Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Quick Hits

Introducing an occasional feature of my blog...Quick Hits...which will collect brief comments and/or links on items of interest.

Honduras: The aftermath of last month's coup that ousted President Zelaya continues to create the strangest of bedfellows. A bloc of countries opposing the coup includes virtually all of Latin America, as well as the US, thereby linking Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Alvaro Uribe of Colombia along with the US in support of reinstating Zelaya.

Uighurs: The massacre of more than 100 Uighurs in the far Western Chinese province of Xinjiang created an interesting reaction among their fellow Muslims around the world...silence. The only Muslim country to speak out against the actions of the Chinese authorities was Turkey. No other Muslim country or international group has even issued a statement. Imagine if this had occurred in the US or Europe.

F-22 Fighter: The vote in the Senate this week to strip funding for the F-22 fighter plane was a huge victory for common sense and good government. Among the many problems that the $350 million F-22 had was that every hour it flies requires more than 30 hours of maintenance. And the Washington Post recently reported that the plane's exterior is so fragile that it is vulnerable to rain. Remarkable!