PUTIN GIVING ADVICE ABOUT DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN THE UKRAINE IS LIKE...

Kofi Annan giving advice about stopping genocide to Rwandans or Bosnians or Sudanese... Or Kofi giving advice to Paul Volker on how to properly run an investigation into the corruption of the Oil for Food Program... Or Kofi giving advice to Ken Starr on how to investigate sexual harassment...

Why don't Putin and Kofi - and Jimmy Carter, while I'm at it - just sit down and shut up.

UPDATE: NOW GORBY IS MOUTHING OFF! He should shut up, too! What did he ever do besides try to prop up a decadent corrupt socialist tyranny?!?!?!

THE LEFT'S FEAR OF RELIGIOUS PEOPLE

Betsy Newmark - of the GREAT BLOG Betsy's Page (a MUST READ EVERYDAY BLOG!) - has a fascinating post about how historically speaking religious presidents are common. Betsy concludes that therefore the Left's current harsh criticism of Bush, because he is religious, is phony and merely partisan. I disagree; I think it is not partisan.

I think most of the Democrats and all of the Left are moral relativists who look down on religious people because the Left believes that religious thinking is stupid, illogical, over-simplified un-nuanced. That's why they like to call themselves the "reality-based" party.

The Left believed this about religious people prior to 9/11 - but it did NOT bug them as much then as it does now. Lincoln, FDR, Truman, MLK Jr., Carter, Reagan and Clinton - for starters- all used a lot of religious language and images in their speeches -- as Betsy's post related - but the Democrats and the Left never complained about it then.

I think that the Democrats and the Left are more afraid of religiousness now because they blame "religious fanaticism" for 9/11 and they conflate the Jihadoterrorists - (who actually perpetrated 9/11, and decades of other less horrific but still horrible terrorism all over the world) - with any and all devoutly religious people of any faith - sects that have NEVER perpetrated any terror anywhere.

To the Left - Christian fundamentalists and Islamic Salafist/Qutbist/Wahabbist Jihadoterrorists are not merely analogical equivalents to each other, they're identical in essence, and they're to be equally feared to the Left. To the Left, it's "THAT you preach," and not "WHAT you preach" that matters.

Of course: this is ABSURD. But remember, it comes from the folks who call our president "BusHitler" and spell out our AG's name "AshKKKroft." Which is obviously equally absurd.

(On top of this absurd conflation, the Left's post-modernist bent makes them pre-disposed to be less tolerant of Western religious sects, than Eastern or non-Western sects.)

Sure: Many Democrats try to exploit Bush's religiousness for partisan gain - but as the election showed, this can only work among the Left, and the Left isn't enough to carry the nation.

Thank God.

UPDATED BREAKING NEWS IN THE UKRAINE

UPDATED...

BREAKING NEWS FROM MOSCOW NEWS SERVICE:

The candidates in Ukraine’s disputed presidential election, after mediations that lasted nearly three hours Friday, agreed to set up a working group for further talks and declared the official poll results, which handed victory to pro-Moscow Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, invalid. The sides agreed to act in accordance with an upcoming ruling from Ukraine’s Supreme Court on the alleged voting violations.“To oversee the negotiating process, the sides have created a working group to reach a joint decision to resolve the political crisis,” outgoing president Leonid Kuchma said in the Mariinsky presidential palace, Reuters reported. Both Yanukovich and liberal challenger Viktor Yushchenko had agreed to renounce violence, Kuchma was quoted by Reuters as saying. “The group is to start working immediately ... We will without any doubt find a worthy way out of this complicated situation. We understand that we have but one Ukraine and if we fail to find a solution, the consequences will be most unfavorable.”

The two rivals beamingly shook hands at the end of the talks. After the meeting, which included mediators from Europe and Russia, Yushchenko announced to the thousands of demonstrators rallying for the fifth day on Kiev’s Independence Square that the results have been declared invalid after the talks, and that a new round of elections would be held, monitored by the OSCE, the Russian Information Agency Novosti reported. “The sides agreed that that the results of the second round that were announced earlier do not correspond to the will of the people and must be cancelled,” Novosti quoted Yushchenko as saying.

