Your Daily Paine

ONE

2008-10-04T09:48:00.002-04:00

Home stretch.

Failure IS an option

2008-10-03T15:20:00.003-04:00

And maybe the lesser of the bad options--for there seem to be no good options.

The Congress has, a few hours ago, passed legislation for spending in the amount of $8.5¹⁴ to up to $1¹⁵ and perhaps more. To restore the banking industry and dwindling credit availability. And ultimately allow failed policies to remain in effect.

Throughout this year I've grown increasingly aware that our society has made too many bad decisions and is perfectly capable of collapse.

One blogger opined this week that, should this bill pass, people should stop paying their mortgages and use the money to purchase food and/or gold (I'd add guns and ammo) as those commodities will have real worth even as the value of the home falls. After the default simply wait for the government to arrange a new and lower cost mortgage. After all, the government isn't going to come around and evict you, right?

But, as I understand this mess, it was the government that coerced lenders to make loans to people that could not pay. And even though the alarm was raised the snouts remained greedily in the troughs
with compensation packages that boggle the mind.

In the 70s and 80's I wondered at the glut of attorneys that our schools were graduating--what were they all to do?

Now I know.

Wouldn't it be a bitter irony to find that the first country founded on the Rule of Law, this Great Experiment, were to fail and fall because of lawyers?

Please--please don't entertain the thought that it couldn't happen. When my maternal grandfather (b 1889) came to live out his senescence in my childhood home we acquired many things--some fine furniture and such--but what fascinated me was a pre-WWI encyclopedia and the maps of the world held my highest attention. Even a 1988 map of Eurasia would not show the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Balkan states or the many breakaway countries of the former Soviet Union.

What might the future look like? Anarchy or a strong man (or men). Divisions of the land by those that produce food and fuel from those that can't? Military coup?

California--the richest state in our country--is ready to go begging for a bailout from the federal government to meet state government workers' salaries. If denied California will have to lay off teachers and other state employees.

Imagine if this were to happen in your state. Schools would maintain a minimum staff to warehouse children for the day (or they could stay at home with their laid off parent). What if we couldn't pay our emergency personnel, our firefighters, our police?

While the Kroger still has some canned goods and staples it will be the armed man who gets and protects his food.

or

We can have the right man in charge--to tell us we have to be patriotic and tighten our belts, a man who will ensure that we all will be employed by his State and there will be enough to go around after it is confiscated from the wealthy. And we'll accept that because we will have no choice.

And then...

We can pray for that military coup.

New Power

2008-09-14T13:56:00.003-04:00

Please watch--less than 11 minutes
(link)

There is a new power at work and it's being used by both sides.

On the left it is dominated by short, buzz-word dominated, vicious, false or distorted attacks. These are usually short enough to be writ (in large letters) on a protest sign but derived from a million pages of convoluted disinformation about how the world should work.

The right trends to a greater depth of analysis (despite a generation taught to believe Archie Bunker was the archetype Conservative) but is based on ideas that can be presented in short and simple phrases--phrases like the Ten Commandments and the Biblical injunction that man shall have dominion over the world. Hard work should reap rewards. The best way to avoid war is to be the strongest of nations. Trust but verify. Even something as basic as life is better than death.

The new power is more citizen-based than ever before. It doesn't require the massive amounts of money to present as it would on TV but it does reach an audience. Just go to YouTube and enter "iran holocaust bomb" and watch the hit counter over the next few days.

Seven Years Gone

2008-09-11T09:53:00.004-04:00

Looking back at last year's 9.11 post I recognize there are some things very much missing that I don't wish to omit this year:

Gratitude. Gratitude to George W. Bush and the military and intelligence agencies that have protected me and mine.

Pride. Pride in the fact that we took body and head (and wallet) shots and we stood up and took the fight to them. Pride that our young are so willing to sacrifice.

I also want to include a special shout out to class-mates Ingrid and Janet whom I've recently reconnected with after so many years. They were there--with me--in the first of the moments described below.

The following is an edited and updated repost from a year ago titled

Moments

Are these what have come to define my life?

No. Not just the attack of September 11, 2001.

November 22, 1963: It was two weeks to the day after my 9th birthday. The principal broke in on Mr. DiPietro's 4th grade classroom loudspeaker to announce an assembly--not in the auditorium/gymnasium but in the front courtyard. When the school had gathered with the flag overhead we were told that President Kennedy had been shot and later pronounced dead. The flag was lowered to half-staff and we had early dismissal. I walked the half-mile home in a childish state of bewilderment. Minutes later my sister, a senior in H.S., came home and burst into tears.

It was my first encounter with evil.
_____________________________________

The following 16 years saw me facing mostly the petty evils of childhood's transition to young adulthood. There were other assassinations--Dr. King followed by Robert Kennedy--and other far-away evils--the massacre at My Lai (all this in the first half of 1968, BTW) and the Munich Olympics massacre of 1972--but they were far-away events.

November 4, 1979: I was with Manny's band in a week long engagement at a supper club in Pennsylvania. I returned to my hotel room well-pleased after getting a fine deal on a pair of Nunn Bush dress loafers (PA has no sales tax on apparel) when I flipped on the TV to learn of the Embassy takeover.

I was just days away from attaining the quarter-century mark when 'students' attacked and captured the US embassy in Tehran. By this time I had shed the teenage liberalism inspired by the antiwar movement and understood better what was at stake. This was an act of war and that peanut farmer better do something and quickly.

But no. As the US fell deeper into our national malaise one failed rescue attempt was mounted but it would take an election to end the 444 days of nightmare.

In hindsight I wonder if the stated hatred of Carter for giving safe haven to the Shah had less to do with the timing of the hostages' release--Inauguration Day, 1981--than some less-than-veiled threats of the incoming administration's intentions.
__________________________________________

My "antennae of evil" is now well lit.

The following years see the outrages that define the last 25 years. From the airplane hijack related execution of my fellow Marylander Robert Stethem to the cruise ship hijack and subsequent murder by throwing overboard in his frikkin wheelchair of Leon Klinghoffer. Near simultaneous bombings at airports in Vienna, Austria and Rome, Italy.

The first Intifada as I begin my international career. Four years on and the first World Trade Center attack takes place on Friday (Muslim 'sabbath'), February 26, 1993. I don't learn of it until my ship reaches port in San Juan and I open the local paper at a Hooters while waiting for my wings order.
__________________________________________

The next years feature the debacle in Mogadishu ('93), Bosnia ('93-'96), Khobar Towers bombing ('96), embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya ('98) and the USS Cole in October, 2000.

Moments after moments.

Moments upon moments
___________________________________________

September 11, 2001, is still more vivid to me than the births of my children.

How fucking sick is that?

I roused before 7 A.M. and fixed breakfast (oatmeal) for the turnettes and turnson. The Queen of Seoul dropped the twins at kindergartren on her way to work and I was alone with our son. It was an absolutely glorious, cloudless late-summer day in the northeast.

8:51 A.M. My morning radio show reports an airplane has struck the WTC. I turn on the TV.

(I remember that a rather large military plane flew into the Empire State building in fog during WWII.)

I call Q of S at work and tell her to get close to a TV.

A fraction of an hour later witness the 2nd plane hitting the north tower.

This is now intentional. This is now an assault--a deliberate attack.

I can't sit. I pace the living room glancing at the TV. Thankfully the turnson is preoccupied with his toys as I fret.

Then the Pentagon and reports of the downing of United Flight 93. (Initial reports were that we, US assets, shot down that plane at Shanksville. I don't doubt those initial reports nor do I blame my government for the action or the subsequent spin. This informed opinion in no way diminishes the incredible respect and regard I hold for the heroes on that flight.)

My eyes are leaking. They're not tears of sadness. They are tears of unrequited rage. I want to strip down, to don the blue woad and give my war cry. I desperately want to hit something but I have to be responsible for my not-quite-2 year old son.

Then come the images on TV that forever burn on the internal screen of my permanently scarred psyche. This evil, this abomination that could make my brothers and sisters choose to fall rather than be cremated alive.

Local radio reports that parents are picking kids up from schools. So I pack the turnson into his stroller and walk the half-mile to the turnettes' elementary in an adult state of contemplation on the nature and scope of evil.

Terror is fearing for your own life. Horror is the very human response to witnessing other people's terror.

~~Six~~ Seven years later I want to hit something. My eyes are still leaking tears of impotent rage. God help me.

TWO

2008-09-04T15:03:00.003-04:00

In 61 days we will go to the polls and determine if Gramsci's long march has been successful.

We will learn whether the generations of our people educated since 1968 in moral relativism, political correctness, and multiculturalism have abandoned the principals and responsibilities of citizens in exchange for a new nomenclatura who have planned for this moment for a very long time.
We know now that the first CND (ban the bomb) groups were Soviet funded and the long march continued through the anti-war movement, the women's movement, the greens, et al.

We've allowed the chattering classes to continuously distract us and misdirect us and evade the issues.

We've allowed a good and honorable president to be vilified. His real record has been almost obliterated. Once there was a loyal opposition--no more.

The Anointed One of 2000's loss is the greatest gift to this year's Anointed One as it generated the famous BDS that has infected and is now mobilizing the susceptible to vote against anything remotely Bushesque. In point of fact, BDS is the only known syndrome that is contagious through TVs and computer monitors--it is also the only syndrome where the original target (G. W. Bush) of the condition can be retargeted in a matter of hours.

So now we witness The Maverick (I think that's a marketing ploy that McCain approves of) who in truth is The Moderate (very difficult term in this political climate) versus a far-left Progressive who has used issues of race and class (just look up community organizing) to rise to the national stage.

Symbols Matter

2008-08-22T21:13:00.002-04:00

Maybe they think anyone old enough to recall the symbol portrayed here is in late-stage Alzheimers--a drooling old fool that can't connect two thoughts.

Maybe they thought no one would notice... or care.

In the world of politics and (inter)nationalism there has only ever been one meaning for this icon.

It is at the top of the 'artwork' decorating the outside of Pepsi Center for the Democratic National Convention.

No red, white and blue. No Stars and Stripes. No eagles or unfinished pyramids... No US icons at all.

Just that blood-red star.

Chicago Style

2008-08-21T12:28:00.003-04:00

Do you believe our (US) Fourth Estate is somehow 'in the tank' for O? Some, even in the MSM, are reporting that it seems so.

Personally... I find it difficult to believe that all in mainstream media are in thrall to the Pied Piper of Hyde Park.

There are critics and mild exposes but it is mind boggling that the MSM refuses to report information that is so readily available. Is it possible that our Freedom of the Press could be bought, co-opted or coerced?

This question is, of course, rhetorical. The next is not.

Can there be any other explanation?

Allegedly fair and balanced Fox News Channel cast a special report on 18 August titled Presidential Character & Conduct 2008: Barack Obama. It skipped over a bit.

O's maternal grandparents were communists. His Kenyan father was a communist.

As a Nairobi bureaucrat, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., a Harvard-educated economist, grew to challenge the ruling pro-Western government for not being socialist enough. In an eight-page scholarly paper published in 1965, he argued for eliminating private farming and nationalizing businesses "owned by Asians and Europeans."
His ideas for communist-style expropriation didn't stop there. He also proposed massive taxes on the rich to "redistribute our economic gains to the benefit of all."

His mother seems to have been... a rebellious young woman.

Who, while being raised by his grandparents in Hawaii, steered a 13-14 year old boy into the mentorship of CPUSA (Communist Party USA) member Frank Marshall Davis--A man who had fled Chicago in 1954 for the then US territory before being caught in an FBI gauntlet? O spent 1975--1979 absorbing this man's poetry and thought.

Upon graduation from that bastion of clear thought Columbia University (the school that hosted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last September) O went to work as a 'community organizer' in Chicago for one of the ~~shakedown gangs~~ advocacy groups founded by communist Saul Alinsky. There's an awful lot to read about Alinsky if one knows where to look including Hillary Rodham Clinton's Wellesley thesis.

Off to Boston to get a bit more than street cred O gets to be editor of the Harvard Law Review without ever publishing a single paper of his own.

Then back to Chitown with a prestigious degree for more... organizing. Let me be very clear--organizing means getting wealth from them that has to them that don't. He worked for the Woods Fund from '93--'01. Business, industry and ~~government~~ taxpayers are the source of money to fund Jeremiah Wright's Trinity school and Rezko's urban housing projects (condemned on completion).

O went on to head the Chicago Annenberg Challenge along with Pentagon bomber William Ayers. The records of that foundation are in the University of Illinois at Chicago library but have not been released for study. As these papers are the only record of O ever running anything there are people who believe they have a right to examine them.

But when the shoe is on the other foot... Republican candidate for the open US senate seat in 2004 Jack Ryan had made public the divorce records with ex-wife actress Jeri Ryan but the custody records were sealed by request of both parties. In June of that year the Chicago Tribune and WLS TV requested that the custody records be released and a willing judge overturned what had been a settled case. The details were sufficiently sordid that Ryan dropped his candidacy and... well... O was a shoe-in.

If literally hundreds--maybe thousands--of us on the blogs can ferret out the words and associations and intent of O why is the MSM mute? In 1996 details of illegal Chinese and Indonesian donations to the Clinton campaign were readily reported. In 1998 Drudge broke the story of the blue dress and it was all over network news.

Now the silence is deafening.

Common Sense--the Video

2008-08-14T08:20:00.002-04:00

A video pamphlet

Well said.

I would have included a bit about the transnational insanity of the global warmish nutballs but this does hit the nail.

Why is 20 July not a national day of remembrance?

2008-07-20T06:05:00.002-04:00

Today will pass, like many other summer Sundays, unmarked and unobserved for the date it represents. And yet it is, perhaps, a date that should be remembered as humankind's most marked achievement.

We rightly honor our fallen who carried out their duty on Memorial Day. We salute those who served on Veterans Day.

But July 20th is hardly noticed.

The following was first posted 28 September 2007.

We did it.

Quick trip to the market and back to try and eke some more brain music out of this Steinway.

Mundane. Not blogworthy.

So...something must be percolating--I mean, I think I have an idea of what's compelling and what's not.

Sometimes you see and don't notice. Sometimes you do.

What I noticed was that handicap parking spots are proliferating. The ones threatening fines if you park there without the special license plates or the rear-view mirror hangie thing. I'm pretty sure there would be no more than two for that size store 25 years ago. There are easily a dozen today (filled btw). Ten or fifteen years from now...?

Have you ever had the experience of standing on line at a movie box office and finding that, except for one other parent with a child, every person was 50 or older. I never had before. Add in that it's rated PG and there was no advertising budget yet the majority of seats were filled for a matinee on a glorious first day of autumn.

Turnson will be eight next week. I wanted a father-son day. The twin tween turnettes are soon to be twelve, and I have become a great big doofus (only slightly less retarded than their little brother) in their eyes.

I had planned to take him fishing with his brand new Ugly Stik. But Saturday evening I heard about a film on a weekend radio chat show that changed my plans--especially because it was playing in only one venue and only until Thursday. It was Sunday or wait for the video release. And it was playing in the sole surviving movie palace in the region.

OK. Show of hands. How many of you have heard or read about In the Shadow of the Moon? The Ron Howard film...the winner of the 2007 People's Choice Award at Sundance...the film that documents mankind's greatest technological achievement?

So in a fit of nostalgia for myself and for the sake of Turnson's understanding of our family we leave the beautiful sunshine to sit in a dark place for 90 minutes. Because my living father was there in early days at Canaveral doing engineering work--telemetry and guidance.

Dad is typically taciturn; much of his long life holds memories that don't bear saying out loud--the kind of memories of an impoverished southern family with too many children and too much responsibilty shouldered by the older boys. He's the only surviving male. When he speaks about the past it's more often about running 'shine to the mills or terrapin hunting with his father. Turnson won't get the story of the fisrt decade of the Space Program from his Grampa.

The curtains drew (yeah! curtains) and Turnson asked if this was going to be a play.

Wait for it, son.

The show started with a piece of film archived for 45 years by this movie house--turns out JFK made a short subject for limited distribution to select theaters on the Bill of Rights. He would be the last president to address the nation on film.

In the Shadow of the Moon begins with narration. It's the simple narrative of the living men that went there, did that, and got a patch instead of a t-shirt. Told in their words and nothing but real images and clips, the story unfolds at its own pace.

The Soviets beat us to get to space first, of course. Gagarin was undoubtedly a hero. But four weeks later we shot Alan Shephard into space for fifteen minutes. That's what we called them then--space shots.

The race was on

JFK challenges the US to land a man on the moon before the decade was out. Because we could. But also because one of the oldest military doctrines is take and hold the high ground.

Little of the film relates the Mercury and Gemini missions. This is the story of Apollo, specifically Apollo 8-17. Apollo 8-10 reached lunar orbit. Told by the men that did it.

from ABC.com-

In all of time, only 24 human beings have flown to or around the moon, looked back, and seen Earth as a small blue sphere in the blackness of space.

Their numbers are dwindling. Of the 12 who walked on the moon's surface, only nine are alive today, and the youngest is 71.

Yeah, baby--we're definately aging when the young heroes of Apollo are seniors. It means lots more handicap parking.

