Category: World

Beirut is Burning, Again

Beirut is burning again. Smoke fills the air over the troubled city, and for the second time in six months major roads are blocked as the city comes to a standstill. Looks like the perfidious Israelis are up to their usual mischief again.

Only, it’s actually peace-loving Hezbollah, those fine folks only interested in schools and hospitals. Israel bloodied their noses last year for launching massive rocket attacks against its civilians, so they now resort to tormenting their fellow Lebanese, who for some reason are reluctant to vote them into complete power.

I Have Not Stopped Beating My Wife Yet

Caught a bit of CBC news last night, and nearly lost my dinner. People talk about George Bush’s smirk, but the Peter Mansbridge’s snarky self-satisfaction wouldn’t have been out of place in a grade school playground.

First off was a story about a battle in Afghanistan. I’ll paraphrase: “Coalition forces claimed to have destroyed a large group of Taliban crossing the border into Pakistan. However, reports say that the enemy death toll was much lower than claimed, because neanderthal western military types always exaggerate their victories, and the honest, decent, gay and feminist-loving Taliban would never lie to me.”

Next a story about the MP who, after a year of working closely with “Our Prime Minister Stephen” — as Anglicans and United churchies must refer to him weekly in prayer, no doubt with much gnashing of teeth — seems to have decided isn’t a rabid lunatic after all, and crossed the floor to join the evil Amerikkkan-loving Conservative Party. Turns out that he spent several tens of thousands of dollars recently on a 19-day diplomatic mission to the Middle East. “The government refuses to release the details of Mr. Kahn’s expenses.” And I’ve yet to stop beating my wife.

Last I heard, the Middle East is hardly the most popular venue for golfing junkets. Could it possibly be that he took a sizable entourage and perhaps hosted one or two diplomatic parties? I thought that we were supposed to be all about dialogue and friendliness with those strange brown people over there on the other side of the world. I guess it’s all right for a Governess-General to spend a mint bring artists for their play-dates with Nordic types, but sending a diplomat to find out more about a sensitive area of the world is downright irresponsible.

Suddenly Peanut Farming Doesn’t Seem So Bad

Things aren’t looking so hot for old Jimmy Carter. The attack rabbits look to be swarming.

Fourteen more directors of the Carter Center up and resign the other day, on account of old Jimmy is a lying liar:

In your book, which portrays the conflict between Israel and her neighbors as a purely one-sided affair with Israel holding all of the responsibility for resolving the conflict, you have clearly abandoned your historic role of broker in favor of becoming an advocate for one side. The facts in dealing with the conflict are these: There are two national narratives contesting one piece of land. The Israelis, through deed and public comment, have consistently spoken of a desire to live in peace and make territorial compromise to achieve this status. The Palestinian side has consistently resorted to acts of terror as a national expression and elected parties endorsing the use of terror, the rejection of territorial compromise and of Israel’s right to exist. Palestinian leaders have had chances since 1947 to have their own state.

Now it seems that the old rabbit hunter, in his campaign against the evil Jooos, has personally profited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars from Arab sources.

Rachel Ehrenfeld, in a thorough and devastating article on “Carter’s Arab Financiers,” meticulously catalogues Carter’s ties to Arab moneymen, from a Saudi bailout of his peanut farm in 1976, to funding for Carter’s presidential library, to continued support for all manner of Carter’s post-presidential activities.

Lovely.

George Bush’s Capitalist Running Dogs

Turns out that despite it all, the Iraqi economy is booming:

There’s a vibrancy at the grass roots that is invisible in most international coverage of Iraq. Partly it’s the trickle-down effect. However it’s spent, whether on security or something else, money circulates. Nor are ordinary Iraqis themselves short on cash. After so many years of living under sanctions, with little to consume, many built up considerable nest eggs—which they are now spending. That’s boosted economic activity, particularly in retail. Imported goods have grown increasingly affordable, thanks to the elimination of tariffs and trade barriers. Salaries have gone up more than 100 percent since the fall of Saddam, and income-tax cuts (from 45 percent to just 15 percent) have put more cash in Iraqi pockets. “The U.S. wanted to create the conditions in which small-scale private enterprise could blossom,” says Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk at Global Insight. “In a sense, they’ve succeeded.”