On Omar's blog, more specifically in the comments section, I came across this link.
My heart and my prayers go out to the victims and their families. I am depressed.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Friday, April 02, 2004
Can you say hyperbole? Check out this statement by John Kerry:
Wow. Not one, single manufacturing job in the ENTIRE United States during the last 3 years. That's funny, I manufactured a PC for my sister and her husband and was paid for it. But I'm not a beautiful person like the haughty, French looking senator from Massachusetts so what the hell do I know?
And I see he's up to 10 million new jobs now. If he is so damned amazing why doesn't he just do away with unemployment altogether? Perhaps modesty is to blame, I hear he served in Vietnam but you wouldn't know it from listening to him. He wouldn't DARE politicize that.
"After three years of punishing job losses, the one month job creation announced today is welcome news for America's workers. I hope it continues. But for too many families, living through the worst job recovery since the Great Depression has been, and continues to be, far too painful. With nearly 2.6 million private sector jobs lost during the Bush presidency, America's families need and deserve a new economic strategy. In every single month of this Administration, we haven't seen the creation of a single manufacturing job in America. That's why I've proposed a strategy that that revitalizes our manufacturing sector and puts us on track to create 10 million new jobs in the next four years."
And I see he's up to 10 million new jobs now. If he is so damned amazing why doesn't he just do away with unemployment altogether? Perhaps modesty is to blame, I hear he served in Vietnam but you wouldn't know it from listening to him. He wouldn't DARE politicize that.
Tom, I felt I needed more space than the comments section to react to Victor Davis Hanson's article on US/European realtions. First of all, it's an excellent article and nail on the head.
Let me now give my assessment as a European.
1° We indeed need a sea-change in mentality over here to influence our defense policy in an effective way. I don't see that happen soon. The Left is too strong.
There are attempts however to create a common defense policy. Instruments for that, on the strategic level are the Western European Union (WEU), currently hibernating, and on the operative level the Eurocorps. You can also click here for a sketchy introduction to this happy campers outfit.
But admitted, there's no firm hand behind a common defense policy.
2° Gifted writer as he is, he has his flaws. He seems to be unaware of the process of political unification. I think this knowledge is absolutely NECESSARY when judging "Europe". Furthermore, the Poles chilling for the Germans once the US leaves? Come on!!! Hey, I just went to the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of coffee (I ate “Sprits zandkoeken” with it (some kind of cookies) (they tasted) and asked my wife Agata (from the Polish city of Wroclaw) whether Poles would be chilling for the Germans if the US Army left its barracks over there. She found the idea absurd. In short, VDH is very much okay but on European matters he'd do well to do some field research over here.
3° Throughout the article I perceive a willingness to label the departure of US troops from Western Europe as some kind of policy to make the EU stand on its feet rather than coddling it, thus forcing us to act mature on defense matters. Hmmmm, I would say that the reasons making the US to consider downgrading its presence here are purely financial and organizational. There’s less threat here, other fronts further to the east (Middle East, Uzbekistan, Korea) are gaining importance AND your military is strained across the globe.
But the effect may be just the same. It may push Europe to hasten taking care of its own defense business.
4° Throughout VDH’s rant I perceive nevertheless a love of Europe. He recognizes our common cultural and historical roots. And here I’d like to end with a positive note. It is my sincere wish that we manage to level the Inter European borders and sensitivities to such an extent that we become a forceful economical, political and military bloc AS ALLIES of the United States. I would like to see NATO evolve to some kind of an alliance between USA, USE, Canada and some minor member states.
Maybe I’m too optimistic here, but in the same way as redeploying your troops elsewhere because of external reasons may encourage us to fend more for ourselves militarily, the to be expected drastic geopolitical changes in tomorrow’s world will force USA and EU towards each other. In both cases it’s a welcome development brought about by external circumstances.
And for the love of God, why are you Americans picking the Belgian military time and again as your favourite target??? Goddammit, our Air Force secures NATO’s utmost northeastern flank thus ensuring your daily beauty sleep passes uneventful! And don’t you know past autumn our Navy, in the form of the Frigate F912 Wandelaar kept a presence in the Caribbean, occasionally combating drugs trafficking as well as guarding the US’s soft underbelly??? And what’s our reward? Victor Davis Hanson with four deprecating comments! One of these days I’m really gonna be pissed off you know!!!
