Essay question
Is the West prone or supine before Russian aggression? Discuss among yourselves. 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.
Meddling government
While I share GorT’s incandescent rage (rim shot), over the federal government’s unilateral imposition of mercury-vapor lighting and ardently hope it’ll be reversed, it’s not like this is new. We’re still using lame low-flow toilets and shower heads because we, … Continue reading →
Us autocracies gotta stick together?
Article 1The Purposes of the United Nations are: To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of … Continue reading →
The argument for Turkish-Armenian rapprochement…
…as a key to Caucasian stability and freedom from Russian hegemony, presented very well here at MESH. The author’s correct to cite Atatürk’s policy of neutrality (“Yurtta sulh, cihanda sulh.”) as a long-standing guidepost of Turkish diplomacy, but in the … Continue reading →
Miracles and wonders (con’t.)
This is amazing. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Mulder is dead to me.
He cheated on Téa Leoni. What the hell?! That’s Hugh Grant/Divine Brown-level mystifying. And enraging. If I were married to Téa Leoni. I’d have a sex addiction, too. An addiction to sex with Téa Leoni. My god, she’s smart, funny, … Continue reading →
Great moments in physics
Perhaps these intrepid scientists can consult with those skateboarders to figure out why their brilliant experiments have come to naught. Via With Leather, America’s Idiots-Getting-Injured Leader®. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →“Naughty librarian”
Gov. Palin has one new Scots-American’s vote? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Turkish foreign-policy rethinking…
…not only necessary as said, but possibly on-going. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →You know, if France wanted to be helpful…
…they could help the Turks out here with nuclear power expertise. Which would reduce Turkish dependence on Russian natural gas. Which helps everyone. (Except Putin.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Liturgical music is a subject close to the Puter’s heart
So here’s a hopeful-seeming trend for him. Everyone knows the more obvious specifics. Vatican II said Gregorian chant should assume primary place but instead we got pop tunes more suitable for a children’s playground than Mass. We were told that … Continue reading →
Sarah Palin
Dear God, the McCain camp got competent. They’ve been almost perfect for the last couple months. And the Palin pick is fantastic for a variety of reasons. A few: • She’s young (44), offsetting the McCain-old-guy issue to a degree.• … Continue reading →
Interesting times for Turkey-watchers
These days. My own sense is that, however vivid Turkish anti-Americanism is at the moment, serious Turks understand that it’s a whim they can indulge only in the absence of external threats. And for all Turkey’s dependence on Russian natural … Continue reading →
Taiwanese-Americans for McCain?
If this American expat is right, the Biden pick may have alienated that 0.16% of the U.S. population. (And more seriously, it’s not welcome news to those of us concerned with America’s position in the Pacific.) Parenthetically, when it comes … Continue reading →
“Listen up, you primitive screwheads. This is my BOOMSTICK.”
Volgi bait is what Puter’s gun post here is. Indeed, a 12-gauge is probably the best home-defense weapon you can get from an intimidation, as well as lethality, standpoint. However, your Volgi would argue that, in fact, a sawed-off 12-gauge … Continue reading →
¡XIBALBA!
For any archaeological or Meso-American nerds out there, this is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. And, um, wire-service folks, the Mayans didn’t believe in a “mythical underworld,” they believed a literal underworld—that’s what you’re looking at—was where the souls of the dead went. And … Continue reading →
Что делать? — Burmese edition
Interesting post by Max Boot. Liberating Burma from SLORC (or whatever they’re calling themselves this week) is a very worthy cause, but not one that will gain widespread support these days. That said, if Thailand, India, and Malaysia were on … Continue reading →
It ain’t charitable…
…if you’re forced to do it. This is akin to the Left’s confusion of state action with private action, and the ensuing putative equivalence (or superiority) of paying taxes to donating time or money to charity. Except that, of course, … Continue reading →
These are what will eventually make medicine affordable for everyone…
…provided we don’t crush these types of experiments with some gigantic government-run rationing program like those in Canada and Europe: [City Journal] Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ai grijă, Moldovo!