UPDATE: This news story seems to contradict the above, saying NO DEAL has been reached! BUT....... THIS POST from, Le Sabot Post-Modene, seems to WANT to confirm elements of it - but so far can only relay it as a rumor, with caveats. STAY TUNED!

UPDATE: "Reuters": UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT TO MEET SATURDAY TO DEBATE THE ELECTION... "We are counting on parliament to give its political assessment of the Central Election Commission," Yushchenko told a vast crowd assembled in Kiev's Independence Square for the fifth day. All groups backed the sitting, except Yanukovich's Regions of Ukraine party. A similar debate this week was closed amid pandemonium as Yushchenko symbolically took the oath of office. "

UPDATE 11/27 - UK Telegraph: Ukrainian Parliament Declares the Election Invalid... Most observers say this is largely symbolic - the Supreme Court will be final, though... stay tuned - they meet on Monday...

How do you think the DU'ers and the LLL feel about the Ukraine?

I betchya many DU'ers and others on the loony Left must be looking at the doings in the Ukraine very JEALOUSLY, and wondering why oh why oh why didn't they do HERE what the opposition is doing THERE!

SHARANSKY TO PALESTINIANS: "NO REFORM, THEN NO TERRITORY, NO STATE, AND NO PEACE"

NATAN SHARANSKY IN THE JERUSALEM POST:

"If the new Palestinian leadership seeks to build a democratic society, then the free world should support and encourage each step along the way. Such a leadership should be provided with international legitimacy, money and, yes, territory. But if the new leadership is not interested in building a democracy, then it should be given no legitimacy, no money, and no concessions. The formula for peace is simple: Embrace leaders who embrace democratic reform and reject leaders who don't. "

Sharansky suggest four ways we can measure Palestinian reform:

"We should should seek to find concrete means to determine whether Palestinians are making progress on democratic reforms, so we can link our policies directly to such reforms. First ... refugee camps should be dismantled as soon as possible and the refugees resettled in decent housing. Second ... Textbooks where Israel does not appear on the map and PA-controlled television programs where kindergarten children beckon their classmates to follow the path of suicide martyrdom should be replaced with an educational system that promotes peace. Third ... the new PA [must] embrace joint ventures that strengthen the Palestinian middle class while inevitably lessening the control the new regime has over its subjects. Finally, a new Palestinian leadership that is committed to reform will be our partners in fighting terror, for as long as terror continues no reform will be possible."

Sharansky continues: "We should be under no illusions about the upcoming Palestinian elections. ... Free elections can only be held in a free society where people can express their views without fear of being punished, let alone killed. ... Still, whoever emerges from the elections in January should be given an opportunity to win the trust of the free world, including Israel."

Sharansky concludes: "In the weeks, months, and years ahead, those who want to know the state of the peace process might want to tune out all the chatter and ask themselves one question: Is there more freedom today within Palestinian society than there was last week, last month, or last year? If the answer is yes, then we will truly be moving down the road to peace."

Read the whole article, then buy and read his new book: The Case for Democracy.

PAKISTAN REMOVES CHECKPOINTS IN TRIBAL REGION

According to the BBC, Pakistan is removing all their checkpoints in the tribal regions. This might make it easier for al Qaida remnants continue to hide-out or to re-enter Afghanistan. AND/OR... it might strengthen their ties to tribal chiefs who might then be willing to do more to help the Pakistan government and army get al Qaida foreign fighters. Toward this end, the government of Pakistan is also releasing some tribal prisoners.

