The Millionth Monkey

2003-11-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

Another definitive article from David Warren: Brutal Realities
As usual, its a history lesson, plan of action, sharp assessment, and the best written journalism in the English language. When you add his moral, ethical and religious depth, he's the best journalist working today, period. If being unflinchingly, thoroughly correct were the gold standard for judging journalists, he would be on the short list.

2003-11-04T23:46:00.000-05:00

Blogging has been light of laght, due to school, work and extracurricular assignments all piled one on top of the other. Everyone's busy, though, so I'm gonna try to post more regularly regardless.

2003-11-01T13:06:00.000-05:00

The full transcript of Hwang Jang-yeop's speech to the Defense Forum Foundation is up at Freenorthkorea.net. It's in PDF format, and its worth reading, He makes his case, and answers questions, too. Some excerpts:

...So the basic problem is really, do we want this dictatorship to continue? I believe this dictatorship issue is not isolated to the Korean Peninsula. I believe it's not a problem that is dedicated only to one people. I believe it's a problem that has to be resolved on a global scale. I believe once we find some solutions in international contacts, I believe we can find a solution to North Korean issues. After having read those papers, if you still have questions you can certainly ask me more questions. I'm not so sure if I am fully prepared to respond to all the questions that you may have. However, I am ready to take your questions and I will do my very best to tell you what I know of and I will be dutiful in carrying out that responsibility.

...Today I know that a lot of you are here with high expectations. However, I have decided as I came to the U.S. that I will only speak of what I had personally witnessed, of what I know for sure, and I do not wish to speak of things that I can only speculate, and for that I hope you will understand.

...I heard from my Chinese comrade last year that during the year 2003, 50,000 tons of white rice were sent to North Korea from China, and 60 percent of the fuels needed by North Korea were sent to North Korea by China. So, as you can see, economically and politically, China is a very important ally of North Korea. In fact, I can say that China is the lifeline of North Korea. That's why I state that we need to sever the tie that China has with North Korea. Once that tie is severed, I believe the collapse of North Korea would be faster and sooner.

It's worth scanning the whole transcript. He tends to drop these great facts and statements in the middle of his answers.

2003-10-31T09:44:00.000-05:00

Despite jetlag, and rumors, Hwang's trip to the US progressing smoothly
According to his US sponsor, Suzanne Scholte of DFF, despite the inevitable tiredness of jet lag and contradicting a number of unsubstantiated rumors to the contrary, Hwang Jang Yop's trip to the US so far is going quite well.

Hwang has already had a number of highly productive meetings with US government officials, journalists, and other North Korean defectors.

Good. Keep up to date on this at Freenorthkorea.net

2003-10-28T09:47:00.000-05:00

TWO PATHS?

In Cuba, prisoner of conscience, Dr. Oscar E. Biscet Gonzalez, sends a message from the Provincial Prison of Pinar del Rio to his fellow countrymen through his wife, Elsa Morejon. This civic leader is serving a 25-year sentence in inhumane prison conditions for defending The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The conclusion is too good not to print:

To the leaders of the democratic nations of the world, to the North American people, and in particular to the President of the United States, Mr. George W. Bush, we ask only one simple commitment: DO NOT SUPPORT OR PROPOSE A SINGLE SOLUTION OR SETTLELMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE CUBAN NATION WHICH YOU WOULD NOT DEEM ACCEPTABLE FOR YOUR OWN COUNTRY.

May God illuminate our way for the freedom of Cuba.

DR. OSCAR ELIAS BISCET GONZALEZ
President of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba
Prisoner of Conscience

Read the whole thing.

2003-10-27T03:53:00.000-05:00

Mike Campbell is also following the North Korean situation, and he's got a good roundup of recent news. Just click on the "Campblog" link under "canadian bloggers", or here to go straight to the story.

2003-10-27T03:47:00.000-05:00

Now this is interesting:

Hwang Jang Yop to Arrive in US Monday, October 27
North Korean Defector Plans Talks in U.S.
By JAMES BROOKE

TOKYO, Oct. 26 After six years under virtual house arrest in Seoul, South Korea, Hwang Jang Yop, who proudly clings to his status as North Korea's highest-ranking defector, is to arrive in the United States on Monday to talk with Washington's elite about the inner workings of North Korea's secretive government.