Once again, Russia is rattling sabers at Moldova. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Because I did. Transdnistria is the new South Ossetia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →And meanwhile on the Black Sea…
…the Russians say, “Bah, we are not intimidated by your puny warships. Behold our making-stuff-blow-up skills!“ Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Turkey becoming a responsible player?
This columnist provides more evidence that Russian aggression in Georgia may be producing a re-thinking of foreign policy in Turkey that can only be welcome to NATO, America, and the West. Turkey is potentially one of the few large, capable … Continue reading →
BHL hammers…
…Putin’s brutal new Russia and worries the West isn’t up to it. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Russia & the Middle East
Some reasonable speculations from Robert Freedman at MESH on the Middle Eastern repercussions of Russia’s invading Georgia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Your Œcumenical Volgi has been trying to go easy on the foreign policy, as he knows that Russia’s invasion of Georgia has driven him mad and he’s gone a bit berserk in hijacking this fun little blog. However, if you … Continue reading →
Florida, cradle of Nobelists
Or not. “Say, guys, that Hurricane Fay has left a foot of standing water on the street! Let’s go tubing!” Meanwhile in an unnamed location, some skateboarders are still trying to use failure-analysis software to figure out what went wrong … Continue reading →
Koba’s Ghost
Must-read from the great Sebag. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →No disrespect to Jim Zorn…
…but here’s a touching piece on the man who should have been the Redskins’ coach this year. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Narcoleptic?
This will keep you up nights. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →“Moldova, you’re next!”
…says Dima Medvedev? I wouldn’t be surprised. But of course, you know that, as you read it here first. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Thank you, Sioux Falls!
The Gormogons thank you for responding to our appeal. Everyone plan a vacation there now, please. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Max Boot…
…makes good points here, but forgets anti-tank weapons. Javelins, Javelins, Javelins. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →I haven’t always been a big Chris Patten fan…
…but this is lapidary. Here’s a taste, but read it all. We Europeans seem to have forgotten our history. There were other times when we have stood by while a militaristic European power insisted that it had the right to … Continue reading →
In case you weren’t convinced…
…that Russia’s invasion of Georgia was a punitive expedition for their applying to NATO rather than a humanitarian gesture on behalf of their beloved South Ossetians, here’s a good bit of analysis from Pavel Felgenhauer (via David Frum @ NRO). … Continue reading →
Don’t set off too many fireworks in celebration.
Because, says veteran China watcher Gordon Chang here, the most likely result of China’s Olympic succès d’estime is going to lead to a more draconian police state at home, deep-freeze any reform ideas, and put the PRC’s post-2006 aggressive foreign … Continue reading →
“…the worst idea since Greedo shooting first.”
In re Star Wars, about which every male born since, oh, 1965 or so, has a burning opinion he will share with you at the drop of a hat, Confucius* says: Every movie since the first has been worse. Lawrence … Continue reading →
We were young too early, boys.
Because we didn’t have belt-fed machine guns. Via Toys Я Us. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Todeskultur…
…as B16 might say. The culture of death advances. “Wouldn’t be more convenient if I were dead, son?” “Yes, mom, if you really want to be.” Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Come on, South Dakota!
The Mount Rushmore State is the sole U.S. state not to have visited the Gormogons. Get with it, people. We promise we’ll pronounce Pierre “peer” and not “pee-air.” Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →This would be bad, bad, bad…
…bad, bad, bad. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →What was that I was saying…
…about inter-group reconciliation? Well, one step forward, one step back. On the other hand, as long as these things are fought out politically, rather than in the streets, that’s progress of a huge order. But, of course, one never knows… … Continue reading →
Secret Obama Strategy Revealed!
