The Scrutinator

Roger L. Simon says:

"What Stokes seems to be saying in his gnomic fashion is that because the 'Insurgents' seek to have their stories told, the Associated Press is obligated to do so. It sounds as if the 'Insurgents' were calling a press conference to express their campaign positions. But they weren't. What they were doing was brutally murdering innocent people in the street and they wanted the press there to record the event. The Associated Press, like good poodles of fascism, came along for that most necessary of tasks for terrorists in asymetrical war--publicity. "

Powerline has more.

That's why they tipped off the photographer, and that's why they dragged the two election workers from their car, so they could be shot in front of the AP's obliging camera. And the AP was happy to cooperate with the terrorists in all respects. We'd like to ask some more questions of the photographer, of course, but that's impossible since the AP won't identify him because of "safety concerns." Really? Who would endanger his safety? The terrorists? They could have shot him on Sunday if they were unhappy about having their picture taken....

That makes the admission pretty well complete, I think.

Catherine Seipp on Iraq the Model on National Review Online: "I keep wondering, for instance, why those furious about the Right's antipathy toward gay marriage, and who still see American women as an oppressed class, are making common cause with Islamists who regard women as chattel and think homosexuals should be crushed beneath walls."

Though this is a long and cryptic who's-who of bloggers, it has a few gems.

The real Che by Anthony Daniels: "The film clearly intends to suggest that Guevara was a youthful idealist, and that his idealism--so generous, so disarming--was the source of his later opinions and activities, such as his liberal and open-handed signing of death sentences after perfunctory trials, his support of regimes that had killed millions and scores of millions, and his wish that much of the population of the world should be immolated in a nuclear war for the sake of an alleged point of principle. The film is thus the cinematic equivalent of the Che Guevara T-shirt; it is morally monstrous and emotionally trivial. "

This blog proves that there's much to be proud of Canada (his "redneck" self-description notwithstanding), awarding his Red Ensign Standard to fellow Canadian bloggers.

Summary: The UN Commission on Human Rights has little credibility, as a quarter of its members are essentially repressive states. Out of the 53 member states, 13 are given the worst ("Not Free") rating by Freedom House (a human-rights watch-dog group).

Further, 16 more member states, rated "Partly Free," have either political or civil ratings of 4 or greater (teetering between "Free" and "Not Free"). That leaves 24 out of 53 members--a minority.

Analysis: UN Human Rights Commission Membership (2005) vs Freedom House's 2003 Country Rating shown below. Freedom House uses a 1 to 7 scale, where 1 = most free, 7 = least free. Political and civil freedom rated separately. See also the CIA World Factbook

Totalitarian states: Bhutan, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Guinea, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Swaziland, Zimbabwe.

Teetering between "Free" and "Not Free" (4 or more, either political or civil): Armenia, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nepal, Nigeria, Paraguay, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Ukraine.

Member	Freedom House Rating (Political/Civil)
Argentina	Partly Free (3/3)
Armenia	Partly Free (4/4)
Australia	Free (1/1)
Bhutan	Not Free (6/5)
Brazil	Free (2/3)
Burkina Faso	Partly Free (4/4)
Canada	Free (1/1)
China	Not Free (7/6)
Congo	Partly Free (6/4)
Costa Rica	Free (1/2)
Cuba	Not Free (7/7)
Dominican Republic	Free (2/2)
Ecuador	Partly Free (3/3)
Egypt	Not Free (6/6)
Eritrea	Not Free (7/6)
Ethiopia	Partly Free (5/5)
Finland	Free (1/1)
France	Free (1/1)
Gabon	Partly Free (5/4)
Germany	Free (1/1)
Guatemala	Partly Free (4/4)
Guinea	Not Free (6/5)
Honduras	Partly Free (3/3)
Hungary	Free (1/2)
India	Free (2/3)
Indonesia	Partly Free (3/4)
Ireland	Free (1/1)
Italy	Free (1/1)
Japan	Free (1/2)
Kenya	Partly Free (4/4)
Malaysia	Partly Free (5/5)
Mauritania	Partly Free (5/5)
Mexico	Free (2/2)
Nepal	Partly Free (4/4)
Netherlands	Free (1/1)
Nigeria	Partly Free (4/5)
Pakistan	Not Free (6/5)
Paraguay	Partly Free (4/3)
Peru	Free (2/3)
Qatar	Not Free (6/6)
Republic of (South) Korea	Free (2/2)
Romania	Free (2/2)
Russian Federation	Partly Free (5/5)
Saudi Arabia	Not Free (7/7)
South Africa	Free (1/2)
Sri Lanka	Partly Free (3/4)
Sudan	Not Free (7/7)
Swaziland	Not Free (6/5)
Togo	Not Free (6/5)
Ukraine	Partly Free (4/4)
United Kingdom	Free (1/1)
United States of America	Free (1/1)
Zimbabwe	Not Free (6/6)

To maintain perspective, my values and my priorities, I'm deliberately reducing my blogging (writing and reading) to provide Bride-of-Scrutinator and Son-of-Scrutinator with richer off-line content. Expect postings to drop to once a week or less for the foreseeable future. (I'm sure the Hound-of-Scrutiny will also appreciate this.)

The New York Times attempts to defend Kofi Annan against the corruption charges. TigerHawk debunks.

Red Double-Crossed Again documents the ICRC's (International Red Cross') betrayal of their charter and the Geneva Conventions for the modern, fashionable, leftist, America-hating, terrorist-sympathetic position they now hold.