Mr. Hwang, who was North Korea's chief ideologue and served as tutor to North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong Il, has been eagerly awaited by American conservatives. He is to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, meet with Bush administration officials and give interviews.

This guy was the president of Kim Il Sung University, and is the author of the regime's ideology. Then he defected, and now runs an exile group. That's like Lenin growing into Solzhenitsyn, unbelievable.

I hope this visit gets the attention from the press that it deserves.

2003-10-26T04:13:00.000-05:00

Here is the full text of an Op-Ed written by Jimmy Carter in USA Today last month. It's worth a careful read. This is a case study of why friendly-looking flacks for totalitarianism are far more dangerous and destructive in the long run than 10 Saddam Husseins. My comments are in italics. (Read this preceding post first.) (Original article here.)

U.S.-North Korea war seems 'strong possibility'
By Jimmy Carter

We face the strong possibility of another Korean war, with potentially devastating consequences, so the endangered multilateral talks in Beijing are of paramount importance. It is vital that some accommodation be reached between Pyongyang and Washington.

Notice that war is automatically assumed to be the worst possible scenario; after visiting freenorthkorea.net, I don't believe that's automatically the case.

North Korea is an isolated country, poverty stricken, paranoid, apparently self-sacrificial and amazingly persistent in international confrontations, as is now being demonstrated.

Unbelievable. North Korea is an isolated country, yes, but it's North Koreans who are poverty-stricken, and it's the regime that's paranoid. The "apparently self-sacrificial" line is beyond despicable. Does he mean to imply that the people of North Korea actually choose their way of life!?! He can't mean the leadership, because it has always demonstrated the willingness to do anything to preserve its position. And the "amazingly persistent" seems to imply grudging admiration. No, on second thought, maybe not grudging.

It is a cultural and almost sacred commitment for its leaders not to back down, even in the face of international condemnation and the most severe political and economic pressure.

Which culture is that? Are we talking about Korea's thousands-year old culture, or the murderous Stalinist totalitarianism of the last 50 years? And why are we analyzing the "culture" of the leaders? Since when do a country's leaders have a completely distinct culture from the entire population? And anyone who still believes that Jimmy Carter is a sincerely religious man can look at his use of "sacred" in this sentence for correction.

A previous example of this stubbornness occurred in 1968, when North Korea captured the USS Pueblo, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship. Despite the best efforts of President Lyndon Johnson to marshal international support and to prevail with economic punishment and military threats, President Kim il Sung never deviated from his basic demands, which included an embarrassing public apology from the United States for "spying" on his country. After 11 months, President Johnson accepted all the demands, and the crew was released.

And what lesson did a future President learn from this? Submit to the unprovoked aggression of "stubborn" regimes, even if it proves an international embarrassment and a grave showing of weakness on the world stage, as there's no other choice. Remember, war was ruled out by the end of the first sentence. The lesson came in very handy during his presidency, when the USSR seized everything it wanted, and Iranian hostage-takers stared down the United States for 444 days.

Notwithstanding their abysmal economic failures and the resulting hardships of their people, North Korean leaders have never deviated from a commitment to military strength. They maintain a formidable army, with artillery and missiles able to wreak great destruction on Seoul and the northern portion of South Korea, regardless of how much punishment North Koreans might have to absorb during a U.S. attack or counterattack.

"Economic failures"... There were no attempts at economic success. All people, resources, and skills exist only to serve the leadership's plan. And "resulting hardships" is such a sweet way of putting it, like they've been forced to mortgage their houses, or carpool. The sentence implies that all these "hardships" are the result of well-intentioned but mistaken economic policies. Notice that war on the regime is characterized as "punishment" of the North Korean people. Does he mean to imply that the United States would do its best to crush the people of North Korea? Nice job of appropriating JFK's "commitment to military strength", as if they're staying the good course through troubled times. Also, note that "North Koreans" absorb "punishment", but a "portion of South Korea" sustains "destruction". If all the North Korean regime is threatening is localized property damage, then why is the US contemplating mass murder of innocent civilians? A true master of insinuation, this Carter.