This is the funniest piece of satire I’ve read in a while. Why? Because the Notorious ŒV has met a whole bunch of these guys—with Obama signs—on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. “I couldn’t be prouder of all of you … Continue reading →
“The Death of Protestant America”
Jody Bottom has written a brilliant piece on the decline unto insignificance of the once brilliant, sustaining, American Mainline churches. While welcoming the effective end of non-left-wing anti-Catholicism, no Catholics—not even Gormogons doing dances on the graves of our traditional … Continue reading →
Since we’re talking about Pakistan…
…here, here, and here, Peter Pham has a very good piece in the National Interest on what the U.S. should do in the post-Musharraf era.* Anyway, here’s the kernel for those of you too tired to click. First, America must … Continue reading →
Another small sign…
…that, amazingly, Iraq could end up with a decent government. Inter-group reconciliation is a heck of a good sign for a society that was for decades a tyranny of a single clan (the al-Tikrîtiyya) and then, not a couple years … Continue reading →
Spetsnaz in Georgia
Not to obsess on the trumped-up nature of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, but this picture on Drudge caught my eye (I can’t figure out whom to credit—it’s hosted on Yahoo’s news servers, but I can’t find it in their index). … Continue reading →
Great and informative review…
…by a professor of Russian and Georgian of a new history of the Caucasus. Via aldaily.com. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Great Olympians
So, while Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are clearly the top stories of these Olympics, attention should be paid to the photogenic and charismatic Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh (pictured). Now, as little regard as the Notorious ŒV had for … Continue reading →
Among all the misbegotten states…
…cobbled together by European powers in the twentieth century, Pakistan is a front-runner for the most inherently unstable and, if you’ll pardon a soupçon of hyperbole, flat-out craziest. Given that it was stitched together from four major provinces with little … Continue reading →
Merci, Mme Moïsi
What has the Volgi been telling you? Does it sound better à la française? The current crisis in the Caucasus does not mark the return of the Cold War, nor is it likely to mark the start of open warfare … Continue reading →
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?
COPS…in Wisconsin! Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →How do you say “enemy of the people” in Chinese?
Confucius (that’s what 孔夫子 means) the Œcumenical Volgi assumes you’ve heard about Wu Tien-yüan and Wang Hsiu-ying, the two elderly women (79 & 77) from who were sentenced to a year of “reeducation through labor” because they asked for permission … Continue reading →
But we no longer need a substantial surface fleet, right?
Right? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ha.
Putin: “Beginning immediately, my attorney will be explaining my Georgia policy, Frau Merkel.” (Title: Flawless Friendship—literally “friendship as clear as a loupe”) (That’s Gerhard Schröder, Putin’s Gazprom catamite, holding the phone.) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass … Continue reading →
Ahmadinejad and the Mahdi
Interesting piece here. However, as always, remember that Ahmadinejad is generally a sideshow, if a consequential one. All real power is concentrated in the hands of Khamene’i, the Rahbar (that’s Persian for Duce or Führer [or Vozhd], seriously.), whose very … Continue reading →
Russia and Poland
While I admire the Poles’ realism and bravery, I doubt our resolve. Any bets on who’ll be the first to unironically revive “to die for Danzig?” Pat Buchanan? MoveOn? Also, what the hell is the supposed problem with missile defense … Continue reading →
Ossetian War commentary — 21 August
Interesting points from Fred Kagan via John McCormack at the Weekly Standard. Sounds like a fairly clear victory for Russia at this point. Victor Davis Hanson on the West’s instinct to turn on itself first. A Cato Institute writer blaming … Continue reading →
Bernard Henri-Lévy in Georgia
More good first-person reportage from le BHL. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →“They are taking broken refrigerators.”
Great first-person reportage from Georgia by the estimable Michael Totten in City Journal. “They are burning the houses. From most of the houses they are taking everything. They are stealing everything, even such things as toothbrushes and toilets. They are … Continue reading →
So not only is our public diplomacy a failure…
…our actual policy of supporting democratic activists seems be defunct as well. Dammit. Hosni Mubarak has been pretty damn good at defanging what looked like a burgeoning pro-democracy movement in Egypt. Not only has Sa‘ad ed-Din Ibrahim been made an … Continue reading →
Atomic Dog? What about an Atomic Bear?