This seems like wishful-thinking, to me. And, I think it's unwise to prosecute the GWOT with strategies based on wishful-thinking. The tribal chiefs have screwed us before; they will probably again. After all, if Allawi's treatment by many of the tribal chiefs in the Sunni Triangle is any indication, then tribal chiefs are simply not reliable allies. Which means - to me at least - that Pakistan should instead be planning their own version of "Operation Plymouth Rock" inside their own "Tribal Triangle."

OKAY, okay - some tribal chiefs have been fine: the northern tribes of Afghanistan, the Shias in southern Iraq; the Kurds in northern Iraq... but it seems to me that all of these reliable tribal chiefs ALSO have another status, in less primitive/less nativistic organizations. So, I'd recommend that we only rely only the tribal chiefs who are also leaders in other more modern, Western civic organizations. Which rules out the tribal chiefs in the lawless western regions of Pakistan. Which means the Pakistan government should be cranking UP their overt military efforts, and NOT winding them DOWN. Musharraf needs to be even braver than he has been - more like Allawi...

UKRAINIAN POLICE CADETS MARCH WITH OPPOSITION

According to BBC TV NEWS (links to the BBC video-player; then choose "Ukraine rivals meet to end crisis" for a 2:00 minute story): Ukrainian POLICE CADETS marched with the opposition tonight in Kiev - chanting "Police with the people!"

This comes after the biggest TV station - owned by a Putin/Kuchma supporter - came out and said that their news would no longer be biased against the opposition!

The momentum is clearly on the side of the people. The only question is: how long before the Putin/Kuchma status-quoists relent, and - if they don't relent - whether they will resort to violence to attempt to stem the tide of this popular (and so far non-violent) rebellion...

IRAQ'S BRAVE INTERIM GOVERNMENT TAKES THE HARD-LINE

NASDAQ/AP - President Allawi: "The operations south of Baghdad, north of Hillah, is according to plans done by the government that gives priority to clearing these areas from the elements that want to inflict Iraq with death and destruction." Meanwhile, Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the Iraqi government intends to turns its attention to insurgents inside Baghdad once the current offensive south of the capital is completed: "There are pockets in Baghdad that we have to liquidate and confront."

I wish we heard this kind of talk from the Palestinians: They'll get a state and PEACE and prosperity - once the Jihadoterrorists are wiped out! This can only happen if the interim (and then new) Palestinian president takes as tough a stand as Allawi's has.

THE COMING ELECTION IN IRAQ

Charles Krauthammer:

In 1864, 11 of the 36 United States did not participate in the presidential election. Was Abraham Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate? In 1868, three states did not participate in the election. Was Ulysses Grant's election illegitimate? There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, tough luck.

RTWT.

UPDATE: Deacon over at POWERLINE has made an important criticism of Krauthammer's article - "I'm not a blind adherent to the pottery store view of Iraq -- 'you broke it, you bought it.' And I certainly agree that we should not lead the fight in Iraq indefinitely. However, I think that, in Krauthammer's institutionalized civil war scenario, our national interests would require more engagement than Krauthammer seems to envisage.

ON VIEW IN KIEV: the very soul of liberty

These words were written by Ivan Lozowy - President of the Institute of Statehood and Democracy in Kiev - and published in the INDEPENDENT:

"As I write these words, my wife has taken our elder daughter to demonstrate on Independence Square, if only for a few hours. If I hurry, I will be in time to join them. What is it like to protest publicly in a semi-authoritarian state, knowing there are thousands of specially trained riot police waiting around the corner? We know what is at stake today. Not just an election, but our very survival as citizens of a democratic country. ... I have never been prouder of my fellow countrymen than I am today. As Viktor Yushchenko said on the first day of the demonstrations, whatever tomorrow brings we have shown that we are a nation, proud and free."

RTWT.

How America Has Been Aiding and Abetting Peaceful Democratic Revolutions

Here's a fascinating article - in the UK Guardian - about how the US government and US NGO's have been helping to spread democracy in Central America and in Eastern Europe - places like Sebia, Georgia, and now the Ukraine. From the intro: "But while the gains of the orange-bedecked "chestnut revolution" are Ukraine's, the campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in four countries in four years, has been used to try to salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes."