The development of advanced rocketry and now a potential nuclear capability is further proof of their scientific resources.

Hmmm. I wonder why no one prevented them from acquiring those things in the first place? Also, since when is "advanced rocketry and now a potential nuclear capability" in a regime like this proof of "scientific resources"? Are germ warfare labs proof of an advanced medical system? And where'd they find the money and other resources for their "scientific" advances? Aren't these people starving? "Abysmal economic failures", yes. "Resulting hardships", indeed.

Avoided in 1994

There was another crisis in 1994, when Kim il Sung expelled International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and threatened to begin reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods from a nuclear power plant. The U.S. government refused to talk to North Korean leaders, and made plans for economic sanctions and a military attack.

That's right. Clinton came this close to doing for the suffering people of North Korea what Bush has done for the Iraqis. That would have been a legacy.

As the crisis escalated, The Carter Center was finally given reluctant permission from President Clinton for me to visit Pyongyang. A satisfactory agreement was concluded and later confirmed by both governments, with participation by South Korea, Japan and others.

Carter preempted a sitting US president by holding a news conference in which he declared, without US government authorization, that a deal had been reached. Clinton and the Pentagon were beside themselves. With one move he undermined all of the pressure that the US had been building up in order to force the regime to back down and completely renounce its nuclear program. This remains one of the most dangerous acts of treason in world history.

But neither side honored all the commitments.

I'm tempted to just leave that one standing. This is the most flagrant use of dishonest equivocation I've ever read. North Korea was supposed to become totally, verifiably nuke-free. The US was supposed to give them 500,000 tons of free fuel every year, and to construct two light-water nuclear reactors, as if the entire crisis was a huge misunderstanding of the North Korean regime's legitimate attempts to provide energy for it's people. The US abandoned the sanctions, began planning for the reactors, and shipped the oil for 8 years, as agreed. North Korea never gave up its existing nuclear materials, and began other parallel nuclear bomb programs. When Carter says that "neither side honored all the commitments", he means that the regime never honored any of its commitments, and the US never finished building the reactors. He sure packs a whole lot of lie into that tiny little word "all".

Worrisome actions

The situation is rapidly deteriorating again. North Korea feels increasingly threatened by being branded an "axis of evil" member; deployment of anti-ballistic missiles in Alaska; Washington voices expressing military threats; interception of North Korean ships; ad hominem attacks on President Kim Jong Il; condemnation of previous efforts by President Clinton and South Korean leaders to resolve issues peacefully; and U.S. refusal to negotiate directly with North Korea.

What a coincidence! The US, Japan, South Korea, and the whole world feel increasingly threatened by North Korea's rapidly advancing nuclear program; North Korean missiles fired over Japan; Pyongyang leaders foaming at the mouth with threats at everybody; North Korean ships exporting long-range missiles to sworn enemies of the US and its allies; over-the-top condemnations of President Bush; complete withdrawal from all bilateral and international treaties regarding nuclear and missile proliferation; and North Korean refusal to negotiate with any of its neighbors in the region. And all of this was provoked by those unfinished reactors. Or maybe by the US having the gall to notice that the regime was in complete violation of the 1994 agreement.

America's newly declared policies of pre-emptive war and first use of nuclear weapons also concern North Koreans.

"Pre-emptive war"? In this case, please, please let it concern North Koreans, the way it has concerned Iraqis. Please, yes. Note the substitution of the people for the regime, again. As for "first use of nuclear weapons", this is Carter's description of the US withdrawing from the outdated ABM treaty, with Russia's full consent, for the expressed purpose of developing missile defense. Now, why would they be so keen on missile defense, anyway?

