BREAKING NEWS! Man Can Travel to Moon and Safely Return!

And other behind-the-times stories:

Fidel Castro: Cuba's Communism Not Working

HAVANA -- Cuba's communist economic model has come in for criticism from an unlikely source: Fidel Castro.

The revolutionary leader told a visiting American journalist and a U.S.-Cuba policy expert that the island's state-dominated system is in need of change, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has taken pains to steer clear of local issues since illness forced him to step down as president four years ago.

The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel's brother Raul, the country's president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.

Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked Castro if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore," Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.

The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg's account.

The Great Communicator at His Greatest,...

20 years ago, it all fell apart for the Soviet Union. Its almost unfathomable to think our current "leader" should turn his back on those countries who yearned for our lifestyle for generations:

Something's Strange in that Seattle Coffee,...

How else to explain this revisionist history:

Pete Seeger revealed as a real mensch in "The Protest Singer"

A compact but revealing look at legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger.

By Curt Schleier
Special to The Seattle Times

"The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger," by Alec Wilkinson

If you are unfamiliar with him, allow me to sum up what I know: Pete Seeger is a mensch. Literally translated, "mensch" means man. But as with so many other Yiddish words, it means much more. A mensch is an honorable, righteous human being, a stand-up guy. And when it comes to Seeger, it is true both figuratively and literally.

In the 1930s and '40s, Pete stood up for farmers and unions. In the '50s and '60s, he was there for the civil-rights movement. He fought to end the war in Vietnam, and championed every other "lefty" cause. But as Wilkinson points out, though Seeger was at one time a member of the Communist party, he is at heart really a conservative.

"He believes ardently in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. His interpretation of them is literal. ... There is no conceit he has more emphatically embraced than that all human beings are created equal. In the early and middle part of the 20th Century, such a conviction made a person not a patriot but a socialist."

Sovereignty is Not Made of Kryptonite

HT To Tony Phyrillas for this excellent post:


Sovereignty is not made of kryptonite. In other words, you cannot hide behind it and expect it to stop bullets. Sovereignty is a concept that makes sense to great powers. Small states haven't a chance in hell of upholding their sovereignty unless they have an ace up their sleeve. This normally comes in the form of patronage from one of the great powers, and even that is not foolproof. Unfortunately for the Georgians, like naive upstarts, they bought the empty promises of the Bush administration.

I'm going to slightly disagree here. While it sucks to have Russian troops walk all over you, Georgian President Saakhashvili is not a saint, either. His biggest mistake wasn't buying into empty promises so much as mistaking the United States' support for having his back, then picking a fight with the biggest bully on the block and realizing we aren't there.

Russia is actively seeking to restart the Cold War and that means 100 little proxy battles like the Georgian affair will ignite across the planet for the next generation. They may be the first, but they won't be the last.

Atlanta Isn't in Georgia,....

But the Russians still are!

Defense Official: Russia Has Short Range Missiles in South Ossetia

Monday, August 18, 2008

Russia has placed short range SS-21 missiles in South Ossetia, that could pose a threat to most major Georgian cities," including the capital, Tbilisi, a U.S.Defense official confirmed to FOX News on Monday.

"Anything such as that, or any other military equipment that was moved in would be in violation of this cease-fire and should be removed immediately," Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "The only forces that are permitted to remain under the cease fire agreement are the forces that were in there at the Aug. 6 time frame."

This news came as Russia's deputy chief of staff insists that Russian troops were pulling out of the breakaway region. However, there have been no confirmed signs of a withdrawal.

The TrekMedic puffs his chest out an bellows:

Man up, Pussy,..I mean, Putin, and LEAVE while you still can! You started this mess, but we have the means to end it.