See this movie. Buy it when the DVD is released. Apollo 11 launched 15 July 1969 from what was by then called Cape Kennedy. Thousands watched from the ground but tens of millions watched on live TV.

Here's a taste.

My September 11 post Moments described how sometimes I view my life by those evil events--going all the way back to JFK's assassination when I was nine.

Well...September 11 tends to be a black day of the soul for me and I wasn't really thinking about some of the great events that have also marked me.

1969

A wild ride, indeed. Summer, especially so. August had the most. Manson Family, Chappaquiddick, Woodstock.

On the evening of July 20, my local rock band opened a concert at the big civic center (no matter how big the headline act was, it always started with a local band). Delaney, Bonnie and Friends (with Traffic's Dave Mason) performed and then it was time for the headliner--Blind Faith.

Backstage was a bit oif a madhouse. Roadcrews and performers waiting their turn.

I was fourteen.

A few minutes into Blind Faith's performance there was an announcement. It was decided that Delaney, Bonnie et al would fill in while the headliners broke for something special.

I was still backstage and a makeshift table with a rabbit-eared 13 inch set was placed in front of the concrete stairs. Way better than crowding around--it was 'stadium seating' on the fly.

When the images began I had the urge to fiddle with the antennae, but the picture was as good as it was going to get. Next to me sat Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker was directly behind him. Try to understand--these musicians were heroes to me--this was the most exciting night of my life so far. Sharing this moment of pride in the US accomplishment with superstars from the UK was bliss. I said to myself, "We did it."

When the weight of those first words spoken from the surface of another celestial body were understood everyone erupted in handshaking and backslapping. There was a chorus of American and North of England accents shouting, "WE DID IT!", and I kept the thought to myself that, "No Eric--we, the US, did in fact DO IT."

Juvenile, huh? Yah, well, 14... not much perspective.

Near the end of In the Shadow of the Moon the narrative relates that on the world tour of the Apollo 11 crew that wherever they went--Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia--they heard over and over those words, not "Congratulation, men, you did it.", but rather, "We did it."

After all, Neil Armstrong did say, "...One giant leap for mankind."

On the short walk to the car, Turnson asks, "Why haven't we ever gone back?"

Is Set

2008-07-06T18:29:00.001-04:00

Flashpoint was the beginning. Or maybe what seemed to be the beginning.

It is now a year and a half since the incident that sparked weeks of civil disobedience. In the weeks following, the National Guard had been called upon to restore order. And order was restored. But not without deep resentment by the Guardsmen and women.

It is now January of 2011. The northern tier of the country is suffering more deaths from cold than in many decades and the winter is still young. Poor nutrition adds to the mortality rate. Children and the elderly are hit hardest.
************************

Of those, in the past, that believed in a second American Revolution most were committed to a Marxist ideal.

Those have fallen by the wayside. The new rebels intend a return to the recent past--affordable energy and abundant food. And decent jobs.

The new rebels are a small minority. Just like the first one.

The vast majority hold protests for increased food-stamps, health care and Section 8 housing.

The public's dependence on government has never been so urgent.

The government, since the last election cycle, has taken over responsibility for most services previously held by the private sector. Food, fuel and medical distribution lies solely in the hands of the authorities with the exception of the few that can barter for them. Print and broadcast media have been co-opted. TV and radio programming is a mix of English and Spanish.

Food stamps and TV have become the 'bread and circuses' that the new empire uses to keep the populace placated and 'in line'.

The prisons have been emptied of those jailed for their crimes and refilled with a new class of criminal--those that have spoken or acted against the New State.

The internet is now heavily monitored. Pornography--especially 'gay' porn--is readily available but dissenting opinion is... not so much.

As written in Isaiah 11.11 there will arise a remnant from scattered places.

The remnant--those who are willing to sacrifice for a return to the values of America v.1-- use the O.T. from Genesis to Malachi for the codes to communicate on the monitored internet. Their number is unknown but is estimated to be just a few hundred thousand.

They are the latter day Essenes--perhaps doomed to die out but whose message may, one bright day, prevail.
*******************

Eighteen years earlier, in 1993, young Army and Air Force officers, none higher than captain; young Navy and Marine officers had begun talking and emailing with concerns over the direction the armed forces were headed in the wake of the so-called Peace Dividend and the clear lack of commitment from the new administration.

Mostly concerned with their individual and shared futures they committed to toeing the politically correct lines to all but each other. Their sole focus was to advance through the ranks so that they could eventually make a difference.

This was in no way blind ambition. This was to be a bulwark for freedom and the protection of the nation if ever one was needed.

Their ranks swelled after 9/11. In the crucible of Afghanistan and Iraq more came to be trusted and it was in these places that sergeants were first recruited.

After the elections of '06 and the governmental failures on immigration and energy their traffic and their focus changed. Most had participated in war gaming and adapted the urban fighting skills honed in Iraq to an imaginary nation that looks a lot like the US.

They had come to an extraordinary conclusion--that the most likely outcome of past and predicted future events was either anarchy or virtual dictatorship.

Not all of the original 93ers are still in uniform. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice in distant lands, some the penultimate and now wear prostheses and appliances. Some have simply left the military. These living veterans have become some of the most important people in the struggle as they live it now. These provide the liaison to the rebel citizens. These taught the instruments of tradecraft and how to develop the simple but effective codes that the rebels now use.

Some have entered law enforcement and using the same 'go along to get along' methods earlier perfected in uniform while still performing their duties in exemplary fashion they have advanced to high positions.

Some have taken skills they learned while serving to advance in other fields--most notably telecommunications. Telecom is the high ground in this coup.

Of the original 93ers, none hold a rank below full Colonel or Navy Captain. There are more than a few Generals and an Admiral. All the ranks below are newer recruits and all have been thoroughly vetted.

FOUR

2008-07-04T09:25:00.002-04:00

This 232nd anniversary of the publication of our Declaration of Independence bears some reflection.

Having only recently attained adulthood, 1976 was a memorable celebration. The tall ships in New York harbor and the community parades and displays were joyous even in the midst of a fuel crunch and a nation reeling from disastrous retreat in Viet Nam.

No Fourth of July celebration has come close since but every Birthday of the Great Experiment is another miracle to celebrate what the inspired Founders wrought.

Personally I feel more awe than pride. What we have accomplished, our freedom and prosperity, our gifts and charity to a suffering world, the strengths that we have hewn to--all due to the clarity of thought rendered by the Fathers and held true by those that followed.

This Document is divided into three sections.
The general declaration

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

There is more to this section but the focus of this post has to do with a few parts of the second section--the Grievances.

Tyranny is not solely in the hands of kings and dictators. Sometimes it may fall to an unexpected place.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

The good people of Louisiana had decided that a person guilty of the rape of a child deserves to no longer live. Justice Kennedy, siding with the predictable liberal justices, found that evolving standards of decency should prevent the execution of the death warrant.

The same justice held that foreign, non-state combatants captured on foreign soil and held abroad should enjoy habeas corpus rights in US courts. A finding that another justice declared would endanger American lives.

Tyranny may also emanate from special interest groups.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

Substitute he for they where they are the coalition of environmental groups and activist judges that have prevented us from exploiting the resources we need to maintain and grow.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

We find ourselves quite in the opposite predicament now. The relevant words here are " obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners".

Make no mistake that the unlimited immigration we've now been facing for many years is a tyranny, as well.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

Here I mean the growth of the federal government, the unknowable tax code, imposed social security--the veritable multitude of New Offices that eat out our substance.
*******************************

The final portion of the Declaration is meant to stand as the legal and formal statement of intent to nationhood.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Before we end up refreshing the Tree of Liberty with blood we need to read and understand this precious document and find the grievances that have crept back in our society.

And fix them.

Happy Independence Day

Four months to go.

The Stage

2008-06-17T07:51:00.022-04:00

Readers:

I did not with foresight begin this as a meme, a thread. And yet, beginning with A Perfect Storm, it becomes one.
____________________________________

Europe. Sooner than you think.

Union transport workers strike and sympathizers from various other unions join in solidarity. Fuel and food deliveries are virtually frozen. Brussels (EU capital) demands an immediate end to the strike but truckers remain adamant.

Grocery shelves are emptying and fresh produce is rotting on farms and in warehouses. Folks living near producers are bartering for foodstuffs but city dwellers are becoming agitated.

Afghanistan. Sooner than you think.

Coalition forces are ordered to withdraw from the south as the Taliban reclaims cities and provinces. Recently released detainees from Guantanamo serve as inspiration and evidence of the weakness of the West.

Iraq. Sooner than you think.

As US forces are ordered to abandon Iraq, Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi army reclaim Basra and Sadr City while the formerly defeated al Qaida in Iraq resurfaces to control al Anbar Province and Mosul in the north. Any Iraqis accused of aiding coalition forces, along with their immediate families, are publicly beheaded.

Iran. Sooner than you think.

Iran successfully tests a fission bomb while separately testing missile launches to targets in Indian Ocean. European leaders protest but the Mullahs remain defiant.

US. Sooner than you think.

By 1930 hours in the evening of the day of the Flashpoint protest almost every American knows of the death of twelve citizens at the hands of Capitol police. The initial shock is turning to anger. People meet on street corners commiserating that they share the same difficulties that spurred the protesters' actions along with their feelings of rage and helplessness to alter their condition.

At 2100 the president delivers a hastily prepared address to the nation.

"I stand here today... with the greatest sorrow in my heart. Twelve of our citizens... no... our brothers and sisters... today lost their lives in a brutal... and unnecessary confrontation with the Capitol police.

"I need every American to know... that this government... united for the first time in sixteen years... has been working tirelessly... with business and industry... with the leaders of every state... with clergy... with grassroots community groups... to end the divisiveness... of the previous administration.

"I know there are hardships. I sense your frustration. And that is why... I am asking every American... to join in our struggle. Become active within your communities... join a food bank... organize a neighborhood cleanup... we can make America better... for all of us... and for our children."

This is later found to be the least watched presidential address in decades.

D.C. Metro Police spokeswoman Dana Peters promises to investigate the shootings and prosecute any officers who unlawfully discharged firearms at the protesters. The Department of Justice is quietly directed to investigate the backgrounds of the victims to determine if they had any past acts or affiliations that might be exploited to the government's advantage. The idea of mass suicide by cop is quickly shelved.

Across the country roving bands of young to middle-aged men take to the streets after dark. Those fortunate enough to have gas in their tanks drive with friends in SUVs and pickups looking for a target for their rage. Almost simultaneously police station windows from Spokane to Charlotte are smashed with bricks and rocks and the police response is quick and effective--immediate internment.

Those that evade the police find their 'cool'. They may be returning to their homes but the fire they felt earlier is not extinguished--only tamped for the moment. They now realize that the fight must be smarter.

Hundreds of thousands of men and women look to the 'net for information and guidance. By 0100 a video with an accompanying text message, first uploaded at 2311, has gone viral. By 0130 the video hosting service has pulled it but the text portion has been copied and continues to spread like a prairie fire by email.

Your first duty is to stay free. Preserve your freedom. That's what America is and always has been about.

Your enemy is not the police. We may succeed in enlisting their aid but not by targeting them.

Same for the National Guard if and when they are called in.

We know that you may feel angry at the gas station or the oil company. We know that you might be mad at the grocer or the big Ag corporations.

None of these are responsible for where we find ourselves.

That is not to say that government alone is responsible. There are others that must be held accountable.
********************

If you feel the need to take action the best way to preserve your freedom is to remain anonymous. Get a ski mask--there are cameras everywhere. Wear gloves.

Disable the cameras wherever you can. Put a sliding ladder in the back of your truck--that's fairly innocuous. Wire cutters are fine for cutting the cable connection but a large bolt cutter against the lens socket will permanently disable it.

For tomorrow night. Action taken anywhere needs a large diversion somewhere else. Fire at an abandoned warehouse may give a cell the opportunity to ransack and destroy the records and computers at a local Social Security or Welfare office. Soft targets, so to speak. But federal.
****************

Lastly, for any hackers--I know you're nightowls--stop the Pentagon hacks! We need the private emails and files of the worst of the Senate and House.

We can't afford to merely bring down this president--we need to force a change in that party--a change we can live with.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have now read this. So have analysts from China, Russia, Israel, Iran and various European countries passed to them from various fellow travelers. And the alphabet agencies of the US, of course.
********************

The Stage is greater than one can see. There are wings and trapdoors. There are unseen producers and directors, assistants, lighting what is meant to be seen and not aiming the camera at what is dross. Lastly, there is the god of the stage--the writer of the bill--ensuring that there is an outcome certain.

Flashpoint

2008-06-15T14:36:00.006-04:00

Ruby Ridge August, 1992.

Some public outrage over the disproportionate actions of the government but, after all, those must have been strange people to want to live in the back-woods of northern Idaho.

Waco April, 1993.

Shock and horror as satellite transmission of the blaze was beamed live to our TVs. Everybody felt bad for the children but--hey--that David Koresh was a kook.

YFZ Ranch Raid April, 2008.

(The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
Hundreds of children forcibly removed from the only homes they knew. The courts hash it out and the families are reunited but we sure learned a lot about that crazy Warren Jeffs.

One might get the impression that I'm relating a series of events in chronological order. Now I need to reverse it.

L.A. Riots April-May, 1992.

Following the acquittal of the police charged in the video-taped beating of Rodney King, Los Angeles erupted in some of the worst rioting in US history.

Why?

Because to the sizable African-American population of L.A., Rodney King was like any other individual in that community. Exacerbating factors: the authorities (police) on the video were white and the trial venue was moved to a mostly white community but that is not the point I'm getting to.

Washington D.C. Sooner than you think.

A large protest of middle-class working people is held to demand government action on the food and fuel crisis coupled with the heavy burden of taxation. The crowd goes unanswered by those in power. Initially regular police are in position to maintain order but as the crowd's agitation grows, more police are sent in riot gear.

Tensions rise and the pheromone of fear and aggression spreads through the area affecting protesters and police, alike. To the mob, without the real members of the legislative and executive branches, the police are the face of the government. For some, the threat of deadly force is not enough to back down and flee--they can't face the thought of returning to their cold and hungry families.

And, of course, this is all playing out on live TV and the web.

The predictable and preventable becomes the inevitable. A young officer, early to arrive on the scene and not one of the better protected in riot gear draws his sidearm.

One of the mob yells, "gun", but the other police nearby don't know that the warning came from the crowd--it's the standard warning police shout when encountering a firearm.

The shooting starts and it is all over very quickly. A dozen citizen bodies are on the ground and the mob falls back to be peaceably detained and subsequently dispersed.

Later, the forensic investigation reveals the officers that discharged their weapons and they are arraigned. Later, the government and media spin machine goes to work, finding something wrong with the slain individuals. Something conspiratorial or insidious.

But that is all later.

Right now...right now more than a million citizens are watching in real time and in horror. Between the 24/7 cable news and the web more than 20 million will have seen the primary events within 30 minutes and by 7:30 everyone in the US knows that a dozen protesters just like them were gunned down.

Does my little tale have any merit? You have to be the judge of that.

Because the above is a simple retelling of the events of

Boston March 5th, 1775. (The Boston Massacre)

(updated for the 21st century)

(And yes, that mob was protesting over money.)

Sold Out

2008-06-14T07:43:00.003-04:00

I think that's a fair assessment of what the bare majority of the Supreme Court has rendered in giving Habeas Corpus rights to Gitmo detainees. The decision flies in the face of hundreds of years of precedence, defies common sense, and in practice will tie up our legal system for years. Might as well just let 'em go.

There is that second meaning of the phrase--as in when you drive up to the pump and find the station is sold out. Or to the grocery and find no corn. Or when you look to congress for some leadership with the good of the US in mind.

Going...going...gone (and the hammer drops).

UPDATE

(Slip Opinion)

OCTOBER TERM, 2007

Syllabus

NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has beenrepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Syllabus

BOUMEDIENE ET AL. v. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL.

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

No. 06–1195. Argued December 5, 2007—Decided June 12, 2008*

Here is the entire ruling followed by the dissenting opinions of John Roberts and Antonin Scalia.

A Perfect Storm

2008-06-12T08:38:00.005-04:00

And it's been brewing for a long time.

The Founding Fathers understood that throwing off the tyranny of a monarch could, without a carefully crafted constitution, easily be replaced by the tyranny of the masses.

Yet the masses can never hold power--it must be concentrated. But a populace can be manipulated into believing that they have a say in decisions that affect them. Or that somehow a system can work in greater fairness.

(personal note--My blogging has fallen off in frequency these past few months as a growing sense of ~~doom~~ great change has overcome me.)

I am an avid reader (and occasional commenter) at the excellent Gates of Vienna that is mostly focused on political happenings in Western Europe, Scandinavia and the UK. In a guest essay (more of a book review) I came across this quote from one of the earliest planners of the European Union:

The sovereign nations of the past can no longer solve the problems of the present: they cannot ensure their own progress or control their own future. And the Community itself is only a stage on the way to the organized world of tomorrow. — Jean Monnet, Memoir

Chilling words to me for two reasons. The EU by any measure is a socialist, near borderless entity with a managed capitalist economy and because I regard Monnet's reference to the sovereign nations of the past as meaning he concluded the US to be one, as well, especially in light of the organized world of tomorrow.

