Poland is enacting a new law providing mandatory castration of anyone convicted of raping children under the age of 15, unless the rapist was a really famous guy and the rape occurred nowhere near Poland.. Or something like that. There’s a bad Polack joke in there somewhere…

Apparently, stealing an election, murdering 17 protesters (that we know of) and banning a wake for one isn’t enough to change President Hopenchange’s non-stance on Iran. Presidential spokeshole Robert Gibbs (who has already performed the monumental task of making Scott McClellan look marginally competent) non-explains the administration’s non-stance thusly:

“He’ll continue to speak out in support of those that are seeking to demonstrate and do so in a way peacefully,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told FOX News. “We don’t want to inject our government in the place of the reformers in this equation.”

 
Mr. Gibbs goes on to non-explain the government’s non-stance by cautioning that staking out a position on Iranian democracy, pro or con, could cause the U.S. to become a ”political football” or “foil.”  What I want to know is, if the US of friggin’ A can’t be trusted to take the side of freedom and democracy everywhere in the world, then who the hell can?!

UPDATE: More here.

Some folks just can’t tell the difference.

What he said.

UPDATE: Smash puts it nicely: “If Americans can’t learn the difference between Dubai and Damascus, we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in the desert of defeating Islamic terrorism.”

Many European countries that have criticized America for ignoring the Kyoto Protocol have themselves made no serious effort to adhere to its emissions regulations. From the Scotsman:

The London-based think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has found that ten of the 15 European Union signatories to the Kyoto Protocol will miss their targets by 2010 without urgent action.

The worst offenders are Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy, each up to 20 per cent off target. Only Britain, Sweden and France are remotely on target.

The poorly performing nations are among the many who have criticised the US and President George Bush – who early in his presidency declared Kyoto “dead” – for refusing to sign up to the agreement because of fears it would limit economic growth.
…
Duncan McLaren, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland … added: “We are not surprised to see the EU falling behind its Kyoto targets, and this is because nations are increasing the pursuit of economic growth rather than sustainable development.“

What kind of bizarre Orwell-speak is this? “Economic growth” is bad. “Sustainable development” is good.

Nice (h/t: Tammy Bruce) to have you guys back, I think.

This article suggests Angela Merkel may become Germany’s next chancellor because she is a woman. Normally, I’d find that sort of thinking offensive, but right now, I’d say just about anything that permanently retires everyone’s favorite idiot-Aryan, Gerhard Schröder, can’t be all bad.

The Ass. Press reports that “Britain’s” strict pub licensing law, which currently requires pubs to close at 10:30 on Sunday nights and at 11:00 p.m. the rest of the week, is going by the wayside. That’s good news, but lousy news reporting. In fact, only England has had that requirement. Most pubs in Edinburgh, Scotland close at midnight, and some are open as late (or, depending on your perspective, as early) as 3:00 a.m.

The French and the Dutch may not agree on much, but they do seem to agree on one thing: the United States of Europe Union of European Socialist Republics is a very bad idea.

Or at least the part that is the United States. Kofi Annan’s U.N. has done a lot of horrible things to date, but flying the flag at half-mast for Yassir Arafat takes the cake. What will they do for Osama bin Laden when he finally bites the dust?

Thanks to Captains Quarters reader Robert Tirado for the link.