Quebec Crackpots

Contradictions abounded at the Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City over the weekend, not the least of which was the outrage of protesters at wire fences that separated them from the prime ministers and presidents meeting on the other side. “The fence,” expostulated a young man whose face was hidden by a green … Continue reading “Quebec Crackpots”

The Anti-China Left

The utter meaninglessness of the “left”-“right” political spectrum was brought home to me the other day, as I read yet another anti-Chinese diatribe: “It was,” averred the editorialist, “a sweet triumph for the philologists of appeasement” when the Bush administration settled the Hainan incident with a few words of diplomacy. WorldNetDaily? Nope. The Weekly (Sub)Standard? … Continue reading “The Anti-China Left”

Kristol and Buchanan

William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, has the best public relations operation around: in spite of the fact that his puny little magazine has significantly less readers than Antiwar.com, and regularly loses millions, he is the liberals’ favorite conservative, and thus gets touted by ABC News (where he once served as the “conservative” counterpoint … Continue reading “Kristol and Buchanan”

In Defense of Gore Vidal

Novelist Gore Vidal has been chosen by Tim McVeigh to be one of a very few who will be allowed to witness McVeigh’s upcoming execution – and the legion of the politically correct (neoconservative division) is up in arms. Andrew Sullivan, gay neoconservative poster boy and rising star of the moment – if I see … Continue reading “In Defense of Gore Vidal”

Ode to Wang-Wei

It was Wang Wei’s birthday on Friday. Who? Well, I can tell you’re not Chinese, my friend, because by this time practically every citizen of the PRC knows the name of a man who has become a national hero virtually overnight. He’s the object of admiring profiles in the Chinese government-controlled media – one account … Continue reading “Ode to Wang-Wei”

War Party Plays the Race Card

Today [Thursday morning] Matt Drudge used the “H”-word for the first time in a headline: POWELL HAS HOPE FOR ‘LITTLE SITUATION’ WITH CHINA, Matt notes with apparent disdain, darkly adding: HOSTAGES ENTER 6TH DAY OF CAPTIVITY. How long before Dan Rather opens his newscasts by solemnly intoning that it’s “Day [pick a number, any number] … Continue reading “War Party Plays the Race Card”

The Ressurrection of Gary Powers

The story we are getting about the “accidental” downing of an EP-3 spy plane, packed with sensitive electronic equipment, over the South China sea, and its emergency landing on Hainan island, at a Chinese military base, makes absolutely no sense – no matter whom is doing the telling. A GAUNTLET THROWN The Chinese say that … Continue reading “The Ressurrection of Gary Powers”

Slobo’s Last Stand

It was hardly a heroic last stand. Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian strongman who presided over the destruction of Yugoslavia, had vowed never to be taken alive. Unfortunately, he failed to deliver on his promise. After a 26-hour stand-off, in which Yugoslav police twice stormed the villa in which he was holed up, Milosevic finally … Continue reading “Slobo’s Last Stand”

America Come Home (Part II)

In my last column, I presented the first part of a proposed “Platform” for noninterventionist conservatives, a statement of principle and policy broken down along geographical lines. Part I dealt with Europe and Eastasia; what follows are sections covering the Middle East, the Americas, and the status of America’s colonial possessions. A Time for Truth … Continue reading “America Come Home (Part II)”