So, Russia’s got a substantially larger inventory of tactical nukes than we, and have been increasingly cavalier about brandishing them. That can’t be good. Gabriel Schoenfeld writes fairly persuasively on the topic in today’s WSJ: Yet matters are very different … Continue reading →
Oh, and congratulations…
…to Mr. & Mrs. Ghettoputer on their nuptuals. Sounds like a blessèd event. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →So, wait, Russia is telling…
…NATO that she’s suspending cooperation? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Catholic diversion
Others can move on, but for those of the Church, I recommend Hugh Hewitt’s interview with Abp. Charles Chaput (OFM Cap) of Denver. Chaput has quietly emerged as the leading public intellectual in the American episcopate. Since, say, Fulton Sheen, … Continue reading →
“Miss Lambton’s advice”
Wonderful piece by Martin Kramer over at MESH on the late Ann K.S. Lambton, OBE FBA, whose Persian Grammar I have not five feet from my desk. Her knowledge of Iran was such that she realized that Mohammad Mosaddegh, the … Continue reading →
Is that where they make the Uzi?
So when Anton Fokin won Uzbekistan’s first medal in gymnastics, I clicked over to NBC’s page on the country. Here’s a live link to the map graphic on the page. Notice anything? (I’ll leave the link live…if they fix it, … Continue reading →
Would you like a depression to go with your fascism?
Let’s hope that the Thirties aren’t coming back in this respect. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →For the record
The Notorious ŒV’s iPhone is a 2G phone running OS 2.0.2. And it works well. Heck, I’m posting this from it. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Hello Kitty Has No Mouth, and She Must Scream*
Ghetto P, I’ll see your “Hello Kitty” and raise you a “Hello Cthulhu.” *You see this quoted around the internet a lot (mostly by people who wouldn’t know Harlan Ellison if he hit ’em in the mouth, and believe me, … Continue reading →
“Only North Korea could have done it better.”
Abe Greenwald finds proof of the origins of China’s cool, creepy, inhuman Opening Ceremony aesthetic. So they hired Albert Speer’s son to do the architecture (just a coincidence, I’m sure), and aspired to Kim Il-Sung’s parade drill. It’s amazing their … Continue reading →
NATO to Russia: Tsk!
Translation of this: “we’re fucking useless”. Not that the U.S. has been better; argubly, we’ve been even worse. Chimpy McHilterburton doesn’t exactly look like a world-despoiling warmongering tyrant now, does he, kids? I mean, there’s an oil pipeline there. Aren’t … Continue reading →
Georgian Autonomous Okrug, anyone?
Because with the Russians holding Gori and now taking Poti, it looks like they’re planning on staying a bit. Also, notice that they stole a bunch of American equipment, as a ёб твою мать собакым хуй. Laugh it up, Vovochka. … Continue reading →
From the Gut
Comes what may be the ‘Puter’s favorite story of the day. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Clearly Obama hasn’t mastered African politics
Because rule number one is, when you get prominent, you owe your family, clan, etc., lots of stuff. It’s one of the reasons that African governments tend to be kleptocratic. The tribal expectation of intra-familial redistribution tends to undermine good-government … Continue reading →
Exile in Sacramento
So, ‘Puter, bad as New York is*, California, as ever, is on the cutting edge of ways to keep bloated government spending alive. *And somewhere, Arthur Laffer’s loving your lyrics. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept … Continue reading →
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Like Peter Pham at NRO’s Tank, the Œcumenical Volgi has long had an eye on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, stemming from his long interest in Central Asian affairs (which interest led to one of the most painful incidents in his … Continue reading →
Что делать? — Shout out to Mark Steyn
Stuart Koehl takes a very Steynian look at Russia’s demographic death spiral and its consequences for its future as a power. Worth reading. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →There’s a way, where there’s a will.
The great Anne Applebaum gets it right: The critical question now is whether the West is prepared to behave like the West, to speak with one voice and create a common transatlantic policy. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like … Continue reading →
So, wait.