I've believed in the inherent goodness of my country for a long time and I've believed equally that our government mostly gets it right because people are smart enough (mostly) to vote the better candidate into office. The 2006 mid-term elections shook that belief for a while until I realized that it was a vote driven by anger and frustration largely fanned by a complicit media and a highly organized and motivated DNC.

Maybe the country will turn this all around and throw the rascals responsible for our current misery out. But it's looking less and less likely to me. JB Williams at the New Media Journal has a fine piece today highlighting the stupidity of voters and the ~~socialists~~ progressive members of Congress.

Then there's the candidate:

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.

"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.

I'm trying to get the full understanding of that statement. Aren't OPEC nations already having a say in how I drive my car? And countries to our south that send their (literally) unwashed to pick and process our spinach and tomatoes have made sure that I can't eat as much as I want.

Obama knows most of us (the "productive") are taxed. And most of us are reasonably self-moderating in food consumption and have been forced to limit our driving. He has to know that. So what is he really saying? I ask this because it sounds to me that under his leadership there would be a supranational body that will determine from where and to whence resources flow. Like the EU.

Unlike the EU which has been working since 1958's Treaty of Rome to this very day's Irish Referendum (the last nation to allow its citizens a direct vote on the subject) this great change is to happen in less than a decade. If Obama wins and the Democrats retain their majority in congress it could happen in a year.

What could such an immense change trigger for us? We may (collectively) be stupid enough to pull the same levers in November but what will be the result when families with $100K incomes must start living like families with $35K incomes?

An equally important question arises. Are those who have organized for so very long in hopes of reaching this dream--have they not anticipated what kind of reaction might ensue? Or are there already plans and alliances with authorities?

What started in Spain has now spread throughout Europe as those that transport the food and goods cannot now afford to deliver them. Media are careful to use the word "protest" but when someone is killed and a truck is firebombed the word "riot" comes across as more accurate.

Yeah. I'm speculating that such a drastic change might provoke otherwise peaceable folks to "protest".

Five to go

2008-06-05T03:08:00.005-04:00

Umm. Barrack Hussein Obama is a staunch supporter of Israel. At AIPAC.

Golly. He pretends he has a sack vis a vis Iran.

There's a world of difference between community organizing in Chicago and global affairs.

But large-scale community organizing has worked for Obama.

Saul Alinsky. Look him up. This communist taught Chitown how to organize and recruit voters. The Reverend Wright and Father Pflager, as well as Obama, are studious adherents of Alinsky.

Pflager, as of June 4th, has been suspended by the Catholic archdiocese of Chicago. Both Wright and Pflager have received large-scale state and federal taxpayer money.

Wright, recently retired from Trinity Church of Christ, is set to move into his new 1.2 M$ home in a gated community that has a demographic of <2% minority (black). Retirement. Life's sweetest reward.

Meanwhile, in the news the msm deems not fit to print, Obama's real estate buddy and contributor, Syrian-born Antoin Rezco is convicted of multiple (16) felonies.

Clinton's cohorts were jailed after he came to office.

We're off to a great start.

These links are important.

Maggie's Farm has some fact checking.

And more.

Economic Equality

2008-06-01T11:09:00.002-04:00

These are the two words that loudly leapt from the TV screen at Obama's May 31st presser about his decision to leave the Trinity congregation and comments regarding what his "faith" leads him to believe.

There is nothing in the Book of God about economic equality. Nothing in scripture. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Zero.

The parable related in Matthew 20.1-16 regarding vineyard workers receiving equal pay for unequal work could possibly be construed as a scriptural recommendation for economic equality. Of course, the meaning of this story is that whether you come to God in the first hour or the eleventh hour, the reward is the same.

Economic equality. If I were asked to reduce the works of Marx and Engels to two words...

Memorial Day Post

2008-05-25T20:12:00.002-04:00

ASIDE FROM MY GRANDPA, my mother's Da, I've had no immediate family that have served. My uncle Paul enlisted in the Army Air Force in WWII and brother-in-law Gerry acquitted himself honorably in VN.

My dad (b 1917) tried to enlist in '42 and subsequent years but was deemed too necessary in civvy street work. (He later worked with Air Force and eventually NASA as a radar and guidance system engineer).

Granpa Philip came to live with us when I was in my mid-teens. He was a victim by that time of what would be later termed as Alzheimer's but in the '60s was referred to as senile dementia--he was not crazed--he simply could not remember the most basic things. When asked his address, for instance, he would state a location he lived at 40 years previous.

As a young child (before onset of Alzheimer's) my experience of him was that he was more than a little stiff and formal. He had achieved significant success in the business community of (at that time) one of the ten largest cities in the US. He had little patience for the precocious son of his only daughter, Grace.

His wife, Grace's mother and my granma, passed not long after Mom's birth in 1918 of the global pandemic remembered as "the Spanish Flu". By all family accounts, he was a doting father to his only daughter.

(My Mom, Grace Ellen, would have turned 90 last Friday, May 23rd. She passed in '03. We miss you, Mom.)

Granpa Philip was orphaned in childhood, he and his brother were both hospitalized in a sanitorium for TB where his brother succumbed. He went on to attend a fine military prep school/academy--McDonough--which I attended, also.

As previously stated he was uncomfortably stiff and formal--there were no grandfatherly conversations with the grandson. Visits were short and perfunctory--family duty more than anything else--consequently I never got to really know him.

So long after his passing in 1973 this fills me with a sadness hard to express. He was a man of honor, a Silver Star recipient, and could have been a greater influence and inspiration were he more comfortable around a young boy.

Juvenile disappointments aside--it's with great pride and humility that I post the few words, crucial key words from the official records of how he is remembered:

Name: Philip Crawford McIntyre
Race: white
Address: 2307 Harlem Ave., Baltimore
Birth Place: Baltimore, Md.
Birth Date: 16 Sep 1889
Comment: NG 1 lt Inf; USA 9/4/18 capt Inf, Co F 5 Md. Inf; Co F 115 Inf; 3 Off Tng School Camp McClellan Ala. 1/4/18; Co F 115 Inf 5/15/18, Hon disch 6/26/19, Overseas 6/15/18 to 5/24/19, Center Sector; Meuse-Argonne, War Dept Citation for Gallantry in Action In the Bois de la Grande Montagne, France, Oct. 10, 1918. While in command of Company F, 115th Infantry, and upon learning that one of his scouts was seriously wounded and lying exposed to enemy fire, he crawled forward under violent enemy machine-gun fire to the side of the wounded man. Being unable to move the wounded man without assistance he crawled back to the line, secured the assistance of a member of his company and returned with great difficulty to the wounded man and together with the help of the soldier carried the wounded man to shelter, AEF Citation for Gallantry in Action For gallantry in action October 9, 1918, in establishing and holding a line of resistance against a superior force of the enemy, 29 Div Citation for Gallantry in Action Displayed remarkable courage and leadership, October 8th, 1918, in the fighting east of the Meuse, when he led his company in the face of heavy machine gun and artillery fire, in order to protect the flank of his regiment which was being turned by attack.

_______________________

Today, the only living memories of Philip are guarded by my sister and me. She is the caretaker of his Silver Star. We have both honored his memory by using elements of his name in the naming of our sons.

So just about a month before Armistice Day (11 November) Philip is credited with heroism under fire. In the same year he gained a daughter and lost a wife. He wasn't some fresh-faced kid when he went to Europe to fight in a war in which we had no direct stake--he turned 30 in France. This was the first "modern" war. Use of deadly mustard and chlorine gas, first use of air power, first widescale use of machine guns, tanks, battleships, aimed artillary smarter than the previous cannon.

Trenches.

Cold, muddy and bloody trenches. Horse-drawn wagons carrying munitions forward and corpses back next to doughboys barely able to read their enlistment papers slogging through the dirt roads of rural France. A local population with which you don't even share language that has even less understanding of the situation than you do. Shell shock. Forward tent hospitals where the main remedy for limb wounds was amputation. "Sawbones" becomes slang for physician.

Not to discount the Spanish-American war of 1898, the only generation truly knowing the horrors of war extant by the time of our commitment in Europe were in their 70's and older. They were the veterans of our War Between the States. America had never before committed to largescale warfighting on foreign soil. It was a new territory but one in which we'd become all too familiar with as that century progressed.

For all those who have fallen in battle.

For all those who have returned with the memories.

For all those that proudly serve today.

Today, I'm remembering.

(salute)

Comment to Coulter

2008-05-08T13:23:00.002-04:00

This is just a copy of what I left on Ann Coulter's piece today.

Ann-

45 years of ~~education~~ marxist indoctrination have finally paid off. A globalist, Lansky trained, Chitown pol has a shot at the most important job in the world and he's poised to take on an opponent despised by many conservatives for his attacks on free speech (McCain-Feingold) and national sovereignty (McCain-Kennedy).

I don't have to be happy with my choice this November but I know the candidate that will sell us out sooner and I have to hold my nose on the climate change believer McCain and vote for him barring some miraculous sea change at the convention.

It saddens me deeply when I read statements at sites like this that new media has made such significant inroads that it can have a major impact on the efforts of the main stream media--if that were so we'd be seeing a matchup between Fred Thompson and Bill Richardson--but power must be recognized and our voices here are still much smaller than what reaches the masses. And the masses are ignorant and apathetic, judging from my workplace experience.

Our unique and wonderful system never believed that its own vaunted values of free speech could imperil it. It inherently believed that a free press would argue all sides and a literate public could make informed choices. I see, in this day, that has failed us. The curtain is falling on this act. If there is to be a next act it may be bloody and highly partisan.

6

2008-05-04T14:40:00.002-04:00

Six months to the (I previously thought would be the most important of our times) election.

But the events of the previous six months since I started this little blog and the history of the last several years coupled with society's inability to maintain a reality-based worldview have led me to this untenable point--that our civilization has made sufficiently bad decisions that we may be in inevitable decline.

It pierces me that for all the enemies we have without that our greatest are within. There are the PLAYERS, the Players, and we, ourselves.

The greed of the speculators has more to do with the massive increases in food and fuel costs than real supply and demand. The greed and machinations of the money-changers have more to do with the fall of the US dollar than market factors. Our legislators and courts have undermined reasonable efforts to secure prosperity and peace. And we, the people, must share the blame, also.

Few ask, "Is it possible for our civilization to decline?"

The answer shouts from history, "Yes, all have."

And why?

Forces from without, forces from within, and a lack of will.

Craven

2008-04-13T10:52:00.003-04:00

A few days ago--April 9th--as the Olympic torch was being ~~relayed~~ hustled through the obfuscated streets of San Francisco (the route had been changed at the last moment to confound protesters) a torch bearer with the audacity to display a small Tibetan flag had the torch seized by a contingent of Chinese paramilitary that have been 'escorting' the torch everywhere it goes.

Majora Carter moments after

Some may argue that San Francisco is not really a part of the US but freedom of expression is traditionally practiced there (unless it is pro-Christian or anti-gay). But with a heavy SFPD presence why would the Chinese boys in light blue be allowed to waylay Ms. Carter's harmless act of support for Tibet? Are we that deep in China's pocket?

A Google search for [Olympic torch assault] revealed this from Istanbul.

April 3rd

The accompanying headline to the above:

Istanbul, Turkey 4/3/2008 Police detained at least six Muslims on Thursday at an anti-China protest during the Olympic torch ceremony near one of Turkey's most famous tourist destinations.

(scratching head) Muslims?!? In 98% Muslim Turkey?!? That's tantamount to describing any particular six people in Vatican City as Catholics.

April 7th

From the UK Daily Mail

The global power shift from the West to the East is no longer just a matter of debate confined to learned journals and newspaper columns - it is a reality that is beginning to have a huge impact on our daily lives.

What would those Victorian masters of old have made of the fact that Chinese security men were on the streets of London this week, ordering our own police about and fighting running battles with British protesters while bewildered athletes carried the Olympic torch on its relay through the capital?

It was a brazen display of how confident China has become of its new place in the world, just as the British Government's failure to take a firm stand on Chinese abuses of human rights shows how craven we have become.

I would dearly love to bitchslap the Limey writer that ~~penned~~ keyboarded the above sentence... but the experience related above in the City by the Bay illustrates clearly that it is so.

It's a first

2008-04-08T21:26:00.006-04:00

Come on! This is as funny as it gets.

from the London Daily Mail

Two primary schools have withdrawn storybooks about same-sex relationships after objections from Muslim parents.

Up to 90 gathered at the schools to complain about the books which are aimed at pupils as young as five.

One story, titled King & King, is a fairytale about a prince who turns down three princesses before marrying one of their brothers. Another named And Tango Makes Three features two male penguins who fall in love at a New York zoo.

I guess what is somewhat bothering me is that no other alleged followers of The Book showed up and that this is written of as solely religious.

I believe that some persons may be born homosexual. I also believe that some are born hetero/homo that may be influenced by powerful pheromones at a critical and decisive time in their early pre and pubescent lives. These factors are beyond control of decision making parts of our minds--both are strictly biological.

Homosexuality is contraindicative of the continuance of society. That doesn't mean that it can't be countenanced--just that it must never be normative and must never be allowed as normative.

That the UK is ~~allowing~~ promoting five year olds to read books without understanding the social repercussions of homosexuality is shameful and counterproductive to society in general.

I need to say that the shameful series Girls Gone wild is less shameful that Society Gone wild.

Venture

2008-04-06T17:55:00.005-04:00

It's been said that every great movement eventually becomes a business. Then over time a racket.

Richard Branson, left, Elon Musk, the co-founder of Paypal, center, and Tony Blair, the former British prime minister

From the International Herald Tribune

What he wanted to know was whether his high-powered visitors, among them Larry Page of Google, Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia and Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, thought global warming threatened the planet.

Branson does - and so did most of his guests. So on this recent weekend on his private hideaway in the crystalline waters between the islands of Tortola and Anegada, they tried to figure out what to do about it and perhaps get richer in the process.

Some of them, like Page, carbon-consciously jet-pooled in from Silicon Valley, where the financiers who bankrolled the Web boom of the 1990s have started chasing the new "New New Thing": green power. In an era of $100-plus oil, venture capitalists like Vinod Khosla, another invitee, are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into young companies that cook up biofuels and harness the power of the sun.

I have nothing against these or most other rich people. Most earned their rewards honestly through endeavor and risk taking. I also have nothing against conservation and new means to meet our energy needs.

Over and over and--over again--science is revealing that the hysteria over Climate Change is unwarranted. There is compelling historical evidence that it is natural and not one, not one piece of empirical evidence that mankind has an effect on climate. The so-called evidence of warming is produced from computer models--none of which is immune to GIGO--and ground based thermometers.

Billions have already been spent on ethanol production and vehicles and now the scientific community is questioning whether it is any cleaner in the long run while we also see food prices spike.

So let the inventors and the innovators and the investors put their creativity and capital to work.

But in the meantime we have the petroleum we need to be self sufficient here in America and Canada and Mexico.

The men at the above meeting brainstormed ways to move forward. There will be paper trails to satisfy the SEC and all the other agencies. They have the money to do so and I wish them well.

But from where is the money coming that is funding all opposition to our drilling for our own oil and refining it?

seven

2008-04-06T13:28:00.006-04:00

I'm no expert on the subject of Chinese history but I recently read that China experienced something referred to as a 'soft' dark age for half a millenium that only ended about 40 years ago. A variety of reasons are given but the one that sticks out is (drum roll) bad decisions.

The very idea of societal collapse is about as hard for us to imagine as the idea of a religious war. Yet world history reveals that both have occurred and recurred. Plague, war, environmental destruction can all be factors beyond a single society's control but bad decisions--that all too human failing--may be the ubiquitous one.

It sounded like a good idea at the time...

The Social Security Act of 1935 and its subsequent offspring Medicare et al (1965) will be our bad decision within one more generation. It is unsustainable, and what's worse... everybody knows it.

from wiki

Societal collapse occurs in one of two ways:

1. Its adaptive capacity is reduced by a sharp increase in population or social complexity, leading to a destabilization of social institutions and eventual massive shifts in population and social dynamics.

Never mind the second way for now--it doesn't apply.

A sharp increase in population. Indeed, we're fairly concentrated on the increase by immigration but we, along with Europe and Japan, are facing something that is new to the world--a population in which the mean age continues to rise.

There is a concept in physics called Energy Returned on Energy Invested or ERoEI. Build a nuclear power plant or open a new oil field and the energy invested pales compared to the energy returned. But when the ratio approaches 1:1 then the game is not worth the candle, so to speak.

I think this is a useful concept in thinking about workers in society. There will come a point at which the workforce will fall to 50% with the remaining 50% as retirees, children, and the unemployable. The solution so far has been to seek masses of immigrants which simply poses other sets of problems.

This begs the question--what will the American worker do? The worker who with a decent wage was able to stride forward in life who now finds that his or her good-paying job cannot meet his or her expenses because of government confiscation for redistribution?