Even before these more recent threats, the North Koreans began a secret and illicit nuclear program. They have initiated a concerted effort to develop a nuclear arsenal, with the possible production of a half-dozen weapons by the end of 2003 and similar annual numbers thereafter. These could be used by North Korea or sold to other nations or terrorist groups. This is now by far the most serious threat to regional and world peace.

Oops! How did this get in here? It completely contradicts both the spirit and the substance of everything he's said so far. He's undermined his entire premise by letting these facts slip into an otherwise perfect deception. It's the mandatory pro-forma nod to reality, before we get back to the serious business of regime preservation.

There are other issues, but the basic North Korean demand is a firm non-aggression commitment from the United States, which U.S. officials continue to reject.

Could he sound any more like their lawyer, firmly stating his client's "demands"?

The U.S. insists first on a complete end to the North Koreans' nuclear program, which they have refused to accept.

The US "rejects", but North Korea "refuses to accept". No rhetorical device is spared.

If neither side will yield or compromise, then an eventual military confrontation seems likely.

This is too much. This is without precedent. He actually suggests that the US should "yield" to their demands, allowing the regime to continue with the production of nuclear weapons and long range missiles, and to sell them to clients of their choosing, all with an ironclad US guarantee not to interfere. What happened to "These could be used by North Korea or sold to other nations or terrorist groups."? What about "This is now by far the most serious threat to regional and world peace."? Was he just kidding when he said those things? For a former President to advocate surrender to this threat after acknowledging it is completely without precedent in the history of liberal democracy, as far as I know. Chamberlain had nothing on this guy. And "compromise"? Wasn't that what Carter's "satisfactory agreement" was supposed to be? He sabotaged Clinton's efforts to deal with the weapons program while it was still manageable, and bought them the time that they needed to become "by far the most serious threat to regional and world peace." And now he advocates yielding or compromise. At this rate, he'll be advocating voluntary annexation by 2012.

The United States can prevail, but with terrible human casualties in both North and South Korea.

Second to last paragraph, and he's finally gotten around to considering the lives of US allies. Until now, you could be forgiven for thinking that the "North" in North Korea was like the "New" in New Zealand, or the "El" in El Salvador, just part of the name. But no, there are actually millions of Koreans living in fear not of the US, but of the other unstable, militaristic aggressor. You know, the "most serious threat to regional and world peace." Yeah, that one.

There must be verifiable assurances that prevent North Korea from becoming a threatening nuclear power, with a firm commitment that the U.S. will not attack a peaceful North Korea.

Hmm, sounds reasonable. Wait a sec, what are "verifiable assurances"? Is that even english? How about verifiable total disarmament and transparency? "Prevent... becoming"? Try "disarm...being". And what's "threatening" doing in that sentence? Does he really believe that the regime could possibly be a benign nuclear power? The second half of the sentence is more mindless equivocation, of course. Does anyone believe the US would attack "a peaceful North Korea"? Why are we talking about a real country in hypothetical terms, anyway? Because North Korea has never been a remotely peaceful country for one minute of its existence. It declares itself to be in a state of war with South Korea and the US, in particular, and the non-totalitarian world in general. Sure, the US won't attack "a peaceful North Korea", and I won't dodge a harmless oncoming truck.

This is a time for sustained and flexible diplomacy between our two governments, to give peace and economic progress a chance within a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

Carter's "flexible diplomacy" bought them their nukes and missiles, more of it will only allow the regime to proliferate them. "Our two governments"? So now he's speaking to the North Korean people, asking them to stop pushing their elected leaders into this dangerous situation, as if they get to read USA Today? And half of Korea was already given the chance for peace and economic progress; it went from the poorest country on earth to an economic powerhouse inside one generation.

It's the "nuclear-free" part of the equation that the present administration, and serious people everywhere, are trying to solve. The nuclear weapons and long-range missiles are Carter's contribution, more than anyone outside of the regime itself. The people of North Korea were suffering in 1994, and Carter knew it, and prevented the best chance for freedom that they ever had. Now the whole world is endangered as a result of his lifeline to the regime leadership, and he continues to advocate concessions to the regime while again undermining his own government's efforts to deal with the problem head-on.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter chairs The Carter Center in Atlanta, a non-governmental organization that advances peace and health.

