Pakistan Moves Against Groups Named by India

The word came down late at night (for South-Central Asia) so no word yet from India. But these groups (in English, the Army of the Pure and the Army of Muhammad) are apparently the most important of the Islamic groups in the Kashmiri struggle, and this might be the first sign that we're pulling this thing back from the brink. And apparently the famous Dubya personal charm had something to do with it.

This doesn't meet all of India's demands; Pakistan didn't shut down the groups, only arrested some of their leaders. (And apparently they aren't letting it get around in Pakistan itself that it's been done.)

Musharraf also came out with this -- at a Christmas Dinner, of all things -- "In my own small way, I wish to spread the image of a tolerant, forgiving Islam. I would like to root out any intolerance and violence from this society. I am sure that if we are really determined, and really bold, we can change the situation. Pakistan is passing through a difficult stage, with the tensions on the border, and I would ask you all again to pray for peace and tranquillity, in Pakistan and the world."

I can't help liking the guy. I mean, he's a military dictator, but as military dictators go...

The New Delhi Order - Why can't India have a war on terrorism, too? By Anne Applebaum

What she said.

As this story points out, the Kashmir insurgents (fighting on the behalf of Islam, with Pakistani support) are pretty much interchangeable with the Taliban and with Al-Qaeda's forces in the area. Johnny the Rat fought in Kashmir. As long as Pakistan supports the Kashmir rebellion, we are -- sort of -- at war with them at the same time we're allied with them.

Bush Presses India, Pakistan To Ease Conflict (washingtonpost.com)

He's reportedly going to get on the phone with Musharraf and Indian President Vajpayee. Hopefully the fabled Dubya personal charm can head off the apocalypse.

It's not really like Musharraf wants a war; he'd lose, and I think he knows it. But he's refused, or is unable, to crack down on ISI. As long as the intelligence service is allowed to operate as an independent government -- to the extent of having its own foreign policy opposed to that of the supposed "real" government -- Musharraf isn't the President of anything.

I think India is itching for a war, and it's hard to blame them. It's their territory that's being threatened and their legislature that was plotted against. And they'd probably win. If we didn't have troops in the region I'd say let 'em go at it. India has the right of self-defense, don't they? Or is it only the US that does? It's hypocritical to say that we're in a war against terror and then go back and tell the victims of terror to grin and bear it.

Philippine police arrest Jordanian man with 281 sticks of dynamite

Um, who needs that much dynamite? Wouldn't 100, 150 be enough for most anything? I'll admit I don't know much about dynamite, but I think that these terrorists would get a lot more work done if they didn't have to have the most of everything.

Coon hunters now using high-tech tools

Ah, my people.

Bush Pledges More Aid For Russian Arms Cuts (washingtonpost.com)

Let's be frank; the Russian control over their nuclear arsenal is tenuous at best, but what this really is is hidden U.S. aid to an defeated enemy. And I'll bet more than half the money winds up in the pockets of Putin's buddies, though in Russia these days half the money going where it's needed is a pretty good rate.

Environmental Working Group
Farm Subsidy Database, 1996-2000

This seems to have pissed a bunch of people off. I was going to go off on a rant about Federal farm policy but really, it seems to do pretty well for most of us, the most of us who don't live on farms. But if you're a small or middle-sized farmer, you're going to get squeezed. I dunno... it doesn't seem to me that the Feds look out much for small businessmen in any other field.

Can someone please explain to me why the government subsidizes tobacco? Really, it makes no sense to me.

Indian Missiles Put 'in Position'
Tensions Rise on Pakistani Border

No word yet on if they are nuclear missiles or conventional; obviously if they're the former this could be a disaster. But even if it's "just" conventional weapons, with American troops actually in Pakistan, and with Pakistani troops the Afghan border, I don't see how we could avoid getting involved. Our natural sympathy should probably be with India, a democracy subject to terror attacks, but Pakistan was there for us against the Taliban, and it would look bad if we turned our backs now; we already have that reputation in that part of the world. Furthermore, whatever its flaws the Musharraf government has had a positive impact on Pakistan. Worse, if it falls the natural successors will be the men of the ISI, who sponsored both the Parliament attack and the Taliban.

Strong sense of Sept. 11 deja vu here. General Musharraf "condemned the Parliament attack but said he would not move against the militants, whom he calls "freedom fighters," without evidence of their involvement, which India has thus far refused to share with Pakistan." Sound familiar?

