baldilocks

Notable News

Yes, I’m feeling lazy; so it will be a cut-and-paste day, mostly. First up is the news and Big Media commentary.

• In his perennial quest to improve the English usage of his journalist colleagues in Kenya, the Old Man expounds on the phrase “Young Turks.”

What is not true is that, when you stop being a Young Turk, you become an “Old Turk”.
There is no such thing. The term “Young Turk” describes a political standpoint and movement. It has nothing to do with chronological age or the Turks, the Caucasian people of the Anatolian peninsula. [SNIP]
The term refers to a 19th-century movement of Turks — really young in age — who, after years of study in Western Europe, returned home full of “Enlightenment”, determined to transform their country overnight from feudal despotism to “liberal democracy”.

This was the movement that produced celebrated nationalist Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the military leader who founded the Turkish Republic in 1923 and ruled it till 1938. His revolutionary triumph was what personified the Young Turks fulfilled.

• Rosenberg grand jury testimony is set to become public.

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors have agreed to make public some secret testimony about the biggest spy case of the Cold War.

The government took the unusual position Monday as leading historical groups press for the release of grand jury transcripts in the criminal investigation of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Following their 1951 espionage trial for passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, the husband and wife were executed in 1953.

The Rosenberg case has significant historical importance that qualifies it for an exception to grand jury secrecy rules, the office of the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York City said in court papers. [SNIP]

A U.S. District Court judge in New York, Alvin Hellerstein, will have the final say. Vladeck said the historians may seek additional disclosure, leaving it to the judge to sort out disputes that could take months to resolve before any public release.

Under the approach laid out in the government's court papers, transcripts would be released for 35 of the 45 witnesses who testified to the grand jury in the Rosenberg probe. The 35 are dead or consent to disclosing their testimony.

(Thanks to David)

• So what else are we supposed to do, Seymour Hersh? Sit around with our thumb up our collective butt?

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.

With the Left’s penchant for “inducing” informants to spill classified information, one wonders how Mr. Hersh knows about all this.

• And the Iraqis are allowing foreign bidding on six new oil fields.

The potential participation of big Western companies like BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total SA in Iraq's oil industry has been criticized in recent weeks following published reports that several were close to signing no-bid contracts with the Iraqi government.

There was an immediate outcry over perceptions that the U.S. did invade Iraq to gain access to its massive oil reserves and there was no announcement of contracts Monday by Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani.
He did, however, name 35 companies that would be qualified to bid on service contracts for the oil fields of Rumeila, Zubair, Qurna West, Maysan, Kirkuk and Bay Hassan.

With the price of gas being what it is, were we to do what we were accused of doing in Iraq—that is, taking out Saddam Hussein and his government to get Iraq’s oil fields for ourselves—it’d be fun to see how the Left would react. Oh they’d howl for a minute, but only so much howling would be heard after the price of gas dropped, say, 75 cents in a day.

Of course we won’t appropriate the oil fields. Will the US get credit from the Left and from international sources for *not* stealing Iraq’s oil? Of course not. But it’s a fool’s errand to look for “credit” from those who hate America.

Two Years It's Been

And it seems like yesterday.

I missed the anniversary (June 26th) of the death of my friend Rob Smith aka Acidman, but I don't think he would care. It wasn't his style to get all in a snit about such things. That's why I liked him.

His blog remains updated, using reposts of his excellent missives and the repeats garner few comments; however, on the day in question there are many tributes to that crazy "old" man. Go and see.

Open Request to Obama and B. Clinton (UPDATED)

Is it too much to ask for a former Commander-in-Chief and a wannabe Commander-in-Chief to stop acting like women and cease playing out little pride and ego dramas in public? (Yeah I’m a woman; what about it?)

[A senior Democrat who worked for President Clinton] told the Telegraph: “He’s been angry for a while. But everyone thought he would get over it. He hasn’t. I’ve spoken to a couple of people who he’s been in contact with and he is mad as hell.

“He’s saying he’s not going to reach out, that Obama has to come to him. One person told me that Bill said Obama would have to quote kiss my ass close quote, if he wants his support.

“You can’t talk like that about Obama - he’s the nominee of your party, not some house boy you can order around.

Look here, boys. Actual men are out there defending your way of life from enemies foreign and domestic. It’s not necessary for every president to have served in the military, but could the two of you at least act like you’re worthy to lead them? I know it's a flocking stretch for either one of you, but try.

I'm feeling a P-word on the edge of my lips and it ain't 'presidential.'

(Thanks to Hot Air)

UPDATE: Obama kisses it. But you knew he would.

Move America Forward Telethon

To raise money for Biggest Care Package Shipment Ever to the troops.

Happening NOW.