Perhaps it's now time to revisit some American history. Let us not forget that for all the talk of liberty and justice, of natural rights endowed by our Creator, our beloved revolution was sparked by one issue that united us all--keeping the majority of what we earn.

Hitting the Fan

2008-03-20T10:59:00.002-04:00

In the shadow of our perpetual election coverage and 24/7 news cycle the latest UBL message is not achieving the attention it clearly deserves.

So bent... there is no reckoning the moral equivalence of AQ attacks with the publication of editorial cartoons in defense of Free Speech.

bin Laden:

Although our tragedy in your killing of our women and children is a very great one, it paled when you went overboard in your unbelief and freed yourselves of the etiquettes of dispute and fighting and went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings.

This is the greater and more serious tragedy, and reckoning for it will be more severe.

Incendiary device

A detailed background and timeline can be found at wiki.

Kurt Westergaard has been in hiding--frequently changing safe houses. Two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan descent were arrested last month for plotting to assassinate him.

The good folks over at The Jawa Report believe this may be an old tape and that UBL may be dead.

I don't know if that makes a difference. Muslims in ~~Europe~~ general seem to have rather short fuses.

We mark five years in Iraq. Others mark the date, as well. Here is bin Laden's closing statements:

In closing, I tell you: if there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions.

And it is amazing and to make light of others that you talk about tolerance and peace at a time when your soldiers perpetrate murder even against the weak and oppressed in our countries.

Then came your publishing of these drawings, which came in the framework of a new Crusade in which the Pope of the Vatican has played a large, lengthy role.

And all of that is confirmation on your part of the continuation of the way as well as a testing of the Muslims in their religion: is the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) more beloved to them than themselves and their wealth?

The answer is what you see, not what you hear, and may our mothers be bereaved of us if we fail to help the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

And peace be upon he who follows the guidance.

2008-03-08T23:27:00.002-05:00

These are our sons.
Or maybe our younger brothers

They are expressing their grief for their murdered friends in Israel's Thursday school massacre.

It's a painfully private picture. I would not see myself so exposed. It would be death inside to see my own son suffering such. Yet I'm about to wail, privately.

The gunman was in custody in an Israeli lockup until two months ago. Some will posit that experience led him to murder helpless students in their classes.

Surely that will help ease the pain of the families of these eight slaughtered youths.

Useless Buggers, or

2008-03-08T20:58:00.003-05:00

Why the UN should be relocated to a domed island and cut off from the rest of the planet

In this latest debacle of the Climate Change^TM ~~folly~~ crisis we now learn that even if Mother Earth's oceans don't boil away into outer space we can blame good old CC for all sorts of human strife.

Ignoring all historic and paleontologic records of the fact that climate change is the constant, that even in the last two millenia there have been greater warmings and coolings and shiftings of rainfall, WE MUST DO SOMETHING AND RIGHT QUICK OR PEOPLE WILL SUFFER.

Which ignores another constant--people have been suffering, starving and migrating all throughout history.

From AFP

Climate change a new factor in global tensions: EU

March 7, 2008

The risks of climate change have turned from a threat to reality impacting the conflict in Darfur, migration from flood-prone Bangladesh and hopes for stability in the Middle East, according to a new EU report.

The EU's opinion of us

Africa is adjudged to be particularly vulnerable.

"Already today climate change is having a major impact on the conflict in and around Darfur," it states.

Oh... So it's not Arab enslavement and butchery. It's the climate, stupid.

The UN predicts there will be millions of "environmental migrants" by 2020 which may in turn "increase conflicts in transit and destination areas," says the report.

"transit and destination areas". Where the citizens of such areas are not exactly thrilled that they get to support people with limited employment skills, can't speak the native language and cannot help but to be a financial burden.

I get it now. Millions are fleeing corruption-rife regimes in which human life is devalued and where gainful employment is nigh on impossible because of the climate.

Newsflash

"CLIMATE" has another definition at least according to the Oxford dictionary:

• the prevailing trend of public opinion or of another aspect of public life : the current economic climate.

Let us take a moment and imagine a paradigm shift in world leadership away from the dictators of third world hellholes and hapless first world pseudo-intellectuals. Let us take a moment and focus on a climate change that actually could be accomplished by mankind--to change the climate of corruption that is the single common and inescapable factor for the third world.

tic

tic

tic

tic

Alas, no. It is much easier to focus on imaginary anthropomorphic global warming and how the population of the earth can be manipulated into believing the necessity of massive economic redistribution and acceptance of mass migrations than on changing leadership imperatives.

Eight

2008-03-04T01:13:00.003-05:00

The Emperor's new Clothes
Like the old tale--Obama is beginning to appear naked and wanting to those that care to view him objectively.

Unfortunately, there is a clear lack of objectivity among American voters today; it's as if they've taken off their glasses.

Obama's message of 'change' seems geared toward 18 to 27 year olds who have little experience of the real world and expectations of perpetual parental largesse.

We'll just have to wait and see what our brothers and sisters will decide.

al-Obama

2008-02-28T14:25:00.002-05:00

Take it up the *ss, America

Obama, who art in D.C. hallowed be thy name.

Thy prez be won, thy policies be done in Georgia as it is in Michigan.

Give us this day our daily healthcare and forgive our successes as we forgive the excesses of others.

Lead us into third world nations but deliver us from evil corporations.

For thine seeketh power and glory, election without end.

Amen.

Reprint #1

2008-02-23T21:46:00.002-05:00

Hey!

My 21st century journalist hero, Mark Steyn, does it all the time. When relevant, he reprints his articles from various posts.

This is not to compare myself to him. It's merely to present the fact that he has established a precedent for doing so.

My first experience at blogging was an invitation to post at RR. It was after a spirited commenting session at which my humor was appreciated by some other participants. In my experience, sometimes humor is the lubricant that allows others to follow into more serious aspects of what one is trying to communicate.

So this is a reposting of my second ever contribution at RR.
__________________________________________

PEACE QUEEN DISSED AT WALTER REED

IMAGINE JOAN BAEZ'S SURPRISE
at being uninvited to perform for the recuperating heroes at Walter Reed Hospital.

"I have always been an advocate for nonviolence and I have stood as firmly against the Iraq war as I did the Vietnam War 40 years ago" she wrote. "I realize now that I might have contributed to a better welcome home for those soldiers fresh from Vietnam. Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation to sing for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, four days before the concert, I was not 'approved' by the Army to take part. Strange irony."

Oh, strange irony, indeed.

Yes, Joan, your peace at any cost--even the cost of those victims otherwise undefended by those that lie on gurneys before you--doesn't go over that well with the men and women who understand the cost of freedom.

Read it all here:
___________________

I'm new here (thanks RT) and I'm not going to bore anyone with my CV--I hope you may come to know me by what I consider important to post and comment on.

The above story about performing for our injured and recuperating in a hospital does take me back to a time and place I've revisited many times in my mind but have been unable to express; not for lacking in words and the ability to generally string them together to form a cogent statement but because of the profound emotional response it still churns up from my gut.

At university in the early '70s I earned my living expenses by playing and singing in an area band. It was much easier and more lucrative to work weekend nights at various venues than many of my classmates that struggled to earn a buck waitering and doing other menial jobs, and it had some other perks for a young bucko. We did free performances from time to time if it could further the band's career and sometimes because it was the right thing to do.

My city had (still has), as most mid to large cities, a V.A. hospital. Trauma medicine then was very different than today (thank God). There was an adjunct facility several blocks from the main hospital. This facility warehoused the men that were broken beyond healing--the quadriplegics and double amputees--those never to be rehabilitated.

It was an era I think many here remember well.

A good friend of the band, a young man that lent his van and his willingness to hump the heavy equipment we used in those days, found himself warehoused in the above mentioned facility. We visited from time to time, and as Christmas approached (with the break that comes with it) we decided to give a free performance for the men stuck in such a place in the Season of Joy.

So we set our gear up in the small auditorium and commenced to rock and roll for young men our own age who would never get to experience the kinds of lives we knew were in store for us. Remember--we were used to playing for the young and carefree in the local nightclubs; how naive we were then!

Bobby was a huge Beatles fan--maybe that's what endeared us to him in the first place (as we covered a lot of their hit songs). So in the course of our set we played his favorite, "Baby You Can Drive My Car".

The hall wasn't dimmed like most performance venues. Perhaps adequate light was needed for those minding the men on their gurneys and wheelchairs.

So it wasn't difficult, at the end of that song, to see Bobby's arm beneath the sheet on his gurney struggling to lift an inch and falling, lift an inch and falling, in the loudest applause I ever heard.

¶ Posted by turn 5/02/2007 02:25:00 PM

Media complicity?

2008-02-20T22:03:00.002-05:00

Damned writers' strike is over but it'll be weeks before any intelligent shows return (with the exception of Jericho).

Thankful I have OnDemand service from a major cable provider. Watched the 1994 movie The Professional starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and a very young Natalie Portman tonight. At the end, The character Leon, played by Reno, detonates his belt of explosives to kill the thoroughly despicable nemesis, Stansfield, played by Oldman.

The movie was released June 26th, 1994.

From Wikipedia:

Although use of suicide attacks has occurred throughout history — with Samson's suicidal destruction of a Philistine temple (as recounted in the Book of Judges), the legendary Swiss hero Arnold von Winkelried, and the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II — its main notoriety as a specific kind of attack began in the 1980s and involved explosives deliberately carried to the target either on the person or in a civilian vehicle and delivered by surprise. Following the success of a 1983 truck bombing of two barracks buildings in Beirut that killed 300 and helped drive American and French Multinational Force troops from Lebanon, it spread to insurgent groups like the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, Palestinian groups like Hamas, and Al-Qaeda. Suicide bombings are now mostly associated with jihad, which involves holy war against non-Muslims.

During this time the number of suicide attacks has grown rapidly, from an average of 4.7/year in the 1980s to 180/year in the first half of the 00s,[1] and from 81 suicide attacks in 2001 to 460 in 2005.[2] Particularly hard-hit by attacks have been military and civilian targets in Sri Lanka during Sri Lankan Civil War, Israeli targets in Israel since 1994, and Iraqis since the US-led invasion of that country in 2003.

Throughout the movie Reno wears a woven skullcap.

Media complicity?

Well...he has a sense of humor

2008-02-17T12:35:00.002-05:00

Truman played piano, Clinton blew the sax
John McCain cannot sing, here we have the facts.

Gladio

2008-02-17T09:38:00.002-05:00

Italian word for sword.

A Western (read OSS/CIA) scheme for 'stay behind' covert operatives in the event of a Soviet takeover of Europe.

OK. Sounds good to me. The CCCP didn't exactly shine as an example of the progress of humanity what with killing an estimated 3⁷ people. (That's 30 million for the math challenged.)

The simple fact that the Soviets indeed did co-opt Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania shouldn't necessarily be alarming to...erm ...say Italy or France (both of which have had huge communist parties).

What is it with ideologies that devalue human life? What will they ultimately win? Why is it necessary to promote atheism (more accurately anti Judeo-Christian)?

I'm going to try to answer these questions in the context of the ongoing socialist and Islamic struggles for the world. The entire world.

Socialists cannot envision any authority larger than the state. The state must be foremost and people exist only for the benefit of the state. Islam is not much different except that it features an abstract deity--Allah--and demands allegence to the umma (community). The willingness to blow people to smithereens, even their co-religionists, well describes the value they place on life.

History teaches us that Jews and Christians have not always been the mostly tolerant people that we are today. We learned how to get along and not force others to our point of view. This is because we have an overriding belief that free will is bestowed by our Creator--His greatest gift of all.

Satan's (real or figurative) greatest goal is not to lead us to temptation. It is to end free will--the freedom to choose righteousness. Therefore, socialism and Islam are the dual faces of the despiser. So it is no great leap that to further their goal it is necessary to despise those that love freedom.

Here's an example from a useful tool named Peter Chamberlain in Gladio – Death Plan For Democracy

The use of proxy mercenary forces to terrorize nations into submitting to US political demands has been the cornerstone of American foreign policy since at least the era of the Berlin Wall, and it still is.

"Terrorism - the use of violence and threats to intimidate or to coerce, esp. for political purposes."

According to this definition from Dictionary.com, the government of the United States of America is the primary source of state terrorism in the world.

In Europe, the American government actively sought to eliminate political opposition to its fascist world plans through the use of open violent repression and covert terroristic "false flag" attacks upon popular patriotic resistance movements and their leaders. Using ultra right-wing homegrown fascists, in both Europe and America, secret paramilitary militias were created, called "Stay Behind" forces at the end of World War II. Since then, the CIA activated these groups to successfully quash anti-American liberal and social democratic popular resistance movements. The agency denies this, but the series of exposes of their network in Europe since 1990 have proven the professed denials to be false.

Terrorists? Us?

Virginia author John Stanton writes about a recent speech:

Putin recognizes that only The State has the authority to wield power to protect the national interest, play referee when financial markets convulse, and ensure that a nation’s infrastructure, its culture, its people and its security come first. After all, those are the critical components of The State.

Notice the capitalized 'The State'? Stanton gives reverence to 'The State' similar to others printing the word 'God'.

Socialism is alive and actively seeking the one-world government it has always demanded; for as long as there is a free nation anywhere, the hordes that yearn for freedom will leave their enslavement and flock to that place where they can breathe freedom.

Islam, as preached and practiced, offers the same but with five prayer breaks per day.

Pass me that gladio.

Another Plan

2008-02-10T14:28:00.000-05:00

Not the first time this has gone viral--and just maybe it's been reissued because of events this past week.

I have a plan to destroy America

Posted: July 11, 2006
1:00 am Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
Editor's note: In 2004, Richard D. Lamm, former governor of Colorado, addressed a conference sponsored by the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington. The following remarks are reprinted with his permission.

Richard. D. Lamm
I have a secret plan to destroy America. If you believe, as many do, that America is too smug, too white bread, too self-satisfied, too rich, let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. History shows that nations are more fragile than their citizens think. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and they all fall, and that "an autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide." Here is my plan:

1. We must first make America a bilingual-bicultural country. History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. One scholar, Seymour Martin Lipset, put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon ? all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with its Basques, Bretons and Corsicans.

Read parts 2-8 here before continuing to read this post.

McCain's star rose with the aid of the MSM as Ann Coulter ably points out in her speech 02.08.08 at the Non CPAC CPAC event. (Long--but well worth it.)

Fred Thompson, the clear favorite of the right-leaning side of the blogosphere, couldn't catch a break from the antique and broadcast media. Rudy threw it away on his Florida strategy and Romney, a man with fine credentials as a leader both in the private and public sector, has suspended (?) his active campaign.

I think after eight years of Democratic frustration and media outrage over the success of the Reagan years the unholy alliance of the DNC and MSM was fully formed. Clinton's 90 minute speech at the Democrat convention in 1988 was his introduction to the masses, and in Autumn '91 (long before the era we're in now--the era of >one year electioneering) he was already featured in Time and Newsweek.

Election 2000 pit GW against a divinity school drop-out that arrived in politics by virtue of his senator daddy, after never running a business and never getting a degree in anything more than partying '70s style. And yet that election had to be referred to the Supremes. The media loved it. It meant a lot of face time (time that's reckoned by the minute).

John (Lurch) Kerry came far closer to winning '04 than any contender ever could previously have done in wartime and a healthy economy.

Today it is McCain the Maverick, McCain the Conservative and we're being told by the old school to hold our noses and vote to avert sure disaster.

Now I come to the real point of this post. Will the Dems and MSM be smart enough to wait until after the Republican convention whereby McCain becomes the official candidate before unleashing all that they have and can spin--or will they start now?

This is not a rhetorical question. If the strategy to swiftboat McCain is premature, if the UA (unholy alliance) start to explore his weaknesses early then Romney may still have a shot at this.

Law

2008-02-08T08:05:00.000-05:00

From the beginning, law aka da rules, has been a means to keep peeps in line.

In the civilized West, the law has been constantly evolving and has progressed beyond religiosity. Western law is secular and rightfully so.

Some allowance can be made for local and/or religious custom. No one in the US could or would make a case out of the Amish punishment of shunning. Where is the harm?

But two entire sets of law within one nation, in which an individual may choose one or the other law on which to be judged?

'Sanity' is not a medical word--it is a legal term.

That the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, now advocates for Shari'a law in the UK is not simply insane. It is crazed.

Nine

2008-02-04T04:25:00.000-05:00

My sister's birthday is November 7 and mine is November 8. I figure Valentines Day was Lucky Day for dad.

Nine Months. The gestational period for human conception to birth. Children born on November 4th might well be conceived tonight. What world might they be born into?

Four candidates have emerged: Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain, and Governor Romney. Historically, governors have a superior record of winning than those coming from the senate. This is probably because the people recognize leadership of a state counts for more than longevity in a debate society.

Hillary Rodham Clinton will be a disaster. Universal healthcare is a popular but bankrupt idea. Everywhere it has been implemented it has failed miserably. And like any Clinton, she will follow what the people, as dictated by the MSM, say as the movement of the day.

Barak Hussein Obama is clueless. He is one great speech maker with zero experience on international affairs. He wears a suit well. So do I, and I'm more well qualified.

