MARK STEYN..........

UN

It is one thing for the UN to hold a conference to address important world issues. It should not be an excuse to enjoy the high life. Hyde's International Relations Committee staff discovered that nearly 20% of the assessed regular budget (paid annually by member states, including the United States) is gobbled up by UN conferences. Some conferences have a price tag of $7,000 to $8,000 an hour. That's money that could improve medical services or fund education but a good part of it is going to fancy hotels and lavish buffets and cocktail parties. Hyde wants a 10% cut in these conferences in 2007 followed by a 20% cut in 2008.

Congrats to Michelle Malkin on a milestone!

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A BLOG
By Michelle Malkin · June 13, 2005 04:01 PM

This blog turned one last week! (BTW: Congrats to Karol at Alarming News, which turned the Big 3 today.)

First, some blogiversary expressions of gratitude:

Special thanks to the following people for their warm welcomes, words of advice/encouragement, and early links during mm.com's incipient days: John, Paul, and Scott at Power Line, John Hawkins at Right Wing News, Frank J. at IMAO, Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom, Bill Ardolino at INDC Journal, Kevin Aylward and the Wizbang crew, Ace of Spades, Spoons, Captain Ed, and the folks at The Corner.

Warm thanks to my co-bloggers at The Immigration Blog. Thanks to all the commenters who contributed their insights and humor before the troll invasion forced me to shut down the comments section. Thanks to everyone who's blogrolled this blog. Thanks to the trackbackers who've provided great insights, new angles, and worthy criticisms. Thanks to all my advertisers and to Henry Copeland and the Blogads.com team. Thanks to the creative minds at Movable Type; Sekimori, who designed the site; and Mark Jaquith, who keeps things running smoothly.

Most of all, thanks to all of you who visit regularly, and provide valuable tips and feedback every day. Your continued readership and activism are deeply, deeply appreciated.

***

Two figures have had an undeniable impact on this blog, as they have had on the blogosphere as a whole: Matt Drudge and Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds. Though he disdains the term "blog," Drudge was and is the O.B.: the original blogger. His entrepreneurial spirit is often taken for granted now, but he inspired many of us long before our blogs were born. Here's what I wrote about Drudge in December 1997 while working at the Seattle Times (reg reqd):

Matt Drudge is to plugged-in Internet news junkies what John Galt is to Ayn Rand acolytes: an anti-establishment renegade of mythical proportions who is defying a world in decline. The 30-year-old, self-made snoop runs an e-mail service and accompanying web site called the "Drudge Report." He has taken the world of journalism and politics by storm. While TV news ratings sink and newspaper circulation stalls, Drudge's site has exploded to 40,000 hits a day. Subscribers are alerted throughout the day to breaking world events, inside-the-Beltway scuffles, entertainment news and media spats.

With no formal training, no high-powered patrons, and a bare-bones home office in a cheap Los Angeles apartment, Drudge's admirers (myself included) consider him a scrappy symbol of free speech, independence and bootstrap journalism.

Funny how similar that passage is now to much of the praise being heaped on bloggers now--eight years later.

Reynolds' blog was one of the first I started reading, and remains one of the first I read every morning. Whether you agree with his politics or not, he sets blogospheric gold standards for ethics, etiquette, quality, and output.

A hat tip (see what I mean?) to both men for their contributions to Internet journalism.

***

World debt write off tied to reforms

"A statement released by the British Treasury on behalf of the G8 ministers said the World Bank and IMF would be asked to report on improvements on transparency and the drive against corruption, "to ensure that all resources are used for poverty reduction."

"We believe that good governance, accountability and transparency are crucial to releasing the benefits of the debt cancellation. We commit to ensure this is reaffirmed in future bilateral and multilateral assistance to these countries."......


Hope they're successful since they've got a big job ahead of them

Michael Yon posting from Iraq

via www.Instapundit.com

WEBBY AWARDS

Israeli experts assisting in counter terror

"Levy has been traveling across the United States with other Israeli security experts to share counterterrorism tactics with American law enforcement officials. They are briefing not only big-city cops but county sheriffs and police chiefs from such diverse locations as Gaithersburg and Knoxville, Tenn. In addition, since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with police officials, sheriffs and bomb technicians have been traveling to Israel for week-long lessons on terrorism."


"We are a little nation that has paid with blood for our experience," Levy said. "We don't want the American people or the American police to pay as we have.""

The title of the article and its implications should really help trade with our major partner

via www.nealenews.com

"Thompson said people are correct to be skeptical about the Canadian Forces' ability to respond to a terrorist attack on Canada. "We could barely handle a major domestic incident like the ice storm today, forget about a terrorist attack," he said.

"There are major problems and that's becoming clear to the Canadian public."

smuggling via blending into the large numbers crossing illegally

Harper hit the skids?? Where are the editorials on corruption?

Polls are the second part of a one two punch. The first punch is the fact that most media support the Liberals despite the fact that the worst corruption in the past number of decades has taken place. So anything that is slightly negative about the Conservatives is blown out of proportion while anything negative about the Liberals is minimized and glossed over and excused. This has a psychological effect on the public because most of the Media portray Harper as scary while corruption ends up as just standard operating procedure and of minor significance.Does mass communicaton on a subject one way or other affect the way people answer polls? If 80% of the stories are negative about Harper or the Conservatives, that won't affect poll results?

The polls reflect a snapshot of the public's opinion at a point in time. If Harper is consistently portrayed by most of the media as scary then that has an effect on the results of polls since people only remember what is in the media most recently. Polls are also skewed by the type of questions asked and by those available to answer polls.Does the methodology of polls tell anything about the relationship between the pollsters and any previous government contracts ? Do they say whether they have worked on Liberal government contracts previously and maybe get additional work in the future? Does it matter?

Once upon a time the media acted in the public's interest, it looks like things have changed when corruption takes a distant second place to propping up a government that apparently knew nothing about any corruption in the sponsorship scandal.The public are still waiting for somebody to justify why the government would give money to an agency that took a commission and then gave the remainder to the RCMP for a special celebration instead of the government giving money to the RCMP, a part of the government, directly.If there is a disconnect between the media and reality , eventually there will be a disconnect between the media and the public.It wouldn't hurt to have a little more balance in the media.

Salim Mansur

Tide of separation still out

"It's one of those only-in-Canada ironies that Bernard Landry resigned as head of the separatist Parti Quebecois because he failed to win 80% approval from party members in a recent leadership review (he got 76.2%).

Ironic, because Landry -- like all hardline separatists -- would have had no problem breaking up Canada after a referendum with a bare majority of just 50% of the vote plus one. "