Peace and health. What a sick joke.

2003-10-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

freenorthkorea.net is an excellent resource for understanding what the people of North Korea are living through. Many in the west see headlines about people starving, or in gulags, but you have to read the actual internal memos and directives being issued to the "7th Bureau of the MSS" to understand the mentality that the regime embodies. Some excerpts:

Kim Il-Sung:

"Factionalism produces class enemies who must be annihilated again and again, without fail."

"MSS personnel in charge of class enemies must not be induced to feel the slightest humanity or empathy for them. They must execute their control duties always with revolutionary awareness. They must clearly reveal to these class enemies just what constitutes the dictatorship of the proletariat"

Kim Jong-Il:

"The 7th Bureau (Farm Guidance Bureau) of the MSS does not exist for production. It exists to deal violently with class struggle. You must strengthen your uncompromising struggle against class enemies and factional elements."

"Bastards who escape must be run to the ground and killed one by one. The Honorable Leader's prestige and foreign influence can be hurt more by an escape than by any other thing. So bastards who escape must be killed without mercy."

Very few of these poor "bastards" have escaped, but the few who've made it describe a system where cruelty for cruelty's sake is glorified. These are true death camps: they exist only to harm and kill people.

Jimmy Carter knew all this when he forced Clinton's hand during the nuclear standoff of 1994, saving the regime and it's nuclear program....

Whoa! This'll need a post all its own...

2003-10-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

'nuther new blog!

Frozen in Montreal

New to me, anyway. This guy's got a great sense of humor, and he can write.
And a Montrealer, too!
Reprazent!!

2003-10-25T19:23:00.000-04:00

"The schoolgirls have spoken."

Well, that's about as definitive a confirmation as one could ask for: 3/4 of all the schoolgirls polled by Margaret Wente on October 23rd were in favor of the Americans in Iraq. This should put to rest all the carping about the Americans being seen as invaders, imperialists, etc. 75% of schoolgirls, people!

2003-10-25T05:20:00.000-04:00

Wow! Heckuva blog!

I've added a link to Robson Ryan's Rants under "Canadian Bloggers".

This guy's got the best set of links I've seen so far: Tons of good sources for info on Canada, political sites, Canadian bloggers and columnists...

Very nice. And try the World's Smallest Political Quiz! I'm a Libertarian with a Personal Self-Government Score of 60% and an Economic Self-Government Score of 80%:

Sounds about right.

2003-10-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

Cuts too thin
Good article by Peter Worthington on the state of Canada's military. He's the greatest living war correspondent in our country, perhaps in our history. With all my plugs for VDH, I mustn't forget that we've got a treasure right here in our own backyard.

2003-10-24T20:15:00.000-04:00

"And the gold medal in snowball tossing goes to...Canada!"

The Toque has a fun gag story about getting more Canadian sports into the Olympics. They've often got funny stuff over there, and it's Canadian, so you're laughing patriotically! Yeah, looking over my headlines, I kinda thought this site could use a lighter story now and then...

2003-10-24T14:43:00.000-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson weighs in with another must-read piece: The Event of the Age

One line in particular jumps out:

"We may expect that, a year from now, the last desperate card in the hands of the anti-Americanists will be not that Iraq is democratic, but that it is democratic solely through the agency of the United States - a fate worse than remaining indigenously murderous and totalitarian."

If you read anything at all about Iraq, then read his column, too.

2003-10-24T13:41:00.000-04:00

Yep, North Korea is still the sickest place on earth, especially now that Iraq is no longer a thugocracy. Some recent stories about The Gulag State, not for the faint of heart:

See No Evil, Stop No Evil

Killing Foreign Babies

Just remember, International ANSWER, a front for The Worker's World Party, and organizer of the "anti-war" protests this spring, is unequivocally supportive of this regime.

2003-10-23T23:14:00.000-04:00

The blogosphere is abuzz with antisemitism talk following the Gregg Easterbrook firing and Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's comments at the OIC conference. Many people are veering to one extreme or the other in their descriptions of this problem. Colby Cosh does a great job of putting this issue in context for canadians. Kudos, Colby, you hit the nail right on the head.

