The White Peril 白禍

Rondi Adamson says what I was thinking about the Obama trip, just in case it wasn't already clear:

I'm not so sure Obama supporters ought to get so ga-ga over the fact that he attracted such a huge, chanting crowd in Berlin. Germans have a history of turning out in zombatroid droves for really creepy people. Their taste isn't always admirable.

There's also the fact that Obama talked about the airlift and the fall of the Berlin Wall without really acknowledging how we'd gotten to those points. Had the Third Reich not been crushed militarily, there would have been no divided Berlin to scuffle over. Had Reagan not ramped up the arms race, the Soviet bloc would still have fallen, it's generally agreed, but not nearly as quickly as it did. Obama's not wrong that "partnership" is important, but his speech (especially the soundbites) gives no indication that he has a clear sense of when it's better to extend olive branches or to brandish spears.

OMFG, this is great. You've probably seen it at Next Right via Instapundit already, but still:



At first, I thought people might be making a big deal out of very little--that Obama's speaking abroad doesn't necessarily mean he's taking his campaign there, after all. But the speech is clearly being publicized and driven by Obama's campaign.

Isn't that nice? I suggest he use the following tagline on his return home: "Barack Obama: Adored by Crowds of Germans!" That'll really resonate with the American people.

Speaking of taglines, the campaign website has a beaut in its banner: "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours." Because of course it's a given that Obama can change Washington. You little voters out there, however, empowered by nothing but the United States Constitution and stuff--you obviously won't think you can have any effect without being encouraged. But you can! We can! Yes, we can!

Yes We Can Can.

Sheesh. I'm no fan of McCain, but at least he and his supporters appear to know what he's running for and who his constituency is supposed to be.

Added after a nice glass of seltzer and lime: If the Pointer Sisters reference above suggests another of their early songs with political relevance this week, all I can say is that you're very wicked and I want nothing to do with you.

A friend in Albany just sent me a link to this story:

A University at Albany public health student internationally known for his AIDS work has been arrested by Iranian security forces, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

The New York-based group urged Iranian authorities to release or charge Kamiar Alaei and his brother, Arash. The two physicians were detained in late June, the group said. Their whereabouts are unknown.

...

Alaei was excited to see his family when [colleague Ladan] Alomar last spoke with him in June before he left for Iran. She expected him back in August, and planned to pick him up at the train station.

Iranian authorities detained Arash Alaei overnight at an unknown location before accompanying him to his home the following morning, according to Human Rights Watch, the largest human rights group based in the U.S.

There, they arrested Kamiar Alaei and seized documents belonging to the brothers. Authorities have refused to give them access to a lawyer or say where and why they're being held, according to Human Rights Watch.

Here's the Human Rights Watch statement. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of information at the moment about why the two men might have been arrested. (I looked around, figuring that even if the government weren't being forthcoming, someone might have an idea.) The Alaei brothers have been involved in shaping government-sanctioned organizations, so they don't seem to have established themselves as enemies of the state. At the same time, some of their work has been with prisoners, and treating people with drug-related diseases and STDs presumably puts them into contact with plenty of other people who aren't in well with the government. Who knows what information the authorities may think they can pick up from their records? Alaei's description of his program in Iran is here.

Happy Independence Day. For the first time in a dozen years, I actually get to celebrate the Fourth of July here in America. Very exciting. I'll sort of miss the way we did the festivities in Japan--including a congratulatory drink from my British friends, which was always very touching--but overall I far prefer being home.