RTWT.

al Arabia poll: 74% of Arabs favor Hamas to succeed Arafat

Here's the article:

"A survey of the Arab world organized by the Al-Arabia network website after the death of Yasser Arafat, showed 73.72% want a Hamas representative to replace Arafat, ITIM reported. In contrast only 0.7% expect that one of the PLO leaders will take over. 25.58% were in favor of an independent candidate. 113, 107 participants from across the Arab world took part in the survey. The organizers of the survey explained that the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad organization stand for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the land of historic Palestine, a concept that the PLO gave up on when the Oslo discussions began. "

IOW: Arabs prefer Hamas - which has never accepted the state of Israel - or the two-state solution - and which wants to destroy Israel and replace it with a Muslim Arab state.

This poll reveals a few things: first, that the vast majority of Arabs still do not want the state of Israel to exist; second that those in the West who believe that Arafat's passing increased the likelihood for a settlement of the dispute and a two-state solution ARE FLAT OUT WRONG. Unless and until the genocidal Jihadoterrorists - like Hamas, Hizb'allah and IJ, and the rest - are DEFEATED and forced to accept the state of Israel, there will be no peace, no settlement, no two-state solution, and no "state of Palestine."

The Bush Doctrine is based on two things: transparency, and democracy within the Palestinian Authority, and their full efforts to stop the Jihadoterrorists. This poll reveals that the vast majority of Arabs do NOT want to stop terrorism - indeed, they want the Jihadoterrorists enshrined into office. Which means that a unilateral separation from Gaza - and then from almost all of the West Bank - is the only way for Israel to maintain security (albeit in a virtual/perpetual state of war with its neighbors) and remain a Jewish state. Polls in Israel reveal that 60% of Israelis expect this is the only realistic outcome - and accept it.

CHEM WEAPONS LAB FOUND IN FALLUJAH

Coalition forces - led by the Iraqi Army - have discovered a chemical weapons lab in Fallujah. "Soldiers from the Iraqi National Guard found a chemical laboratory that was used to prepare deadly explosives and poisons," Minister of State Kassim Daoud told a news conference. "They also found in the lab booklets and instructions on how to make bombs and poisons. They even talked about the production of anthrax."

Not surprising - after all, Zarqawi was known as al Qaida's chemist: "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who is credited with being Al Qaeda's chemist-in-chief - an expert in weapons of mass destruction. It is Abu, too, who is credited with being the mastermind behind a plot to use ricin to poison food at a British military base and other Allied military sites across Europe."

CLOSING THE NET ON ZARQAWI

AP: Zarqawi's top lieutenant captured in Mosul. It's only a matter of time, now - a short time - before we GET Zarqawi!

UPDATE - AP / Les Temps Daily (Switzerland): Zarqawi's cellphone use has been traced. His sim-card was from Switzerland. He called all over Europe and Hong Kong and Chile. Cellphone tracings have led to the capture of other al Qaida leaders - including KSM. Others being tracked now...

THE UKRAINE - UPDATED: will it be like Georgia or Tiennamen?

The Ukrainian people have taken to the streets. They want democracy. There is some likelihood - unless we warn Russia now (and threaten rebukes) - the Russians will act to install their stooge, and then send in their military, and then instigate violence - and blame it on the people. As of now, there have been NO TROOP MOVEMENTS, but we'll have to wait and see...

The West - the USA the EU and the UN - must make it clear that we will not accept any intervention, or the theft of the election - by threatening Russia and their stooges with sanctions.

So... I wonder, anxiously: Will it end like Georgia - with a victory for the forces of freedom? Or, will it end like Tiennamen Square - in failure for the Ukrainians, and shame for the rest of us for not doing enough to make a difference?

