Fire of Liberty
Peter Worthington has a great column in The Toronto Sun on James J. Braddock, the boxer portrayed by Russell Crowe in the summer blockbuster Cinderella Man.
Friday, June 10, 2005
What Gulag?
Fire of Liberty
Of all the various articles and columns that I've read on the whole Gitmo/Koran affair, I'd have to say that Max Boot has written the best argument against the inane claims by Amnesty International and other "Human Rights" groups have made. Just look at what Boot had to say yesterday in The Los Angeles Times:
Also, check out Anne Applebaum column from The Washington Post. As an learned journalist/historian on the Soviet "Gulag" system, Anne has spent an extensive time studying a true tyranny that deserved a gaze from Amnesty's investigative eyes. Take a peek at Applebaum's look at the Koran incidents:
Of all the various articles and columns that I've read on the whole Gitmo/Koran affair, I'd have to say that Max Boot has written the best argument against the inane claims by Amnesty International and other "Human Rights" groups have made. Just look at what Boot had to say yesterday in The Los Angeles Times:
At Gitmo, personnel receive instructions: "Do not disrespect the Koran (let it touch the floor, kick it, step on it)." They must "handle the Koran as if it were a fragile piece of delicate art." This means ensuring "that the Koran is not placed in offensive areas such as the floor, near the toilet or sink, near the feet, or dirty/wet area." Only Muslim chaplains and interpreters are actually supposed to touch a Koran, and then only if wearing clean latex gloves. Moreover: "Two hands will be used at all times when handling the Koran in a manner signaling respect and reverence."You'd think that Amnesty and the other groups should no be focusing more on nations who are known human rights violators rather a nation that pays a great deference to the rights of it's captured terrorists by providing them a Muslim diet, Korans, arrows pointing towards Mecca, prayer rugs and other accommodations. Why isn't Amnesty reporting more on the daily abuses in Iran, Syria, Zimbabwe, Libya, Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and the countless hell-holes that provide no deference to their captives but prefer to beat, torture, rape and murder them instead. I guess that salacious headlines and getting Amnesty International's face out there on T.V. is more important than the truth.. Once again the liberal partisans have tarnished another good organization that once reported the true horrors of Soviet Russia and Communist China. As Edith and Archie say in the opening of All in The Family, "Those were the days."
The Hood report suggests that, for the most part, this elaborate etiquette is obeyed. The worst lapse, splashed (so to speak) across front pages around the world, occurred March 25, when a guard urinated outside an air vent and some of his urine blew into a cell and onto an inmate and his Koran. Human rights absolutists should be relieved (sorry, can't help myself) to know that the detainee received a fresh uniform and a new Koran, and the guard was reprimanded and reassigned.
Also, check out Anne Applebaum column from The Washington Post. As an learned journalist/historian on the Soviet "Gulag" system, Anne has spent an extensive time studying a true tyranny that deserved a gaze from Amnesty's investigative eyes. Take a peek at Applebaum's look at the Koran incidents:
A few years ago I spent several days sitting in the back of a library in London, reading through newsletters, pamphlets and other accounts of Soviet prison conditions published in the 1970s and '80s by Amnesty International. Sometimes these reports were remarkably detailed, testifying to the extraordinary ability of prisoners to smuggle out their stories. One included the memorable observation that on Sept. 13, 1979, the prisoner Zhukauskas "found a white worm" in his soup. A more harrowing 1987 news release told the story of the hunger strike and prison death of dissident writer Anatoly Marchenko. His widow, denied a death certificate or a proper funeral, wrote his name in ballpoint pen on his makeshift grave.I love writers/journalists who look at things with open eyes. Just wish Amnesty would do the same.
But Amnesty also published more general information about the Soviet political system, the whole of which — the state-run media, the courts, the secret police — was geared to the suppression of political dissent. This was important work, not least because most Soviet citizens were too frightened to do it. After all, during Joseph Stalin's lifetime, still a recent memory, some 25 million people had been arrested in the Soviet Union, mostly arbitrarily, and placed in thousands of forced-labor camps and exile villages all over the country. Millions died of starvation and overwork. This prison camp system, known as the gulag, cast such a horrific shadow that people were still afraid of it, 30 years after Stalin's death.
