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SUNDAY,  APRIL 12,  2009

VATICAN REPORTEDLY BLOCKS KENNEDY APPOINTMENT - AT 3:43 P.M. ET:  From London's Telegraph:

The Vatican has blocked the appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US ambassador, according to reports.

Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

Mr Obama was reportedly seeking to reward John F Kennedy's daughter, who publicly gave her support to his election bid. She had been poised to replace Hillary Clinton as New York senator, but dropped out amid criticism that she lacked enough experience for the job.

COMMENT:  You'd think the White House would be more sensitive to Vatican feelings.  At the same time, it's another setback for Caroline Kennedy. 

We are fair here.  As a New Yorker, I can tell you that Caroline Kennedy has a fine reputation in our state for her charitable work, and for the manner in which she's conducted herself over the years, unlike some other members of the family.  Although wealthy in monetary terms, she has suffered severe personal losses, and never exploited them.  I hope some way can be found for her to serve. 

April 12, 2009   Permanlink 

CAPTAIN FREED - AT 2:34 P.M. ET:  Other news organizations are now confirming that the American captain held hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia has now been freed, and that three of his four captors have been killed.  From The New York Times:

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) -- An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, the ship's owner said.

A senior U.S. intelligence official said a pirate who had been involved in negotiations to free Capt. Richard Phillips but who was not on the lifeboat was in custody.

Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.

COMMENT:  Pretty great, thanks to the U.S. Navy.  Ironically, Phillips comes from Vermont, which is represented by two of the most left-leaning members of the U.S. Senate - Patrick Leahy and the socialist Bernie Sanders.  I can almost see them ordering an investigation into whether the freeing of Captain Phillips offended the peace-loving pirate community.

April 12, 2009   Permalink

BULLETIN - AT 1:26 P.M. ET:  CNN is reporting that the American captain held by pirates off Somalia has been freed, and that three of the four pirates holding him have been killed.  We will seek further details.

April 12, 2009   Permalink

TAKE THAT, NORTH KOREA! - AT 9:44 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

UNITED NATIONS — The major players on the United Nations Security Council reached a compromise Saturday to chastise North Korea for launching a rocket while avoiding tough new punishments that Russia and China had feared would drive the North away from negotiations over dismantling its nuclear program.

The Council may vote as soon as Monday on the American draft of a presidential statement, a step less forceful than a resolution, that would tighten existing sanctions by singling out specific North Korean organizations and expanding the list of banned goods related to its nuclear and missile programs.

After haggling all week, the five permanent members plus Japan agreed to the compromise in order to project unity, although the United States and Japan had initially pushed for a stronger response.

Russia and China, in calling for a measured reaction, publicly avoided characterizing the rocket launching as a ballistic missile test, and the word missile never appears in the statement. But it condemns North Korea for the event and warns the country against any further launchings.

COMMENT:  If I were North Korea, I'd get the surrender documents ready.  Wouldn't you?  Not.

This is next to nothing.

April 12, 2009   Permalink

EGYPT AND THE HEZZIES - AT 9:22 A.M.  The mainstream press isn't doing much on this, but there's growing tension between Egypt, the Arab world's most important country, and Hizbullah, the Iranian-influenced terror organization with a grip on Lebanon.  From the Jerusalem Post:

Egyptian parliamentarians and legal experts called to issue a warrant for the arrest of Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and to put him on trial for "encouraging terror activities in an attempt to destabilize the [Egyptian] state," the Saudi-based Al Arabiya television network reported Sunday.

The MPs called to include Nasrallah in the indictment expected to be served against 49 members of a terror cell arrested in Egypt several days ago on suspicion that they were planning to carry out attacks inside the country.

Also Sunday, Al Ahram reported that Hizbullah loyalists had purchased an entire building in Cairo and several villas in the Sinai Peninsula as part of the terror cell's efforts.

COMMENT:  This, potentially, is a major story with significant implications for American policy in the region.  Egypt, although a dictatorship, is friendly toward the United States.  If it is destabilized by Hizbullah, it's a major setback for us.  Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel, which Hizbullah would undoubtedly scrap, upping the damage even more. 

The Obama administration has shown no stomach for resisting Hizbullah, and I'm sure the Hezzies are noticing.  Watch this one.  A collapse in Egypt would be as significant as the overthrow of the shah in Iran in the 1970s.

April 12, 2009   Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY - AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  From a Washington Times editorial:

Respectfully said, Mr. President: Enough already. The world has gotten your point.

They've heard your oft-repeated message that America has made "mistakes" and "shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive" in the recent past. Understood. It is time to retire those speeches and work on a few aimed at North Korea, Iran and maybe Venezuela, full of promising phrases like "play nice or else" and "please take care of your people."