UPDATE: (ACCORDING TO FOXNEWS) - POWELL SAYS USA WILL NOT ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THE UKRAINE ELECTION THAT CLAIM RUSSIA'S MAN HAS WON BECAUSE THE ELECTION WAS MARRED BY FRAUD.

UPDATE: C-SPAN HAS POWELL'S STRONG STATEMENT ON VIDEO - (9 minutes). He answers a few questions from the press, too. (Sec. of State Colin Powell Briefing on Ukraine - 11/24/2004).

UPDATE: OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR A NATIONAL STRIKE! IF THE STRIKE WORKS THEN UKRAINE WILL BE LIKE GEORGIA. IF THE GOVERNMENT USES TROOPS AND POLICE TO BREAK THE STRIKE, THEN WE HAVE "TIANNAMEN REDUX." STAY TUNED...

UPDATE: Reuben F. Johnson has written an in depth article in the WEEKLY STANDARD...... He ends up with the same question I started out with: Will Ukraine end up like Tiennamen Square of like Georigia?

UPDATE - 11/25: (UPI): The OPPOSITION has filed a case with the Uklrainian Supreme Court. And Putin agrees with this move - so it's suspect; (maybe Kuchma and Putin control the Court?). Still no troop movements...

UPDATE 11/25: BBC - "Ukraine's top court has suspended publication of the disputed presidential election result until it considers the opposition's appeal."

UPDATE 11/25: ACCORDING TO "REUTERS," THIS RULING, BY UKRAINE'S HIGH COURT, EFFECTIVELY BLOCKS THE INAUGURATION OF PUTIN'S & KUCHMA'S HAND-PICKED SUCCESSOR.

UPDATE 11/25 - "RIA NOVOSTI": One of the leaders of the opposition in Ukraine Julia Timoshenko summoned the participant [s] in the rally on Independence Square in Kiev to blockade the buildings of government, the Parliament and the President’s Administration, reports RIA Novosti. 'We shall start a blockade of all authorities', announced Timoshenko in front of the marchers adding that this blockade will not be aggressive. "

NORTH KOREA WANTS TO URGENTLY RESTART MULTILATERAL NUKE TALKS

BREAKING NEWS FROM "REUTERS" -

"By Jack Kim / SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea wants urgently to restart six-party talks on its nuclear programs... [...] North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China have met for three inconclusive rounds of the talks but a fourth round set for September did not materialize. Analysts said Pyongyang wanted to see the outcome of the U.S. election before resuming talks. [...] ...reports surfaced last week that some portraits of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had been removed in the secretive communist state, triggering speculation that his grip on power may be slipping. North Korea experts said the move was likely Kim's own attempt to project a more rounded image of his leadership. Rumors circulated in currency and stock markets in Seoul and Tokyo early on Thursday that Kim had been shot dead."

Maybe Kim Jong Il is not dead; maybe he's only "RONERY!"? STAY TUNED...

UPDATE: YAHOO / AFP - North Koreans are no longer wearing Kim Jong Il badges, but only badges with his father's likeness (the late Kim Il Sung). This might be as significant as the disappearing pictures... [Hmm... when confronted about this, will the North Koreans reply, "Badges!? We don't need no steenking badges!" Heh.]

Giving Thanks

I thank God every day that I was born in America. There is so much to be thankful for. Every Thanksgiving I read Lincoln's 1863 Proclamation. Because so many of our fellow Americans are now serving in dangerous war-zones overseas, this is an especially important document to read this Thanksgiving.

There are other things to be grateful for - other people to be grateful to, people who made or are making a difference - people who help make the world a better place.

Here's story about one of them - one which you probably haven't heard about before. It's from The Scotsman, (11/25/04 edition - so, it's especially fitting to read on Thanksgiving!) It's about a British spy who was honored yesterday at the British Embassy in Berlin - on the 120th anniversary of his birth. He was honored because he saved TEN TIMES as many Jews from the NAZI camps than Schindler did. MORE THAN 10,000! Why did he do it? "'Foley was just a good guy doing what he could,' Mr Smith [his biographer] said." Some of the people he saved were at the ceremony - and gave thanks!