Amnesty, in other words, was an organization that once knew the meaning of the word "gulag." Amnesty also once knew the importance of political neutrality. On its Web site, the organization still describes itself as "independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion." In the Cold War era, this neutrality was important, since it prevented the organization's publications, whether on prison food or prison deaths, from being seen as propaganda for one side or another.
South America: A Socialist Reversion
Fire of Liberty
Carlos Ball has an interesting piece over at Tech Central Station on the spiraling decline of various states in South America due to the onslaught of socialist/communist revivals via the election of the likes of Chavez in Venezuela, Kirchner of Argentina, and Lula of Brazil. Here's a brief snippet:
Carlos Ball has an interesting piece over at Tech Central Station on the spiraling decline of various states in South America due to the onslaught of socialist/communist revivals via the election of the likes of Chavez in Venezuela, Kirchner of Argentina, and Lula of Brazil. Here's a brief snippet:
Chile and El Salvador are practically the only exceptions, but I am skeptical of the Chilean future, seeing that Socialist President Ricardo Lagos has chosen to undermine the successful policies of the Chicago Boys by a brutal campaign to destroy the good names of those associated with the Pinochet regime. Allende's terrorists are now being officially converted into democratic martyrs, receiving monetary compensation for their "patriotism and courage," while former military officers and civilians close to Pinochet are accused of crimes they did not commit. It can be done because the Socialists control the judiciary, and the American media plays along.It's a pretty good read on a growing crisis south of our border.
So now we have South America ruled by the likes of Chavez, Kirchner, and Lula. Lula succeeded Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, the same Cardoso I mentioned before alongside Presbich, but who considered Lula too far to the Left. Kirchner has presided over the largest default and robbery in the history of the world, and Chavez, who was kept in power by the open support of the Organization of American States and of former President Jimmy Carter after a fraudulent referendum last August, is turning Venezuela into a new Cuba, but with billions of petrodollars to finance his uninhibited hate of free markets and the United States.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Aussie Friends
Fire of Liberty
Here's a good piece by Michael Rubin over @ NRO on the US's staunchest Anglo-Saxon supporter, John Howard and his fellow "Diggers" (Sign of respect for their fighting spirit) of Australia.
Here's a good piece by Michael Rubin over @ NRO on the US's staunchest Anglo-Saxon supporter, John Howard and his fellow "Diggers" (Sign of respect for their fighting spirit) of Australia.
NATO Member States Should Boost Defense Spending
Fire of Liberty
According to this article from The Financial Times, General James Jones who is US Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Our guy at NATO) has wrapped the fingers of the some member nations of NATO who refuse to raise their defense budgets. Just look at what Gen. Jones had to say to the various defense ministers on their reluctance to beef up their budgets:
Update: After reading more reports in The Financial Times on the defense budgets of the 26 NATO member nations, I discovered who has been drifting below the gentelman's promise of 2% that Gen. Jones mentioned.
Below 2% - Czech Republic, Italy and Norway.
2% or Above - Bulgaria, France, Greece, Romania, Turkey, UK and the US.
I just hope that the other 19 nations will find it in their best interests to straigtin' up and flight right by increase their defense expenditures, especially with missions like an airlift of some 5,000 African troops to Darfur and peacekeeping in Afghanistan.
According to this article from The Financial Times, General James Jones who is US Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (Our guy at NATO) has wrapped the fingers of the some member nations of NATO who refuse to raise their defense budgets. Just look at what Gen. Jones had to say to the various defense ministers on their reluctance to beef up their budgets:
"Sadly for the alliance most nations are slipping behind the so-called gentleman's agreement at [Nato's 2002 summit in] Prague," said Gen Jones, who is also the US's most senior soldier in Europe. "The 2 per cent floor is becoming a ceiling."It's sad that the nations who argue that the US needs to be more multilateral and consult them more are so cheap in picking up the slack. I guess that's what happens when they have the US on speed-dial if a disaster sprouts up.
A recent French investigation found that France and Britain accounted for nearly half of all European spending on military equipment over the past three years. France and Britain are also two of only four European countries that spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence, compared with over 3 per cent in the US.
Gen Jones charged that several countries had failed to improve defence capabilities, focusing on cost saving rather than on creating forces that are easier to deploy.