Site

Berlin Airlift

Today is the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Berlin Airlift. I wrote a piece for Pajamas Media commemorating the anniversary. Check it out!

So I Get To Keep My Gun

Barely.

Answering a 217-year old constitutional question, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to have a gun, at least in one’s home. The Court, splitting 5-4, struck down a District of Columbia ban on handgun possession. Although times have changed since 1791, Justice Antonin Scalia said for the majority, “it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.”

They're still out of control--the courts, that is. The fact that the Second Amendment is even in question and that this decision declaring the DC law unconstitutional carried by so narrow a margin demonstrates that.

And do conservatives and lovers of the not-living Constitution heart Mr. Justice Scalia or what?

UPDATE: I think Iowahawk has had an overdose on Supreme Court decisions. Just a hunch (tiny language alert). Best phrase: "The sweet, elusive penumbra of our ever-mutating Constitution."

Verify, Then Trust

Barack Obama's campaign site still contains the blurb stating that he

is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.

Here's an example of a result stemming from a different strategy used with another charter member of the Axis of Evil:

President Bush today lifted some trade sanctions against North Korea and acted to remove the country from a list of states that sponsor terrorism, after the isolated Stalinist regime turned over a key document detailing its rogue nuclear program.

Nearly seven years after Bush described North Korea as part of "an axis of evil" and less than two years after Pyongyang stunned the world by exploding a small nuclear device, Bush said the receipt of the nuclear disclosure marked the start of an "action for action" process meant to end with the full dismantling of the country's nuclear facilities and weapons.

The document was handed over to Chinese officials in Beijing, one of the most substantial developments to date in the often fitful six-party talks among North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. It detailed aspects of North Korea's plutonium production and other parts of its nuclear program

No direct presidential diplomacy and plenty of preconditions. And what's that I keep hearing about the president's alleged unilateral, go-it-alone mentality?

"The U.S. has no illusions about the regime in Pyongyang. We remain deeply concerned about human rights abuses . . . nuclear testing and proliferation, ballistic missile program, and the threat it continues to pose," Bush said, adding that the United States will continue to demand full verification that all aspects of North Korea's nuclear program have been shut down.

It's not the whole enchilada, but only an initial step. And this time, as Ed Morrissey points out, if Li'l Kim isn't dealing honestly, he has to face the Big Dogs in the region rather than just the United States who may or may not have the Norks on top of the foreign policy agenda.

One thing that's of concern: Syria.

The Bush administration has also agreed not to demand historical details, in this declaration, about North Korea's suspected program for making highly enriched uranium for nuclear bombs or about its suspected efforts to sell nuclear technology to other countries, including Syria.

Does the emphasized phrase mean that the subject will be address later?

The waiting period for the agreement to take affect is forty-five days and the NK government will be observed closely by all the actors mentioned and the inspectors will verify Kim's word by check the reactor and records at Yongbyon to verify how much plutonium the North Koreans have.

What does North Korea get out of the deal? Food, fuel and the ability to obtain more.

When the United States removes North Korea from the list of terrorist states, Kim's impoverished government, which faces a severe food shortage this summer, will receive large shipments of fuel. The United States has already promised to send a half-million ton of food.

The easing of trade restrictions may allow North Korea to borrow money from the World Bank and international institutions, and will lift some of the current rules preventing U.S. citizens and companies from importing North Korean goods or exporting goods and material to the country.

Everyone is cautious and at least one of the negotiating parties has a big problem with the agreement:

Japan has strongly argued that North Korea should be classified as a terrorist state until it comes clean on its abduction of Japanese citizens during the 1970s and 80s.

The fate of eight still-missing Japanese whom North Korea has acknowledged kidnapping has become an obsession in Japan. Politicians here cannot afford to be perceived as neglecting the issue. Tokyo has imposed tough economic sanctions and cut off all food and energy aid to the North. [snip]

"Japanese sentiment has made this such an emotional issue," said Pyong Jin-il, an expert on North Korea issues. "The Japanese people will be looking coldly at the United States and its moves [if NK is removed from the terrorist list]."

Japan's leaders have been backed into a corner, several analysts said, where they are being pressured by an angry public to complain about the behavior of their most important ally, the United States. So far, official complaining has been muted.

So this thing is a long process with many actors and many competing interests , with no "Deux ex machina" outcome as the Carter-Clinton Agreed Framework of 1994* was thought to have produced.

Hear that, Obama? Probably not.

*In fairness, much as I dislike the two former presidents, the two were trying to save the starving North Koreans also. But their compassion may have endangered the rest of the world. We'll see.

Dens of Iniquity

Screw them:

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled, 5 to 4, on Wednesday that sentencing someone to death for raping a child is unconstitutional, assuming that the victim is not killed.

