Snapped Shot

I ran across an interesting collection of articles over at Instapundit today, which I am highly amused by. Apparently, Sir Nicholas Stern, the British preacher of doom, has been going around repeating the absurd claim that Chinese air-quality standards are too high for the American auto industry to be able to send cars over there.

Of course, there's nothing new about claims like this. I honestly cannot remember a time in my life where the Left has failed to attack the West for things which were, at the very least, not the West's fault.

Tim Blair has done a fantastic job rounding up some other notable Leftists who repeat this claim essentially verbatim. He has also pointed us to Right-Thinking, who has provided first-hand photographic evidence of Chinese environmental policy, which makes Los Angeles look like an ecological paradise.

I remember walking through a Russian bookstore in the suburbs of Maryland (the largest in the country--which, sadly, was forced to close some time ago) that contained thousands of old Soviet books, including the textbooks they used internally, and the ones they sent overseas to other countries in "goodwill" missions--textbooks which, of course, represented the Soviet line. (Not that the Soviets ever tried to communize the world or anything.) Continue reading »

I guess I should have expected stuff like this from "The Most Ethical Congress in History."

I guess this scuttles the notion that somehow women are, by nature of their sex (to use the politically-incorrect alternate to "gender"), more "honest" than men.

Anyone have any guesses as to when the incessant screeching and obligatory hearings will commence?

My apologies for the lengthy period of silence over here. I've been a bit tied up at work, and haven't had as much time to devote to blogging as normal. I hope to get things straightened up, and get back on the ol' newsfeeds very shortly.

I highly recommend reading Roger Williams' Dictators of the World, if you want to keep up-to-date on your dictatorial history. One new blog I discovered that's well worth reading is BLACK VELVET BRUCE LI, written by a fellow Virginian who has quite a bit to say about the state of the Commonwealth.

Hopefully, I'll be seeing y'all real soon!

Is it proper for the press to participate in a blatantly staged photo op, even when it's admitted that the people who showed up only did so because they were paid to?

Consider this situation from the "occupied" Golan Heights: In exchange for "free" education in Damascus, around 200 people showed up to "shout" Mother's Day greetings to their "relatives" who lived (presumably, as the caption provided doesn't delve into details) on the Israeli side of the valley.

While it's decent of Bassem to note that these people showed up, in essence, as paid players, take particular note of the purposeful staging of the scenery: We're shown "peaceful" students, a vast gulf of land, and evil barbed wire. (It should be noted that the barbed wire pictured is most likely on the Syrian side of the border, which means it's not evil Zionist barbed wire, but the implication that it is still remains.) All of these combine to form some rather powerful imagery, but is the substance presented in the photographs genuine?

There are no news stories accompanying these photographs as of yet, and I've not determined how old this "ancient" custom is, but if any of y'all are aware of the background behind what's pictured here, please do let me know of it.

My question to you is this: Is a series of photographs like this proper? Even though the motivation of the players is mentioned, it's not uncommon to see details like that removed from the photojournalist's captions when the photograph is used in other media outlets. At what point does it become "improper" for the press corps to cover and transmit photographs of a knowingly-staged event? Continue reading »

... that this joker actually considered running for a seat in the federal Senate here in the Commonwealth of Virginia? With acting skills like this, who wouldn't vote for him? (h/t Digg)


Can you say gravitas?

... the other 2/3rds can be found outside the halls of Congress!

Yuk yuk yuk! (h/t PajamasMedia)

Wow, it looks like he really is still alive, though from the looks of it, he probably doesn't have long to live. (Of course, this could still be a "body double," not that dictators ever use those...)