So to everyone overseas I say: thanks for your applause for our new president. I’m glad you all feel that America “is back.” If you want Obama to succeed, though, don’t just show us the love, show us the money. Show us the troops. Show us the diplomatic effort. Show us the economic partnership. Show us something more than a fresh smile. Because freedom is not free and your excuse for doing less than you could is leaving town in January.
Month: November 2008
Who Started The Russia/Georgia War? – New Evidence
TBILISI, Georgia — Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.
via Georgia Claims on Russia War Called Into Question – NYTimes.com
Bush’s Positive Legacy
The lack of a serious U.S.-China confrontation in the years since 9/11 is the most important dog that did not bark across the Bush-Cheney administration.
In the grand sweep of history, this is arguably George W. Bush's greatest legacy: the encouragement of China to become a legitimate stakeholder in global security.
This sort of effort at grooming a great power for a greater role in international affairs is a careful balancing act, and the Bush team sounded most of the right notes, from reassuring nervous allies in Asia, to avoiding the temptation of trade retaliation while simultaneously pressuring Beijing for more economic liberalization, to drawing China into the dynamics of great power negotiation over compelling regional issues like the nuclear programs in both North Korea and Iran.
We can always complain that Bush-Cheney didn't do more to solidify this most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century, but we cannot fault them for any lasting mistakes, and that alone is quite impressive.
Indeed, history will likely judge this success as greater than the Bush administration's failures in Iraq.
via Barnett: What Bush- Cheney got right with China : Columnists : Knoxville News Sentinel
Balancing Rocks
The Rocker : World Wide Phenomenon
The above web-site is devoted to stacking balancing rocks. A Flickr collection. Here is a video of how it is done.
Surfers take on Australia’s Heaviest Wave
The Australian – Photo galleries and slideshows – Surfers take on Australia’s heaviest wave
While pictures obsess with wave height, surfers appreciate the thickness of a wave. When you wipe-out, you’ll appreciate the difference. Hence the fascination with the thick tubes at Teahupoo. Click on the link above to see 43 pictures of this deepwater break off of Australia. Also an article on it. 
Thanks to Randy Marks for Pix.
See the Economy
What most of the doom-and-gloom reports on our economy don’t provide is perspective—a historical survey of an economy that’s been through more than a few ups and downs in its day. Here’s a farsighted view of how our temperamental economic machine works, and a close-up of how it stands today. This chart is a great time-line of recent economic history. Click to enlarge. 
World Changed This Week
This week, the first of November 2008, will go down in history as the week that formally revives Taiwan’s normal relations with the Chinese mainland after a six-decade estrangement. It also may see for the first time the world’s sole superpower, the US, elect a person of African descent to be president.
Rogue Wave Hits Maine Harbor
In 15 minutes, the water rose 12 feet, then receded. And then it happened again. It occurred three times, she said, each time ripping apart docks and splitting wooden pilings.
via Massive waves a mystery at Maine harbor – The Boston Globe
Election Day USA
