Wikileaks Holds America Hostage; Obama Fiddles, Carter Smiles

Blogging at Legal Insurrection, William A. Jacobson nails it with a nice assemblage of information on the meaning of the release of over 250,000 State Department cables by the folks at Wikileaks. A sample opinion:

The Wikileaks folks trot the globe with impunity and funnel documents to the press at will, for the purpose of damaging U.S. relations with other countries, our war efforts, and our intelligence capability. And we do almost nothing about it.

Whether or not someone gets killed as a direct result of a Wikileaks disclosure, the damage to our country is deep, as allies and sources among enemies will stop cooperating with us for fear of exposure, our diplomats will be hesitant to speak frankly with headquarters, and our intelligence on al-Qaeda and others will be compromised.

This is a short blog entry, to the point, and featuring several links if you want more information. Worth your time. Read it here.

Tip to the Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit.

Will History Repeat Itself?

Classicist and military historian, Victor Davis Hanson, raises this interesting question in reference to Germany, a nation unified for twenty years and recognized as the economic engine of a struggling European Union. This is where we are today in Hanson's view:

. . . instead of the old deadly inter-European rivalry, for a while a continental culture did indeed emerge. Prosperous Europeans from the Mediterranean to the Baltic embraced socialism, utopianism abroad, childlessness, agnosticism, and a fashionable anti-Americanism, ensuring no more 19^th-century nationalism or 20^th-century wars. At least all that was what we were lectured about for the last twenty years by European chauvinists and dreamy American liberals.

Above, he alludes to a future when the fluffy world of cultural equivalence bumps into economic reality. The outcome may not be very pretty for the world community as it moves away from the super power dominance of the United States. History types will enjoy this post. Those who don't often dwell with the great chains of circumstance may want to take heed.

My thanks to George Moneo at Babalu for the tip.

Hezbollah And Mutaa Marriage

Trust me, you will not be reading about this subject in the mainstream or state-run media. And I wonder why NOW, the UN, and every "rights" defender isn't exposing the radical Islamofascists who impose this psycho-sexual nightmare on their society?

Afghanistan In History

Christopher Booker, writing for telegraph.com, tells us why today's conflict in Afghanistan will be very difficult for the West to resolve.

The Berlin Wall Comes Down: 11-9-1989

Scott Johnson channeled my thoughts perfectly in his post on the fall of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago today. It would be impossible for me to add to it, so I'll simply supply a link here.

Johnson uses Peter Robinson's recollection of the event for the body of his post. Robinson is a key player in the story as he wrote the famous "tear down this wall" speech for his president. Readers already know of my great respect for Robinson. If you have not read his memoir, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, please add it to your reading list.

Iran: Scenario For Disaster

Peter Robinson has another important series of Uncommon Knowledge interviews in progress at National Review Online. This week, Victor Davis Hanson and Richard Baer discuss Iran's intentions and their impacts on a free world. The interview, even early in the week, has caught the attention of several bloggers. Your link is here.

More Thought On Obama's Prize

From William Katz at Urgent Agenda:

It is a dangerous move by the Nobel Peace Prize committee. Obviously it's intended to put pressure on Obama to be more like Carter, which is his natural instinct anyway.

. . . .

It is a terrible day, in which the cynicism of European leftists politics embraces the most radical president we've ever had. The world will not be better for this award . . . .

Read it all here.

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

We could laugh at this event and move on, but Daniel Pipes tells us why the award happened and the danger its aftermath may pose for American interests. Here's a sample:

The absurdity of the prize decision will harm Obama politically in the United States, contrasting his role as international celebrity with his record devoid of accomplishments.

Powerline's Scott Johnson has posted more on thus subject here, including evaluations by Professor Paul Rahe and Charles Krauthammer. The comments are frightening.

More Cloward-Piven Activity?

Moonbattery provides us with some analysis of how a global tax proposed by the International Monetary Fund would bring about "hope and change" by driving the United States and the free world into financial ruin. Frankly, I wouldn't give this line of thought a second of my time, but it makes too much sense given some of the loony left policies emanating from the White House these days.

If the Cloward-Piven strategy is new to you, go here.