Let me now give my assessment as a European.
1° We indeed need a sea-change in mentality over here to influence our defense policy in an effective way. I don't see that happen soon. The Left is too strong.
There are attempts however to create a common defense policy. Instruments for that, on the strategic level are the Western European Union (WEU), currently hibernating, and on the operative level the Eurocorps. You can also click here for a sketchy introduction to this happy campers outfit.
But admitted, there's no firm hand behind a common defense policy.
2° Gifted writer as he is, he has his flaws. He seems to be unaware of the process of political unification. I think this knowledge is absolutely NECESSARY when judging "Europe". Furthermore, the Poles chilling for the Germans once the US leaves? Come on!!! Hey, I just went to the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of coffee (I ate “Sprits zandkoeken” with it (some kind of cookies) (they tasted) and asked my wife Agata (from the Polish city of Wroclaw) whether Poles would be chilling for the Germans if the US Army left its barracks over there. She found the idea absurd. In short, VDH is very much okay but on European matters he'd do well to do some field research over here.
3° Throughout the article I perceive a willingness to label the departure of US troops from Western Europe as some kind of policy to make the EU stand on its feet rather than coddling it, thus forcing us to act mature on defense matters. Hmmmm, I would say that the reasons making the US to consider downgrading its presence here are purely financial and organizational. There’s less threat here, other fronts further to the east (Middle East, Uzbekistan, Korea) are gaining importance AND your military is strained across the globe.
But the effect may be just the same. It may push Europe to hasten taking care of its own defense business.
4° Throughout VDH’s rant I perceive nevertheless a love of Europe. He recognizes our common cultural and historical roots. And here I’d like to end with a positive note. It is my sincere wish that we manage to level the Inter European borders and sensitivities to such an extent that we become a forceful economical, political and military bloc AS ALLIES of the United States. I would like to see NATO evolve to some kind of an alliance between USA, USE, Canada and some minor member states.
Maybe I’m too optimistic here, but in the same way as redeploying your troops elsewhere because of external reasons may encourage us to fend more for ourselves militarily, the to be expected drastic geopolitical changes in tomorrow’s world will force USA and EU towards each other. In both cases it’s a welcome development brought about by external circumstances.
And for the love of God, why are you Americans picking the Belgian military time and again as your favourite target??? Goddammit, our Air Force secures NATO’s utmost northeastern flank thus ensuring your daily beauty sleep passes uneventful! And don’t you know past autumn our Navy, in the form of the Frigate F912 Wandelaar kept a presence in the Caribbean, occasionally combating drugs trafficking as well as guarding the US’s soft underbelly??? And what’s our reward? Victor Davis Hanson with four deprecating comments! One of these days I’m really gonna be pissed off you know!!!
Great post on the Corner by John Derbyshire.
Best Line: "The State is the cold, stern guardian of our rights and liberties, not a frigging psychoanalyst leading Group.
Best Line: "The State is the cold, stern guardian of our rights and liberties, not a frigging psychoanalyst leading Group.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
It appears Lt. Shifrin has his head on straight. Thank God we have people like him in our armed forces.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Tom, Kerry, Scott and Mark, DON'T WORRY ANY LONGER!!!
You may be aware that by accepting Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia et al in its ranks, NATOs airspace
has expanded eastwards. These countries lacking proper fighter interceptors, this left the newly created
eastern boundary of NATO dangerously exposed.
Luckily the Belgian Air Force is keeping watch.
So don't be afraid for possible hordes of Fulcrums and Flankers coming out of Putin's Evil Empire.
You may be aware that by accepting Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia et al in its ranks, NATOs airspace
has expanded eastwards. These countries lacking proper fighter interceptors, this left the newly created
eastern boundary of NATO dangerously exposed.
Luckily the Belgian Air Force is keeping watch.
So don't be afraid for possible hordes of Fulcrums and Flankers coming out of Putin's Evil Empire.
Here's a good article from NRO about how jobs are created. By the way, they're talking about real jobs, not the pretend ones that John Kerry would like to create by raising taxes to pay for all kinds of new government programs. He claims he will create 10 Million new jobs in his first 4 years in office. What he isn't telling us is that we (that is, those of us who actually pay taxes) will be the ones paying the salaries of those lucky enough to get one of Kerry's hand out jobs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)