Baseball and softball are the first two sports dropped from the Olympics since, like, 1936, and they’re keeping trampoline?! Could it be anti-Americanism? Sí. Ja. Oui. Speaking of anti-Americanism, the Gormogons would like to thank the iconoclastic Britons at America … Continue reading →
Awesome reportage.
The Tax Foundation said in an August 12 release that an Associated Press article on a Government Accountability Office report on corporate tax liabilities overstated by 90 times the number of large corporations not paying corporate income taxes. The AP … Continue reading →
Heading for a very rough patch of history?
Very possibly. From “The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers,” by Azar Gat in Foreign Affairs. (Via Shmuel Rosner at Contentions). Capitalism’s ascendancy appears to be deeply entrenched, but the current predominance of democracy could be far less secure. … the … Continue reading →
Walter Laqueur on Kremlin strategy
Worth reading. Covers Georgia, the Near Abroad, and the Middle East. The main aim will be to weaken America’s position in the Middle East. In this respect, there are differences of opinion in the Kremlin. Some ex-generals have come on … Continue reading →
Yeesh.
I say again, yeesh. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Uh, yes.
Worth reading beyond the fairly rhetorical question in the headline. RFE/RL always does a good job. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Funniest Olympic article yet.
Hands down. Make sure to read all the way through. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Insane race!
I know the Olympics are generally GorT’s beat, but holy cow, what a crazy race the men’s 100m butterfly was. All credit to Serbia’s Milorad Čavić for taking it to Phelps without the slightest sign of fear or hesitation. One … Continue reading →
Ha! Foolish small-foots!
In “you can’t catch me,” it’s still Sasquatch 1, Humans 0. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Ossetian War commentary — 15 August
John Bolton is on fire in the Telegraph. Not least because he uses some of the historical allusions the Volgi has pulled out. The West, collectively, failed in this crisis. And he takes the Bushies to the woodshed. Great stuff. … Continue reading →
Just because I’m fascinated…
…by octopodes. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →It’s too bad…
…Fred Thompson‘s never run for president. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Computers making us stupid?
h311 2 t3h y3aH!. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →When all you’ve got is a hammer…
…every problem starts to look like a nail. Europe’s self-mesmerization with “soft power,” encapsulated perfectly: “What would it take,” I asked, “for Europe to stop treating Putin like a democrat? If all opposition parties are banned? Or what if they … Continue reading →
Что делать? — Tactical edition
If the Georgians want to fight, Stuart Koehl has some ideas on how we can help. He doesn’t mention it, but we should be preemptively providing this kind of military assistance to other democratic countries in Russia’s sights, particularly Ukraine. … Continue reading →
Ossetian War commentary — 14 August
Excellent piece in Small Wars Journal: …The return of strongman rule to Russia, and particularly one who regards the demise of the Soviet Union as a historic catastrophe, is now a fact of international life to which we will all … Continue reading →
Mr. T on speedwalking
So the forces of PC have managed to get this ad yanked as allegedly homophobic. I find that reading way too much in it. But I present it here for Ghettoputer’s delectation, as it’s entirely possible that he wrote the … Continue reading →
Nothing to do with Russia’s invading Georgia, no, no.
Congrats to good guy Radek Sikorski (a friend of a friend) and the Polish government, as well as the USG, for getting this done. A joke from the Polish ministry of defense I heard second-hand: Q: When invaded simultaneously by … Continue reading →
Lest the Georgians escape criticism
Here’s a good piece on their apparently incompetent strategists and ignoble recent history in South Ossetia pre-Rose Revolution. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Уркаїна!
Wow. Ukraine looks like they’ve realized that it’s on, and they’re trying to effectively lock up the Russian Black Sea Fleet. (Via Michael Ledeen @ NRO.) Good for them. As Krauthammer argues infra: we have cards; we need to play … Continue reading →
Что делать?
Charles Krauthammer has some excellent suggestions. And he grasps what this is all about: The real objective is the Finlandization of Georgia through the removal of President Mikheil Saakashvili and his replacement by a Russian puppet. If you don’t read … Continue reading →