2003-10-23T23:00:00.000-04:00

Mark Steyn writes in the Spectator about the gradual canadianization of Britain. All of his observations are good reading for canadians, as well. Here's a sampling:

"If you object to pinching ideas from the one country where conservatism remains a going concern, where do you look? If not George W. Bush and Strom Thurmond, who? Jacques Chirac?"

"Decentralisation is the best way to ensure a dynamic political culture, full of low-key field studies."

"Pierre Trudeau's Liberal party was very successful at inventing a state in its own image and then promoting itself as the best party to run that state."

Good stuff, as always.

2003-10-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

I'm doing a streeter article on the gay marriage issue this morning, asking random people how they feel about it. Good reception overall, considering it's absolutely freezing here (-4 with windchill). I'm just warming up my hands before braving the elements again. I'm actually surprised at the variety of responses I'm getting. I'm asking people right outside the gates of McGill, and I kind of assumed that just about everyone would be for the proposal, but people are coming down on all sides of this issue, for all kinds of reasons. I guess I'm finding out what the Federal government has already discovered: This is one issue that gets under Canadians' skin. Young people, minorities, "hip" looking guys, I can never predict what side anyone will take on this. I should remember this next time I think that Canadians are so monolithically liberal in their views; just like in the US, the media is projecting near unanimity about issues on which the public seems pretty evenly divided. We need a real conservative paper to do their own polls on these kinds of issues before we'll see anything like an accurate portrayal of the population's views in the Canadian media.

I'll be doing some background research on this issue later, so I'll probably have some good stuff up later tonight.

2003-10-20T03:11:00.000-04:00

David Warren has the best piece yet on the "unite the right" merger, which contains an interesting theory: Ontarians like to have different parties at the head of the province and country, to compete for their approval. He believes that the worst thing to happen to Paul Martin's federal Liberals is the election of Dalton McGuinty's provincial Liberals.

Eeenteresteeeng...

Here's hoping he's right.

2003-10-18T19:53:00.000-04:00

Victor Davis Hanson has a thoughtful piece on the Iraqi reconstruction effort and the american public. He's one of the best writers online for military matters, and his historical background gives his work a long view often lacking in other's analyses. Always worth the read.

2003-10-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

OUCH!!

I just stubbed my toe! Man, that smarts!

Does this look swollen to you?

2003-10-18T16:21:00.000-04:00

Heheheh. I was having a beer after class with a friend the day after the Globe and Mail released their rankings of canadian universities, and he complained that the way they arrived at the rankings wasn't accurate or representative. Turns out he was right. The Globe ranked several nonexistent schools in the top ten of their respective categories.

It doesn't change anything for me either way, but you've got to feel sorry for all those York med school graduates, and their patients.

And I'd hate to be on trial and find out that my lawyer got his degree from the University of Waterloo.

2003-10-17T19:46:00.000-04:00

David Frum offers 4 rules to guide the merger of the CA and the PC parties in today's National Post. All his points are valid, in my view, but I'm going to wait until I see the detailed policies that the merger produces before I jump up and down again (see below).

One thing, though: If I were a CA party member, I'd be at least a little peeved that "A Quebec riding with six active Conservatives will cast as many votes for leader as an Alberta riding with 15,000 paid-up Alliance members."

2003-10-17T18:05:00.000-04:00

Hmmm....
I should amend my previous post's unbridled enthusiasm: If the CA makes too many concessions to the weak-kneed, pseudoconservative policies of the PC party, then they'll just follow the PC party into single-digit support in Canada. Canadian conservatives aren't stupid, or "mean", or "intolerant", or any other lazy label that's tossed around so often, and they have no reason to be apologetic about their beliefs, policies or history. They won't accept to be led by a party that seems embarrassed by the very principles it claims to uphold. The PC party learned that lesson the hard way; lets hope that the bleating press releases and statements are just a temporary pro forma nod to political correctness. Losing two conservative parties in 15 years to the same affliction would make me a sad monkey.