"Even in countries where they are trying to call it [defence] transformation, some of them are not just reducing their forces but also their budgets . . . That is not transformation in my mind," he said.
Update: After reading more reports in The Financial Times on the defense budgets of the 26 NATO member nations, I discovered who has been drifting below the gentelman's promise of 2% that Gen. Jones mentioned.
Below 2% - Czech Republic, Italy and Norway.
2% or Above - Bulgaria, France, Greece, Romania, Turkey, UK and the US.
I just hope that the other 19 nations will find it in their best interests to straigtin' up and flight right by increase their defense expenditures, especially with missions like an airlift of some 5,000 African troops to Darfur and peacekeeping in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
UN Reform
Fire of Liberty
It seems the US is getting serious about holding the UN responsible for its actions. According to The Financial Times, the House International Relations Committee have approved a measure via 25-22 vote in which the US would withhold half of it's $500 million dues. The only way for the UN to resolve this impasse would is through reform such as the simplification of its bureaucracy, prevention of human rights violators like Cuba, Sudan and Libya from sitting on the UN human rights commission and the creation of an independent oversight board and ethics office, especially after the Oil for Food Scandal and the problems in the Congo.
I just hope that the Senate will get some guts and push Bolton through but I'd settle for a recess appointment.
It seems the US is getting serious about holding the UN responsible for its actions. According to The Financial Times, the House International Relations Committee have approved a measure via 25-22 vote in which the US would withhold half of it's $500 million dues. The only way for the UN to resolve this impasse would is through reform such as the simplification of its bureaucracy, prevention of human rights violators like Cuba, Sudan and Libya from sitting on the UN human rights commission and the creation of an independent oversight board and ethics office, especially after the Oil for Food Scandal and the problems in the Congo.
I just hope that the Senate will get some guts and push Bolton through but I'd settle for a recess appointment.
Freedom: Well worth the risk
Fire of Liberty
Once again, it's amazing what the Cuban people will do to get out of Castro's gulag and enjoy the freedom of our shores. Its about time the US will starts upping its support for the large dissident community in their efforts to remove El Hefe from his perch in Havana. It'd be nice if Castro just dropped dead but that would be too kind for a man who has the blood of tens of thousands of people on his hands. I'm thinking a firing squad like the one used against Ceausescu in Romania, seems more appropriate to me.
Once again, it's amazing what the Cuban people will do to get out of Castro's gulag and enjoy the freedom of our shores. Its about time the US will starts upping its support for the large dissident community in their efforts to remove El Hefe from his perch in Havana. It'd be nice if Castro just dropped dead but that would be too kind for a man who has the blood of tens of thousands of people on his hands. I'm thinking a firing squad like the one used against Ceausescu in Romania, seems more appropriate to me.
CAFTA: A good thing
Fire of Liberty
Here's a column by National Review's Rich Lowry on how the Democrats in Congress have decided to throw up a protectionist brick wall next week when the legislation on CAFTA comes to the floor of the House. It shows you how determined the various special interests groups (unions, environmentalists, anti-globalization groups) are at refusing to allow the passage of a free-trade agreement because the other nation's don't meet the same labor standards as the US does. What these groups don't understand is that in order for these nation's to get to these standards and conditions of the US is through economic growth which can't be achieved as long as their locked out of the system by massive tariffs. In the long run the opening of these markets via free-trade agreements like CAFTA end up benefiting the people of Central America who can make money thus improving their living standards which allows them to buy products made by the factories that employ AFL-CIO workers. Instead of complaining and standing behind a protectionist wall, the various workers should put their energies towards greater productivity to produce even more products that will be purchased by the people in Central America.
Just see for yourself the benefits that the US and Central American countries will reap from the passage of free-trade agreements like CAFTA:
The agreement is a win-win. The University of Michigan estimates that it would boost U.S. income by $17 billion and Central American income by $5 billion. Thanks to their proximity to the U.S., CAFTA countries together constitute the 13th-largest U.S. trading partner. Forward-looking leaders in the region have made CAFTA a centerpiece of their development strategies, hoping to create a virtuous circle of economic growth feeding and building on political and economic reform.
