innocent [people] and blowing up booby-trapped cars and roadside bombs against pedestrians--children, women and the elderly ... what is going on today in Iraq is madness that feeds every day on the lives of innocent Iraqis and quenches its thirst with the forbidden blood that flows mercilessly through the streets of Iraq."

Meanwhile, Sunni clerics in Iraq have issued fatwas urging young Sunni men to join the Iraqi defence forces, and Muslim intellectuals resident in the West have been speaking out against the incitement preached in many of the mosques of Europe and America.

You know that the people of these nations have grown tired of suicide bombers, fundamentalism and tyrants when they begin to step out against the forces that have enthralled them in a dilapidated mire known as the Middle East. They realize that the only way for the Middle East to pull itself out of the muck and mire then it must jump on the democracy train before it leaves them at the station. On second thought, I think they're really embracing the Fire of Liberty that the Founding Fathers lit on July 4, 1776.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

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The Detriot News featured a piece by Father Robert Sirico, of the Acton Institute, in which he notes how the recent em>Kelo v. New London decision handed down by the Supreme Court is a tragic infringement on the God-given rights of all men. I particularly liked these paragraphs of Fr. Sirico's piece:

The Supreme Court's decision in the Kelo case stands in perfect opposition to the "ownership society" that President George Bush has been promoting. The ownership society is based on the empowerment of the individual citizen to be a steward of his own property. This is the foundation of a vigorous and healthy economy and society and, until now, one of the surest ways to limit government power.

In the Supreme Court's "new" ownership society, the very safety and security of God-given, inalienable rights are threatened. Pope Leo XIII was pointing to this when he described private ownership as "a natural right of man" and a right that must be held "sacred and inviolable."

I just hope folks in this country wake up and realize that the "robed ones" have a greater impact on their lives than the thought.

Hat Tip to Acton Institute Powerblog.

Supreme Court

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"If the policy of the government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court . . . the people will have ceased to be their own rulers."

Abe Lincoln

Mark Steyn has written yet another good piece in The Chicago Sun-Times on how the elites of this nation tend to cause bigger problems via their inteference. This time, Steyn has directed his eagle-eye on the nutty decisions of various swing-vote justices in the US Supreme Court. Whether its expanding "the takings" clause beyond the Constitution's intent to condemn an eldery lady who's lived in her beautiful home in Conn. since 1917 for a Phzier office complex because it will bring in more tax revenue or declaring that you can have the Ten Commandments outside of a courthouse but not inside, the "Supremes" have demonstrated how wishy-washy, hold-your-finger-in-the-air justices can wreak havoc on our nation and the Constitution. The only way to avoid such wacky rulings from the Supreme Court is for President Bush to appoint justices with a proven devotion to strict constructionism or Constitutional orginalism of Scalia or Thomas. Yeah, Bush might like Alberto Gonzalez and the job he's done in Texas and as AG but he's not going to risk his base and the future of the country in the hands of someone lacking the mettle and paper trail of Scalia, Thomas or even the Chief Justice. Another generation of squishy justices like Kennedy, Souter and O'Connor re-writing the Constitution for the "times" is something that this nation can ill afford.

Here's the Kelo house

Population Decline

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In today's edition of National Review Online's blog The Corner, Stanley Kurtz noted several articles on the continued population dearth throughout Europe and Asia. Just look here, here, here, here and here on the tragedy that awaits these nations. My best advice is for folks to start finding a wife or husband and start making some kids before their countries are filled with aged a retire people and no young people to keep their society going. So chop, chop.

Iran: A Nation Ready for Freedom

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During the extended holiday weekend, I came across a wonderful article by Christopher Hitchens in the most recent edition of Vanity Fair which focuses on the current state of the Iranian countryside. While reporters like Mrs. Amanpour of CNN generally reports the party line of Iran, Hitchens has ventured further into the populous of Iran and saw the continued struggle and utter disregard that they have for the mullahs. You'll be very surprised to see what the folks really have to say about their masters. I you have time, check it out.

Batman's version of "Broken Windows"

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During my lengthy day on the INTERNET, I came across a piece by Douglas Kern over at Tech Central Station which focuses on the deep philosophical messages in the movie Batman Begins. As Kern notes, the Capped Crusader is not in Gotham to face petty crimes that are constantly being committed by the everyday criminal but is set on ending the big-time criminals who are causing the internal rot of society by effectively destroying the whole Rule of Law framework and trying to impose their own demented sense of justice and thug law. So you could say that Batman is imposing his own "Broken Windows" policy on Gotham on a higher plane. He realizes that if you don't step up and target the criminal masterminds who are running rampant throughout Gotham spreading their ideas of "thug justice" then you eventually won't have a society to lose. I'd say that you could say that Batman has taken head of Edmund Burkes adage "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Though we could close this with my unique view of Batman's philosophical viewpoint but I thought you'd like to see it from Kern's viewpoint:

Just as rogue ninja cults make local justice impossible, so, too, do rogue nations make moral communities impossible. Totalitarian dictatorships are famous for offering "citizens" the choice between a moral death and a compromised life lived in the thrall of evil men and evil deeds. Every government will act wrongly at some point, but a rogue nation exterminates those forces that halt and correct the ordinary evils of the world. Such evil is not amenable to the ordinary exercises of influence. To a nation that exterminates its own people, words like "sovereignty" and "rule of law" are punch lines, not deterrents. Expecting the United Nations or the Popular Opinion of Rich Western Countries to stop rogue nations is like expecting the Gotham City Police to catch the Joker: it won't happen, but we'll get lots of dead bodies and grisly laughs along the way.

