Politics

MSNBC has an interesting account of a North Korea missile factory shipment to Libya. North Korea’s major sources of income consist of foreign aid (from western nations as well as loyalist Koreans in Japan), slave labor exports to China (and often to U.S. with a “Made in China” label) – and military hardware and technology sales to dictatorships around the world. Although I am skeptical about its chances for success, North Korea’s latest quest to develop nuclear weapons is a clincher in the case to take it out. No need to send in a large US force – drop a few nukes to take out Pyongyang, and the enslaved North Koreans will take care of the rest (and be eternally grateful to us for it!)

Why in the world would anyone go after the UN?
I can think of two reasons. The obvious explanation is that the Iraqi terrorists are stupid and cannot distinguish between the different foreign agencies in town — so they targeted the least-defended one. The less likely reason is that they want more UN involvement and aid to Iraq – precisely what is likely to be the outcome of the bombing. With all due respect for the dead, the bombing is the best thing that could have happened to the UN from the perspective of its supporters – it has given the UN a relevance they have been desperate for since the war started.

In other news, how many innocent civilians have to die before the “cease-fire” is officially over?

MSNBC provides some “tips” for fixing the power grid. Their “fix”? Nationalization, regulation, and environmentalism — the very causes of the blackouts.
Ah well, another great Cox and Forkum. Also: FCC head warns of more regulations.

Quick Quiz: What is the media’s most likely take on the blackout:

1. The “complexity” and “chaos” of the market is unsuitable for an “essential” need like electricity.
2. The blackout was caused by America’s over-reliance on fossil fuels – we need to reduce our electricity use and move to renewable energy sources.
3. The minor looting and small number of deaths caused by the blackout is a sure sign that we can trust the government to protect our lives.
4. The Democrats haven’t found a way to blame the Bush administration for it, but they’re going to have something soon.
5. The blackout is an inevitable consequence of a heavily regulated, price-controlled, forcibly monopolized, and eco-crazed power industry.

God knows, I’m all for blowing to hell any terrorist fuckers than want to mess with the U.S. of A. However I suspect that this latest "missile-smuggling plot" is basically a PR stunt by the FBI, perhaps motivated by the upcoming elections. I was watching an interview with a former FBI chief investigator, and listened to him answer questions for several minutes about the "foiled plan." Guess what he said? NOTHING. He went on and on about how terrorists were bad (um, DUH!), how terrorism is a global problem, blah, blah, but nothing whatsoever about what this "plot" was about. Methinks, some undercover FBI agents promised this Indian guy a ton of money in exchange for smuggling a "package" into America. Meanwhile, the Russian security agents working with the FBI conveniently sold it to him. That’s all that ever happened — no plot to shoot down any airliners ever existed, and no sale would have happened if some poor sucker hadn’t been convinced to smuggle a package accross the ‘lake’. Meanwhile, while the FBI is pulling publicity stunts, Congress is restricting the military’s abilities to take out the real terrorists. Good planning, guys.