Chile is a model. The U.S. trade agreement with Chile that went into effect in 2004 expanded exports between both countries by 30 percent its first year. As State Department official Robert Zoellick pointed out in a recent speech, "The country in Latin America that has dramatically reduced inequality, unemployment and poverty in recent decades while also increasing real wages and pensions for working families is Chile — the country that has most opened its economy to free trade."
The various members of the House can hem and haw about deal hurting the workers of America but they fail to realize that this is a world economy that needs buyers and sellers who aren't restrained by burdensome tariffs and protectionist measures that hinder growth and make corporations fat off the government teet.
Also, check out this editorial from The Washington Examiner supporting the passage of CAFTA. You'll learn a lot from this short but factual piece.
Here's a column by National Review's Rich Lowry on how the Democrats in Congress have decided to throw up a protectionist brick wall next week when the legislation on CAFTA comes to the floor of the House. It shows you how determined the various special interests groups (unions, environmentalists, anti-globalization groups) are at refusing to allow the passage of a free-trade agreement because the other nation's don't meet the same labor standards as the US does. What these groups don't understand is that in order for these nation's to get to these standards and conditions of the US is through economic growth which can't be achieved as long as their locked out of the system by massive tariffs. In the long run the opening of these markets via free-trade agreements like CAFTA end up benefiting the people of Central America who can make money thus improving their living standards which allows them to buy products made by the factories that employ AFL-CIO workers. Instead of complaining and standing behind a protectionist wall, the various workers should put their energies towards greater productivity to produce even more products that will be purchased by the people in Central America.
Just see for yourself the benefits that the US and Central American countries will reap from the passage of free-trade agreements like CAFTA:
The agreement is a win-win. The University of Michigan estimates that it would boost U.S. income by $17 billion and Central American income by $5 billion. Thanks to their proximity to the U.S., CAFTA countries together constitute the 13th-largest U.S. trading partner. Forward-looking leaders in the region have made CAFTA a centerpiece of their development strategies, hoping to create a virtuous circle of economic growth feeding and building on political and economic reform.
Chile is a model. The U.S. trade agreement with Chile that went into effect in 2004 expanded exports between both countries by 30 percent its first year. As State Department official Robert Zoellick pointed out in a recent speech, "The country in Latin America that has dramatically reduced inequality, unemployment and poverty in recent decades while also increasing real wages and pensions for working families is Chile — the country that has most opened its economy to free trade."
The various members of the House can hem and haw about deal hurting the workers of America but they fail to realize that this is a world economy that needs buyers and sellers who aren't restrained by burdensome tariffs and protectionist measures that hinder growth and make corporations fat off the government teet.
Also, check out this editorial from The Washington Examiner supporting the passage of CAFTA. You'll learn a lot from this short but factual piece.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
A Rising Dragon
Fire of Liberty
On a recent visit to a conference at the International Institute of Security Studies in Singapore, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld expressed his concern for China's increased military expenditure and its continued failure to provide political freedom to its people. Well, Secretary of State Rice has expressed her concern as well during her travel to the general assembly of the OAS in Florida. Just read what Bill Gertz reported in The Washington Times on this mutual concern between State and Defense. It about time they work together and present a concordant message, which is the Bush Doctrine.
On a recent visit to a conference at the International Institute of Security Studies in Singapore, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld expressed his concern for China's increased military expenditure and its continued failure to provide political freedom to its people. Well, Secretary of State Rice has expressed her concern as well during her travel to the general assembly of the OAS in Florida. Just read what Bill Gertz reported in The Washington Times on this mutual concern between State and Defense. It about time they work together and present a concordant message, which is the Bush Doctrine.
Monday, June 06, 2005
WWII: A Serious Take
Fire of Liberty
For anyone who takes the WWII generation seriously and want to avoid the media generated paup from the MSM, then David Gelernter has a must read over at Opinion Journal (registration required). Check it out here.
For anyone who takes the WWII generation seriously and want to avoid the media generated paup from the MSM, then David Gelernter has a must read over at Opinion Journal (registration required). Check it out here.