“The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court. He was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.

Fry Them:

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution.

The Justice Department says it targeted 16 cities as part of its "Operation Cross Country" that caps off five years of similar stings nationwide. [snip]

Many of the children forced into prostitution are either runaways or what authorities call "thrown-aways" — kids whose families have shunned them. Officials say they are preyed upon by organized networks of pimps who lure them in with shelter or drugs, then often beat, starve or otherwise abuse them until the children agree to work the streets.

The cities targeted in this week's sting are: Atlanta; Boston; Dallas; Detroit; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Montgomery County, Md.; Oakland, Calif.; Phoenix; Reno, Nev.; Sacramento, Calif.; Tampa; Toledo, Ohio and Washington.

However, if they don't repent, the latter will get theirs sooner or later--perhaps both.

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

--Matthew 18:6

You know and I know that, like cockroaches, these vermin are only the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I mean both.

Crazy Old Leftist (UPDATED)

Yeah those "Republicans" are O So Racist, aren't they?

I haven’t heard [Obama] have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We’ll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards.

---Ralph Nader

What? What's that I hear you say? Ralph Nader's not a Republican? He's a Liberal? Wait, wait. He's not a Liberal, but a hard core Leftist? Hmm.

Interestingly enough, Nader seems to be attacking Obama for at least giving lip service (and we know what that's worth) to addressing the needs of all Americans, not just the black ones. The fact that Obama would be the president of all Americans is something which I must repeatedly remind many of my fellow black Americans.

But Nader's view is so skewed by his Leftism, he thinks that there's something wrong with this. And his view is equally as adversely affected by his stereotypes of black people; he thinks that "ghetto issues" are of chief concern among blacks. 'Cause he thinks we all live in a ghetto where our kids are breathing asbestos and eating lead-based paint chips.

[Obama] wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he's coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it's corporate or whether it's simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.

But wait, Ralph. Didn't you just imply that he's not appealing enough to white guilt?

Dementia, I say.

(Thanks to Memeorandum)

UPDATE: Protein Wisdom's Karl points out that Obama has indeed talked about predatory lending and notes other areas addressed to which Nader obviously hasn't been paying attention. I still say it's dementia. ADD is one of the symptoms.

UPDATE: Robert A. George:

The real interesting thing about Obama running is that just by being himself, he has managed to draw out into the light the different strains of racism that has always implicitly hovered around the Democratic Party and the Left in general. [SNIP]

Nader presumes to tell a black person what that black person is supposed to be talking about.

Because it's all about the ownership.

(Thanks to Booker Rising)

Minorities Report (UPDATE: Give me a break, sez baldilocks)

Thank you to the folks who have hit the tip jar.

I wasn’t going to post today--I need to work on a couple of projects--however, when I took a break, I couldn't help but notice that our friends at Hot Air have taken it upon themselves to publicize the difficulties suffered by minorities in this country.

First they note the plight of Fugly Americans:

This morning, Imus discussed the case of Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, the NFL player that sat out 2007 with disciplinary suspensions and has been arrested a half-dozen times since being drafted the previous year. While Imus’ news announcer talks about Jones’ desire to drop his nickname — it’s too “negative” now — Imus startled him with a question:

“Imus: ‘What color is he?’
A: ‘He’s African American [sic].’
Imus: ‘Well there you go… now we know.’”

Then there are Imbecile Americans (pdf; apparently Imus qualifies in this category as well):

21% of atheists believe in God

All kidding aside, someone in HA’s Imus thread laments ad infinitum that white Americans are bound to unofficial Politically Correct speech laws to which their black fellow citizens are not. I’m sorry but I’m less that sympathetic to that particular complaint.

See, when a group of people—conservatives--all but abandons its principles and allows a group with opposing principles to make the rules, this is what you get. As a result, when an Imus insults black women for the "sin" of not being attractive in his eyes and does so using racial language, he will get fired. Conversely, no one will turn a hair when terms like “white trash” or “redneck” are thrown around publicly in serious discussions. (Interestingly enough, these same rules allow for the same Imus—a Democrat supporter of Obama and friend of the MSM-approved "black leader," Al Sharpton—to get his job back and re-offend.)

Sorry but if you allow the Lefties to base “the rules” on the shifty sands of relative truth, don’t be surprised when you come out the loser.

Stop whining and man up.

I won't be on tomorrow until the evening, Pacific time.

[Re-edited]

UPDATE: Oh spare us the coddling of our bad-actors and nutcases, O Hideous One.

"I meant that he was being picked on because he's black," Imus said in a statement released by his spokesman.

Why not just say "they can't help it it's in their nature?" That'd be more honest.