John McCain is wildly popular amongst right leaning folks that don't know about him. This RINO (Republican in Name Only) for Shamnesty and carbon offsets will be fisked by the Clinton machine between his nomination and the election. He has, as yet, unexposed baggage that transforms war hero status into something close to treason. And the Clintons have the details should he receive the nomination.

Romney, should he receive the nomination, is the guy that looks presidential, (as opposed to the guy that was, Thompson) is the one that may avert disaster. I doubt he'll lead us from the wilderness. But he'll lead us from further into it.

Nine months. More than 30 million Americans got since Roe v Wade.

Where's the outrage?

2008-02-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

While feminists and abortion 'rights' activists decry the notion that a 16 year old might choose to carry a baby to term as in the Oscar-nominated film Juno, they have had remarkably little to say about the abuse and murder of women and girls in Islam.

Sarah and Amina Said
Normal teen sisters that wanted to have a life and fit in so offended their father that he shot them and left them to die in the back of his taxi parked close enough to the airport so he could flee the country. They died but not prior to calling 911. More details at Fox News. This occurred January 1st, 2008, in Texas.

Where were the demonstrations? Fox and ABC had some coverage while NBC and CBS did not believe it to be newsworthy.

Aqsa Parvez

On December 10th, 2007, Aqsa Parvez was strangled by her father in a suburb of Toronto. She was 16 and wanted to move out of the family home. Her friends reported that she often showed up at school with bruises.

I would think that concerned women's groups would contact schools to be vigilant of girls with Muslim surnames--an interview, an exam for bruises by a female councillor if the girl is overly covered, etc.

Perhaps the most vile, most depraved event since September 11, 2001 occurred February 1st, 2008 in Baghdad when two women with Downes Syndrome were strapped with explosive vests and instructed to wander in crowded markets. AQI then detonated their human bombs to cause the deaths of an additional 71 persons.

The aftermath at al-Ghazi marketplace

A U.S. military spokesman conveyed the sense of outrage over the depravity of the masterminds.

"They have shown their true demonic character," said Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Stover.

This is the action of al-Qaeda in Iraq against native people going about their business.

The first attack was in the central al-Ghazl market, where numerous birds and animals were on sale.

The weekly bazaar had been bombed several times but recently had re-emerged as a popular place to shop and stroll as Baghdad security improved and a Friday ban on driving was lifted.

The woman carrying the bomb, hidden under her traditional black Islamic robe, was a familiar figure at the market where she sold cream.

At least 46 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Fire crews scooped up remains scattered among blood, clothing and pigeon carcasses.

About 20 minutes later, the second bomb blew up a bird market in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad, killing up to 22 people and wounding 65, according to police and hospital officials.

The women used in the attacks were unlikely to have been willing participants, said the chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brigadier-General Qassim al-Moussawi.

If ever there was a a doubt about using American forces to eradicate AQI, this is as clear as any can be.

These are the third and fourth uses of women as human bombs since October. Many are saying that this is an indication of desperation.

Perhaps... but it also indicates a mindset that can regard anyone with relative weakness (that is any inferior, as are all women in Islam) as tools.

I'm betting that Code Pink will not even mention this. Feminists have been eager for surrender before we ever started.

Their hypocrisy is unlimited.

Suicide by compassion

2008-01-21T14:33:00.000-05:00

We can all be poor.

Cleverness

2008-01-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

For a camera

Quote: Cleverness is not wisdom.
Author: Euripides BC 480-406, Greek Tragic Poet

Quote: A cul-de-sac to which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.
Author: John A. Lincoln

Quote: Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing.
Author: Henri Frederic Amiel 1821-1881, Swiss Philosopher, Poet, Critic

"To be clever enough to get all the money, one must be stupid enough to want it."
Chesterton, Gilbert K. ·

"How clever you are, my dear! You never mean a single word you say."
Wilde, Oscar

"Patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness."
Huxley, Thomas H.

"Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune."
Plato

"Civilization rests on a set of promises; if the promises are broken too often, the civilization dies, no matter how rich it may be, or how mechanically clever. Hope and faith depend on the promises; if hope and faith go, everything goes."
Agar, Herbert

"There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is limitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest."
Confucius ·

This last is the one that I learned at the feet of Yogi Bhajan in '71-'73, which he insisted was not to be referred to as wisdom, but rather as knowledge.

Paraphrasing for brevity and clarity--"wisdom being derived from thinking; knowledge derived from understanding experience".

Lastly, there is this--the very definition of the populist leader's power:

"There are three kinds of despots. There is the despot who tyrannizes over the body. There is the despot who tyrannizes over the soul. There is the despot who tyrannizes over the soul and body alike. The first is called the Prince. The second is called the Pope. The third is called the People."
Wilde, Oscar

Now, I'm not as pessimistic as Wilde over the influence of the Pope in the early 21st century. I'm quite sure it was quite different 100 years ago in Ireland.

Pure democracy can easily become an enemy of freedom. People may easily vote their own doom.

There used to be a saying widely regarded as being axiomatic:

People vote their pocketbooks.

That meant that they were looking out for their wallets.

Now it means having their grasping hands out or having their hands over their wallets.

Are you wanting more from the government or more for yourself?

Who do you trust?

Press three for

2008-01-17T15:32:00.000-05:00

HEADLINE
John Edwards is correct about the Two Americas theme.

But the rich, white guy that went to Narlins (that's New Orleans) to proclaim it simply doesn't have a clue. So...enough about him.

A similar division can be observed in Belgium where most of the power resides in the French-speaking Walloons in the south (roughly 32%) and the Dutch speaking Flemings (58%) in the north. The other 10% are bilingual in the Capitol Region around Brussels. Whereas there is a geographic and cultural divide between these groups, by far their single biggest separator is language.

America is fond of its separations, as well. We, too, have a North and South; but also an East, West, and Fly-over middle; rich and poor; White, Black, Hispanic, and I could go on and on. The contention I wish to hold forth here is the same as tiny Belgium. Language. Or to be more specific, those that care to speak the unofficial but accepted language and those that can't, don't, and most specifically those that won't--those that make a choice to speak something else.

As a representative of a publicly-traded major corporation which services every element of our populace except rural, I speak with everyone from new African immigrants to working class whites to professional people of all sorts.. My company had to outsource a Spanish call center for our Hispanic...ahem...guests. At what cost? Obviously we wouldn't make the expenditure if it didn't increase profits by serving a significant number of customers but it still boils down to the fact that it's an expense we eat because people won't learn this indisputable fact--English is the language of American business, and will remain so until we allow it to not be.

Think about that last bit: until we allow it to not be.

Immigrants from non-English speaking countries have always had challenges to assimilate--the first of which is to learn the language. Providing services in their native languages has never aided in assimilation; only hindered that goal.

Press one for English

Nobody reading this has not let out the exasperated sigh when hearing those words. We know that we're to spend extra time getting to the business for which we're making a call.

para toca dos por Español

At which point the English-challenged Spanish-speaker breathes a sigh of relief that he doesn't have to struggle in the gringo tongue.

Just for fun, imagine this:

Press two for other

Now the caller would hear a list of all languages. Spanish is number 70 in the 'S' list of all listed at Wiki. Oh, and the letter 'S' is the 19th in our alphabet.

Suddenly our Spanish-speaker would immerse himself in English or head for the border.

And now I've come to the real point of this post. This is what the top of this post would look like:

Press three fo' Ghetto

Heezeeline

Jiznohn Edwards be right `bout tha Two Americas thing.

But tha rizzay white mofo thizzay went ta Narlins ta proclaim it simply don't has no clue. So...'nough `bout him . Bow wow wow yippee yo yipee yay.

Call me a Racist Relic^© but the truth would bely that and I don't need to provide bona fides.

Educational variances aside, a portion of our urban society and a growing portion of suburban youth have made a choice regarding their cultural identity in rejecting the common tongue. This choice is reinforced to everyone's detriment by peer pressure to not be white. Let me lay this out--speaking English, the language of business, is not about being white. At least the people of India, Kenya, and Nigeria don't believe it to be. It's also the language of air traffic control worldwide.

Above all,

Language is an agreement.

I have good ears. I can recognize by tone and accent that Walter Williams or Thomas Sowell are black when I hear them on the radio. I have no problem with their 'blackness' and I'd be very surprised if they had a problem with my race. My problem, such as it is, is that I have to work much harder to accommodate people who equate the proper conjugation of the verb to be with their need to represent that they reject 'whiteness' by disagreeing with the use of the language they learned in school.

I reject the notion that, by habit or otherwise, people can't bring to bear what they learned through at least nine years of formal education when doing business.

So long as people refuse to learn or purposely reject our common language there will be the two Americas of those that choose to speak it and those that don't.

Darkness is falling

2008-01-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

If not here in the US (2008 will be the year that decides such), most certainly in the refineries of Western civilization--Greece, Rome and England.

Bright but fitful steps forward followed by periods of dark are the history which led Europe and the Anglosphere to a point where freedom and the inherent value of individual rights were the hallmark of what we most value and share. We have also shared this with others that are willing--India comes to mind.

Sixty years of unprecedented peace (in our homelands) and prosperity have softened us--even lulled whole nations into the idea that soft collectivism is superior to self sufficiency--and so the very notion of borders and national sovereignty are disappearing. This is the established fact of the European Union and the wink and a nod fact of our borders. The plans of the internationalists have reached fruition.

Tens of thousands of unelected and mostly unaccountable bureaucrats--an entire class of Brahmins--now administer Europe. First individuals ceded their rights and now entire nations. As their prosperity grew and family size reduced, with five week vacations and nothing for which to struggle, the average European has submitted to nothing less than social castration.

All the while insidious plans have been made to invade and subdue. And Europe, under the oppressive mantle of enforced multiculturalism, proceeds with eyes wide open in its cultural suicide.

This week, Madrid will host a forum with the lofty title of The Alliance of Civilizations. The English version of the schedule can be read in .pdf format here. Two of the planned events are of particular note:

Working Session 4: Innovative Uses of Mass Media to
Promote Cross-Cultural Understanding
This session will explore new media approaches to addressing the
challenge of building bridges across cultures and religions. The session will focus on identifying possibilities and innovations underway in mass media’s contribution to cross-cultural understanding, and mechanisms by which such media can be broadly shared and distributed.
Participants: Senior media executives, publishers, producers and
editors.

...

Working Session 7 - Rapid Response Media Mechanism
The aim of this session will be to discuss the development of a Rapid Response Media Mechanism to provide a platform for voices that can help reduce tensions in times of cross-cultural crises. To bring this initiative to life, the Alliance intends to develop a broad network of personalities and experts who are strongly involved in cross-cultural issues and can be mobilized as soon as a crisis emerges. Working closely with media editors and producers, the Alliance will seek to maximize the impact of their perspectives on public opinion with a view to help framing the debate in less polarizing terms.
Participants: Editors and producers of media outlets from
diverse regions, representatives of public relations firms,
prominent personalities and experts interested in contributing
media content during times of heightened cross-cultural tensions.

This is most assuredly not about a resurgence of the Irish troubles. This is about smoothing the way for the conquest of Europe by Islam and most definitely anticipating that there will be...pockets of resistance.

The taqqiya money quote has to be

While religious traditions have often historically functioned as a moral source for order, they have also sometimes lead [sik] to the misguided perception that religion itself is the root cause of intercultural conflict.

If it is stated enough and you're under penalty of law to disagree then you must surely accept that Islam is the Religion of Peace.

Today in the Telegraph:

...

A priest ministering in the Manchester district of Rusholme said he knew of "dozens of cases" in which Muslim converts to Christianity had been attacked.

Another church leader said that Asian Christians in Leicester feared being identified when leaving churches.

"They are scared of being stopped and beaten up if they are found carrying Bibles," he said.

None of the church leaders we spoke to wished to be identified for fear of retaliation, but Don Horrocks, of the Evangelical Alliance, said: "It's increasingly difficult for non-Muslims to live in areas of high Muslim density, especially if they are practising Christians."

Some commentators fear that the aim of Islamist groups such as Tablighi Jamaat, Hizb-ut-Tahir and the Deobandi sect is to drive non-Muslims out of areas such as Dewsbury, in West Yorkshire, and Oldham along with neighbourhoods in Luton, Leicester, Birmingham and Leyton, in east London.

The ultra-conservative Deobandi movement, which produced the Taliban in Afghanistan and some of whose British followers preach hatred of Christians, Hindus and Jews, is thought to be in control of almost half of Britain's 1,350 mosques, reports claim.

...

However, a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said that research showed that 81 per cent of people say that they feel that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local areas.

I suspect this spokeman's boss will be on a flight to Madrid tomorrow.

The UK has hate crimes law but its application may be off (as in "that milk has gone off"). From the government site:

Facts & figures
Nationally, in 2006-07, police reported 5,619 hate crimes in which someone was injured, 4,350 hate crimes without injury, and 28,485 cases of racially or religiously motivated harassment.
There were also 3,565 cases of criminal damage related to hate crimes.
The typical hate offender is a young white male (most homophobic offenders are aged 16-20, and most race hate offenders under 30).
The majority of hate crimes happen near to the victim's home while they are going about their daily business, and an offence is most likely to be committed between 3pm and midnight.
Most hate criminals live in the same neighbourhood as their victims.
(source Crime in England and Wales 2006-07)

Maybe there's a problem with the reports.

And now we know that if someone stands up to fight back, he will not only be targeted by the law but by a well prepared media.

The Professional Standard

2008-01-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

Few enlisted men (or draftees) have ever thought that, as a class, officers were uniformly brilliant.

This is apparently still true for the desk commanders in the five-sided monstrosity where we keep them from really mucking things up on the pointy side of the fight.

This is not to say that no one useful sits at a desk--it's just to state clearly and beyond any doubt that some decision makers better pull their heads from their rectal cavities or retire and get out of the way of grownups.

We need people like Stephen Coughlin where they can do the most good, not tossed on the ash heap by the PC in Pentagon power.

Fired For the Truth
By Andrew G. Bostom
FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, January 10, 2008

Bill Gertz, Washington Times national security columnist, reports (1/4/08) that the Pentagon has fired Stephen Coughlin, its most knowledgeable specialist on Islamic Law, and jihad terrorism. As Gertz observed aptly, the Pentagon thus ended the career of its most effective analyst attempting to prepare the military to wage ideological war against jihadism.

This past September, 2007, I lectured with Mr. Coughlin, a US Army Reserves Major, at The Naval War College, and witnessed his brilliant, tour de force presentation which elucidated the reliance of contemporary jihadism on Islamic Law. Coughlin demonstrated meticulously that “Jihad fi Sabil Allah”—“Jihad in the cause of Allah,” is the animating principle which underlies the threat of global jihad terrorism, and how this understanding should form the basis for rational, effective threat development assessment, and war planning.

That Coughlin’s analyses would even be considered “controversial,” or worse still lead eventually to his firing—perhaps, as Gertz strongly suggests, at the behest of a Muslim aide, Hesham Islam, within the office of Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England—is pathognomonic of the intellectual and moral rot plaguing our efforts to combat global jihadism.

There is no evidence that Mr. Islam—distinctly unlike Mr. Coughlin—has any specific expertise on the theory or historical practice of jihad; indeed Gordon England’s Egyptian Muslim aide is touted for his public relations skills—a sort of English-speaking Muslim Dragoman to the global Islamic umma. According to Deputy Secretary England,
Hesham [Islam] helps me understand people’s different perspectives and how they see things. He has a cultural background that’s very helpful, but he also works at it very hard to get a better understanding of people and how they think.
Coughlin’s reasoned conclusions simply update and complement, exquisitely, what serious scholars of jihad have long argued about revivalist movements throughout Islamic history. For example, forty years ago (in 1967), John Ralph Willis observed regarding the 19th century jihadist movements in West Africa, specifically, and such historical movements in general,
The jihad…is essentially an instrument of revival, employed for the purpose of extending the frontiers of Islam and leading the faithful back to roots. And it is not insignificant that the faithful, being in essence conservative, have been as susceptible to the summons of revivalists as they have been insensitive to the activity of reformists.
Stephen Coughlin’s modern predicament is eerily similar to what befell another courageous, unabashed American patriot, William Eaton, two hundred years ago, during our nation’s first encounter with jihad terrorism. “Victory in Tripoli,” Joshua London's compelling narrative of America’s initial conflict with jihadists—the Barbary wars—highlights, appositely, William Eaton’s experiences. Eaton's triumphs and travails during his tenure as consul to Tunis (1799-1803), and later U.S. naval agent to the Barbary states, mirrored those of the young American nation he served.

Born on February 23, 1764 in Woodstock, Connecticut, the highly intelligent and strong-willed Eaton, when 16 years old, ran away from home, subsequently lying about his age to join Washington's Continental Army. He rose to the rank of sergeant in the Continental Army, which he served until 1783. Eaton graduated Dartmouth in 1790, and in 1791 was chosen clerk of the Massachusetts House of Delegates, where he remained until 1797, while he also served (beginning in 1792) the U.S. Army as both a fighter and negotiator during the frontier campaigns against the American Indians. Later, Eaton assisted then Secretary of War Timothy Pickering's espionage/treason investigations. When Pickering became Secretary of State, he chose Eaton to serve as U.S. consul to Tunis, initially under President John Adams.

