HOT5 Daily 1/17/2010

1. "Haiti: Looting, Lawlessness, and People being Human" An interesting perspective.

Representative Sample: When I read about "looting" following a major disaster, I take the news with a grain of salt. If I were living in a town where many or most of the buildings had been knocked flat, there was no power, and my household's supply of food was running out: I might "loot" the grocery that's nearby. Particularly if the folks who worked there were dead.

2. "A Charter of Kumbaya" The latest attempt to pretend that religion is inherently positive, but has just been perverted by extremists.

Representative Sample:The myth that all religions are basically the same—and basically benign—is a nonsense that could only flourish in a society that has little knowledge of the past and, for that matter, of the nature of religious belief. Naturally it’s an idea that is being actively peddled in both Europe and America today.

3. "Expand American Territory of Navassa Island to make Haiti a U.S. Protectorate?" Just what we need, another failed state for us to practice nation-building.

Representative Sample: The calls are increasing for greater longterm commitment to Haiti from the United States. The calls are coming from across the political spectrum. The Proctorate issue has even been raised, with more and more columnists, diplomoats, government officials and even private citizens calling for Haiti to fall under U.S Protectorate status.

4. "Japan’s Flip-Flop" But what about Obama's new "engagement" with Asia? Could it have just been more empty talk?

Representative Sample: Washington and Tokyo have cooperated closely for 50 years. But if the two nations want to see another 50 years of friendship, as Clinton suggested this week, short-sighted policy just won’t cut it. On the other hand, continuity in policy supports alliances and international confidence.

5. "For some people, BDS remains a serious disease" Understatement of the month. BDS is an amazingly persistant disorder. I'm not sure there is any cure.

Representative Sample: On Wednesday, President George W Bush will have been out of office for a full year; I would have thought that Bush Derangement Syndrome would have died a natural death by now, but apparently I was wrong about that.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.