Memo to Red Sox Starters

Attn: Mssrs Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, and Tavarez,

Pitching for the Red Sox is privilege enough in and of itself. Retroactive to last week, Red Sox management no longer considers 'run support' a necessary part of your job. Please pitch 7 to 9 innings of shutout ball in every appearance. As the great sports adage goes, you should 'find a way to win'.

Mr. Schilling, for instance, gave up 6 runs yesterday. Considering the offense allocated 2 runs again, he should have been able to win. After all, he won last week with only 1 run, and the night before Mr. Wakefield won with just 2.

In short, we expect nothing less than perfection, so to speak.

*****

In case you were curious the Red Sox have scored 0, 2, 1, 10, 4, 1, 2, and 2 runs in their last eight games. Thanks to the near-miraculous pitching, they're actually 4-4 over that stretch. Memo to the offense: WAKE UP!

Reverse Bounce?

Will Fred Thompson get the opposite of the "announcement bounce" to his poll numbers? With months of steady leakage and frothy press coverage (the press has repeatedly said he appeals to conservatives in search of a candidate, which amounts to repeating the #1 Thompson talking point), he's already gotten most of the pluses he can expect. For now, the announced candidates are ignoring him. Once he steps in, however, he could unite them.

Hat tip to Drudge for linking to this Politico story on the arsenal that is being assembled ahead of Thompson's announcement. The bottom line of the barrage is: conservatives, keep looking.

Thompson voted for McCain-Feingold, but now has backed off. He voted for limits on abortion, but has said repeatedly that he is pro-choice, at least to the extent that he opposes criminalizing abortion.

Thompson's conservative credentials ride, I think, on his ability to convince primary voters that he is truly a federalist. As a senator, his reputation was to do very little. If that is because of his federalist beliefs, very well. This country could benefit from a less-activist presidency. But if it's because he was lazy and enjoying the good life of an appointed senator (he admits to chasing women during his service), then he's not exactly the man we want at the reins.

This Is Global Review Speaking, Who's This?

Over the last 24 hours, Global Review has received dozens of hits from Google searches for "Global Review" originating in New York state. Is this blog what you're all looking for? If so, welcome! If not, what?

The Democrat World Order

Democrats running for president have made much of how they will give America a better name in the world. I can drink to that. So when do they start?

WaPo's centrist editorial board rips Hillary for provincial politicking: she opposes a free-trade agreement with South Korea. It's cars, not politics, she wants to stop at the water's edge. John Edwards also opposes it; Barack Obama (who at least has lived overseas) is not sure yet.

South Korea is not the only key U.S. ally on the front lines being waylaid by the Democratic Senate. A free trade agreement with Colombia is in limbo as the Democrats debate it's ratification. Even the San Francisco Chronicle comes out in favor of free trade with Colombia!

Leave economics aside. Leave globalization arguments, pro and con, aside. The bottom line in these cases is that the U.S. Senate is threatening to pass a motion of "No Confidence" in our allies. The message is: 'You can't trust us. We're only in this for our own political gain. You are expendable.'

So to the Democrats who want to start giving America a better name in the world: any time now would be great!

Sudan Backs Down

President Bush's aggressive stance toward Sudan is paying off. Two weeks ago, his administration imposed additional sanctions against the regime that is either perpetrating or enabling ethnic cleansing in Darfur. Khartoum indicated today that it would be willing to accept an international peacekeeping force more than double the size of the current African Union force of 7,000. More importantly, the new force will be run by the UN and have Scandinavian expertise; the current AU forces have been poorly funded and overstretched. Given those conditions, the world owes them a huge "thank you" for their efforts in stemming the violence in Darfur.

France continues to provide support in Darfur as a helpful size comparison, and maybe some material support as well. Other Arab countries continue to contribute by staunchly sticking to their policy of 'Khartoum Carte Blanche'.

And the U.S. media contributes with these stories about the new sanctions, which were imposed last month:

• Save Darfur Coalition says Bush's Sudan sanctions may be too late - AP
• Impact of Bush's Sudan sanctions doubted - Seattle Times
• Sudan, Iran find a bypass to UN sanctions - USA Today
• Sudan sanctions called inadequate - San Francisco Chronicle
• Sudan Spying for CIA - Free Market News Network

This despite Nancy Pelosi and Tony Blair's unqualified support.

To recap: for months, the international community has been trying to get Sudan to accept UN involvement in the peacekeeping. Bush imposed sanctions on May 29. On June 11, Sudan agreed to accept UN forces.

Col. Kurtz, Gen. Pershing, and Adm. Perry, All Rolled Into One

Is it any wonder the character type canonized in Joseph Conrad's Colonel George-Antoine Kurtz keeps reappearing in Western literature - from Prester John to Pippi Longstocking to Lawrence of Arabia?

The BBC has two stories side-by-side on their main page:

• Albania prepares to welcome Bush
• Is Prince Philip an island god?

The Albanians are a lot more sophisticated than the Vanuatuan villagers who latched on to Price Phillip as their object of worship. But their reaction stands in sharp contrast to Mr. Bush's reception anywhere else in the world:

"This is great. We are proud that the 'President of the World' is visiting Albania," says 23-year-old student Ardita...

Konstandin, a 29-year-old waiter at one of the bars, agrees. "It puts Albania on the map. It shows how close we are to America. We support President Bush and America"...

A few hundred metres away, the old mausoleum of the former Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, is now draped in US flags and a huge portrait of Mr Bush hangs above the entrance.

This isn't new:

It is said here that in 2003, while there were protests in other European capitals against the war in Iraq, Tirana was the only capital where demonstrations were actually held in favour of the war.

Those who have been delivered of much love much.

Draw The Line

Kudos to Mike Musgrove for his WaPo column on the coolest political game to hit the internet: THE ReDISTRICTING GAME gives you the chance to draw new district lines in three fictional states under a few scenarios.

The redistricting debate is the most important reform issue in the United States right now.

Jonathan D. Aronson, a professor and political scientist at USC, is a little exasperated that Americans sometimes worry about the potential for voting-machine tampering when there may be a more fundamental -- though, perhaps, drier and harder-to-explain -- problem in how districts are drawn.

"My question was, why would you need to rig the voting machines if you'd already rigged the election by making seats safe?" he said.

The game is more fun than you might think: it's actually tricky to make the districts as partisan as your party bosses require. In case you don't think this is a problem, check out the two districts I live (alternately) in: New York's 28th and Massachusetts' 4th.