Eaton’s consular journal recorded these brutally honest and comical impressions of his first diplomatic encounter (on February 22, 1799) with Dey Bobba Mustafa of Algiers, which would make the craven State Department mandarins of today, wince:
…we took off our shoes and entering the cave (for so it seemed), with small apertures of light with iron gates, we were shown to a huge, shaggy beast, sitting on his rump upon a low bench covered with a cushion of embroidered velvet, with his hind legs gathered up like a tailor, or a bear. On our approach to him, he reached out his forepaw as if to receive something to eat. Our guide exclaimed, “Kiss the Dey’s hand!” The consul general bowed very elegantly, and kissed it, and we followed his example in succession. The animal seemed at that moment to be in a harmless mode; he grinned several times, but made very little noise. Having performed this ceremony, and standing a few moments in silent agony, we had leave to take our shoes and other property, and leave the den without any other injury than the humility of being obliged in this involuntary manner, to violate the second commandment of God and offend common decency. Can any man believe that this elevated brute has seven kings of Europe, two republics, and a continent tributary to him when his whole naval force is not equal to two line-of-battle ships? It is so.
Despite such inauspicious beginnings, and the institutionalized Barbary corruption Eaton found so repugnant to his person, and nation, his negotiations eventually secured U.S. commercial interests (at least a temporary) immunity from the attacks of Tunisian corsairs.

Eaton agonized over the gulf between the enormous potential and depressing reality of the Barbary states. He admired the Mediterranean coast of Tunis, “…naturally luxuriant and beautiful beyond description…I know not why it might not vie with the opposite continent in every thing useful, rich, and elegant”, yet despaired of the stultifying religio-political institutions which arrested the regions progress. Ultimately, Eaton concluded that Islam itself, certainly as practiced in Barbary, was the source of this backwardness:
Considered as a nation, they are deplorably wretched, because they have no property in the soil to inspire an ambition to cultivate it. They are abject slaves to the despotism of their government, and they are humiliated by tyranny, the worst of all tyrannies, the despotism of priestcraft. They live in more solemn fear of the frowns of a bigot who has been dead and rotten above a thousand years, than of the living despot whose frown would cost them their lives…The ignorance, superstitious tradition and civil and religious tyranny, which depress the human mind here, exclude improvement of every kind…
Appointed Naval Agent for the Barbary Regencies in 1804, Eaton then organized and led an expedition to unseat the predatory Barbary ruler Yusuf Qaramanli. Eaton’s army arrived outside Derna. on April 25, 1805. When the bey of Derna refused his generous ultimatum, at 2 p.m. April 28, Eaton led a successful attack on the city, supported by U.S. naval gunfire. During the fighting Eaton—who had led his outnumbered force in a gallant bayonet charge—was wounded in the left wrist. As London recounts:
He simply wrapped his arm in a makeshift bandage and sling, grabbed a pistol with his right hand, and continued to charge ahead. With the American Marines in the lead, Eaton’s forces stormed the ramparts and advanced straight to the harbor.
Subsequent diplomatic efforts stalled the expedition. Tobias Lear, the Consul General, reached an accomodation with Yusuf Qaramanli, which included ransom money for all American prisoners, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Derna, and the betrayal of Eaton’s key Arab ally, Ahmad Qaramanli. Eaton commented upon this treaty with predictable bitterness in a letter to Commodore John Rodgers:
Could I have apprehended this result of my exertions, certainly no consideration would have prevailed on me to have taken an agency in a tragedy so manifestly fraught with intrigue, so wounding to human feelings, and, as I must view it, so degrading to our national honor.
Although the Senate ratified the Tripoli treaty in April 1806 by a vote of 21 to 8, as London notes,
Jefferson declared ‘victory,’ but the ‘peace’ proved rather political…The Federalists did not manage to derail the treaty, but they did embarrass and, at junctures, discredit President Thomas Jefferson and forever tarnish the career of Tobias Lear.
Just over five years later, in Brimfield, Massachusetts, June 1, 1811, an alcoholic forty-seven year old William Eaton died in near anonymity.

The signing of the Treaty of Ghent (Christmas eve, 1814)—subsequently ratified in the U.S. (February, 1815)—ended the so-called War of 1812 with Great Britain, and allowed President James Madison to address the problem of renewed Barbary jihad terrorism. Shortly afterward, President Madison commissioned two naval squadrons led by Commodores William Bainbridge and Stephen Decatur, and dispatched them to the Barbary States in May, 1815. By June/July 1815 the ably commanded U.S. naval forces had dealt their Barbary jihadist adversaries a quick series of crushing defeats. These U.S. victories were solidified by what London terms “unprecedented” treaty agreements forced upon the Barbary states, which “..made practically no concessions and stood very firm on every point”—the abolition of all tribute; release of all American prisoners currently held, and acknowledgement that no future American prisoners of war could be enslaved; the payment of indemnities; and the restoration of American properties held by the dey.

Joshua London concludes his engrossing, carefully researched account of the Barbary wars with this insightful analysis:
During the war with Tripoli, the United States began to test William Eaton’s hypothesis that fighting back and protecting the national honor and national interest with force was the best way to end Barbary piracy. Just at the moment of triumph, however, President Thomas Jefferson wavered and settled on the side of expediency. Jefferson’s lack of resolve left American interests unguarded, and once again American maritime trade felt the Barbary terror. By 1816, however, the United States finally provided that William Eaton was right. This success ignited the imagination of the Old World powers to rise up against the Barbary pirates.
Thirty years earlier, in 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, then serving as American ambassadors to France and Britain, respectively, met in London with the Tripolitan Ambassador to Britain, Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja. These future American presidents were attempting to negotiate a peace treaty which would spare the United States the ravages of jihad piracy—murder, enslavement (with ransoming for redemption), and expropriation of valuable commercial assets—emanating from the Barbary states (modern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya). During their discussions, they questioned Ambassador Adja as to the source of the unprovoked animus directed at the nascent United States republic. Jefferson and Adams, in their subsequent report to the Continental Congress, recorded the Tripolitan Ambassador’s justification:
… that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.
Stephen Coughlin understands and enunciates what was stated openly to then Ambassadors John Adams and Thomas Jefferson—and what they apparently understood—by the Tripolitan Ambassador Adja. During his September. 2007 presentation which I witnessed at The US Naval War College, Coughlin updated this timeless Islamic formulation into its modern context:
If the Enemy in the War on Terror (WOT) states that he fights jihad in furtherance of Islamic causes that includes the imposition of Shari’a law and the re-establishment of the Caliphate; And Islamic law on jihad exists and is available in English; Then Professionals with WOT responsibilities have an affirmative, personal, professional duty to know the enemy that includes ALL the knowable facts associated with the law of jihad.
And Coughlin, a well-trained lawyer, further argued that such understanding by our military leaders is obligatory if they are to uphold their essential commission:
This is the Professional Standard.
Stephen Coughlin has been fired for reminding his peers of this basic obligation.

Two hundred years after William Eaton’s bitter, tragic experiences, and ultimate posthumous vindication, let us fervently hope that our contemporary military and political elites muster the intellectual courage to heed Major Stephen Coughlin’s advice in a much more timely, and responsible manner.

Now why in tarnation, in a era where politicians need to stay out of military decision making, is an aide to a foreign power (albeit an ally) political appointee able to influence the separation of a grown up from a position he earned and for which he was eminently qualified?

I would like to have the whole story but I already know the bottom line--Muslims do not want us to understand what their goal is.

Sunday morning gleanings

2008-01-06T10:14:00.000-05:00

01.06.08

Politics

The populist meme seems to be important to many in the early stages of this political year. Most championed by John Edwards' Two Americas^TM; Huckabee's Iowa victory can also be credited to class envy (soon to be warfare).

Economist Stephen Rose, defining the middle class as households with annual incomes between $30,000 and $100,000, says a smaller percentage of Americans are in that category than in 1979--because the percentage of Americans earning more than $100,000 has doubled from 12 to 24, while the percentage earning less than $30,000 is unchanged. "So," Rose says, "the entire 'decline' of the middle class came from people moving up the income ladder."

This is from George Will's editorial today here.

I'm just green with envy that so many of my fellow Americans are doing well (above $100K per year) and I'm equally maddened that 30% are doing poorly (comparatively). We need equality... we need social justice... we need...

Oh, crap... I'm not 16 years old anymore. Jesus said that the poor would always be with us. Lenin said we should all embrace our poverty. The Clintons and Larry Flint believe we should all embrace our moral poverty.

I'm not shocked or outraged at the entitlement crowd. Neither am I sympathetic. My feelings towards them are more akin to embarrassment. For them.

Culture (the future of)

I hear the train a-comin'

Europe started 2008 with a raft of new laws against smoking, air pollution and even junk food adverts, but some grumbled that the New Year's resolutions from the "nanny state" cramped their style.

This is in store for us in less than five years.

The Jihad

Overheard on American campuses:

It's like all about the Palestinians being kicked off their land and the Jooos taking it and making like a Zionist Entity and really like mistreating the Arabs and killing their kids and I even heard somewhere like that the Jooos drink actually drink babies' blood when they're not like making some kind of dumpling called a mah jong with babies' blood and I just like know in my heart that everything will be OK when there's like social justice over there...

All right, all right, you caught me exaggerating. I know most college kids can't like express themselves that clearly ;>)

Too damn many people believe that it is an Arab/Israeli problem when the truth is that the problem for the Arabs is that the Israelis won't roll over for them. Fourteen million Jews and ~1.4 billion Muslims--talk about David and Goliath.

The people of Europe are bloody well finding out what it feels like to be an Israeli. Watch this from a Swede who can't even take credit for it by name because of his country's hate speech laws.

And in Spain.

REMEMBER AS YOU READ -- THIS WAS IN A SPANISH PAPER Date: Tue, 22 May
2007 14:30:20 -0500

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ

By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a
terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz We killed six million Jews and
replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture,
thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen,
because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.

The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade,

and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.

And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to
ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million

Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance,

crime and poverty, due to an un willingness to work and support their families with pride.

They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities
into the third world, drowning in filth and crime

Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government,

they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for
fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for
backwardness and superstition

We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their
talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined
clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people
consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children
and theirs.

What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.

To the east of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan lies Kashmir and India where Muslims have killed countless Hindus.

January 03, 2008
The Other Jihad: Islam's War on the Hindus
By Janet Levy

Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal catastrophically may fall into the hands of jihadists. But the South Asian version of jihad is a less familiar but no less fearsome variant of the war directed at the Great Satan America, and the Little Satan, Israel.

At one billion people, Hindus, the majority of whom live in the Indian sub-continent, constitute the third largest religion in the world after two billion Christians and 1.5 billion Muslims. Yet, their numbers have not spared Hindus from ongoing, systematic Muslim attacks in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Indeed, the jihad against India's non-Muslims has accelerated within the last few decades. The Indian government and international human rights organizations have done little to address human rights violations and have stood idle despite constant attacks on Hindus. Meanwhile, the media rarely mentions the desecration of Hindu religious sites and the constant intimidation of Hindus.

Further east:

Thailand Islamic Insurgency

A wave of attacks in southern Thailand forced the government to stop blaming "bandits" and acknowledge, for the first time in decades, that separatist militants were operating in the country. On 05 January 2004 Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared martial law in most of the affected region, the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura authorised Fourth Army Region commander Lt-General Phongsak Aekbansingha to place six districts in Narathiwat, three districts in Yala and four districts in Pattani under martial law. This followed a deadly arms raid and arson attack which re-ignited security concerns in the majority Muslim provinces of Southern Thailand.

Latin America

Indeed, with Islamic "charities" under increasing international pressure and scrutiny to cut ties with terrorists, al-Qaida and other allied organizations are expanding operations throughout Latin America, establishing both legitimate and criminal enterprises to fund future operations.

According to U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro, almost every extremist terror group is now represented in Latin America.

...

Hezbollah and the terrorist Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) are operating in the tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The suspected activities of these groups include counterfeiting U.S. currency and drug smuggling, with the area in which they function described as a "haven for Islamic extremists" by the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson, in testimony before the House International Relations Committee.

...

More recently, al-Qaida has become deeply involved in cocaine and heroine trafficking, arms and uranium smuggling, counterfeiting CDs and DVDs and money-laundering activities in the tri-border region of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The tri-border region is known as the heart of Islamic activity in Latin America.

...

The terrorists even get some official support in Latin America, according to sources. As WorldNetDaily reported, a Venezuelan military defector claims President Hugo Chavez developed ties to terrorist groups such as al-Qaida – even providing it with $1 million in cash after Sept. 11, 2001.

My question is:

Are the 'slammis going to act out big time this year or play it cool and hope we elect weak leadership?

What do you think?

Humor in the Jihad War

2008-01-05T07:59:00.000-05:00

Jeff Dunham with Achmed the Dead Terrorist

"A...C...Phlegm ..."

Funny, creative, and to the point. Achmed blew himself up and Jeff Dunham deserves proper comedic credit for creating (and voicing) a character worthy of hilarious derision.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Brooklyn-born Joseph Cohen (like Adam Ghadan) converts to Islam and renames himself Yusuf [sp] al Khaddam and is apparently motivated by Dunham's 'Achmed' routine to reply in kind with what he must (in his demented fashion) imagine as a spirited rejoinder.

Try as I might, I couldn't find Yusef's original video. This, from My Pet Jawa is edited with commentary. The commentary is much more pithy than the original, I'm sure.

Version featuring Yusuf and Justin

Comedy done well by a pro always looks easy. It's not. And people that aren't really prepared to present it usually fall on their asses.

One Friday night in January, 1989, after a couple nights (in which we killed) at a club in Georgia, the management of that club booked a young Kathy Griffin wannabe to open for my partner and me. She was bombing (just as devastating as Achmed), and, as it was Georgia, decided to go with the LCD (lowest common denominator) and resorted to the tried and true 'dick' jokes.

Sitting in the middle distance and not having a clue who I was, she directed the spot around to the well-dressed moi, and asked me, "Do you remember your first blow job?"

I hemmed and hawed. Not really appropriate to answer with the QoS next to me.

So then she asked, "How did it taste?"

She received a few laughs.

But I'll never forget the look on her face--the absolute terror of what was to come--when she saw me take the stage as the headliner.

I'm a pro and, yes, I know what it is to bomb. I felt no burning need to excoriate her.

I just did it anyway.

"Be careful who you step on on your way up..."

Less humor here

and

Atheist vs Yusuf

TEN

2008-01-04T05:22:00.000-05:00

Months to Ground Zero

D

Obama
Edwards
Clinton

R

Huckabee
Romney
Thompson
McCain

The Iowa Caucuses have never been the be all/end all of presidential election politics but they have served to ring the death knell to the weaker contenders.

Less important are those that drop out for now the great game begins in earnest. We can well expect that the major players will have somewhat different showings in New Hampshire primaries four days hence.

Lazy^TM candidate Fred Thompson edged out John McCain for third place on the Republican side although statistically tied at 13 %. He's still viable. My prediction for NH is Romney, McCain, Giuliani, Thompson with Huckabee virtually falling off the radar.

Whadaya call the guy that hangs out wit' musicians?

The bass player. (rim shot)

What sends an audience streaming to the exits?

A bass solo.

So...

The good news: Hillary comes in behind Obama and Edwards; Fred is not out of it.

Lordy! This isn't the 'left' against the 'right'--it's the grownups against ~~the~~... those that refuse to grow up.

Whittle in the New Year

2008-01-03T16:07:00.000-05:00

Media in frenzy over Iowa Caucuses

(yawn)

Scotland Yard to investigate Bhutto assassination
(ho hum)

Wait...

WAIT...

WAIT

OMG!!!

A new essay from Bill Whittle.

FORTY SECOND BOYD AND THE BIG PICTURE (Part 1)

There are a few writers of which I am an unabashed fan.

Mark Steyn is one. He's prolific, insightful, sometimes ironic and often hilarious. His roots are Belgian, he was educated in the UK (his humor strikes me as being of the English variety) and he became a naturalized US citizen because he loves America. Steyn's scope and interests are far-ranging--from politics to culture--and his keen insights are of high value. Here is his home page from which you can link to his many publishers.

This is not the first time Bill Whittle has been featured here (see Diversidarity). For any that think Americans are intellectual lightweights I recommend his musings highly. Plainly put, he's a different kind of thinker, both in originality and his ability to synthesize and present new and intriguing ideas. You'll never regret the downhill run of a Bill Whittle essay.

Clarity

2008-01-01T11:24:00.000-05:00

It seems to be against the very nature of Americans to grasp the concept of a religious war; after all, we've never been in one. We are raised to be tolerant, to accept that religion is just a part of our lives not to be imposed on others. We believe that a person whose religion is the totality of their life is a fanatic--and thus must be in a minority because what society could exist that is solely composed of fanatics?

The truth is, of course, that there is no society anywhere that is solely composed of fanatics. The truth is also that there are fanatics present in any society.

