Three Story Sunday

A Chinese newspaper (government controlled of course) calls for the crushing of protesters in Tibet.

The communist government's leading newspaper called Saturday to "resolutely crush" Tibetan demonstrations against Chinese rule.

The statement came as international criticism against the crackdown on Tibetan protesters swelled.

A senior EU official said European countries should not rule out threatening China with an Olympic boycott if violence continues in Tibet. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi also joined the growing chorus of critics.

Will trade with the country cloud critical judgment from the international community? At least the criticism in the United States is mostly non-partisan. Oil independence is mostly the talking point of both parties, but what we really need is to be free from China (though many businesses would be baffled to consider such a thing).

McCain is meeting with leaders of Europe.

Senator John McCain's trip abroad - which took him from the Middle East to No. 10 Downing St. to the Élysée Palace here - was more than just a congressional fact-finding trip, or even a candidate's attempt to appear statesmanlike.

It was also an audition on the world stage for McCain in his new role as the Republican Party's presidential nominee. And it offered McCain the chance to begin testing his oft-stated hope that as president he would be able to repair America's tattered reputation abroad by shifting course on some of the policies that have alienated its allies - in areas like global warming and torture - even as he continues to embrace what much of the world sees as the most hated remnant of the Bush presidency: the war in Iraq.

If the international community doesn't like Iraq, then they should cooperate with the United States more in stabilizing the country. We can't leave an Iraq in ruins.

More strikes on Al-Qaeda targets by special plane called Predator.

The United States has stepped up its use of pilotless planes to strike at Qaeda targets along Pakistan's rugged border area, a measure that in the past drew protests from President Pervez Musharraf but now has his government's tacit approval. Since January, missiles reportedly fired from CIA operated Predator drones have hit at least three suspected hideouts of Islamic militants, including a strike last Sunday on a house in a South Waziristan village called Toog.

Technology only gets better and better. Hopefully we will continue to use these on Al-Q if there is a transition in leadership in Pakistan (from authoritarian rule to a democratic one). Al-Q is not just a threat to the United States, but to everyone.

Three stories on a snowy Sunday.