Watcher of Weasels Council vacancy, rescued hostages, Hugo's further unpleasantness, a riot in Dubai, and today's posts

The Watcher of Weasels Council has a vacancy since New Sisyphus is retiring from blogging. Read up on the rules and apply for the position if you can.

From the blogs
Military Rescues Ungrateful Peace Activists

Michelle Malkin's readers note that the CPT statement refers to the hostages' "release" instead of their rescue. Lets make it clear for these folks: your activists were not "released" by some kind hearted effort of the terrorists. You were rescued by a military coalition. How ironic it is that you were saved by an organization you protest. If you have the faith to love your enemies, the least you can do is show some freakin gratitude towards the brave people that rescued you from death.

Today's articles from Maria:
Hugo's further unpleasantness
Venezuela police help US envoy blocked by protest

Venezuelan police helped the U.S. ambassador leave a Caracas building after a group of President Hugo Chavez's supporters blockaded him inside, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

Let's hope Hugo hasn't been getting ideas from his Iranian friends.

In Dubai, Work on world's tallest building halted by riot over low wages and poor conditions:

The protesting workers are among nearly a million migrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and elsewhere who have poured into Dubai to provide the low-wage muscle behind one of the world's great building booms

More articles from Maria
Tony Blankley contemplates The hope of spring

The President Versus The Mob

Ottawa to buy Russian natural gas, sell it to U.S.

Canada is planning to capitalize on shortages of natural gas, exacerbated by last year's hurricanes, by importing vast quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia to be exported to the United States.

Spanish PM cautiously welcomes ETA ceasefire

EU told to curb 'absurd' barriers

China calls `one-child policy` a success

Chinese given food for thought as disposable chopsticks are taxed

Who will save Abdul Rahman?

John Stossel on government schools: Only the desperate fight facts with myths (emphasis mine)

Perhaps the most fundamentally flawed idea is this all-too-common one: "Public schools were created to provide a 'public good': education for all, regardless of a family's ability to pay ... By contrast, under a voucher system that gives public dollars to completely unmonitored private schools, there is no such right to expect or demand accountability for student performance or how tax dollars are spent." They don't get it. Competition brings accountability. Private schools may be "unmonitored" by bureaucrats, but they face the most demanding kind of supervision our society provides: a market full of freely choosing individuals. Parents' desire for a good education for their children is a much more powerful check on schools than any politician's law or union rule. The people who want to control every young American's education like to talk about accountability, but what they want is to make schools accountable to anointed bureaucrats who think they know what's best for all of us. They evade real accountability — the kind of accountability where if a student or parent realizes a school isn't doing its job, he can find another one.

Mark Steyn: For Japan and the West, it's breed or die

White House nonchalance

USArabia?

Scientists believe they may have discovered a reason why the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus cannot yet jump easily between humans

And don't miss Chris Bliss juggling

(technorati tags Chris Bliss, Dubai, Venezuela, Politics)