Liberty's Calling
Fire of Liberty
William Rees-Mogg has a wonderful piece in The Times on the future that awaits the EU with the "No" vote in France and Holland. In his column, Rees-Mogg notes that while the European nation's general public have demonstrated its euro-skeptic sentiments, the elites running the show will continue to use their various institutions to push their will on the people. Just take a peek at his column:
William Rees-Mogg has a wonderful piece in The Times on the future that awaits the EU with the "No" vote in France and Holland. In his column, Rees-Mogg notes that while the European nation's general public have demonstrated its euro-skeptic sentiments, the elites running the show will continue to use their various institutions to push their will on the people. Just take a peek at his column:
However, triumphalism can only last so long — 24 hours is usually quite long enough. There still remains the issue of the future of Europe; despite the votes of France and the Netherlands, and the shift of the whole mood of Europe, these votes have decided only one thing. The proposed European constitution is not acceptable to the people of Europe, when they are allowed a vote.Though the elites have envisioned a political Europe with its powercenter in Brussels, they have failed to respect the individual rights of the people who live in their own sovereign nations who see and things from various perspectives than other nation which make up the 25 member states. I think Rees-Mogg put it best when he concluded:
The constitution is dead, but the project which created it is still alive. So are the institutions, the Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice. All of them will continue to try to maximise their own authority, at the expense of the people and of the national parliaments.
When the French voted "“non”," Europe was not on a high road to a democratic and liberal future, but was marching towards a bureaucratically controlled society, with high taxes, high costs and gross overregulation. All that has happened — and it is a great deal — is that the French voters have thrown up a road block. The European army has been halted on the road, but most of its marshals still believe that the ultimate destination is the bureaucratic prison camp that most of the peoples of Europe detest.
The European countries already have their own systems of democracy. They are best qualified to decide the social arrangements that suit them best. The French are prepared to pay the price of French social welfare; the British are prepared to work longer hours. These decisions are for them and for us. The European Union, particularly since the disastrous Maastricht treaty, has invaded the space of the European nations. We need to cut it back to size — and its natural size is that of a common market.Well said, carry on you valiant warrior of liberty and sovereignty.
European Defense Spending
Fire of Liberty
Looks like the Europeans have come to the conclusion that their continued anemic defense spending has put a serious dent in its defense posture and global reach. See this article in The Financial Times on this eureka moment.
Looks like the Europeans have come to the conclusion that their continued anemic defense spending has put a serious dent in its defense posture and global reach. See this article in The Financial Times on this eureka moment.
D-Day 61 years later
Fire of Liberty
Today we reflect on the 61st anniversary of D-Day when hundreds of thousands of US, British and Canadians stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled the heights of Pointe du Hoc under a hail of gunfire and mortars to break through Hitler's Fortress Europe. While I could go on about my glowing pride about these brave souls who fought and died to free Europe and the world from the Nazi war machine, I felt that Henry V's speech on St. Crispian day from Act IV, Scene iii of William Shakespeare's Henry V was the best tribute.
Today we reflect on the 61st anniversary of D-Day when hundreds of thousands of US, British and Canadians stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled the heights of Pointe du Hoc under a hail of gunfire and mortars to break through Hitler's Fortress Europe. While I could go on about my glowing pride about these brave souls who fought and died to free Europe and the world from the Nazi war machine, I felt that Henry V's speech on St. Crispian day from Act IV, Scene iii of William Shakespeare's Henry V was the best tribute.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
So take some time out of your busy schedule and think about the brave men who went through hell to free the World. (Photo from www.historynet.com)
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Democracy: Its Catchy
Fire of Liberty
It seems the Fire of Liberty seems to be burning even brighter in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. According to this article in The Guardian, it seems that the citizens of this tiny nation have had enough of their dictatorial government and organized a massive protest of 10,000 people in the capital city Baku. From the looks of things, it seems that people power and the desire for democratic freedoms is changing the tide of things once again. I especially like the following paragraphs from the piece:
It seems the Fire of Liberty seems to be burning even brighter in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. According to this article in The Guardian, it seems that the citizens of this tiny nation have had enough of their dictatorial government and organized a massive protest of 10,000 people in the capital city Baku. From the looks of things, it seems that people power and the desire for democratic freedoms is changing the tide of things once again. I especially like the following paragraphs from the piece:
The massive rally in Baku was the largest opposition demonstration in the former Soviet republic since October 2003, when one person died and nearly 200 were injured in clashes between police and demonstrators protesting vote-rigging in the presidential election.It amazing how much of an influence President Bush and his call for Democracy has amongst the people in these far away lands. And yet the press and various foreign policy gurus like Madeline Albright and Wesley Clark keep on quoting how much the world hates us. Seems, to me these folks need to visit Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon and Azerbaijan and see how wrong they are.
