Russia adds another pretext to go after Ukraine?
Via Kathryn Lopez. Casus belli, Melvin Belli, what’s the difference? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →About Confucius, Œc. Vol.
Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu.
Via Kathryn Lopez. Casus belli, Melvin Belli, what’s the difference? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →So, what’s up with the медведь today? Breaking the Sarkozy agreement and keeping the Europeans out of South Ossetia, schmoozing the Germans, modernizing their nuclear forces (unlike us), spying on the Czechs, monkeying with their democratic window-dressing, and venerating Stalin. … Continue reading →
V.D. Hanson, eschewing the fustian that sometimes envelops his interesting ideas, here suggests that the collapse of the American financial system could presage some genuinely terrible events on the world stage. You’ll recognize his concern about America’s emboldened enemies from … Continue reading →
Friend of the Gormogons Steve Hayes reports that Condi requested a meeting with the Syrian FM. So, destabilize Lebanon, assassinate people, that doesn’t count as state sponsorship of terrorism these days, I guess. Maybe they were discussing U.S. support for … Continue reading →
Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Amir Taheri says it looks like it. Looks like they’ve got their Operation Himmler false-flag operation all set up, and are just waiting for a Gleiwitz Incident. Credit where credit is due, the pretext of going after Islamist terrorism is … Continue reading →
So what’s going on in Georgia? Hmm. The poor, oppressed South Ossetians whom the Russians had to save from Great Georgian Imperialism are ethnically cleansing South Ossetia. I’m sure they don’t have Russian permission to do this. Their army must … Continue reading →
Far be it from your Œcumenical Volgi to disagree with the estimable Kathy Shaidle, Canada’s angriest and sharpest bloggeuse, but apropos her argument here that United Russia is looking increasingly like the old KPSU, Confucius* says respectfully that Russia under … Continue reading →
I’m reminded of that superstition today by the absurd overvaluation of intelligence and educational credentials of the Democrats. Of course, as Heather MacDonald points out it’s always possible to go too far in the other direction, but I’m inclined to … Continue reading →
…of the regulatory mess that created the mortgage meltdown. It gets a little partisan and histrionic (though not wrong, I’d wager) at the end, but it’s worth watching all the way through. UPDATE: And for a more precise explanation of … Continue reading →
Our friend Chernyshevski would have understood this. Whether or not the specific thesis holds, the Volgi remains flummoxed that Obama’s troubling—if not damning—association with all sorts of groups on the far left that has gone entirely unexamined by the “centrist” … Continue reading →
Strong statement by Condi contra Russian demands: “We will not permit Russia to veto the future of NATO, neither the countries offered membership nor their decision to accept it…We and our European allies will give our help to Georgia…. The … Continue reading →
The roots of the crisis in four easy steps. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Doubtless all the Gormogons’ readers saw through Russia’s silly “Kosovo” pretext for invading Georgia. If, however, you were worried about the details of the claim, Noel Malcolm (who literally wrote the [ok, a] book on Kosovo) goes through the historical … Continue reading →
So, let’s see what’s going on. Rattling sabres, or just flexing, Russia claims it’s going to build a space-based missile-defense system and upgrade its nuclear submarines. And laughing at the U.S. and defiling the grave of James Monroe, she’s giving … Continue reading →
The OICW, one of the most misbegotten weapons projects in the history of small arms, may have finally borne fruit. For those of you who haven’t been following this, the OICW was a massive overreach in terms of technology and … Continue reading →
Instead of furthering the inevitable liquidation of the maladjustments brought about by the boom during the last three years, all conceivable means have been used to prevent that readjustment from taking place; and one of these means, which has been … Continue reading →
…that’s basically become the State Department with more levels of classification? Well, this article (via Shmuel Rosner) won’t do anything to allay your fears. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Gordon Chang reports the Russian foreign-policy establishment is saying with one voice, “Look, we’re not playing ball. Punish us for Georgia, and we’ll upset your precious little multilateral applecart.” This is about as blunt as diplomats get. So, what now, … Continue reading →
Patrick Nagel meets Princess Leia. Read all about it. And buy GorT one here, before the limited edition of 200 is gone. UPDATE: Welcome, to all those lashed to the oar at JVL’s Galley Slaves! Stick around! Have some fun! … Continue reading →
Wonderful, wonderful little essay by Suzanne Vega on her gorgeous ditty “Tom’s Diner.” Ms. Vega’s a nice prose stylist, as well a terrific lyricist. And, yeah, the Notorious ŒV listened to Solitude Standing for several years straight. Great, great album. … Continue reading →
…those crafty Georgians must have forced forced the simple, good-hearted Russian soldiers to destroy their country’s cultural patrimony. They’re tricky bastards, those Georgians. This reminds the Volgi of the kind of crimes against history and culture that the Serbs perpetrated … Continue reading →