The Third Reich is an example of the death and destruction that can ensue when fanatics are running the show. What many people don't know about are the religious tones behind the Nazis. Elements were borrowed from the Old Religion--what we remember today as Norse mythology--and synthesized into a rationale that supported the party and its goals. Today's European and American Neo-nazis use the same symbols.

In the last quarter of the 20th Century we saw the rise of Pol Pot. In four short years between 750,000 and 1.7 million were dead due to his rule. His particular vision of communism may also be viewed through a lens of religiosity. He advocated the complete destruction of society and a forced rebirth at Year Zero. He attended a Catholic school in Phnom Penh where he surely learned of the Biblical Flood.

After over fourteen years in exile Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran. He and the mullahs instigated the revolution creating the Islamic Republic, killing thousands along the way.

Backing up a little to the 1960s, the KGB and Soviets find willing partners with those who would become known as Palestinians to counter the only friend of the US in the region, Israel. (At the same time, America enjoyed a positive relationship with Iran so the Soviets threw in with Iraq.) After the 1972 Munich Olympics almost everyone knew of Black September, the terror group responsible for murdering Israeli athletes.

The Muslim Brotherhood, organized in Egypt after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, began to spread to other Muslim countries. From its inception in 1928, the credo of the MB is

Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.

A prominent member by the name of Sayyid Qutb traveled the US between 1948 and 1950. He was overwhelmed by what he saw as the godlessness of post-war American society and he published his 'take' on the US and the West to millions of readers. He has been described as "the man whose ideas would shape al Qaeda".

His ideas shaped many religious Sunnis in The Saudi Kingdom. On 20 November 1979 (early days of the revolution and hostage crisis in Iran) 200 armed men seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca claiming that the rulers of the Kingdom did not possess the purity of faith (read compliance to Sharia) to continue to rule. This event prompted the House of Saud to divest itself of the Islamists and fund Madrassas elsewhere (primarily Pakistan).

A little over a month after the siege of the Grand Mosque, on Christmas Eve, 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan with a 100,000 man army. Earlier that same year Jimmy Carter began funding the Mujahideen through the Pakistani version of our CIA--the ISI. (The ISI is riddled with Islamists and may be behind assassinations and attempts at assassination.) Foreign fighters (just as in modern Iraq) showed up to fight the Soviets--kill the infidels--and bin Laden was among them. Ayman Zawahiri met Usama bin Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan while UBL was running a base for mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda was formed in the early 1990s and the Taliban came to power in 1996 controlling 95% of Afghanistan with an iron fisted application of Sharia.

Islam means submission and Sharia means somewhat more than what we understand as law--it is to live in strict accordance to law that is inextricable to Islam. One cannot be an observant Muslim and not adhere to Sharia.

Most Muslims are not fanatics but there is something inherent in Islam that seems to generate more fanaticism than one can find amongst any other group. And although only a small percentage find the will to carry out a mission, it is telling that Muslims worldwide took to celebrating in the streets after the September 11 attacks. The celebratory funeral parades for suicide bombers indicate the one fact you must understand to come to grips with this religious war:

No kuffir (infidel) life has value unless it can somehow be used to extend the dar al Islam (the world if Islam). That which is not in the world of Islam is in the dar al Harb (the world of war).

Most Muslims are content to wait, supporting 'charities' that fund the Jihad in other places with the belief that eventually the world will be of one faith--the one true faith. The charitable giving (Zakah) is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam.

This is not unique to Islam. From the late 1960s to the early 1990s millions of dollars were funneled to the IRA from Irish-Americans.

So there it is. It truly is a religious war waged against all that do not wish to submit.

There are fourteen centuries of history. Do you believe (as I do) that history remains the best predictor of the future?

We have the statements of their leaders. Do you not believe they mean what they say?

Like it our not; it does no good to deny the kind of war in which we find ourselves.

Accept it. Understand it. Do your best to help others come to grips with it. Our civilization depends on it.

Fred's Message

2008-01-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

This is not a sound bite.

It's not a bit of face time.

Listen carefully. Unlike all others since Reagan this truly is WYSIWYG.

Now share this.

Everyone you know at your churches.

Everyone you know that pays taxes.

Everyone you know that has a loved one in uniform.

Pass this on.

A non-endorsement clause

2007-12-30T11:46:00.000-05:00

Victor Davis Hanson [Wiki] is one of the clearest thinkers and writers of our time.

He has a contractual obligation to decline giving his endorsement for a candidate.

On Christmas night, at an hour in which most of us were enjoying a final nog, he penned (literary license) an essay regarding the presidential candidates.

The first paragraph:

What we are looking for?

A candidate who would not talk about reducing deficits, but promise instead surpluses to such a degree to buy down the national debt and so leave us less vulnerable to the Middle East, Chinese, Japanese, or European possession of trillions abroad; who would give someone some credit for taking out the two worse regimes in the Middle East and avoiding a reoccurrence of 9/11; who would state a simple principle that for every new spending initiative offered, a cut elsewhere or new tax increase would be promised to ensure no additional draw on the treasury; who would close the border to illegal immigration now, and explain that we can then bicker over other issues while the pool of illegal residents insidiously shrinks due to voluntary repatriation, intermarriage, deportations of criminals, and earned citizenship; who could craft some sort of bargain to drill oil offshore and in Alaska, build more refineries and nuclear power plants, and still toughen conservation standards and invest in alternate energy—and tell us exactly why and how and when we will be less dependent on foreign oil; and who could explain to us and the world abroad exactly how the US presence overseas leads to global peace and security, and do that both in daily impromptu and formal fashion.

(It's interesting to note that the doctor omits issues for many social conservatives--third rail items like Social Security, abortion, alternative families, etc. Given the passion of some single issues voters, I think Dr. Hanson left these for another day in order to focus on what all conservatives may agree on. Moreover, the issue of abortion and gay marriage should be returned to States' legislatures and SS can only be fixed by a willing Congress--issues that are not the primary purview of a president.)

He then goes on to analyze the various candidates by their statements and actions, Democrats first followed by Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, McCain, and finally, Fred Thompson.

Methinks he's parsed his words most carefully regarding Thompson. Note the quasi-endorsement for VP:

Thompson. I never quite understood why the press charged someone 65/6, with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in remission, as “lazy.” He is not. The wonder is not that he is not as vigorous as Romney but that he is out on such a breakneck campaign at all. He seems the ideal Vice President candidate. That he could not meet the impossible pre-candidacy hype does not mean he won’t bounce back and run a strong second or third in the primaries.

It's my fervent wish that Dr. Hanson not receive a call from the legal department at NRO.

Tom Tancredo dropped out of the race on 20 December and has thrown his support behind Romney. When the inevitable time arrives that Duncan Hunter resigns the race he will throw his considerable weight behind Romney or Thompson--I can't see him endorsing Huckabee, McCain or Giuliani. So a lot will depend on the outcomes of the first few primaries.

A lot of citizens of modest means may dig deep into their pockets to fund Thompson and there are a lot of Red State folks that simply can't back a Northeastern politician.

Of course, having the stones to tell our left leaning loudmouths to STFU doesn't hurt a bit.

Happy New Year to all!

UPDATE

Fausta's Blog exposes MSM treachery and lazy^TMness.

Yeah! Let's toss the lazy^TM moniker where it belongs. I can almost picture the devoted DemOp at CNN sifting the words, editing for clarity.

The MSM channels Mad Magazine on Fred, and Sunday's items

When I was a kid I loved Mad Magazine. One of my favorite features was how they used to truncate really bad reviews of movies and books to make them sound glorious. Well, Fred's getting the same treatment from the MSM, only in reverse.

CNN and USA Today are taking a few select words from Fred:
"I'm not particularly interested in running for president," the former senator said at a campaign event in Burlington when challenged by a voter over his desire to be commander-in-chief.

"But I think I'd make a good president," Thompson continued. "I have the background, capability, and concern to do this and I'm doing it for the right reasons."
Here's the full transcript of what Fred actually said, which his people posted at Fred file:
[THIS IS A BEST-EFFORT TRANSCRIPT OF THE SPECIFIC QUESTION AND ANSWER]
Q: My only problem with you and why I haven't thrown all my support behind you is that I don't know if you have the desire to be President. If I caucus for you next week, are you still going to be there two months from now?

...In the first place I got in the race about the time people normally get into it historically. The fact of the matter is that others started the process a lot earlier this time than they normally do. I think it was for some of them when they were juniors in high school.

APPLAUSE

That is a very good question, not because it's difficult to answer, because, but I'm gonna answer it in a little different way than what you might expect.

In the first place, I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I wouldn't be doing this if i didn't. I grew up very modest circumstances. I left government, I and my family have made sacrifices for me to be sitting here today. I haven't had any income for a long time because I'm doing this. I figure that to be clean you've got to cut everything off. And I was doing speaking engagements and I had a contract to do a tv show, I had a contract with abc radio like I was talking about earlier and so forth. I guess a man would have to be a total fool to do all those things and to be leaving his family which is not a joyful thing at all if he didn't want to do it.

But I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it. I want the people to have the best president that they can have.

When this talk first started, it didn't originate with me. There were a lot of people around the country both directly and through polls, liked the idea of me stepping up. And of course, you always look better at a distance, I guess.

But most of those people are still there and think its a good idea. But I approached it from the standpoint of a deal. A kind of a marriage. If one side of a marriage has to be really talked into the marriage, it probably ain't going to be a very good deal for either one of them. But if you mutually think that this is a good thing. In this case, if you think this is a good thing for the country, then you have an opportunity to do some wonderful things together.

I'm offering myself up. I'm saying that I have the background, the capability, and the concern to do this and I'm doing it for the right reasons. But I'm not particularly interested in running for president, but I think I'd make a good president.

Nowadays, the process has become much more important than it used to be.

I don't know that they ever asked George Washington a question like this. I don't know that they ever asked Dwight D. Eisenhower a question like this. But nowadays, it's all about fire in the belly. I'm not sure in the world we live in today it's a terribly good thing if a president has too much fire in the belly. I approach life differently than a lot of people. People, I guess, wonder how I've been as successful as I've been in everything I've done. I won two races in TN by 20 point margins, a state that Bill Clinton carried twice. I'd never run for office before. I've never had an acting lesson and I guess that's obvious by people who've watched me. But when they made a movie about a case that I had when I took on a corrupt state administration as a lawyer and beat them before a jury. They made a movie about it and I wound up playing myself in the movie and yeah I can do that.

And when I did it, I did it. Wasn't just a lark. Anything that's worth doing is worth doing well. But I've always been a little bit more laid back than most. I like to say that I'm only consumed by very, very few things and politics is not one of them. The welfare of our country and our kids and grandkids is one of them.

If people really want in their president a super type-a personality, someone who has gotten up every morning and gone to bed every night and been thinking about for years how they could achieve the Presidency of the United States, someone who can look you straight in the eye and say they enjoy every minute of campaigning, I ain't that guy. So I hope I've discussed that and hope I haven't talked you out of anything. I honestly want - I can't imagine a worse set of circumstances than achieving the presidency under false pretenses. I go out of my way to be myself because I do't want anybody to think they are getting something they are not getting. I'm not consumed by this process I'm not consumed with the notion of being President. I'm simply saying I'm willing to do what's necessary to achieve it if I'm in sync with the people and if the people want me or somebody like me. I'll do what I've always done in the rest of my life and I will take it on and do a good job and you'll have the disadvantage of having someone who probably can't jump up and click their heels three times but will tell you the truth and you'll know where the President stands at all times.
Maybe once USA Today and CNN graduate from Mad Magazine Journalism School they'll start reporting on candidates who actually answer questions, instead of those who don't take any questions at all.

That is, if their reporters actually get to the venue where the words were spoken. As Fred noticed,
Incidentally, the audience in Burlington broke into applause in the middle of my answer. The reporter wouldn't know that because she wasn't even there.

Smarmy. Not just out of context but out of order and it's written to reinforce the lazy^TM meme.

Now I want to pose a question and I sure would like your responses.

What would the state of our nation and world be if our MSM were not the victim of the Quiet Coup that filled its ranks with raving internationalist/socialists?

Would we still be at war? Would we have a Congress with ratings so low they aren't in the toilet--they've been flushed? Would Jesus be in our hearts and not performing day-labor landscaping?

I'd like to know what you think.

Christmas '07

2007-12-25T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hope yours was better than this guy's

All the very best to you and yours.

Cautionary National Health Care Tales

2007-12-22T21:52:00.001-05:00

Canada

The UK

From the UK Daily Mail

NHS tells cancer patient her care will stop if she buys extra drugs
By CHRIS BROOKE

A cancer patient yesterday condemned health chiefs as immoral for threatening to stop her free NHS care if she buys a drug to help her treatment.
Former nurse Colette Mills was told her health authority would not provide the "wonder drug" Avastin.

It also rejected her offer to pay the £4,000 a month bill for it herself.

Threat: Colette Mills has been told if she pays for extra drugs she will have to cover the cost of all her treatment
But the 58-year-old, who is having chemotherapy after breast cancer spread through her body, was shocked to discover if she bought the drug privately then she would be liable to pay the entire bill for all of her care - likely to reach £15,000 a month.

Mrs Mills and her husband Eric were forced to back down because they could not afford this.
Read it all here.

LINING UP THE SHOT

2007-12-20T17:54:00.000-05:00

He shoots...HE SCORES!

From NewMediaJournal.us

Only one Republican candidate solidly represents all three fundamental Republican planks and that one candidate is the only candidate drafted by conservative voters. The most powerful conservatives in America are beginning to line up behind that candidate.

Staunch Iowa conservative congressman Steve King, famous for his maverick opposition to illegal immigration, just endorsed Thompson, stumping the political experts who predicted he would endorse Romney.

A little early Christmas.

For Christmas over there

2007-12-20T16:04:00.000-05:00

Uncle Jimbo over at Black Five has generously created a Holiday YouTube for our troops with the intent to share.

BLACKFIVE TV- CHRISTMAS THANKS TO THE TROOPS
POSTED BY UNCLE JIMBO

I've been overseas for Christmas before, although thankfully not in a war zone. We have quite a few of our troops in harm's way this holiday season and we wanted to let them know how much that means to us. So we asked some of our fellow bloggers to film a message thanking everyone who makes it possible for us to sit safe by the fire. God Bless everyone serving America anywhere.

I, too, have been overseas at this time of year (more accurately at sea) and I can tell you all that being away from loved ones, even in great company, is saddening.

This technology wasn't around in my seasons away

So if you're sending a Christmas wish to a troop you may want to include the URL. Just copy and paste this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_HEEuipmYM in your email.

--------------------------------------------

Downtime fun

Last Friday I was recuperating from minor surgeries performed on the previous day. All that extra time and Christmas looming I found JibJab for the first time as a user.

This is the result.

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

This was generated from photos taken a couple years ago when the Turnettes could still smile for the camera

That was then; this is now

The Twin Tween Turnettes^TM turn twelve today!

(Say fast three times)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS

Hey! Show 'em some love.

THE SUICIDE COIN

2007-12-19T21:48:00.000-05:00

There are two sides to the civilizational suicide coin we are challenged with and both have the element of religiosity--ISLAM, the Will of Allah as noted by his prophet, Mohammed (the Perfect Man^TM) dictating how everyone must worship, organize society and submit and

SOCIALISM, the will of the People as espoused by Marx, et al, dictating how everyone must...well...pretty much the same thing as Islam but the main factor is to SUBMIT.

Hold yer hosses--I'm not advocating against religion, organized or otherwise. There is an element built into the vast majority of us that recognizes something larger than ourselves and yearns to understand more clearly, even the atheist's belief (that's belief, a form of faith, without true knowledge) that there is no God.

The forward thinking socialist, having understood that the common person's innate human nature has a selfish side, has made great inroads in the West by promoting the Welfare State. Much less rhetoric regarding the proletariat and much more about Social Security, Universal Health Care, etc. This tactic assures the common person's self-interests are met.

But that's not enough. No, another element must be introduced. Something truly bigger than any individual. Something bigger than any group or country or region or hemisphere--the Earth.

If the fate of the Earth isn't an issue great enough to grab your attention then nothing is.

It's our home planet. It has nurtured us. When the Earth acts up it's a clear sign that it is mad at us.

We must repent and pay homage and respect to the Earth. We must change our wicked ways; sacrifice our way of life; martyr ourselves and our children so our nonexistent children may enjoy the benefits of holy Gaia.

If you've read this far you're probably not drinking the KoolAid. But you may not have yet heard the words of those who would hold you to the ground, force your mouth open, and pour it in.

Following are excerpts from FRONTPAGEMAG.COM

The Global Warming Suicide Cult

By Don Feder
GrassTopsUSA.com | Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The Global Warming movement has been compared to a religion -- albeit one without God, but with a vision of sin and repentance, damnation and salvation.

Not quite.

Real religion is about improving the human condition by encouraging moral conduct in obedience to the will of God. The proponents of Global Warming are creating a suicide cult, which -- if followed to its logical conclusion -- will lead to human extinction.

...

Ultimately, the Global Warming crusade is a frontal assault on procreation, the family and the future of mankind.