Tensions have been building steadily in this oil-rich Caspian Sea nation in the run-up to parliamentary elections set for November, leading some observers to predict that Azerbaijan could see a massive uprising similar to those that toppled unpopular regimes in other ex-Soviet nations of Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan during the past 18 months.
Supporters of several opposition parties chanted ``Freedom!'' and ``Free Elections!'' while holding placards with such slogans as ``Down with robber government!'' Some carried a picture of Bush with the inscription: ``We want freedom!''
Saturday, June 04, 2005
EU Reading
Fire of Liberty
Here's several more articles on the recent votes on the EU Constitution referendum in France and Holland:
First, here's an editorial from National Review Online, which notes that the EU Constitution was a hindrance to a nation's sovereignty and lacks all aspects of a real constitution that limits the power of government.
Second, Max Boot has written a great column in The LA Times on how angry the voters in these nations are towards their leaders and their stagnant socialistic/centralistic ideas, namely the EU Constitution.
Third, here's a piece by David Brooks in The New York Times on how the Europe faces a demographic decline via abnormally low birth rates and its idiotic desire to cling to the failed policies of Keynesian style liberalism. He seems to have a good grasp on Europe's problems and it gels with Boot's thesis.
Fourth, check out Austin Bay's column, which presents a alternative solution to the EU that is based on free-market capitalism, reduced regulation, economic liberalism, low taxes and pro-US relations. Bay notes the US can offer such a partnership to Ireland, Britain, and Holland and call it the North Atlantic Free Trade Association. Sounds good to me.
Fifth, here's John O'Sullivan's column in The Chicago Sun-Times which has an interesting Plan B to rescue the beleaguered the EU especially with France and Holland rejecting the EU Treaty. Just see O'Sullivan's plan:
I'd say this is enough to read now. I promise I'll move past the EU soon.
Here's several more articles on the recent votes on the EU Constitution referendum in France and Holland:
First, here's an editorial from National Review Online, which notes that the EU Constitution was a hindrance to a nation's sovereignty and lacks all aspects of a real constitution that limits the power of government.
Second, Max Boot has written a great column in The LA Times on how angry the voters in these nations are towards their leaders and their stagnant socialistic/centralistic ideas, namely the EU Constitution.
Third, here's a piece by David Brooks in The New York Times on how the Europe faces a demographic decline via abnormally low birth rates and its idiotic desire to cling to the failed policies of Keynesian style liberalism. He seems to have a good grasp on Europe's problems and it gels with Boot's thesis.
Fourth, check out Austin Bay's column, which presents a alternative solution to the EU that is based on free-market capitalism, reduced regulation, economic liberalism, low taxes and pro-US relations. Bay notes the US can offer such a partnership to Ireland, Britain, and Holland and call it the North Atlantic Free Trade Association. Sounds good to me.
Fifth, here's John O'Sullivan's column in The Chicago Sun-Times which has an interesting Plan B to rescue the beleaguered the EU especially with France and Holland rejecting the EU Treaty. Just see O'Sullivan's plan:
In reality there is always a Plan B, even if the politicians avoid considering it until Plan A has collapsed. Under this particular Plan B, the United States would rescue Turkey and the EU from their joint crises while also advancing U.S. interests in transatlantic integration.Sounds good to me.
It would work as follows:
First, the EU and the United States (together with its partners in NAFTA) would merge their markets to form TAFTA -- or a transatlantic free trade area.
Second, they would invite all the existing European countries not in the EU, including Turkey, Norway and Switzerland, to join this enlarged TAFTA. (Ukraine, Russia and Latin American countries outside NATFA would be eligible to join once they met criteria similar to those required for EU entry.)
Third, this TAFTA would establish joint procedures for harmonizing existing and new regulations between NAFTA, the EU and non-EU states,.
Fourth, free movement of labor would not be a provision in TAFTA, but there would be preferential immigration rules between members.
