Our new Secretary of State explains to the Europeans that we are not in fact European.

Money quote:

When Europeans talk of “stability” and “constructive engagement”, what they often mean is doing deals with dictators. A case can, of course, be made for such an approach. But, whatever else it is, it is not ethical. Miss Rice, by contrast, talks without embarrassment about exporting liberty.

“There cannot be an absence of moral content in American foreign policy,” she says. “Europeans giggle at this, but we are not European, we are American, and we have different principles.”

Yes indeed.

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Cao has devised a dastardly scheme to defeat everything the Islamofascists stand for. I encourage American women (hell, women the world over) who are so inclined to join her in what appears to be a most excellent way to do your part in the war on terror……

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From the Stockholm Spectator:

“The inked fingers was disgusting,” Air America radio talk show host Janeane Garofalo declared on MSNBC in denouncing Republican lawmakers who, before and after the State of the Union, showed off an inked finger meant to demonstrate solidarity with Iraqi voters who dipped a finger in ink when they voted. To mock the display, Garofalo soon held up her hand in a Nazi salute as she predicted: “The inked fingers and the position of them, which is gonna be a Daily Show photo already, of them signaling in this manner [Nazi salute], as if they have solidarity with the Iraqis who braved physical threats against their lives to vote as if somehow these inked-fingered Republicans have something to do with that.”

I had seen this around the blogosphere and decided to let it pass as the ignorance of our betters in Hollywood. Besides, after the takedown administered by the South Park boys in Team America: World Police (where is that DVD!?) who takes these people seriously anyway? But when I found it linked by an Australian blogger from a Swedish blog, I thought I would share in the world wide mocking by posting this from Korea. Janeane, you rock! I bow before your superior intellect!

See also a funny take from Half-Bakered

And more here
from crosswalk.com

Via Tim Blair

And if you are easily offended by coarse language, don’t read this bit from Team America. Funniest quote from the funniest movie of the year in my opinion:
>> Read more

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Christopher Hitchens explains why Iraq is not comparable to Vietnam (notwithstanding the NY Times assertions to the contrary). Good stuff, go read it here.

Via Tim Blair

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Jack Kelly’s column in today’s Toledo Blade is a must read. He deftly exposes how the media has been missing the story in Iraq. While incompetence may be factor in that, evidence suggests it is a deliberate slanting of the news by overemphasizing one aspect of the story and ignoring much of what has been and continues to be the real accomplishments of our soldiers in Iraq. As one G.I. put it:

“I’m tired of hearing the crap, the whole, well ‘We are barely hanging on, we’re losing, the insurgency is growing,” Marine Sgt. Kevin Lewis told Dan Rather, in Iraq for the election. “It’s just a small amount of people out there causing the problems. It’s a small number, and we’re killing them.”

The blogosphere has been buzzing for days about Eason Jordan, CNN’s top honcho, who recently accused American troops of deliberately targeting jounalists. Oh, you haven’t heard about this? Understandable if you rely on the MSM as your sole source on news. Well, the story is finally beginning to get some traction, thanks in no small part to bloggers like Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters. I expect you will be hearing more on this, I am just waiting to see how the MSM chooses to spin a documented example of anti-American bias from one of their own.

Here’s what Kelly has to say:

The scandalous remarks of Eason Jordan, CNN’s top news executive, last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the failure of the major media to report them suggest the distortions are deliberate.

Mr. Jordan told a panel that the U.S. military had killed a dozen journalists in Iraq, and that they had been deliberately targeted. When challenged, Mr. Jordan could provide no evidence to support the charge, and subsequently lied about having made it, though the record shows he had made a similar charge a few months before, and also earlier had falsely accused the Israeli military of targeting journalists.

Mr. Jordan’s slander has created a firestorm in the blogosphere, but has yet to be mentioned in the “mainstream” media.

Gee, I wonder why not.

Yes, I wonder. Let’s see how this plays out in the coming days.

Via Captain’s Quarters

UPDATE: LaShawn Barber has a great round-up and loads of links if you want to read more on the Eason Jordan scandal.

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I actually slept in this morning. I stayed out on the town last night almost to curfew drinking beer. The matchbooks in my pocket say I visited Gecko’s Bar, Casablanca, and the Oasis. Oh, and I dined at Papa’s, although dining is a bit of stretch. The waitress did not speak English so I pointed at something on the menu. I got a pitcher of beer and a plate of dried fish. What do you expect for 12000 Won, right? Anyway, that’s my excuse for over indulging on the beer and the reason for my sleeping in. I might head back into town this afternoon to check out the shopping. Contrary to appearances, I am not that fond of sitting in bars and drinking alone.

So to catch you up on my adventures since my last report there are only two things worthy of note. On Thursday the Director announced that I would be detailed to the vacant position of Chief, Labor and Performance Management Division. No additional pay, but the duties include supervision of several employees, including Korean nationals. So Friday was my first day as acting Chief and it was hopping. I expect I am going to be much busier in this job, but that is what I prefer. In fact, I had thought about taking Superbowl Monday off so I could watch the game, but that will not be possible now as I have a hot project to finish.

Yesterday I decided on my apartment. In Seoul, there are three basic types of housing. Single family homes (rare and expensive), villas, and high rise condos. A villa is usually in a building that is less than four stories, which is what I have chosen. I’m on the second floor, with a decent view of Itaewon and the surrounding environs. Three bedrooms, two baths, and a decent sized living area with fireplace. I saw places that were newer, had better views, and nicer floor plans, but in the end I went for the convienence of location. I am an easy 20 minute walk from where I’ll be working and right above the main drag in Itaewon where I will have easy access to dining and shopping and yes, bars.

Anyway, I am glad to have finally got my housing situation resolved. I should be moving around the 24th of this month. Of course, I have lots of things to accomplish in the interim, but once I am done with this I should be able to settle in to my new life in Korea and lose this feeling of transience. I confess to feeling quite homesick last night (drinking alone in bars will do that I suppose). Well, my motto is one day at a time. I will not allow myself to dwell on the unknown future, I am going to just make the best of each day and see what I can learn from it. (hell, that’s more of a mantra than a motto, isn’t it?)

Addresses are a funny thing here in Korea. In the States, I live in Stafford. Here I live in a neighborhood, that is part of a community, that is part of a city. So, if I were to tell someone where I am going to be living it would be: Itaewon Dong, Yong San Gu, Seoul.

All right then, that’s the news for now. I have ordered room service breakfast (Warsaw omelette, polish sausage, jack cheese, and mushrooms) which just now arrived. And I have my Sunday edition of Stars and Stripes to read (not exactly the Washington Post, but not bad either). So, I will be back later with hopefully something a little more interesting to share with my loyal readers.

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