But if we accept that rogue nations require rogue crime-fighting nations to oppose them, we should remember the words of Master Yo- … er, Bob Dylan: to live outside the law, you must be honest. When we take down rogue nations, we are compelled to offer democracy in the place of tyranny. Even apart from the myriad benefits that democracy can bring to the oppressed, we must promote democracy for our own sake. Only by doing so can we ensure that our actions do not descend into arrogant vigilantism - or, worse, naked self-interest. By confining the scope of our actions to defending the right to make moral choices, we ensure that we remain Batmen, and not ninjas in the League of Shadows.

Many critics deride our efforts to spread democracy not because they will fail, but because they will succeed - perhaps bringing to power anti-democratic, totalitarian threats every bit as vicious as the one we depose. That's a risk we have to take. Sometimes you fight for justice for a murderer who really was guilty. Sometimes you fight for procedural justice and the jury hands down a stupid verdict anyway. And yes, sometimes you fight to give people freedom only to discover that the people choose not to choose, or that they choose barbarism to civilization. Freedom must entail the freedom to fail.

Beware any pundit of any political bent who tells you that the success or failure of freedom in any country is inevitable; with free will, nothing is preordained. When we fight, we fight for freedom and democracy not because they will always succeed (they won't) or because they will always serve our interests (they definitely won't) but because we will become the monsters if we fight for anything more - or less.

Let's just say that this Batman doesn't have time waxing philosophically, he's actually fighting the scourge that is spreading rot throughout the city and getting results. You could say he's the superhero version of Rudy Guiliani but with a cooler looking outfit, gadgets and a car.

Always Look Below the Surface for Gold

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While you've probably heard various law-makers like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Jay Rockerfeller along with people like Wesley Clark and Medeline Albright repeating the mantra that surveys show we're hated throughout the world. Even though these individuals cite these startling numbers, they're really are just looking at them through Rose colored glasses to harangue the President. The only problem is they're too quick to jump at the numbers instead of dwelling deeper and deeper in the polls to find a different story. Luckily, Anne Applebaum, with the help of the magazine Foreign Policy, has penned a wonderful article to demonstrate that US is truly loved when you get into the polls internals and break it down via age or socio/economic categories. Reading Applebaum's article will show you that the world doesn't quite think like the foreign policy doyens believe they do. So check out who really likes us.

Keep on going

Fire of Liberty

Ralph Kinney Bennett has a good piece over at Tech Central Station remind us of the fact that we are in a fight with a demented evil whose only option for life is death our a strict adherence to fundamentalist Islam. Bennett notes that in order to stop the spread of Islamofascism we have to continue taking the fight to them and demonstrate to the people in Iraq and throughout the Middle East how much more rewarding the spread of democracy can be. I think I'd prefer more freedom, the lack of radical terrorists/evil dictators, more food, Rule of Law(Not Saddam or Assad's version) and a whole lot of other things one's children and grandchildren can enjoy rather than the bleak and horrific future that Osama and others present. So, we've go to keep on rolling down the road of victory and remove all obstacles that bounce up. I think Bennett put it best when he noted:

The rising numbers of foreign fighters who have made their way to Iraq are not fighting "for Iraq" They are there to kill "infidels" and those Muslims who are worse than infidels for their apostasy or indifference. They are there to continue the task they feel was so gloriously joined by the murderers who flew those planes into the World Trade Center at the outset of this long, bloody struggle.

Those fatuous lawmakers who float talk of "timetables" and gibber about "quagmires" and think we can simply "come home" from this fight, are guilty at the least of a monstrous ignorance.

We are taking a hard pounding, but we have taken harder. Our troops have the stomach to take it and pound back, but if they sense that we back home have lost our nerve then the fight is lost. The majority of us, who have had to make little or no sacrifice in this war, should at the least be signaling by the millions this July 4th that we not only support our military, but also the winning of this fight.

Somehow we must make it clear - to our troops, to our lawmakers, to our president - that we have the mettle and the patience for this; that we are prepared to sacrifice and fight, not merely "for democracy," but against implacable hatred - a hatred impervious to council, to appeal, even to weariness; an exterminating hatred that must itself be exterminated.

Well said. I hope some of those backsliding Senators who voted for the war but are complaining now will get the point. Lets hope.

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

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In yesterday's edition of USA Today, I came across this wonderful article that demonstrates how great this nation is and why I love it so. Here's a sample:

"I choose the citizenship because I believe what the Americans believe, their value system, their freedoms,"” says Army chaplain Jin Hee Chang, 41, a native of South Korea who came to the USA 12 years ago. He was naturalized June 23 in Syracuse, N.Y. "Now I feel like they are my people."”

Birgit Smith, a native of Germany, felt an overwhelming sense of inclusion from Americans long before she took the oath of allegiance in May. A civilian, she is the widow of Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith, who died April 4, 2003, while single-handedly fighting off a counterattack by dozens of Iraqi troops during the invasion. He saved an equal number of American troops through his actions. He was the first servicemember to receive the highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, in more than a decade.

On the Ford Explorer that Birgit Smith drove on shopping trips in Holiday, Fla., she had a decal with gold lettering that read: "“In loving memory of Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith."” People recognizing the name would honk horns, salute or wave to her. Others would motion for Birgit to pull over so they could give her a tearful hug, or would leave notes of appreciation on her windshield in parking lots.

She was overwhelmed by the response. "After Paul's death, I definitely wanted to become an American," she says. "“I saw more how the American people are, how grateful they are, how they care."

Although Birgit Smith's citizenship process was already underway before her husband died, one of the immigration changes instituted by Congress for servicemembers is designed to benefit their families. If a servicemember who is a U.S. citizen dies in the line of duty, foreign-born members of his or her family can now seek citizenship, even if they are not legal residents. This is also possible in cases in which the servicemember is made a citizen posthumously.

I guess this is the best demonstration of how the US really is a big ole melting pot. Happy July 4th.