I'd say this is enough to read now. I promise I'll move past the EU soon.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Iraq Turning Corner
Fire of Liberty
Ralph Kinney Bennett has a excellent piece over at Tech Central Station on our increasing successes in Baghdad and throughout Iraq that few in the MSM will tell you.
Ralph Kinney Bennett has a excellent piece over at Tech Central Station on our increasing successes in Baghdad and throughout Iraq that few in the MSM will tell you.
Castro's Regime of Terror
Fire of Liberty
Here's a good column by Kathryn Jean Lopez on the terror of Cuba, Fidel Castro. Lopez presents an interesting look at the hell the Cuban people endure everyday under Castro but she also points out the forces of good in Cuba and the US who are trying their best to push El Hefe aside in the ash-heap of history.
Here's a good column by Kathryn Jean Lopez on the terror of Cuba, Fidel Castro. Lopez presents an interesting look at the hell the Cuban people endure everyday under Castro but she also points out the forces of good in Cuba and the US who are trying their best to push El Hefe aside in the ash-heap of history.
Cedar Shoals
Fire of Liberty
Michael J. Totten has a great piece over at Tech Central Station on his month long stay in Lebanon where he witnessed and interacted first-hand with the folks of the Cedar Revolution. Totten's piece truly demonstrates how powerful the desire for democracy and national unity can be in a nation that's experienced so much strife and turmoil during its Civil War and Syrian occupation. Here's one for Lebanon and its Cedar Revolution.
Michael J. Totten has a great piece over at Tech Central Station on his month long stay in Lebanon where he witnessed and interacted first-hand with the folks of the Cedar Revolution. Totten's piece truly demonstrates how powerful the desire for democracy and national unity can be in a nation that's experienced so much strife and turmoil during its Civil War and Syrian occupation. Here's one for Lebanon and its Cedar Revolution.
Think Wisely Mr. Blair
Fire of Liberty
While the Blair government continues to publicly deny it will kill the EU referendum for the sake of the EU, it has become clearly evident via various government sources and press reports that UK foreign minister Jack Straw will go before the House of Commons and call the 2006 treaty referendum dead. This demand for the delay or even termination of the EU referendum within the UK government is due to the fact that the Blair government is so closely tied to the promotion of the EU and would find it a terrible embarrassment if the same results occurred in the UK like it did in France and the Netherlands. (Blair doesn't want to end his tenure as PM in a failed "yes" vote.) Unlike the French and Dutch who were slightly optimistic about passing the EU referendum, the Blair government realizes that the UK public is adamantly opposed to a further intergration into the EU. As with all politicians who promote a "third way" (Bill Clinton, Blair), the Blairites are always calculating the odds of success and failure and are constantly monitoring the polls to see how their policies/ideas play with the public. I guess Blair's poll watchers got a early preview of a Mori poll conducted by The Sun, which shows that if a vote were conducted 56% would vote "no," 22% "yes," and the remaining 22% undecided. To make matters worse for Blair, when you remove the "undecideds" from the equation, some 72% would reject the poll while only a paltry 28% would vote for it. Seems to me that the Blair camp has gotten very scared with the mere thought of letting the people crash his farewell party too soon by rejecting the EU Constitution.
