Thirty-five years ago, on another Christmas Eve, men first rounded our nearest planetary neighbor. They were in radio silence on the far side, for a few minutes the loneliest men in existence.
The reentered the world of humans as they emerged from the shadow of the moon, and read from Genesis. At that time, despite the government funding, the ACLU had no complaints, as far as I know.
Amir Teheri writes that French foreign policy is in disarray, and some are starting to point fingers:
…it is unlikely that France can restore its credibility without a reform of the way its foreign policy is made.
Villepin may end up as the scapegoat .
Liberation complains about what it sees as Villepin?s decision to ?practice the art of eating humble pie? by praising the Anglo-American success in Libya.
?What happened to Villepin?s flamboyance?? the paper demands. ?How far have we come from the famous French Arab and African policies!?
And just how naive was this?
Many Arab leaders regard France as a maverick power that could get them involved in an unnecessary, and ultimately self-defeating, conflict with the United States.
?I cannot imagine what Chirac was thinking,? says a senior Saudi official on condition of anonymity. ?How could he expect us to join him in preventing the Americans from solving our biggest problem which was the presence of Saddam Hussein in power in Baghdad??
Another senior Arab diplomat, from Egypt, echoes the sentiment.
?The French did not understand that the Arabs desired the end of Saddam, although they had to pretend that this was not the case,? he says.
The true “Arab street” speaks.
Jeff Greason apparently made a very politically incorrect (i.e., correct) speech to a very prestigious audience last week:
…this future is not inevitable — and it will not happen without massive private investment and the prospect of profit. Government must move from the center of the stage to play a supporting role. If government actions discourage investment, forbid risk-taking, and pile up red tape, we can look forward to a future very much like the present.
I was born after the last flight of Gemini, and I have lived long enough for my son to ask me “Dad, did they really used to fly to the Moon when you were a boy?” The choices we make in this decade will determine whether my grandchildren have to ask the same question.
A Florida judge has denied Rush Limbaugh’s attempts to keep his medical records private. On Fox News, I heard a replay of Rush reading a statement from his attorney, Roy Black, in which Mr. Black claimed that this was a violation of Rush’ “constitutional right to privacy.”
I wonder if Rush agrees with his lawyer that he has such a thing?
Howard Lovy has a classic Christmas tale by J. Storrs Hall.
Ron Bailey has a long, but worthwhile article about the current state of nanotechnology, and its stasist enemies.
Mark Steyn reminisces about the one-year anniversary of Trent Lott’s well-deserved self immolation.
And in commemoration, I’ll replay this golden oldy.
By the way, if you Google “hexidecaroon,” you get very limited, but appropriate results.
Mark Steyn reminisces about the one-year anniversary of Trent Lott’s well-deserved self immolation.
And in commemoration, I’ll replay this golden oldy.
By the way, if you Google “hexidecaroon,” you get very limited, but appropriate results.
Mark Steyn reminisces about the one-year anniversary of Trent Lott’s well-deserved self immolation.
And in commemoration, I’ll replay this golden oldy.
By the way, if you Google “hexidecaroon,” you get very limited, but appropriate results.
The French are whining that they were kept in the dark about Libya.
Too bad we couldn’t have kept them in the dark about Iraq. We might have fixed things there a lot sooner.