Some Chicago Boyz know each other from student days at the University of Chicago. Others are Chicago boys in spirit. The blog name is also intended as a good-humored gesture of admiration for distinguished Chicago School economists and fellow travelers.
James R. Rummel According to this news item, the leading British expert on Sherlock Holmes committed suicide in such a fashion as to frame an American academic rival for murder. He based the method on a Holmes short story.
Really, really odd. Didn’t work, though. I suppose he just forgot that people other than British academics read those old mysteries.
This news item says that terrorists might just use lasers against commercial aircraft. If they can shine a laser inside the cockpit, they might be able to blind the pilot and cause the plane to crash.
I’ve said before that one of the problems with law enforcement is that the public likes to blame them for events outside of their control. Terrorists use three captured planes as guided missiles for the first time after hundreds of previous hijackings and everyone starts screaming about how someone dropped the ball.
So now we have this Dept. of Homeland Security, and are they under a microscope. Not only do they have to keep an eye on foreign nationals, but there might be some US citizens who hate America. Not to mention all of the copycat nutbags who don’t mind if they kill a few hundred innocent people just so their name would make it into the paper.
Bottom line is, if the terrorists keep trying they’re bound to have a success sooner or later. When that happens heads are going to roll even if it happens in such a way so that placing blame is absurd.
We’ve already seem some hysteria over the supposed vulnerability of commercial flights before. That whole flap about how .50 caliber rifles could bring down or blow up just about anything from extreme range with a single shot is just the first thing that pops into my head. I’m still waiting for the terrorists in Iraq to start potting aircraft with a single round. (For some reason they haven’t gotten around to exploiting this vulnerability even though they have access to military equipment.)
So the people involved with DHS are tossing out terror alerts no matter how remote the possibility. That way some of the criticism might be countered. Just a little proactive action before a terrorist attack.
That is, after all, their mission. They’re just working the PR angle here instead of the physical side.
So I’m reading Instapundit, and the good professor has a link to this LA Times op-ed. The author, Max Boot, points out that the scandals at the United Nations haven’t received the same attention from big media that they should. He also points out that the UN is corrupt, inept and impossible to reform.
But Boot also says that leaving the UN is “unrealistic”, and that the institution is useful for a variety of skullduggery. He doesn’t go so far as to say that the UN actually makes any progress in it’s stated purpose, which is to promote peace and lessen human misery. (Nor does he adequately explain why it’s “unrealistic” to want to leave an organization that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. Oh, well. Maybe in the next op-ed.)
Then I see this news item. It would appear that the White House, reacting to calls from a few US politicians for the UN Secretary General to resign, has issued a statement of support for Kofi Annan. The United States Ambassador John Danforth has even said “We have worked with him very well in the past. We anticipate working with him very well in the future.”
One could take this on it’s face value. The Executive Branch doesn’t want to see Annan leave because he’s done some good in the past. (I can’t seem to think of anything so stellar as to wash away the stain of the Congo sex-slave reports or the Oil for Food corruption. But I’m sure that something will come to me.)
Or you could, like myself, be a wary and suspicious type who thinks that this is just a clever ploy. The first step in leaving the UN would be to so thoroughly discredit them that a majority of the American people would gladly see it wither and die from lack of US support. This would be very difficult if those who support the UN could say that things were about to improve since a new hand was at the helm. With Kofi still in they can’t whitewash anything.
It’ll take awhile to find out how it’s going to pan out. Come back in 10 years and we’ll see.
Kevin Drum in The Washington Monthly has an article that starts out talking about how the Democrats don’t want to discuss security issues. He points out that 38% of the Republican delegates to this year’s national convention mentioned security subjects, while only 4% of the Democrat delegates wanted to talk about them. He then goes on to list four topics that should be included in any serious discussion of the danger of Islamic totalitarianism.
So I figured, what the hell? It’s worth a post. It’s not like anyone will bother to listen, anyway. Kevin wants a Liberal to address these issues (which I’m not), and anyone else will dismiss my opinion since I don’t have a string of letters after my name.
We’ve got a coalition in Iraq. They’re the Coalition of the Willing.
Not all of the Coalition members sent combat troops. (To be fair, not all of the members have combat troops that can be deployed outside of their borders.) But they all contribute vital support, and they all are helping us and the Iraqi people out in a dark time.
Persnickety of Ordinary Galoot has a great suggestion. Since they’re showing their support for us, why doesn’t the individual US citizen show their support for our allies?
How can we do that? Why, simply buy a few Christmas gifts from businesses that are from countries that belong to the Coalition!
I think one of the best ideas is one of these food hampers from England. Pick through their selection of fine foods in order to get the right stuff for your favorite picnic partner.
People think that former Communist countries only produce low-tech, inelegant, ugly crap, similar to the (well deserved) reputation that Taiwan suffered under in the 1960’s. This is simply not so! Persnickety found this lovely set of wine goblets with the Amtrak logo tastefully etched into them. Just the thing for the train enthusiast on your list. (She forgot to mention CZ firearms, which are very fine guns at competitive prices.)
She also found this lovely (and expensive) hand cut vase from Poland. For something less pricey but still elegant and classy, check out the mustard museum from Azerbaijan. They have a great selection of mail order items available at their online gift shop, but don’t forget to check out the sidebar on the left side of the page. Plenty of individual items for sale that aren’t featured on the gift shop page.
Even if you don’t support our presence in Iraq, you have to admit that promoting capitalism and economic growth in former Warsaw Pact states is something that’s worth doing. Just buy something from them in order to help them keep Communism from re-emerging and you can be assured that your dollars are doing good in the world.