While the Blair government is more than likely set to push for a hold or cancellation of the EU referendum this Monday, it would be better if they would listen to the voters before making such a hasty decision. If the poll watchers would take a deeper look into the Mori poll conducted by the UK's number 1 newspaper (The Sun, which has sided with Blair every election), they'd discover that some 67% of British people support having a vote on the referendum. You'd think that the folks in the government would stand by their promises of holding a referendum next year even if the people end up voting it down. In a nation that brought the world John Locke, Edmund Burke, John Stewart Mill, the Magna Carta and the modern day model of government by the consent of the people as well as the rule of law, I'd find it very perplexing that Blair would push a tabling of the referendum. Luckily, the people of the UK have several champions within the business community who urge the UK government to rethink its plans to abandon the EU referendum. In a letter to The Financial Times, senior directors from eight major UK enterprises called on Blair to hold the vote in order to ensure he doesn't do an end-around on the UK public by pushing it through Parliament or enacting some EU Commission clause that supersedes the will of the people. Here's a sampling of the letter below:
While the Blair government continues to publicly deny it will kill the EU referendum for the sake of the EU, it has become clearly evident via various government sources and press reports that UK foreign minister Jack Straw will go before the House of Commons and call the 2006 treaty referendum dead. This demand for the delay or even termination of the EU referendum within the UK government is due to the fact that the Blair government is so closely tied to the promotion of the EU and would find it a terrible embarrassment if the same results occurred in the UK like it did in France and the Netherlands. (Blair doesn't want to end his tenure as PM in a failed "yes" vote.) Unlike the French and Dutch who were slightly optimistic about passing the EU referendum, the Blair government realizes that the UK public is adamantly opposed to a further intergration into the EU. As with all politicians who promote a "third way" (Bill Clinton, Blair), the Blairites are always calculating the odds of success and failure and are constantly monitoring the polls to see how their policies/ideas play with the public. I guess Blair's poll watchers got a early preview of a Mori poll conducted by The Sun, which shows that if a vote were conducted 56% would vote "no," 22% "yes," and the remaining 22% undecided. To make matters worse for Blair, when you remove the "undecideds" from the equation, some 72% would reject the poll while only a paltry 28% would vote for it. Seems to me that the Blair camp has gotten very scared with the mere thought of letting the people crash his farewell party too soon by rejecting the EU Constitution.
While the Blair government is more than likely set to push for a hold or cancellation of the EU referendum this Monday, it would be better if they would listen to the voters before making such a hasty decision. If the poll watchers would take a deeper look into the Mori poll conducted by the UK's number 1 newspaper (The Sun, which has sided with Blair every election), they'd discover that some 67% of British people support having a vote on the referendum. You'd think that the folks in the government would stand by their promises of holding a referendum next year even if the people end up voting it down. In a nation that brought the world John Locke, Edmund Burke, John Stewart Mill, the Magna Carta and the modern day model of government by the consent of the people as well as the rule of law, I'd find it very perplexing that Blair would push a tabling of the referendum. Luckily, the people of the UK have several champions within the business community who urge the UK government to rethink its plans to abandon the EU referendum. In a letter to The Financial Times, senior directors from eight major UK enterprises called on Blair to hold the vote in order to ensure he doesn't do an end-around on the UK public by pushing it through Parliament or enacting some EU Commission clause that supersedes the will of the people. Here's a sampling of the letter below:
The EU needs to start listening more, and doing less. That means accepting both referendum results for what they were - powerful expressions of unease about the current direction of the EU. There must be no attempt to ask either country to vote again - as has happened in past referendums in Ireland and Denmark.I just hope that Tony Blair and his ministers put a considerable amount of reflection time on the overwhelming support from the populace on the continuation of the referendum and the sound advice from the business community before they make their final decision. Blair could have an even greater legacy within British history by giving the people of the UK a voice in the preservation of their national sovereignty and political liberty. This might be popular within the Labour, Liberal Democrats, and Tory party headquarters but it would be a blockbuster hit amongst the people (not as big as Gladstone, Disraeli, Lloyd George, Churchill or Thatcher).
Nor should any elements of the constitution be ratified by the back door. Indeed the government should commit itself to hold a referendum in the UK before implementing any substantial part of the constitution.
As business people operating across the UK, EU and rest of the world, we are well placed to understand why Europe is not working. Thanks to over-regulation and a one-size-fits-all monetary policy there are now 19m unemployed in the EU. Without radical action many member states face a medium-term crisis as a result of their unfunded pension systems and deteriorating demographics.
Although the UK government admits Europe needs to reform, so far it has come up with nothing more than rhetoric. Instead of continuing to argue in favour of transferring even more powers to EU institutions, it is now time the government began to question the logic of further integration.
German Election
Fire of Liberty
Aside from the part about their isolationistic view towards Turkey's entrance into the EU, I'm pretty upbeat about the CDU under the leadership of Angela Merkel wrestling the Chancellorship of Germany from Schroeder this September. Just check out this article in The Financial Times on the proposals of Merkel and how she would bring a breath of fresh air to Germany.
Aside from the part about their isolationistic view towards Turkey's entrance into the EU, I'm pretty upbeat about the CDU under the leadership of Angela Merkel wrestling the Chancellorship of Germany from Schroeder this September. Just check out this article in The Financial Times on the proposals of Merkel and how she would bring a breath of fresh air to Germany.
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