So, we’ve crossed Iraq off our list of malefactors. Who’s left on the actively anti-American front? Well, if we ignore great powers like Russia and China, we’ve got Venezuela, Iran, Syria & North Korea. (Pakistan’s ISI may soon be bidding … Continue reading →
Although we’re not entirely sure of its utility, the Gormogons have added a “Followers” widget thingy to our sidebar. And, mirabile dictu, we’ve have our first members! A special Gormogonical welcome to Michael Bird of Yorba Linda, California, and the … Continue reading →
This hunk of awesomeness is a homebrew video about Japan’s new PM, Tarō Asō, whom we’ve already discussed a little chez Gormogon. Turns out Asō can outshoot the Ghettoputer nine days of the week with a scattergun. He was on … Continue reading →
No, not the half-Luo Hawaiian who spent a bunch of his childhood in Indonesia. That’s old hat for the heirs of Empire. No, it’s the candidate who’s so compellingly, entrancingly American. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass … Continue reading →
Nice gesture by Medvedev; let’s hope he does more. Too bad Stalin’s the “strong Russia” model Putin is going for. The Russia Lobby continues to press Washington. Matlock’s arguments about the effects of admitting Georgia and Ukraine aren’t trivial, but … Continue reading →
Well, nationalism and attacking an unbeloved ethnic group is apparently popular in Russia, boding ill for any sort of domestic check on revanchist nationalism and, indeed, likely stoking public anger at the first sign of push-back by the West. Not … Continue reading →
At least in the imagination of the people nearest the Tunguska Event of June 30, 1908. (I know, I’m a couple months late, but what’s a couple months is cosmic-geologic time?) Something—no one’s quite sure what—created a massive fireball over … Continue reading →
So Fred Kaplan here (via Shmuel Rosner) is saying that there’s no sign of the necessary preconditions for a Pashtun Awakening or the like that would allow an Afghanistan surge to succeed. I find this curious, because just last night … Continue reading →
Max Boot says: The Wall Street Journal reports on the sharp boost in Russian military spending, which is due to rise by over 25% to more than $50 billion next year. That may appear insignificant compared with U.S. defense spending(more … Continue reading →
Just not in the way the frothing lefties allege. In 1936, anti-Fascist historian Gaetano Salvemini wrote in his Under the Axe of Fascism that Mussolini’s regime subjected the tax-paying citizen to corporations because, “the State pays for the blunders of … Continue reading →
…there’s a brand new article posted on Mark Steyn’s website. Might the best opinion columnist in English* be returning from his hiatus? Nous vivons et l’espérons. Confucius suspects Steyn wouldn’t agree but recommends Lou Reed’s cover of Weill’s “September Song.” … Continue reading →
Condi: Georgian invasion leaves Russia isolated. Well, except for Europe. (I mean, a three-month delay is enough for invading a tiny neighbor, right?) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ok, as y’all know, your Œcumenical Volgi is one Skeptical Volgi when it comes to government bailouts of enterprises. Ghettoputer is not happy with the fact that foreign-based banks operating in the U.S. might be bailed out of their junk-mortgage … Continue reading →
Has Russia just set itself up to lose territory by justifying their invasion of Georgia in terms of South Ossetian self-determination? Because now, Gordon Chang reports, the South Ossetians are mumbling about reunifying with North Ossetia. Which is part of … Continue reading →
The invaluable Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a new and improved website. Go poke around. RFE/RL incidentally is run by Friend and Hero of the Gormogons, Jeffrey Gedmin. Or M.C. 900-Foot Gedmin, as he’s known around Gormogons HQ. Confucius, Œc. … Continue reading →
Moving ahead with Eastern European missile defense. God love the Czechs. Thank you. Or as I hear you say, “Moje vznášedlo je plné úhořů.”* By the way, Russian objections to NATO expansion and deepening on its borders—like the Polish-Czech missile … Continue reading →
Ticket to ride, white-line highway Tell all your friends, they can go my way Pay your toll, sell your soul Pound-for-pound costs more than gold The longer you stay, the more you pay My white lines go a long way … Continue reading →
For all your housing-market-induced-meltdown news, here’s the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…but not by much, and possibly less for actually getting things done. Or such is the upshot of Joshua Muravchik’s piece in the new Commentary. A brisk jog through the history of twentieth-century summitry and other high-level diplomatic stunts, he … Continue reading →
I can’t remember who wrote it, but some smart guy once said, “‘Capitalism’ is simply a pejorative term for ‘economic reality.’” James Bowman has a nice screed on the topic here. The Volgi is nowhere near qualified to weigh on … Continue reading →
…by Ralph Peters here. I don’t know much about Putin the man, but Peters seems pretty on-target. Jumping off from that piece, Abe Greenwald here discusses just how alien the cultural and psychological premises of our principal adversaries are, and … Continue reading →
Dear God, what a mess. This is what we get for overburdening the Fed. The Fed has zero business worrying about the economy. The Fed should only worry about the stability of the currency, but it’s charter gives it dual—and … Continue reading →
Well, turns out Pakistan is now putting its notional territorial sovereignty above its participation in the War on Terror. While we may paper over this diplomatically given the return of an elected government in Islamabad, this effectively moves Pakistan into … Continue reading →