2003-10-17T12:21:00.000-04:00

David Orchard whines about the Progressive Conservative/Canadian Alliance merger in the Globe and Mail today, saying "it was a betrayal of the PC Party of Canada, its constitution and its history."
Actually, the PC party betrayed canadian conservative values, and that's why they were wiped off the political map by canadian voters. If this results in a canada-wide, electable conservative alternative to the Liberals, then it will be the biggest news in canadian politics since the formation of the Reform party. You go, Peter!

2003-10-17T12:01:00.000-04:00

Brigitte Pellerin has a great article on "extreme dating" in today's Gazette. She's a principled journalist and a good writer. And she writes for the local daily! We're lucky to have her.

2003-10-16T18:32:00.000-04:00

Celia Farber has a great peice in New York Press which, among other things, makes the case that Arnie's victory signals the death of political correctness as a dominant force in public life. If California truly is a few years ahead of the curve in social trends, then she may be right. Here's hoping it reaches our frozen north sooner rather than later. A long article, but well worth the read. Here's a taste:

"On November 9, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall was reduced to mere concrete, you didn't have to be a Reaganite to be thrilled out of your skull-you just had to be a hater of communism and a lover of freedom. It wasn't that complicated. All you really had to get straight was whether you were for or against the concept of state-sanctioned mass murder, systemic espionage into the lives of private citizens, a brutally enforced pogrom on speech, thought and the written word, and finally, the principle that the very state that is trying to kill you owns your body, so you can't leave. If you try to escape, they get to shoot you like a rabid dog, no questions asked. Most American leftists to this day can't quite say that communism offended their sensibilities. Not nearly so much as anti-communism did.

Just as you don't have to be a "right-wing nut" to have been opposed to authoritarian socialism, you needn't be one to rejoice in Arnold's victory. Here's what Arnold's victory "means" to a certain type of American (and let us stand up and be counted): The beginning of the end of the totalitarian rule of identity politics. Political Correctness, to use the tired and loaded phrase. The politics of personal destruction, and the reign of terror against "offensive" thought, speech, sexuality and just about anything else a human personality might contain."

Strong stuff. Enjoy!

2003-10-16T04:11:00.000-04:00

Class at 9:15. Good greif.

2003-10-16T04:03:00.000-04:00

The BBC chooses a "random" 22 year-old girl to portray daily life in post-Saddam Baghdad. Only problem is, her father's a former Saddam appartichik. Big surprise.

2003-10-15T03:48:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well...

Thats the second big win in a row against a quality team. Habs may be for real this year. Most telling stat: less than 20 shots against allowed in both wins against powerhouse offenses. Remember last year, all those lopsided shot totals? Looks like the players finally bought into a system of team defense. Hope springs eternal in the hearts of Habs fans.

2003-10-14T12:11:00.000-04:00

Off to school...

2003-10-14T02:12:00.000-04:00

Steven Den Beste offers a thorough analysis of the Democrat's trajectory going into the election year. If only the healthy, self-correcting system he describes applied here in Canada. Our national politics remain flat as long as the Liberals can sleepwalk through successive terms, then paint opponents as extremists and walk lazily up the middle to the indifferent sighs of the public. (sigh)

2003-10-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

Not again!:

Beijing — On his farewell tour of the world's most populous country, Jean Chrétien won't get a chance to meet China's new leader. But he has set aside most of a day to pursue one of his most zealous foreign activities during the past 20 years: peddling Canadian nuclear reactors.

And check out the competition:

France and Russia are both bidding aggressively for nuclear deals with China, and the top leaders of both countries have used their latest meetings with Chinese leaders to promote their nuclear technology.

France, which supplied Iraq with a nuclear reactor. Russia, which continues to supply Iran...and Canada, supplying China. This continues to be one of the most shameful stories in our country's history: Competing with France and Russia to arm totalitarian regimes against their own people and the free world.

But our government is all for a total ban on land mines, because we don't produce them and the US is the only country with whom we share a border.

