Kofi’s contingent
“Kofi Annan … swans around the [Davos] conference, in the midst of a huge entourage. He is like an old-style emperor … this secretary general. That entourage is an irksome disruption. Hard to get from one place to another, when they happen to be nearby. This one enormous bodyguard shoves me aside, as though I’m a gum wrapper. But hang on: It gets even worse: It’s a woman. She is maybe the largest woman I have ever seen. …
“He moves around like the classic big man, with the big man’s retinue.
“Why do I harp on this? Because one of the interesting things about Davos is that you bump — literally — into a world leader pretty much all the time. You jostle someone inadvertently, say excuse me, and it turns out to be [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf — not exactly a guy unthreatened.”
— Jay Nordlinger, writing on “In Davos, Part V,” Tuesday in National Review Online at www.nationalreview.com
Reliable witnesses
“If it wasn’t so sad, you’d have to laugh at the Italian trial in which a Catholic priest is being sued by an atheist for deceiving people into thinking Jesus was an actual historical figure. …
“Simon Greenleaf, one of the principal founders of the Harvard Law School, was a skeptic like the Italian atheist. He set out from a scholarly and legal perspective to … disprove Jesus was the Son of God and that He rose from the dead through a careful investigation of the Gospel witnesses.
“But he came to the conclusion that the witnesses were reliable, and that the Resurrection actually happened. …
“Greenleaf concluded: ’Either the men of Galilee were men of superlative wisdom, and extensive knowledge and experience, and of deeper skill in the arts of deception, than any and all others, before or after them, or they have truly stated the astonishing things which they saw and heard.’ ”
— Joseph Farah, writing on “The Jesus trial,” Tuesday in WorldNetDaily.com
When to fold ’em
“Ralph Reed didn’t mention Jack Abramoff in his opening remarks to the Dawson County Republican Party in rural Dawsonville, Ga. But Guy Pichon had a tough question for the lobbyist and former head of the Christian Coalition: ’Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigation?’
“Mr. Reed responded to the question he vigorously avoids: ’No … no to all of these.’ Mr. Reed’s answer is puzzling considering his consulting work for Mr. Abramoff and his cooperation with federal officials in the ongoing investigation into Mr. Abramoff’s fraudulent lobbying activities.
“The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana hired Mr. Abramoff to protect its $300-million-a-year gambling business. Mr. Reed worked with Mr. Abramoff to urge Christians to oppose pro-gambling legislation and to close down an illegal casino in Texas, as part of an effort to protect the Coushattas.”
— Jamie Dean, writing on “Focus on the finances,” in the Feb. 4 issue of World Magazine
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