COMMENT:  I'm not optimistic, in the short run, that Obama will make the change.  He's getting too much applause from his millions of groupies, and the mainstream media loves the new grovel.  But I serious jolt may - repeat may - change him.  At least we can hope. 

April 12, 2009   Permalink

PIRATE UPDATE - AT 9:02 A.M. ET:  From the Washington Post:

MOMBASA, Kenya, April 11 -- The Maersk Alabama cargo ship docked at this Kenyan port city Saturday night, its American crew appearing tired but in high spirits, with some sailors leaning over the ship's railing to wave, ask for a beer and tell how they thwarted an attack by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

But there is no news about the fate of the captain, still being held hostage by pirates in a life raft.  Negotiations for his release broke down yesterday.  The administration, at least at this stage, is treating the hijacking as a crime, rather than a military act.

April 12, 2009   Permalink

SATURDAY,  APRIL 11,  2009

TALKS BREAK DOWN - PIRATE LATEST - AT 5:40 P.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

Negotiations over the American captain taken hostage by Somali pirates broke down on Saturday, according to Somali officials, after American officials insisted that the pirates be arrested and a group of elders representing the pirates refused.

COMMENT:  One issue:  How long can the lifeboat holding the captain and his captors remain at sea, without provisions and fresh water?  Very serious situation.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

MEANWHILE, IN SOMALIA - AT 5:06 P.M. ET:  Related to the pirate saga taking place off Somalia, is the problem of terrorist groups, linked to Al Qaeda, within Somalia itself.  This will prove a major, and probably frustrating challenge to the new administration.  The Washington Post, in an excellent and balanced piece of reporting, explains:

Senior Obama administration officials are debating how to address a potential terrorist threat to U.S. interests from a Somali extremist group, with some in the military advocating strikes against its training camps. But many officials maintain that uncertainty about the intentions of the al-Shabab organization dictates a more patient, nonmilitary approach.

Al-Shabab, whose fighters have battled Ethiopian occupiers and the tenuous Somali government, poses a dilemma for the administration, according to several senior national security officials who outlined the debate only on the condition of anonymity.

COMMENT:  I recommend this piece for the background it provides on a growing problem.  We give credit where it's due here, and the liberal Washington Post has done a fine journalistic job in this article.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

CANNOT VERIFY - AT 3:50 P.M. ET:  We cannot verify this report from Bloomberg on the hostage situation, but felt it important enough to pass on to you:

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. Navy negotiator and Somali pirates reached a tentative agreement for the release of Richard Phillips, the American ship captain held by them since April 8, a pirate said, adding that the deal might still break down.

“There were negotiations this morning between us and an American woman” from a U.S. warship in the area, a man calling himself Da’ud, who identified himself as one of the pirates, said today by phone from the area of Eyl, Somalia. “We agreed to release the captain and get back our four colleagues, but the process is still critical.”

The agreement would include the paying of a “small” ransom, Da’ud said, declining to be more specific.

There are also reports that a boat carrying U.S. Navy sailors trying to approach the lifeboat holding the hostage and his captors was fired upon, and had to turn back.  No further details.

Clearly, the administration is trying to get this captain out alive.  But then what?  If they succeed, and have paid ransom and made concessions, they only encourage the next hijacking.  We must get the captain out, then take some kind of punitive action that will make plain what punishment awaits pirates.  Will Obama have the stomach?  This will be fascinating to see.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

AND AGAIN - AT 11:18 A.M. ET: 

ON BOARD NRB CORTE-REAL, April 11 (Reuters) - A U.S.-owned, Italian-flagged tugboat reported hijacked in the Gulf of Aden has 10 Italian citizens among its 16-member crew, according to NATO alliance officials on a warship in the region.

Lieutenant Sergio Carvalho, on the Portuguese warship NRB Corte-Real, said the tugboat issued a distress call before communications went silent six minutes later.

COMMENT:  Obviously, the pirate issue is becoming bigger than it has been.  Look for the Mattel pirate toy, multicultural.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

OBAMA'S TRIP - A BRITISH SCORECARD - AT 10:12 A.M. ET:  We've written before in this space that some of the most discerning comments about American politics and government come from British journalists.  Here is new proof, should you need it.  Gerald Warner, in The Telegraph, writes a devasting critique of President Obama's recent trip to Europe, and its list of accomplishments:

President Barack Obama has recently completed the most successful foreign policy tour since Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. You name it, he blew it. What was his big deal economic programme that he was determined to drive through the G20 summit? Another massive stimulus package, globally funded and co-ordinated. Did he achieve it? Not so as you'd notice.

Ouch.  That is unkind.

