Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

December 13, 2004

Martial Law

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 8:05 am

Arthur Chrenkoff finished second in the Weblogs Awards. It isn’t because he’s any less than Tim Blair–just newer to the blogosphere.

Something often lacking in the blogosphere is first-hand reporting. That isn’t the case today:

I was nine and a half. I remember it snowed when I woke up on Sunday morning. I got up and went to switch on TV to watch “Teleranek” (TV Morning), a weekly program for kids that always aired at 9am. But there was only snow on the screen, too. We didn’t know what has happened, but the phone lines were cut off as well, and that was a bad sign. The streets were eerily empty, as if every family in every apartment around, faced with the same snow on TV and the same dead signal on the phone, was also drawing into themselves and waiting for somebody else to make the first move.

December 12, 2004

Comm Monitoring of IAEA

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 10:14 am

Dafna Linzer has a good piece on the communications intercepts between Mohamed ElBaradei and Iranians.

The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei’s phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials.

The Washington Post concludes that the goal of all this is to oust ElBaradei from his position as head of the IAEA. Perhaps there is some truth to that. There is a rule that restricts UN functionaries from more than two terms, but that is often ignored. ElBaradei wants to stay on, and I really don’t blame him. He makes a huge salary and is able to live in New York City and Geneva. If forced to leave, he might have to return home to Egypt.

I think it is also just as likely that we are monitoring his communications for far more important information than that. Since Iranians are emphatic in their pursuit of nuclear technology, we need to have as much information as possible. Funny, you’ll not see mention of that issue anywhere in the article.

December 7, 2004

Homespun Symposium IV

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 6:33 pm

The war on terror and the one in Iraq have not, as Arthur submits, created deep fissures through the international political landscape. The fissures have always been there. They have always been deep. Now, they are simply more perceptible as they have grown wider.

Nor are they aligned in a strict left/right split, although the argument could be made that the rift is between nations of a socialist/fascist bent and those with more liberal persona–liberal in the classic sense.

The latter group includes the US, Britain, Australia, and former Eastern Bloc nations. The former are those working toward an EU in conflict with the US, Russia, and the despotic Middle East.

France has always viewed our alliance as one of convenience. When we refused to share nuclear secrets with De Gaulle, the French decided to link up with the Soviet Union in many military and commercial agreements. They removed themselves from the NATO military structure, retaining the political tie “just in case.” As one writer recently noted, France will always be there when they need us. German intransigence is more difficult to define, but not surprising. They have had American troops in-country for more than fifty years. Familiarity breeds contempt. Even in Britain, this is something of a problem. Many in that country still live the thought, “Over-paid, over-sexed, and over here.” But the ties between us are far greater than any split can overcome.

Australia is much the same, but for other reasons. Our ties are those of siblings. Both nations grew from British colonialism, peopled by those the mother country didn’t care for, and adventurers looking to build their fortunes in the new frontiers. Our heritage is such that our peoples are almost interchangeable, yet we have our own distinctions.

The former Eastern Bloc have “lived it.” Socialism doesn’t work, and they know it all too well. They yearn for the openness we take for granted. The events of recent weeks in Ukraine should make that apparent. Yet all those nations have struggled through similar times, though not all were as dramatic. Remember Solidarity in Poland? Many of you probably don’t. How about Czechoslovakia in 1968? Even fewer remember. Those who have survived don’t want to return.

Wow. Maybe I am talking about right vs. left, although not in the sense most of us have of those two terms. On the right we have government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” On the left we have the Marxist/Fascist philosophy of government “of the elite, by the elite, and for the elite.” Of course, it is never voiced in those terms. Throw a few crumbs and the lemmings will get in line, you know.

The fight in the Middle East is precisely that–a conflict between the two philosophies. Scratch the surface of any proponent on the left who is well-known and respected by others of his ilk in any way and you will find the “elite” watermark. The mullahs in Iran, Saddam, Arafat, Chirac, Annan, and even Kennedy all view their place on this earth as predestined by a God they don’t believe in. How heretical and hypocritical can you get?

December 1, 2004

Window to the world

Filed under: General,International — Bunker @ 5:58 pm

Harry has a most profound assessment of the blogosphere:

One undoubtedly positive result of the explosion in online political debate through weblogs is the ability to create networks, make contacts and share ideas across borders with a previously inconceivable ease.

Perhaps this is the most important outgrowth of blogging.

Bloggers don’t make the news. There is little first-person reporting (except from places like Iraq), but the group taken as a whole offer much to public discourse.

We cover the range from far left to far right, and all opinions are available through links on the various sites. Prior to the Swift Boat Vets coming into the campaign, I had several far left blogs linked. I read them because they had something to offer. They went off the deep end then, and I dropped them. They’ll make their way back as things settle out. They will return to offering something other than bile 24/7. I have confidence in their intellect.

I learned a long time ago that none of us has all the answers. But together, we pretty much have all angles of any issue covered. As long as we can grasp that, the blogosphere will grow stronger, and in the right direction.

November 28, 2004

The Diplomad

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 5:20 pm

Because of my interest in international relations, The Diplomad has become one of my new favorite blogs.

If only people like Jimmy Carter could have understood the facts in today’s post on Fidel Castro, a tremendous amount of suffering might have been averted.

November 26, 2004

Religion of Peace and Tolerance

Filed under: International,Society-Culture — Bunker @ 1:36 pm

Francis has some interesting thoughts on the hostility toward the US:

Islam is a shackler par excellence; always and everywhere, it demands utter and unquestioning submission enforced by the power of the State.

What are we to think when they tell us they simply hate our policies, not our freedoms?

November 24, 2004

More You Should Know About Fallujah

Filed under: International — Bunker @ 1:06 pm

Dean Esmay points out an interesting PowerPoint slide presentation.

Just go see it and don’t ask questions until you do.

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