Apparently John McCain has been hammering the government-backed profit machines for a while. This is promising; if he wins, it shows that he might not succumb to the usual Washington madness of re-regulation and subsidy. McCain’s not deeply versed in … Continue reading →
24 July 2008: The Gormogons go online “furthering the eschatological doctrine of the Return from Occultation of the Thirteenth Imam, Val Kilmer.” (See sidebar.) 16 September 2008: This story surfaces. Coincidence? Go on thinking that. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent … Continue reading →
Read all about this disgrace. Why, after all the assistance we’ve given to Iraq over the past five years, was the first major Iraqi oil deal signed with China and not with an American or even a western company? The … Continue reading →
PALIN BAGS A BIGFOOT Conservatives have immediately rallied to their party’s new star, citing that gun ownership and hunting are indelible parts of American culture. Indeed this point is hard to argue, as John Adams was notorious for having captured … Continue reading →
So, not to kick a Puter when he’s down, but St. Mildred of D.C. could in fact tell ’Puter that there was a St. Cameron, martyred at Cagliari, Italy (feast, August 21). Though to be fair, he’s awfully obscure. And … Continue reading →
Apparently so. (Couldn’t get the drill-down link to work; hope your mileage varies.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →And somewhere, Vlad is smiling. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Too funny. I wonder if he’s been reading David Berlinski’s new book, a terrifically wry and profoundly learned plea for epistemological modesty. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Now this, on the other hand, is delicious. Here’s a list of the twenty-one “republics” in Russia (twenty-one out of eighty-four administrative units). You’ll note (or let me inform you) that all of those except Dagestan are named for ethnic … Continue reading →
God, this is going to give the Volgi an effing stroke. Gordon Chang here reports and explicates the perfidy, pusillanimity, and vileness of the President and foreign-policy establishment’s going out of their way to screw Taiwan over at the implicit … Continue reading →
Obviously, Iraq and Israel’s interests diverge, but given that they’re both mortal enemies of Syria and Iran from way back, this guy’s approach, with the context of received Arab opinion, is breathtakingly audacious. بالتوفيق یا سعیدی Via Max Boot. Confucius, … Continue reading →
M.A. O’Grady is doing her typically excellent work on Latin America in the WSJ today, with an excellent piece on Chávez and his comrade Evo Morales (she didn’t mention the Hondurans’ snide move this week, though), which contains this gem … Continue reading →
The Volgi has tried to restrain himself from going foreign-policy berserk, but it’s too tough today, especially with all my excess anxiety about the Redskins game. (Though they just got what could be the game-winning interception!) So, looks like the … Continue reading →
Thus writes Ian Buruma (of Occidentalism fame) in the Los Angeles Times. His article is very much worth reading, but your Volgi would take exception to one assertion: The prospect of joining the European Union has strengthened the democracies of … Continue reading →
It was inevitable, but still well done. Tina Fey in the role she was born to play: I’d have written the script a little more pointedly to show Hillary actually backing McCain and Palin in order to clear the path … Continue reading →
But, hey, we’re groß in Germany this month. I have no clue why, but I’m happy to see my beloved Nordrhein-Westfalen showing up in force. Danke sehr, Deutschland. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…yes, it’s Cat vs. Printer in an epic battle of titans. Watch the whole thing. Via Film Drunk. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Yep, according to Harper. Of course, was he lying then or is he lying now? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Water-cooler article of the year. Does anyone else find the phrase “pornography use” a pretty creepy euphemism? The Volgi’s main concern with the spread of pornography is that, exposed to ubiquitous porn from youth, some kids today (mostly boys, to … Continue reading →
This may be an overdue reckoning, or it may just be the inevitable result of Musharraf’s downfall. The more public opinion—not to mention the military and ISI—comes into play in Pakistan, the less well we’re going to do in in … Continue reading →
Great Congressional testimony here at the Standard‘s blog. Read it all. And hmm, he sounds a little like the Volgi… Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Photo via With Leather Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Sarko’s foreign policy, such an object of hope, proves ham-handed at best, counter-productive at worst. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Hope we give these guys a couple of good fly-bys over international waters. This is, of course, part a pattern. Chávez gets to flip us off, and Putin is testing our reactions. Of course, were we a traditional power, we’d … Continue reading →
What am I, made of stone? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…look increasingly formidable. But, not to worry, we’ve been spending healthily to keep the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet combat ready, right? Oh, never mind. (We’re down to, what, a 281-ship fleet from 587?) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like … Continue reading →
