SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:49 P.M. ET: 

REALITY DAWNS – There are some leaders who actually understand the world.  From AFP:   Czech President Milos Zeman has called the current wave of refugees to Europe "an organised invasion", adding young men from Syria and Iraq should instead "take up arms" against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) group.  "I am profoundly convinced that we are facing an organised invasion and not a spontaneous movement of refugees," said Zeman in his Christmas message to the Czech Republic released on Saturday.  He went on to say that compassion was "possible" for refugees who are old or sick and for children, but not for young men who in his view should be back home fighting against jihadists.  Compassion and reality are compatible.  There are people all over the world who would like to come to free nations.  Why are we giving such preference only to Muslims from combatant nations?  It does look very political.  Clearly, our ethic insists that these people be cared for in a civilized manner.  But we don't have to open our doors wide to new immigration while they are closed to many others.  A solution, consistent with the Judeo-Christian ethic, can be found.

NOT SO EASY – From AP:   Islamic State fighters are putting up a tough fight in the militant-held city of Ramadi, slowing down the advance of Iraqi forces, a senior Iraqi commander said Sunday.  Iraq launched the long-awaited operation to retake the Anbar provincial capital, which was captured by IS militants in May, but after an initial push across the Euphrates River, their progress stalled.  Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of Anbar military operations, told The Associated Press that the advance was hampered by suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps.  Iraqi troops will “need days” to get to the city’s central government complex, said al-Mahlawi, adding that the troops were about one kilometer (half a mile) from the complex on Sunday.  We were hoping for a quick victory, but once again ISIS is showing far more resilience than anticipated.  Even if they lose Ramadi, experience tells us that they'll regroup to fight somewhere else.  Not easy.

THE END – Italy has launched an all-out war on air pollution, but one is troubled by some of the measures.  From Bloomberg:  In the town of San Vitaliano, near Naples, the mayor has decreed a three-month prohibition on cooking pizzas in wood-fired ovens after air-pollution alert levels were breached regularly over the past six months, La Stampa reported.  When Italy goes after pizza, it's the end of civilization as we know it.  It was fun while at lasted, but I sensed the end was near when they came out with low-fat hot dogs. 

December 27, 2015