Pakistan is one of the many countries in the region that doesn't have any real reason to exist. It's a fiction thought up by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and other intellectuals. There's no real justification for its existence except for Muslim separatism, something we're not really interested in abetting. It either should be part of India or be several smaller states. That's not going to happen anytime soon, but if it weren't for the nukes I'd say let the Indians go in and clean the place out. Maybe they should get some of the grief from the Muslim countries for awhile.

Argentine Leader Declares Default on $132 Billion Debt

So I guess he defaulted after all. As the story puts it, this won't affect anyone but the Argentines themselves directly. But if investors start fleeing other Latin American countries -- meaning, mostly, Brazil -- it could be bad.

Argentina's system for electing presidents seems to be even wackier than our own: "Voters will choose one candidate, but the candidate getting the most votes will not necessarily win. That is because the winner must come from the party that garners the most votes." So if one guy runs as a Peronist and gets 40 percent of the votes, and nine guys run as members of another party and get 45 percent combined, but none of them more than ten percent as an individual, the guy with ten percent wins. And some people think that our two parties are too important.

Rodríguez Saá "wrapped himself in the legacies of Gen. Juan Domingo Perón". Great, just great. That's just what Argentina needs. Still, I doubt that this administration will lead to bad Broadway musicals or any sort of Madonna vehicles.

Argentina defaults on repayment of $155bn debt


That's what this Financial Times story says, but they haven't actually defaulted yet. I think everyone expects them to, though.

More details of the wacky economic policies of the Peronists. Apparently, parts of the country are using "pseudo-currencies" instead of the peso, and the Peronistas say they'll be "absorbed" by the new currency. Okaaaaay...

Israel Issues New Ultimatum to Arafat

They aren't going to let him attend Christmas Mass in Bethlehem! Those bastards!

Wait. Why is Arafat going to Mass? (He does it every year, it seems.) Are Muslims allowed to do that?

Anyway, it's good to see that the Vatican is taking a hand here. Yep, diplomatic pressure to let a terrorist turned corrupt politician attend services of a religion to which he doesn't belong. That's a good use of the Church's time.

Argentina's New Interim Leader Suspends Debt Payments

Fernando de la Rua's replacement Adolfo Rodriguez Saa "made clear that suspending payments on the $132 billion debt does not mean repudiating it and that his interim government will seek an early dialogue with creditors." He also announced plans to replace the peso with a "third currency" (not the peso, or the US dollar), which if I were an Argentine would scare the hell out of me. Of course, so would the Peronists back in power.

I don't have any problem with suspending debt payments; the owners of Argentina's debts would be wise to let it slide for now. The priority is rebuilding the economy, but this doesn't look like the guy to do it. Maybe he'll surprise us.

A clarification; the plane with the C-4 shoes guy landed at Logan, after being diverted; it didn't take off from there. Just a coincidence.

American is hexed, though.

The Next Dr. Evil

A piece in Slate (which has now officially won its war with Salon) on who will follow Osama as America's foreign Public Enemy No. 1. David Plotz goes to great lengths to avoid the obvious answer of "Saddam". It will clearly be him for awhile, but my guess is he won't be around by the Fourth of July.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is a possibility to follow Saddam, though. Keep an eye on him, he's a comer. Poor Brazil now has fascists to the south (Argentina) and socialists to the north (Venezuela), though there really isn't that much of a difference in the way the two operate. Add in the narco-terrorists in the west and I'm getting really worried.

Passenger Subdued on Plane
Bomb Fears Prompt Incident Over Atlantic

The device -- which supposedly included C-4, was "hidden" in his shoe. Typically, he walks onto the plane with wires showing out of said shoe, and typically it was up to the flight attendants and passengers to stop him. And typically, it was at Logan Airport, America's new Terrorist Central. Oh, and typically, it was an American Airlines flight. Somebody please tell me somebody's going to be fired for this.

Why is American even still in business? I mean, I can't imagine boarding one of their flights after the year they've just had. I hate flying enough already without the imminent fear of death.

New Afghan Leader Sworn In
Spirit of Hope and Unity Prevails; Karzai Vows to Rebuild Economy

Good luck, Hamid. You're going to need it.

The whole "nation-building" concept makes me as nervous as it does President Bush. But if ever there was a time for nation-building, this is it. The leadership of the new government has asked for American aid, the US is as popular in Afghanistan as it could possibly be, and -- let's face it -- almost anything we do would have to be an improvement. Having an ally in that part of the world wouldn't be a bad thing either.

I get the idea though that we're willing to leave the nation-building to the Brits and the other Europeans. Hopefully, mostly the Brits.