The Rest Of The Story

Imagine a U.S. senator enlisting the Soviet Union to help his party defeat the president of the United States. Senator Ted Kennedy proposed this to Soviet President Yuri Andropov in 1983. The letter was found in the Soviet Archives in 1991. Peter Robinson has the sordid details here in his column at Forbes.com. Source: George Moneo, Babalu. I'll bet you won't hear about it in the state-run, mainstream media.

Oil Contracts For Dying Terrorists

It seems there was more than compassion driving the release of the Lockerbie terrorist. The New York Times has the story here. Here's the story from the Times Online across the Atlantic. And still more from the British perspective here in the Telegraph. No one ever said politics was an honorable game.

Deadly Missile Test In May?

Was there or wasn't there? The Jerusalem Post reports via a Japanese news service that a missile test conducted jointly by Iran, Syria, and North Korea failed, killing twenty civilians and injuring another sixty or more. The Post states that it can't confirm the report, but William Katz supplies us with a succinct conclusion about dealing with rogue states in today's edition of Urgent Agenda.

Katz is quite correct that these events don't make good headlines and can be easily overshadowed by flashier news. The backstory here should provide all the information our government needs to confirm the intentions of states operating on the edge of reason.

All Talk And Pending Action On Iran?

There's been plenty of speculation this weekend on a pending air strike against nuclear facilities in Iran. Some reports say that Saudi Arabia would not protest the attack as they have reason to fear Iran's nuclear weapons as much as other nearby nations. Vice President Joe Biden made similar "suggestions" that the U.S. could not prevent another nation from taking unilateral action against Iran. All of this was a backdrop to President Obama's statement in today's papers that there was no "approval" of such an attack by Israel. Actually, the statement, as reported in the Jerusalem Post, is a nice blend of interests. For now, the middlegame continues.

The Coming Storm: Obama And American Jewry

Shmuley Boteach, writing in The Jerusalem Post, addresses the fragile coalition between Democrats and American Jews.

Frankly Steyn

Mark Steyn should be a national living treasure for Canada, the place of his birth and citizenship. Where else in this world can you find encyclopedic knowledge of popular music, Broadway and the Great American Songbook; incisive, reasoned political commentary; and a fiercely entertaining writing style all in one person? The polymaths do lurk among us, but I doubt most of them have extraordinary communication skills. Steyn seems to qualify, though I don't know the full scope of his knowledge. Whatever the case, he provides us with a superb analysis of the dangers of neutrality for western powers in this piece, brought to my attention by Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard.

Iran Unrest Grows: World Watches Live

Hot Air has a full roundup of today's events in Iran here. A few days ago, I commented about the information singularity. It would appear the post-election turmoil in the streets of Tehran and elsewhere in the country may be an illustration of this phenomenon. As the regime crushes dissent and slaughters its own people, sounds and images from hundreds of cell phone flash around the world at the speed of light. News reports and commentary cannot be written fast enough to address the moment. In its place, there is a stream of observations captured by the participants. As of 11:00PM, EDT, almost 1000 hits addressing the protests are available on YouTube.

Millions 0f viewers form their own conclusions from the raw input. This is the face of personal empowerment. The Western ancients would be pleased.

UPDATE: The state-run media operating in the U.S. cannot get away with falsehoods in light of the new empowerment. Bruce Kessler, blogging at Maggie's Farm, exposed The New York Times on its rigging of a nationalized health care poll appearing in today's edition. Gateway Pundit has the story here. Times readers may be liberal, but they're not stupid. Even they will tire of this arrogance and deception.

Krauthammer Speaks Volumes

Charles Krauthammer has become one of the most significant voices of our time with his tight logic, common sense, and knowledgeable commentary on events, foreign and domestic. Here is his latest take on Iran along with comments from William Katz at Urgent Agenda. Krauthammer and Katz: two powerful forces for real journalism.

Expecting The Obvious

As the Middle East continues to destabilize, who would have thought that only 6% of Israelis considered the U.S. government to be pro-Israel. Gateway Pundit has the story here.

Political Singularity

Here are some interesting thoughts on what happens to a society when news of events and their interpretations reach the audience almost simultaneously. The singularity concept fascinates me. I hope to be around to see it happen with artificial intelligence.

Standing With Liberty

Sarkozy has denounced the vote in Iran. U.S. chooses not to "meddle." The sad story is here.