This kind of behavior has come to define our Liberal government on the international stage: Cheap, self-congratulatory posturing about an issue that doesn't affect us at all, and quiet complicity in some of the worst military and human rights abuses in the world.

2003-10-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

Vaclav Havel writes about the situation in Burma, and repressive regimes in general:

"I recall that my friends and I for decades were asked by people visiting from democratic Western countries, "How can you, a mere handful of powerless individuals, change the regime, when the regime has at hand all the tools of power: the army, the police and the media, when it can convene gigantic rallies to reflect its people's 'support' to the world, when pictures of the leaders are everywhere and any effort to resist seems hopeless and quixotic?"

My answer was that it was impossible to see the inside clearly, to witness the true spirit of the society and its potential -- impossible because everything was forged. In such circumstances, no one can perceive the internal, underground movements and processes that are occurring. No one can determine the size of the snowball needed to initiate the avalanche leading to the disintegration of the regime."

Read it all; its not long.

2003-10-12T23:21:00.000-04:00

Bill Whittle writes (briefly, for once) about the state of the Democratic party. Read it and weep (with laughter, in sympathy, whatever). Then read the essays listed down the right side of his page and gaze awestruck at the work of one of the most ostentatious writing talents on the web. I hope someday to be able to write with that kind of clarity, verve, heart... he and James Lileks (start with the Screeds) are two of the best writers I've ever read on current affairs, and they do it for free. It's humbling.

2003-10-12T19:02:00.000-04:00

Short and sweet: Dinesh D'Souza points out a major flaw in the logic of those atheists who are sure that disbelief in religion is proof of superior reasoning. It's not the only flaw, but it's a big one.

2003-10-12T14:07:00.000-04:00

Bwahahahahaaaaa!!!

2003-10-12T14:00:00.000-04:00

Mark Steyn has another good piece on the real reasons for European aghastitude over Arnold's recall win.

2003-10-12T13:42:00.000-04:00

Do click on the Punditmag link on my sidebar; you won't be disappointed. Lots of original content from all sides of the political spectrum. I added them to my favs ages ago, but only rediscovered them recently.

2003-10-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

Another must read article by David Warren on the Iraqi reconstruction effort and domestic politics. Mr. Warren is, of course, the best journalist on earth, and thankfully he's canadian, too. He's got the clearheadedness of Krauthammer, the moral and religious depth of Prager, the inside sources of Novak, and a grasp of english that would have been remarkable 100 years ago, nevermind today. That he also writes about Canada makes up for Mark Steyn and others leaving the canadian press.

2003-10-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

off to work...

2003-10-10T13:10:00.000-04:00

indeed

2003-10-09T11:46:00.000-04:00

All work and no sleep makes bert a sleepy monkey.

2003-10-09T06:43:00.000-04:00

Finished! Wow... look at the time... so sleepy...

2003-10-09T02:47:00.000-04:00

One down, one to go...

2003-10-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

Two major assignments due tomorrow morning; this will be a long night. Strangely, I find myself looking forward to these work sessions. I think I might work well under pressure...

2003-10-08T15:41:00.000-04:00

Lovely day here, hope it lasts a little while. Not likely though, this being Canada after all. My blog looks different on different screens set to the same resolution and text size...hmmm. Gotta get better at html, too. Well, gotta go. I'll write something worthwhile soon, I promise.

2003-10-08T02:23:00.000-04:00

Another long day. Fun though. LexNex Rox! Gotta do some serious writing soon. The kernels of kolumns are all here in front of me, but I need the inspiration to flesh one or two out into articles. Thank goodness for school. If it wasn't for assignments, I'd never get around to writing anything. That's one thing I hope to get out of this blogging: practice for writing regularly. Also to post the things I see or think that I just have to tell someone, if only to affirm it to myself.

2003-10-07T03:29:00.000-04:00

School tomorrow (today). Lexis-Nexis. Been looking forward to it. Gotta gota sleep...

2003-10-05T02:10:00.000-04:00

and again!

2003-10-05T01:25:00.000-04:00

Here we go...