…not going our way? Maybe when the Russians are in Sevastopol, Odessa, Poti, Batumi, and Sukhumi… Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Says the BBC, echoing the Volgi who will beg your pardon as he quotes himself: Last, from the perspective of Americans, do note the hole in the middle of the SCO in that logo: Mongolia, perhaps the most pro-American country … Continue reading →
Libya hasn’t changed. Qaddafi gave up his WMDs because he was scared and figured he was weak and next on our s*** list. And yet, we view their coming to the table as some sort of triumph of diplomacy. Wishful … Continue reading →
Leon Aron, who has forgotten more about Russia than the faculties of many universities know, predicts that Russia might skip the Moldovan preliminaries the Volgi has predicted and been monitoring (here, here, here, here) and go straight to the main … Continue reading →
So goes the apothegm of Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevski, the nineteenth-century intelligent who, among other things, wrote a novel whose title—Что делать? What Is to Be Done?—Lenin re-used (and which the Volgi uses as a trope hereabouts). Kolya Ch. meant that … Continue reading →
The Volgi, who once spent a day moving stuff around in Fannie Mae’s office-supply room, is waiting for the baying of the congressional hounds for Franklin Raines and Jaime Gorelick to go to jail, like Ken Lay and the Enron … Continue reading →
A low card. But since the Volgi’s been complaining, he notes this with an iota of approval. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Which isn’t a nice phrase. Google at your own risk. More seriously, this incident, in which Russian forces seem to have ripped off more U.S. military equipment than the previously-reported Humvees. For all the idiotic commentary following the Russian characterization … Continue reading →
As my mother used to say. U.S. passivity continues to embolden Russia. (And Iran, and maybe China.) Good post by Abe Greenwald: A strange and counterproductive psychology continues to prevent the U.S. from taking bold action against Russia’s move to … Continue reading →
Ukraine seriously considering rebuilding a nuclear arsenal? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →We all know that. But here’s exhibit #57,431. As they’re making all sorts of handwringing, weepy, soldiers-are-victims, the-U.S.-government-is-evil, war-is-always-wrong paens to their own superiority, and flushing millions of dollars down the toilet in the process, there are stories like this … Continue reading →
So your Œcumenical Volgi is comfortably ensconced on his couch watching football—an unaccustomed luxury lo these last few years. So then comes on an NFL commercial (odd, I know, one is already watching their product), and the tag-line is a … Continue reading →
Maybe, according to this rumor. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…the movie! Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →A friend of the Volgi makes a fair bid to become the Official Commenter of gormogons.com. Noting the absence of the comment feature, he offers the following for those who miss comments. >>you alwyas like the repugnicans but lets face … Continue reading →
Here. As I think I’ve argued somewhere (oh yeah, here, though sketchily), the West has a fair number of cards to play against a revanchist, expansion-minded Russia. NATO membership is one. If it’s as transparently a bluff as Fukuyama says, … Continue reading →
Stefan Kanfer has a lovely tribute to classical American cinema. He dwells on black-and-white photography, but doesn’t mention the tone palette, one of the principal problems with colorization and one of the principal glories of the technique. People tend to … Continue reading →
…descended from Romans, don’t go greek? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Tick tick tick. Michael Radu (and apparently the Moldovans and Romanians) share the Volgi’s foreboding on Moldova as Russia’s next target. (Cf. here and here.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →These… are for you! Though briefly returned from his quietus to a persistent vegetative state, Mulder is dead to the Volgi again with the Daily Mail/National Enquirer report (via two-fisted, rock-jawed man of action Brendon Donnelly) that the rumors of … Continue reading →
Sounds like the British government is getting its head around Putin’s revanchism. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Follow-up for Ghettoputer: The American bishops have corporately come out with this statement on the history of Christian opposition to abortion. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The American Church’s leading intellectual (not public intellectual, like Chaput, but intellectual full stop), is ailing. May the Lord grant his faithful servant mercy the rest of his days and a peaceful death when they are done. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t … Continue reading →
In a world…without Don LaFontaine (1940–2008), the multiplex will be a less entertaining place. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ok, the Volgi semi-retracts his anti-Duchovny screed. If this story is true, he didn’t commit adultery but merely lusted in his heart (and, uh, elsewhere). After streaming video of underage Latvian clown porn, for all know. Dude. Look on the … Continue reading →
The Post gets it. And Russia taunts NATO. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ordinarily, the Volgi can go on for days about Japan’s insufficient historical reckoning with its crimes during World War Two. (Austria, please pick up the white courtesy phone.) Consequently, he generally enjoys when the Chinese shame the Japanese into some … Continue reading →