Posts Tagged ‘China’

To the tune of “Let it Be” with apologies to Lennon and McCartney:

Bob Maistros

When I find the world in times of trouble,
Brother Jimmy comes to me
Speaking words of weakness,
Let it be.
In Egypt’s hour of darkness
His example stands right out for me
Spurning our uniqueness
Let it be.

What? Me intervene?

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Though they Wikileak us, let it be.

And when freedom-desiring people
In Iran or China grieve,
And there’s an uprising,
Let it be.
For though they are inspiring
They will never hear a word from me,
Answer’s unsurprising.
Let it be.

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Bob Maistros

“We have some work to do in Egypt in terms of our relationships with the Hebrews.”  Pharoah Ramsses, speech at the dedication of the Pyramids, ca. 1600 BC.

“Here in the Hunnic Empire, we still need to tweak our associations with the Romans.”  Attila, State of the Empire Address, 450.

"Human rights? Hu, me?"

“We have a ways to go in Mongolia in terms of our treatment of conquered peoples.”  Genghis Khan, proclamation, 1200.

“We might have to make some adjustments in Spain in terms of our dealings with heretics.”  Torquemada, ecclesiastical conference, 1492.

“We in England may have to take a second look at our policies in terms of taxation of the colonists.”  King George III, address to Parliament, 1775.

“It may be that we in France need to widen our confectionary choices for the peasantry.”  Marie Antoinette, royal audience, 1791.

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Dan Calabrese

If you’re a malefactor on the world stage, what do you have to fear from Barack Obama?

Iran seeks nuclear weapons. North Korea apparently already has them, and wants to use them to blackmail the world into all kinds of favors and aid.

Russia, which does not accept the events of 20 years ago, seeks a way to bring former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe back into its sphere of influence.

Weak.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban seeks to reassert itself, regain power and restore that nation’s one-time status as a staging ground for terrorists. Next door in Pakistan, like-minded radical Islamists seek to undermine and ultimately topple that nation’s frighteningly wobbly government, and take control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal in the bargain.

And in Iraq, where the U.S. has turned seeming disaster into a promising, U.S.-friendly constitutional democracy, Baathists and Al Qaeda surrogates lie in wait for the opportunity to once again rise up and instigate violence and chaos.

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Paul Ibrahim

It was, understandably, a late Friday move by Barack Obama to slap a 35% tariff on Chinese tire imports, and thus, on American consumers who have been relying on these efficiently-made tires. After all, arbitrarily raising such a tariff that harms American consumers, American retailers, and Chinese manufacturers only to aid a small band of Obama union voters is nothing the administration would wish to proclaim too loudly.

Priorities.

But everyone still noticed. Markets worldwide fell the Monday after, knowing full well that nothing could better extend and widen the global recession than special interest-driven anti-trade actions by favor-dispensing politicians. Members of the G20, who had ostensibly come to an agreement that free trade is necessary for a global recovery, had already kept a distrustful eye at Obama’s “Buy American” clause and his continued rejection of free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama.

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