Of course, there's more to his story, so: RTWT. And have a Happy Thanksgiving!

PENTAGON: Fallujah had enough weapons for sustained a nationwide armed insurrection

Looks like there's gonna be a huge payoff from the Fallujah operations: "We found enough weapons in Falluja for the insurgency to take over the whole country," Lieutenant Colonel Dan Wilson told a news conference at a U.S. base near the western city.

IRAQ'S UN AMBASSADOR REBUKES KOFI ANNAN

Kofi Annan - by executive fiat - has taken $30 MILLION in funds from the UN's suspect "OIL FOR FOOD" account to pay for the internal UN investigation into bribery, embezzlement, and corruption. Not surprisingly, Iraq's UN Ambassador has lodged an official protest. The money - after all - belongs to the Iraqi people, not the UN. Another reason that Kofi MUST GO!

IRAN'S CHEATS AND RETREATS THE IAEA... AGAIN!

The Iranians already want to renegotiate the EU/IAEA nuke deal. Story here.

I say: no deal with the Iranian mullagarchy is even worth the paper it's written on. It will be soon time for HARDBALL - I don't mean it's time to send them that rude blatthering Left-wing cable host, either (although I'm sure that Matthews would bug the merde out of them!); I mean the USA must get directly involved, and the matter MUST be brought to the UNSC for a sanctions resolution. NOW.

HOT ON ZARQAWI'S TRAIL

Could we REALLY be close to getting Zarqawi? Roger L. Simon relayed the rumor from HAMMORABI. Now, the story has broken into the MSM:

"KIRKUK, Iraq - Security forces were Tuesday focusing their hunt for Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, on an area in north-central Iraq after receiving a tip-off, an Iraqi national guard officer said. 'We received concrete information from very reliable sources that Zarqawi was transferred today to Tuz Khormatu and is heading to Baquba,' Staff Brigadier General Anwar Hamad Ameed, the national guard chief in the northern city of Kirkuk, said."

Let's keep our fiungers crossed, and pray for our troops.

UPDATE: FOX IS REPORTING THERE'S A NEW AUDIOTAPE OF ZARQAWI - HE SOUNDS DESPERATE AND ANGRY AT THE CLERICAL COMMUNITY THERE FOR LETTING HIM DOWN!

TIME FOR "HELMS-BIDEN" REDUX

In the 1990's, Congress passed a bipartisan bill - the Helms-Biden Act - which forced the federal government to withhold UN dues until the UN reformed. It worked. It's time to use that tactic again - to get UN cooperation with the Congressional committee investigating recent UN abuses - namely the OIL FOR FOOD SCANDAL.

Here's a letter I sent to the Chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee - Senators Lugar and Biden. I also sent a few to a couple of other senators on the FR committee and one to Senator Norm Coleman - chairman of the Government Affairs committee - (which is the lead committee investigating the UN's Oil for Food scandal in the Senate), and to a few members of that committee, too.Read it. If you agree, copy it and send it to your senator. If a few Senators threatened to introduce the Bill, it might turn up the heat on the UN and get the Congress more cooperation. HERE'S THE LETTER:

Dear Senator;

In the 1990's Congress passed the Helms-Biden act - withholding dues fro the UN until they reformed. It worked.It's time to at least threaten the same thing now: Either the UN starts cooperating with the Congressional investigations in the "Oil for Food Scandal" or we will withhold dues.This is all about accountability. The American people expect the UN to beaccountable. Your committee should demand it on behalf of the American people - and Iraqis. The embezzled monies - maybe as much as $27 billion - must be found and returned to the Iraqi people. A Congressional investigation could help accomplish this - if the UN cooperated. IF YOU PASS A NEW BILL WITHHOLDING DUES UNTIL THEY COOPERATE! THEY WILL THEN COOPERATE!Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,