Boris Yeltsin: Lessons for America (Part Two)

People who think the Bush years have usurped freedoms and reversed decades of progress “don’t even begin to know what junta really means nor what it feels like to live in a dictatorship.” Part two of a moving first hand account of the death of the Soviet dictatorship, what came after, and what it means to us today in Iraq.

[Part One HERE]

by Oleg Atbashian

Hutzpah in Helsinki:

The Israeli band Teapacks created controversy at this year’s Eurovision Contest with their apocalyptic “Push the Button.” Kesher Talk has more and interviews with band leader Kobi Oz.

Better than 'immoral': Norway’s ex-Prime Minister labels global warming skeptics ‘amoral’. (Secular Blasphemy)

A Walking Tour of Muslim Lane, Islamberg, NY: The idyllically remote Jamaat ul-Fuqra company town of Islamberg, New York features a sentry post, obstacle course, firing range, snake infested terrain, small explosions, and is home to the “International Quranic Open University.” Nearby residents rave, “They have armed guards and if they shoot you, nobody will find your body,” and, “The place is dangerous. You can hear gunfire up there. I can’t understand why the FBI won’t shut it down.” (Canada Free Press)

From Neighborhood Bullies to Jihadists: This blogger grew up with Elvis and Dritan Duka, two of the three brothers arrested on terrorism charges in Fort Dix, who “lived American lives, went to our public schools, and then decided to try and kill some of our troops.” (Alarming News)

Good Luck With That, Pontiff: The Pope is busy preaching modesty, chastity, and sexual abstinence….in Brazil. (Mail and Guardian)

Bill James, Yogi Berra and Jim Brosnan in to Shrine: The Shrine of the Eternals is Baseball Reliquary’s contribution-based alternative to the statistical focus of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jon Weisman’s Dodger Thoughts has this year’s vote totals and a writeup of the one name you probably don’t recognize.

U.S. Commander in Northern Iraq Calls for More Troops: “[Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. “Randy”] Mixon, speaking Friday by teleconference from Camp Speicher, outside Tikrit, to a Pentagon news conference, said that he did not have enough soldiers to provide security in Diyala. The local government is ‘nonfunctional’ and the central government is ‘ineffective,’ he said.” (LA Times)

Why all the Che t-shirts on students in Norway and Sweden? According to American expat author Bruce Bawer in Oslo, it’s the slanted history teaching in those countries. (brucebawer.com)

If you’re not watching Couric, the problem is YOU? The Anchoress writes that the time for cheering on women that achieve “firsts” is over. They—especially the ones at the top—have to perform as well, and no matter who CBS officials choose to blame Katie Couric’s failure on, she just isn’t.

Fighting terror with a Law Enforcement Model: “In New Jersey the FBI admits that they know of 4 other “accomplices” who were seen in the company of the 6 already arrested but that they don’t have enough evidence to arrest them. Haven’t we been here before?” (Pierre LeGrand)

Spider-Man 3: the Perennial Appeal of the Flawed Hero: A review from Gay Patriot.

A Mistake...or a CNN Producer's Wishful Thinking? For about 12 seconds, the CNN International on-screen headline on Tony Blair’s big announcement mistakenly read, “BUSH RESIGNS.” The screen grab is on Mediabistro.

George Soros and Queen Noor? Talk About a Power Couple: Buzz is building that the billionaire philanthropist and the widow of Jordan’s King Hussein share more than a passion for open societies. (New York Daily News)

Whoops, Your Bias is Showing: CBS military consultant General John Batiste was fired after he appeared in anti-war, anti-Bush ads. (TPM)

You might think a pro-war guy like Allahpundit at Hot Air would applaud such a move. Wrong.

“The fact that he went so far as to advocate for his position in an ad, that’s actually a point in his favor. The more honest the media is about its biases, the better informed the viewer is about the orientation of the news he’s consuming (which, I’m sure, is the real reason the ad made CBS nervous). If it’s between Batiste and Keith “I’m not a Democrat” Olbermann, give me Batiste any day.”

"This Excessive Concern With Little Weasels is a SICKNESS!" Which presidential candidate said this? [Hint, it’s the one who ran a city that had an activist group lobbying to keep ferrets as pets.] Slate has the animated ferret face-off.

Mind Your Own Beeswax, America: Breaking with the tradition of recent presidential campaigns, most of the major presidential candidates aren’t releasing their income-tax filings.

Since 1984, only one major-party presidential candidate — Bill Clinton in 1992 — has refused to release the tax forms he sent to the Internal Revenue Service. (ABC News)

Captain Ed asks whether that’s really such a big deal.