WHY EUROPEANS loooove Obama.

OBAMA, SHAMAN: "The candidate’s post-masculine charisma tempts America in the age of Oprah."

GREENLANDERS cheering global warming: it'll make them rich. Or at least rich enough so as to cut their ties to Denmark.

UPDATE. Not just Greenlanders.

GRAIN OF SALT INDEED: Charles is suspicious of the report by a Spanish newspaper -which is actually my hometown main paper, La Vanguardia- that Mossad helped in Ingrid Betancourt's rescue. And suspicious he should be: it is so thinly sourced that it almost makes you cry. The reporter says he was told about it by an unnamed Mossad agent while sitting outside a Tel Aviv restaurant. You can almost see the scene in a Golan-Globus second-rate spy movie.

And it's the same gullible newspaper that five years ago seriously reported on the "strange shapes" in the belly of UA 175 that crashed into WTC2 on 9/11. I'm linking to a translation of the original report which was, obviously, in Spanish, but I can confirm that the translation is correct.

"HE VENTURED FORTH to bring light to the world." Superb Gerard Baker:

The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers.

Don't miss it.

THIS IS what my fellow Spaniards who only follow the legacy media don't know about Iraq.

Oh, I almost forgot: this blog is four years old today! It seems it was yesterday, but time flies. Of course it wouldn't have been possible without probably the smartest readers of the blogosphere. And handsome too! Does it show too much I'm pandering you, guys? No, seriously, you're terrific, and this place wouldn't have been the same without each and every one of you. Hope to have you around 4 more years, or more. Sí se puede!

THAT'S FUNNY.

A NEW REALITY in Iraq:

All of the most important objectives of the surge have been accomplished in Iraq. The sectarian civil war is ended; al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been dealt a devastating blow; and the Sadrist militia and other Iranian-backed militant groups have been disrupted.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has accomplished almost all of the legislative benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration. More important, it is gaining wider legitimacy among the population. The attention of Iraqis across the country is focused on the upcoming provincial elections, which will be a pivotal moment in Iraq's development.

The result is that we have an extraordinary – but fleeting – opportunity to advance America's security and the stability of a vital region of the world.

A new reality that wouldn't be there if the no-war-for-oils had succeeded...

IF OBAMA starred in Raiders of the Lost Ark...

WHY EUROPEANS doubt that the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and the other hostages was in exchange of a ransom payment.

GLOBAL WARMING HYSTERIA is more than mere eco-chondria: for some it's started to be a mental disorder. Literally...

SPAIN'S ECONOMY: It's a crisis, stupid! Great piece by Soeren Kern.

And don't miss the list of Zapatero's silly utterances. Most amazing one: "To be optimistic is something more than a rational act, it is a moral requirement, an act of decency and, if I may say so, elegance."

Gosh.

THE SPY WHO CAME FROM THE HEAT: a former CIA operative infiltrated in Iran's Revolutionary Guards tells his story for the first time.

OPTIMISM grows in Iraq:

Pork is available in Baghdad once again. Not just in the Green Zone, where US diplomats can enjoy their spare ribs and Parma ham, but also across the Tigris River, in the real Baghdad, at "Al-Warda" on Karada Street. Bassim Dencha, 32, one of the few Christians remaining in Iraq and the co-owner of Baghdad's finest supermarket, has developed a supply line from Syria. As a result, he now has frozen pork chops and bratwurst arranged in his freezers, next to boxes of frozen French fries and German Black Forest Cakes. And the customers are buying.

COLD-BLOODED kid murderers, that's what they are.

Happy 4th of July!