Friday digest

- The Wall St. Journal issues the definitive piece on Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria, here.

- A sampling of quotations on the release of the British sailors taken hostage by Iran:

"The Islamic Republic wants a Khomeinist Middle East. The “Infidel” want a democratic, pro-West Middle East. The two visions are incompatible. Eventually, one must win as the other loses. As the British celebrate the return of their hostages they would do well to decide which vision deserves support." - Amir Taheri

"The capture and release of the British hostages illustrate once again the fatuousness of the "international community" and its great institutions. You want your people back? Go to the European Union and get stiffed. Go to the Security Council and get a statement that refuses even to "deplore" this act of piracy. (You settle for a humiliating expression of "grave concern.") Then turn to the despised Americans. They'll deal some cards and bail you out." - Charles Krauthammer

"Prime Minister Blair's lame response to a serious act of aggression against Britain's navy has certainly provided Iran an incentive to kidnap and hold more hostages. Diplomacy via kidnapping and blackmail is, lest anyone forget, an art Iran developed in 1979–81, in the infamous 444 days it held American diplomats blindfolded and shackled, and during the 1980s, when its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, kidnapped and imprisoned Americans and Britons in underground dark rooms for years.

When the dust settles, one hopes two things will happen: Ms. Pelosi will show she has returned to Washington with more than beatific smiles and new additions to her expensive wardrobe, as Mr. Assad & Co. plot their next nefarious deed. And that a British military commission will rethink the training of British soldiers in order to discover what is it in their discipline that makes it perfectly all right to cave in just two days after capture and shower the enemy with lavish praise and thanks." - Youssef Ibrahim

"The footage of the British hostages thanking Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his hospitality and forgiveness, like the footage of Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi covering her head in a scarf while on a visit to Damascus, was enough to make you sick. Must we lose this war?" - Caroline Glick

- Hey, are you looking for new and effective ways to combat global warming? TIME magazine suggests planning out your driving route so that you won't need to make any left turns.

Are we supposed to take this advice seriously?

- From "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" file, we have this article about universal health care.

- Conservative party rationalizations for doing absolutely nothing to roll back the size of government are at the point where they're issued almost daily. Today, we have Monte Solberg saying that the $51 billion surplus in the EI fund is no big deal.

So much for principles.

- Bruce Bartlett says we're all supply-siders now - the aforementioned Mr. Solberg and his Prime Minister excluded, of course.