Kaddafi Blames bin Laden

Three days ago, JANA (Libya’s official news agency), blamed Israel for the unrest. It didn’t convince anyone (or at least not enough) to unite the country. Now, the blame shifts to bin Laden, self-declared - raised to the status of mythical arch - enemy of the West. Kaddafi is grasping at straws. In some part of what's left of his mind he remembers how the West is in the process of destroying itself with the notion that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.

Not everything Kaddafi says is mad. In fact, when viewed objectively, he makes several good points - and all, seemingly without the help of a teleprompter. No one can doubt that at least some of what he says about AQ is true. No one can doubt that, to some extent, children have been deliberately wrested from their parents’ beliefs and control. Hell, it’s happening in our own country; schools teaching kids a lot of BS that their parents would never openly approve of! Parents, in both subtle and overt ways, are routinely accused by their kids of committing crimes against the planet; against humanity. It’s well documented that parents often find themselves on the defensive. As such, many have taken a back seat in hopes of avoiding arguments with their eco-fascistic offspring whom they are condemned to love.

With Kaddafi it’s not so complicated. I don’t know to what extent bin Laden is involved in the Libyan turmoil (if at all). He mentions bin Laden merely for the effect it might have in the West. Will the West mobilize to save him under the notion that ‘the enemy of my enemy…”? Probably not. Still, it was worth a try; and it does prove that he’s still out there punching, and not folding like a cheap camera - like Mubarak did.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

...and liberals applaud

The headlines this morning read that the reason for Hu’s visit to the U.S. was to proclaim to the world that China is now equal to the U.S. It has also been quite apparent for some time that China is on the rise (while America is in decline). Therefore, it can be now be said with some certainty that China will overtake the U.S. in the future. Such is the narrative of the (popular mechanics) press at any rate. …and liberals applaud.

There are, however, still some facts on the ground that put the lie to this view. The Chinese economy is clearly only a fraction of the U.S.’s. China’s military might, while growing, also lags behind. The difference as it stands now is in the willingness each country exhibits in using these to advantage. China has shown it is serious about overtaking the U.S., while America, under the current administration, could care less about maintaining its edge.

We have come to a critical point in world history. For the first time, we have an administration whose fundamental view is that America should not be preeminent on the world stage and is actively seeking to bring this about. It has happily abandoned the notion of American ‘exceptionalism’ and gone to foreign shores to apologize for America over and over again. At the same time, it has all but abandoned its traditional allies and sought to embrace its enemies.

The strategy, if there ever was one, was to ease points of friction by simply stopping the wheels. It has not worked. Unilaterally deciding to step aside and end our resistance to the thrusts of our traditional enemies will not automatically make them into friends. Instead, they will interpret this as a sign of weakness and double down on their efforts. Meanwhile, our friends are heading for the tall grass.

So far, our media has put down sundry omissions and missteps in diplomatic protocol to our president’s inexperience. In the diplomatic world, however, no serious player would return symbolic gifts to allies, offer inappropriate gifts to heads of state, bow to lesser leaders, inadvertently fly foreign flags upside down, or misspell the names of foreign dignitaries on White House table settings. Just not done.

Lang Lang’s ‘prank’ was not a mistake. It was carefully and deliberately orchestrated with the full knowledge of Chinese leadership. It was meant primarily for home consumption, showing that China is running rings around a timid and uninformed America. (Chavez pulled a similar stunt.) It is the equivalent of Chinese proxy North Korea sinking the Cheonan or bombing a South Korean (populated) island with impunity.

As is his way, Obama, the President of the United States, leader of our nation, just sits there in seemingly ignorant bliss and allows the credibility of our once great nation get dragged through the mud. No doubt Hu Jintao (as well as bin Laden) has seen the pictures of American soldiers tied to the backs of Toyota pick-ups being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. It’s doubtful that Obama’s memory goes back that far.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Were We Attacked?

I couldn’t sleep last night. It wasn’t the red fox screeching outside my open window; it wasn’t my lumpy bed; it wasn’t the extra cup of Brazilian coffee I had after dinner.

You keep saying “accident”. How do you know the Deepwater Horizon platform explosion and its subsequent collapse two days before the world was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day was an accident?

Nobody could claim that 9/11 was an ‘accident’. There were too many witnesses. But everything done since has been to assign ultimate blame to America. Then there was what was widely suspected as the torpedoing of the South Korean naval vessel by North Korea a month ago. If true, this was clearly an act of war, but nobody’s talking. Why? Because chivalry demands a suitable response to an act of aggression and no one is currently in the position to respond to an act of war given the multitude of other concerns nations in general are facing. Bin Laden himself said that he based his murderous campaign against the West on his belief that the West would not respond effectively to the challenge.

Better to sweep this sort of thing under a rug and pretend it didn’t happen. Worry about nickel and dime economies, tea parties, and who’s sleeping with whom…

Just in case nobody’s noticed, the axis of evil has expanded to our own hemisphere since Obama has been in power. Venezuela, for instance, has been palling around with the likes of Russia, Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe. Notwithstanding the North Korean MO of torpedoing ‘enemy’ ships and now possibly oil rigs, these rogue nations have been paying attention. They’ve seen that we will not retaliate no matter what happens. We’ll try to get away by proposing media lynchings based on Sarah Palin’s sock drawer …and ‘accidents’. The American media/government complex will happily go along with it. Besides, it fits in neatly with their anti-war, anti-oil (energy) Marxist agenda. The public has been suitably trained to immediately assume ‘accident’. Did Obama give it away when mentioning sending in S.W.A.T. teams?

The reason I couldn’t sleep was because I kept wondering: Were we attacked?
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Note: The Deepwater Horizon was built in Ulsan, South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries at a cost of approximately $365 million and entered service in 2001.