Say Anything Blog

Fareed Zakaria pens a good piece at Newsweek in which he laments America’s faltering self-confidence and correctly identifies the need for a reinvigorated nation to address the important issues of a changing world.

America is the world’s preeminent power and if the world is going to run right then we need you on board.

Or not if one is to believe the recently declassified NIE. I don’t have intimate knowledge of the Iranian program so I guess I have to rely on reports such as this. VP Cheney managed to keep it under wraps for more than a year apparently...I wonder why and I also wonder about all the WWIII talk we heard from the President and others not long ago.

Good news if the NIE is accurate but I’d hate to think some Americans have been using the nuclear threat for political purposes.

Scott Bloch investigates politicisation in the Administration. Then Bloch becomes subject to investigation. Bloch wipes computer hard drive. Now he’s under investigation for that too.

I’d wager that it’s time for a change in Washington just like it was time in the nineties. Regimes get tired, be they right wing or left.

Which politician do voters want to see nude?

Crazy Australians.

You’re either a fool or a partisan hack if you disagree with that statement. So what comes next? Robert Dreyfuss has some observations that largely ring true in my ears.

A small sample:

There is other, anecdotal news to support the notion that security is better these days. Last week, Iraqi officials announced that, since the summer, 46,000 Iraqis have returned to the war-torn capital. Hundreds of shops are reopening; taxi drivers say the streets are far safer; and Christian Berthelsen and Said Rifai the Los Angeles Times report that “the booze business has rebounded” after years of puritanical suppression by Islamists, another sign that Al Qaeda has been driven from the premises. On November 3, the Associated Press reported that an entire day passed in Baghdad without a single bombing or shooting. That same day, according to Agence France Press, the U.S. Air Force, for the first time in memory, declared that it had carried out not a single bombing raid or combat mission anywhere in Iraq, due to an “improved security situation.”

The rebounding booze sales test has always been under appreciated as a significant sign of progress IMO. Do read the whole thing although the writer does not like George Bush so those with weak hearts and closed minds should consult a physician first.

Of course it is. Duh.

Which side of your brain is dominant? Take the test.

Oh Ann!

Ron Paul doesn’t get a lot of respect at SA but this spot might just reverse the trend.

Have you ever noticed that the people who complain about words being put in their mouths are often the same people who ascribe dumb comments made by one liberal to all liberals?

I have.

So says OBL, apparently in an attempt to endear himself to the small government fraternity. I bet if Americans converted to Islam that he’d just raise taxes anyway.

and the only prescription is

More Cowbell!

I’m in. Anyone else?

Senator Obama’s comments about Pakistan have been been much discussed but several commentators agree that part of the world will require attention in the near future. This comment provides a good overview of what may lay ahead and what the issues are.

The future of al Qaeda’s version of violent jihadism will very much depend on what happens in Pakistan in the coming year.

Who Is Ioz makes you think.