On to Nato and the next big objective: to persuade the same European evasion experts that America, Britain and Canada should no longer bear the brunt of the Afghan struggle virtually unassisted. The Old World sucked through its teeth, said that was asking a lot - but, seeing it was Barack, to whom they could refuse nothing, they would graciously accede to his wishes.

So The One retired triumphant, having secured a massive contribution of 5,000 extra troops - all of them non-combatant, of course - which must really have put the wind up the Taliban, at the prospect of 5,000 more infidel cooks and bottle-washers swarming into the less hazardous regions of Afghanistan.

Mr. Warner will not be writing an admiring biography of Barack Obama.  And the president's response to the North Korean missile test, which occurred during the European trip?

President Pantywaist is hopping mad and he has a strategy to cut Kim down to size: he is going to slice $1.4bn off America's missile defence programme, presumably on the calculation that Kim would feel it unsporting to hit a sitting duck, so that will spoil his fun.

Finally...

Watch out, France and Co, there is a new surrender monkey on the block and, over the next four years, he will spectacularly sell out the interests of the West with every kind of liberal-delusionist initiative on nuclear disarmament and sitting down to negotiate with any power freak who wants to buy time to get a good ICBM fix on San Francisco, or wherever. If you thought the world was a tad unsafe with Dubya around, just wait until President Pantywaist gets into his stride.

COMMENT:  I'm afraid the man has a point, in fact many points.  We can admire the president's wish to engage in negotiation to settle problems, yet still wonder what very tough and brutal adversaries think of his approach, and how they will react.

As I said to a reader in an e-mail this morning, we can only hope that Mr. Obama learns before it's too late, and toughens up.  That's what happened with Kennedy, whose first year in office was a foreign-policy embarrassment, but whose second year, culminating with the Cuban Missile Crisis, was better.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

A LAUGH IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE - AT 9:25 A.M. ET: Excellent talk-show host Mike Scully (WVOX 1460 in the Westchester, New York, area, 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays) alerts us to a terrific bit of satire, traced to Jon at Exurban League.  President Obama is speaking:

For too long, America has been too dismissive of the proud culture and invaluable contributions of the Pirate Community. Whether it is their pioneering work with prosthetics, husbandry of tropical birds or fanciful fashion sense, America owes a deep debt to Pirates.

The past eight years have shown a failure to appreciate the historic role of these noble seafarers. Instead of celebrating their entrepreneurial spirit and seeking to partner with them to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

Some of us wonder if our current Overseas Contingency Operation would even be needed had the last administration not been so quick to label Pirates as "thieves," "terrorists" and worse. Such swashbucklaphobia can lead to tragic results, as we have seen this week.

COMMENT:  Bull's eye.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

THE FINE PRINT - AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Looks like all those contributions made by trial lawyers to the Democratic Party are bearing fruit.  From The Washington Times:

Self-proclaimed victims of global warming or those who "expect to suffer" from it - from beachfront property owners to asthmatics - for the first time would be able to sue the federal government or private businesses over greenhouse gas emissions under a little-noticed provision slipped into the House climate bill.

Environmentalists say the measure was narrowly crafted to give citizens the unusual standing to sue the U.S. government as a way to force action on curbing emissions. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sees a new cottage industry for lawyers.

"You could be spawning lawsuits at almost any place [climate-change modeling] computers place at harm's risk," said Bill Kovacs, energy lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The bill was written by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, California Democrat, and Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat. Both lawmakers declined repeated requests for comment.

COMMENT:  This is utterly outrageous, but follows the usual liberal pattern:  If you can't get something through the normal democratic process, get it through lawsuits. We can easily see corporations entirely tied up with lawsuits, and many businesses forced to close.  This, of course, is the dream of the left - make the environment perfect and wreck free enterprise at the same time. 

We have only read about this provision in The Washington Times.  I wonder if any other news outlet that celebrates the "people's right to know" will cover it.

April 11, 2009   Permalink

PIRATE UPDATE - AT 8:50 A.M. ET: 

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- U.S. warships are trying to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain is being held hostage as the high-seas standoff off Africa's eastern coast entered a fourth day Saturday.

Underscoring the high stakes involved, France's navy on Friday freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the hostages was killed, along with two bandits. Three pirates were captured.

A Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to reporters, said the pirates have summoned assistance but at least two American ships and an Orion surveillance aircraft are deterring pirate ships and skiffs from contact with the lifeboat.

The pirates have threatened to kill their American hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips, if the U.S. attacks them, according to a Somali who has been in contact with the pirates.

COMMENT:  It's the fourth day the captain is being held.  There are no significant late developments.  It's impossible to assess the quality of the American government's response as it is shrouded in secrecy, which is appropriate under the circumstances.

April 11, 2009   Permalink