Friday, March 07, 2008

Karl's Weekend Reading

With the rush of primaries behind us, and as the Capitalism vs. Socialism debate waits for a Democratic nominee, we'll once again avoid the political articles and return to Communism as our focus.

The WSJ's "Chavez's 'War' Drums" editorial comments on the laptop found in a raid on the FARC guerrillas in Ecuador. The Columbians went across the border into Ecuador last weekend, killed the guerrilla's second in command, Raul Reyes, and recovered his laptop. Why was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez upset by this raid on the opposite side of Columbia?

What may really have upset Mr. Chávez is the capture of Reyes's laptop. According to Colombia's top police official, General Oscar Naranjo, the computer contains evidence supporting the claim that the FARC is working with Mr. Chávez. General Naranjo said Monday that Reyes's laptop records showed that Venezuela may have paid $300 million to the FARC in exchange for its recent release of six civilian hostages. Mr. Chávez had spun those releases as a triumph of his personal mediation.

General Naranjo said the laptop also contains documents showing that the FARC was seeking to buy 50 kilos of uranium, and the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo has reported that the records revealed the sale of 700 kilograms of cocaine valued at $1.5 million. The general added that the military found a thank-you note from Mr. Chávez to the FARC for some $150,000 that the rebels had sent him when he was in prison for his attempted coup d'etat in 1992.


Our Dear Leader in North Korea is sending a message to the masses with a public execution of 2 men and 13 women this week. Message: "Stop trying to escape." From Time:

The two men and 13 women were executed Feb. 20 by firing squad on a bridge in Onseong, a northeastern town on the border with China and Russia, the Good Friends private aid organization said in its regular newsletter.

They were accused of crossing the Tumen River into neighboring China or helping others to cross, the aid agency said.


And in a rare link to another blog as part of our Weekend Reading, Little Green Footballs captured a whopper in California: California Dems Introduce Bill to Allow Communist Indoctrination in Public Schools. Blogger Charles Johnson comments:

Yes, that’s right. The headline is no exaggeration. California Democratic Sen. Alan Lowenthal has proposed an amendment to the Educational Code that will explicitly allow the promotion of Communism in schools, and also allow groups who want to violently overthrow the US government to meet on public school property.


Ushanka Tip to LGF.