In the December 9th edition of Medical Journal of Australia, Professor Barry Walters urges a one-time "baby levy" of $5,000, followed by an annual tax of $800 per child, on Australian families with more than two children.

"Every newborn baby in Australia represents a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions for an average of 80 years, not simply by breathing but by the profligate consumption of resources typical of our society," writes Walters, who calls childbearing "greenhouse unfriendly behavior."

...

"Human population growth is the paramount environmental issue," says Ric Oberlink, a spokesman for the ominous-sounding Californians for Population Stabilization. "Global warming is a very serious problem, but it is a subset of the overpopulation problem."

Ric (dropping the consonant is his contribution to conservation) claims the problem isn't just too many people, but too many Americans, who, by our evil nature, will consume too much energy over the course of our lives. Americans are "by far the most voracious consumers and the greatest producers of greenhouse gases per capita of any nation on earth," Ric remarks.

...

"The population explosion has severely disturbed the ecological relationships between human beings and the environment," the Sierra Club warns. "In recognition of the growing magnitude of this conservation issue, the Sierra Club supports a greatly increased program of education on the need for population control." The left is really into control.

Global Warming fanaticism seems to lend itself to self-loathing. In 1989, David Graber, then a biologist with the National Park Service, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times observing: "Human happiness and certainly human fecundity are not as important as a wild and healthy planet. I know social scientists who remind me that people are part of nature, but it isn't true... We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon Earth. Until such time as homo sapiens should decide to rejoin nature (by wearing natural fibers and living in trees?) some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along."

...

Is the right plague what Jacques Cousteau had in mind, when he wrote in 1991: "In order to stabilize world population, we must eliminate 350,000 people per day. It is a horrible thing to say, but its just as bad not to say it." A speaker at Gorbachev's 1996 State of the World Forum in San Francisco called for cutting the global population by 90%. He did not specify the method.

Yeah, that Mikhail Gorbachev, formerly red and now green.

Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic, argues that ambitious environmentalism is the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity.

...

As someone who lived under communism for most of his life, I feel obliged to say that I see the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity now in ambitious environmentalism, not in communism. This ideology wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central (now global) planning.

Ready to line up for recycling a la Soylent Green?

"Soylent Green is people"

OK. I'm not Catholic and the Pope is not my ultimate arbiter for God. But I'm proud he has the stones to say this.

The above portion of the post is the obverse, the facia of the coin--the one that's daily in our face from draconian recycling laws to sin taxes. What of the other side?

Again, I find FRONTPAGEMAG.COM an invaluable resource.,

A Never-Ending War
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, December 19, 2007
...

FP: So what is your understanding of Islam? And who and what is exactly our enemy in this terror war?

Cappi: If anyone takes the time to read the Qur’an the answer to your question is simple and very obvious. For accuracy purposes I read three versions. They all agree in principle. The Qur’an is nothing like the Bible or New Testament. In no way and certainly not in substance or intent is it similar. By the way any belief system can be perverted to nefarious ends but if the system itself is fundamentally benign or moral any perversion of its philosophical premises can be righted. However, when the belief system itself is corrupt or evil no good can come from it. The Qur’an is just such a belief system: it is a “blueprint for war” and for the subjugation of the non-believer. To the extent it deals with any aspect of morality it is similar to the Judeo-Christian ethic but only if this ethic is not in conflict with the goals of Islam’s spread and world conquest.

The Qur’an is filled with endless directives compelling Muslims to convert, conquer or kill non-believers and to conquer the non-Islamic world. Further Islam dictates that the Qur’an must be accepted and followed literally. Apostasy is heresy and punishable by death. It is this belief system that throughout history has caused Muslims to endlessly embark on conquest. In 1400 years of history the only time the West has been at “peace” with Islam was from the end of the Ottoman Empire early in the 20th Century through the end of World War ll. The reason for Islam’s dormancy during this brief period was the overwhelming superiority of the West technologically and economically along with the impoverished and largely uneducated Islamic world. The difference made it impossible for Islam to confront the West in any way. The vast quantity of money flowing into the Middle East from the sale of oil after WWII has allowed Islam to buy what it needs to once again begin its quest. The modern jihad was born.

The oil money has funded the terrorists, the construction of endless mosques and madrassas- Islamic religious schools - throughout the West. Both school and mosque almost all preach the most extreme form of Islam – Wahhabism. Our “friends” the Saudis fund most of these activities.

Perhaps that was a long-winded way of saying that Islam itself is the enemy, not a number of terrorist groups. Terrorism is one of Islam’s tools but it is the religion of Islam that is at war with us. One might ask how can a religion be at war with countries? The brief answer lies in the fact that there is no separation of church and state in Islam. The law of Islam is Shari’ and it is derived from the Qur’an and Haddiths. Every Muslim country in the world is governed by Shari’a. (Turkey is an exception but even it does not violate Shari’a and in fact is suffering an internal struggle to adopt overthrow its secular laws in favor of Shari’a.)

The central theme found throughout the Qur’an and embodied in Shari’a is a concept of a very definite world order. There can exist, according to Islam only two states in the world: dar al Islam - the realm of Islam and dar al harb - the realm of war. If you are not part of Islam you are at war with Islam. The war can take any form, be it terrorism, subversion or economics.

Through Shari’a the religion of Islam and the state of Islam are one. For a Muslim there is no conflict in this regard. The absolute essential theme of every action of every Islamic nation and practicing Muslim is the establishment of Shari’a in every country in the world just as Mohammed commanded through the Qur’an. This has been a driving force for 1400 years.

We just don’t understand it or want to believe it.

Having said we are at war with Islam leaves a Western mind very unsettled. The statement smacks of bigotry or Islamophobia or intolerance at the least. And it is exactly this that is one of Islam’s best weapons against the Western cultures. We cannot deal with the thought of a religion as a mechanism for conquest, we cannot deal with the thought that there are citizens within the West that would, if they could, overthrow our way of life and institute a 7th Century mind set and form of government – remember the Taliban that is the ultimate Islamic goal on a worldwide scale. Because we cannot accept these things intellectually we only win some battles against terrorists but we are losing the broader war.

The premise of being at war with a religion flies in the face of everything we as a tolerant people have been taught and believe in our hearts. Although the premise is sad, the reality is what it is. The facts are what they are regardless of how unpleasant they may be. The challenge to the West is to be able to fight this war while protecting the individual Muslim that is not part of the insane literalism of Islam. And there are many frightened Muslims not part of this endless war. They are afraid to step forth for the consequences are often death. Even in Western countries killings of apostates is not uncommon.

Islamic family love

Aqsa Parvez
R.I.P.

'Nuf said?

Oh! the humanity!

2007-12-18T19:24:00.000-05:00

The old saw in journalism goes "if it bleeds it leads".

Another bodily fluid was copiously flowing toward the end of the Bali conference last week (see Folly in Bali) but it didn't get a lot of press here.

From the Daily Mail:

If it weeps it creeps
me out.

"He wasn't just wiping his eyes, he was in floods of tears," said one observer.

"Three colleagues - one of them a woman - formed a protective group around him and escorted him out of the hall. It was all very dramatic."

Mr de Boer's breakdown came after nearly a fortnight of squabbling over proposals to cut carbon emissions.

Was he upset over the inevitability of climate change or that he clearly wasn't going to get his way?

From The American Thinker

When the story of our time is written -- as soon as future historians can stop laughing -- Al Gore will be Exhibit #1 for the unprecedented nuttiness of our politics.

In Florida in 2000, Al Gore just knew he was destined to win the presidency, just like Mom and Dad told him all those years ago. The Big Media were actually convinced that Gore had won before the votes came in, based on their usual dubious polls. It was only a question of how many recounts it would take to prove what they already knew, and how many rules had to be busted for Mr. Gore to assume his rightful place in history.

In Bush v Gore the US Supreme Court finally decided enough was enough, by a vote of 7-2. You don't get to replay the game until you win. The Supremes and George W. Bush have been ferociously hated for that ever since by our friends on the Left, who apparently never play card games. If you're allowed to deal the deck over and over again until you win, you're not playing poker, but some sort of childish game of self-delusion.

Which is not a bad description of Al Gore's new incarnation as the Steaming Green Messiah of Doom. "Steaming" not because it's hot in Oslo, where he received his Nobel Peace Prize, but because Al himself generates a whole lot more heat than light. If Mr. Gore's fury and rage could be turned into useful energy it would do much to wipe out his ample carbon footprint.

And if you find yourself with a week or so with nothing much else to do you may find the fully alphebetized list of Hysterical Headlines^TM a fun way to while away hours that you will never get back.

Is this the takedown of America?

2007-12-15T17:08:00.000-05:00

Neither Islam nor the Russians can take us down--but together...

Russia warns of US missile shield retaliation
Article from: Agence France-Presse

From correspondents in Moscow
December 15, 2007 10:27pm

THE planned deployment of US interceptor missiles in Poland could trigger a missile strike by Russia if those missiles are ever used, the Russian army's chief of staff has warned.

"We are talking about the possibility of a retaliatory strike being triggered by the mistaken classification of an interceptor missile," Yury Baluyevsky said at a press conference broadcast on state television.

At a presser, no less. Another way to get the message to the Yanks.

It's a clear reminder that some things remain on a hair trigger.

Russian Mediterranean Naval Build-Up Challenges NATO Sixth Fleet Domination

David Eshel December 12, 2007

This week witnessed a great thrust by Russia to demonstrate its military strength, when Russian President Vladimir Putin alarmed Europe by finally declaring Russia's official rejection of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), (the treaty entered into force on July 17, 1992 limiting the number of combat elements that Russia could deploy along its borders with Europe). Immediately following this declaration, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced sending a sortie of six Russian warships to the Mediterranean, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. Other vessels escorting the carrier as part of the task force are Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko anti-submarine ships, and the Sergei Osipov and Nikolai Chiker support ships. The group is expected to be joined by the flagship Moskva a guided missile cruiser and four additional ships as it arrives in the Mediterranean.

Our front and flanks are now going to have some firepower on our 6.

This presents an especially difficult problem if Israel decides to take action against the Iranian nuke facilities and we're called in to defend Israel against retaliation by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Russians obviously want to stay in this game and they equally obviously believe their interests will gain in any US or Allied action.The latest published NIE has the Israelis alarmed:

DEBKAfile: Israeli minister warns “flawed” US intelligence on Iran nuke will lead to “Yom Kippur”
December 15, 2007, 9:37 PM (GMT+02:00)

Internal security minister and former Shin Bet head Avi Dichter was the first government member to publicly and harshly question the US National Intelligence Estimate which says Tehran no longer develops nuclear weapons. “We know the threat to be ongoing and palpable” for Israel and a whole region within the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles, i.e. Europe and North Africa.

Olmert is going to concession himself right out of office. The Israelis know that the only Land of Israel acceptable to the Palis is going to exist in history books.

The great question is who gains from a true conflagration in the ME?

As has been long noted "Russia plays chess while we play poker". Russia has no need to project naval power in the Med unless it is to threaten or thwart possible US and Israeli actions there.

Russia's fingerprints in the Jihad war extend to pre 9/11 days. Russians actually tipped UBL that we were listening to his sat phone calls in early 2001 and he promptly went ultra-low tech with literally horse and foot messaging.

There doesn't seem to be a limit on Putin's quest for power, either.

The Perils of Putinism
A non-transfer of power that makes Russia less stable.

Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

Plans for a transition of power were unveiled this week in Russia. The news is that there won't be one.

Many Russians and foreign investors alike were cheered by Vladimir Putin's clearest signal yet of his intention to stay in charge beyond March's presidential elections. Shares soared on his endorsement Monday of longtime aide Dmitry Medvedev to nominally take his spot in the Kremlin. Shares jumped again a day later when the heir apparent returned the favor and pledged to name Mr. Putin as the next Prime Minister with, so everyone presumes, stronger powers than the next President.

This choreographed switcheroo is Putinism to a tee. The President and his men trample on civic freedoms and concentrate power in the name of "order" and "stability." With the economy growing on the back of oil approaching $100 a barrel, up from $15 when Mr. Putin took office in 2000, complaints are muted--sometimes by force. But of all people, Russians ought to have learned from history that personalizing and centralizing so much authority brings trouble down the road.

Back to this NIE that is generating so much ink and controversy. Some of the conspiracy theorizing and reaction makes sense.

What may not make sense are agenda driven bureaucrats in sensitive positions.

December 15, 2007
Author of NIE believes CIA's Priority should be 'Diversity'
Ed Lasky

The folly of relying on the "experts" who are responsible for the National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iran and its nuclear program is again on view. The Principle Deputy Director of National Intelligence, who was integral to the findings of that report and its publication and who has been defending it from criticism across the political spectrum and from around the world (save for Iran, Russia, and China-which reveals a lot about the shoddiness of the NIE report), last week addressed the need to reform our intelligence agencies. Commentary has a priceless quote:
On December 6, Donald Kerr, the PDDNI, that is, the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, laid out his agency’s 500-day plan to set things right. “What is required, first and foremost,” he said in congressional testimony, “is integrating the foundational elements and removing the barriers — in the areas of policy, management/budgeting, technology and acquisition, information, collection and analysis, and culture.” To this end, we need “to promote and build an intelligence community (IC) identity or sense of ‘jointness’ by creating programs that provide for cross-agency work assignments and training.”

The 500-day plan enters almost immediately into a discussion of the vital importance of “Equal Opportunity and Diversity.” It offers high praise for the intelligence community’s Diversity Strategy Implementation Workshop, an event held this past October that was an “an important step in the accomplishment of the IC-wide EEO and Diversity Cross-Cutting Emphasis Area Plan (CCEAP) by providing each of the IC Agencies with the mechanisms and direction. . . .”
I won’t bore you with the rest, but it is an astonishing compendium of bureaucratic gibberish guaranteed either to put you to sleep if you simply read it, or to give you nightmares if you pause to think about its implications.

How cogent can advice be from a diversity advocate? Winning or losing doesn't matter as long as everybody can play in the game.

I think it is time for the Texas oil man to sit face to face with the former KGB man and look him in the eye again and say something Reaganesque. Or Churchillian. Something to indicate that a coming theater war need not go global and nuclear.

Holding a royal flush beats the word 'check' every time.

Folly in Bali

2007-12-14T17:46:00.000-05:00

Dear friend,

Tomorrow I'm going to Bali, Indonesia to address the UN Climate Change Conference. In front of representatives from the world's countries, I will speak about the need for a visionary treaty to be completed, ratified and brought into effect everywhere in the world by 2010. I need you, your friends and family to sign this petition calling for a new, positive leadership role by our elected leaders. I will bring your signatures on stage with me as a clear demonstration of our resolve.

This petition shows our commitment to solutions to the climate crisis. Please add your voice today and urge your friends to add theirs. The time for action is now. Only together can we make the change.

Sincerely,

Which public airline did the Gorester fly on to reach the conference?

Never mind. Now he has a Nobel and can be honored, respected and listened to like Carter and Arafat. When he gets back to town he needs to be ridden out on a rail.

I watched a flick the other day from 1992. Hole in the Ozone Layer Warning. When's the last time you were updated on that crock?

December 14, 2007
Bali Finale Papers Pit Vision Against Precision
Marc Sheppard
On the very day Al Gore arrived in Bali with a petition avowing "support for a visionary global treaty to end the climate crisis," another petition (of sorts) was released attesting that any such efforts would prove "ultimately futile."

But in stark contrast to the Green Giant's appeal, which contained the "signatures" of nearly a quarter million internet denizens of indemonstrable education, it was more than 100 field-leading scientists that signed the letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon which began:
"It is not possible to stop climate change, a natural phenomenon that has affected humanity through the ages."
Yesterday, Gore's silly electronically-signed whine was presented to the waning UN Climate conference along with his requisite repent-or-perish speech, this time climaxing with these euphoric-applause and hoorah inspiring words:
"My own country the United States is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali. We all know that."
The freshly minted Laureate was singling out the country he had once aspired to lead for its refusal to commit to unnecessary and unattainable greenhouse gas abatement goals throughout the 2 week climate festival. Of course, Japan and Canada had stood the same ground, as did "developing" nations China and India. But why quibble? There're plenty of accolades to go around.

That's right - three cheers for all nations responsible for gridlocking the progress of the world's worst idea since Hydrogen-filled blimps.

And the letter to be distributed to Bali revelers on this, the final day, signed by such scientific luminaries as World Federation of Scientists president Dr. Antonio Zichichi and the "Father of Climatology" himself, Dr. Reid Bryson, distinguishes itself from yesterday's "I Like Al" petition by explaining why.

Declaring the Summaries for Policy Makers the most widely read and quoted of IPCC reports, the climate authorities reiterate that they are prepared not by scientists but rather government representatives. Furthermore, they remind us, contrary to the impression the summaries leave with the reader:

"Recent observations of phenomena such as glacial retreats, sea-level rise and the migration of temperature-sensitive species are not evidence for abnormal climate change, for none of these changes has been shown to lie outside the bounds of known natural variability.

The average rate of warming of 0.1 to 0. 2 degrees Celsius per decade recorded by satellites during the late 20th century falls within known natural rates of warming and cooling over the last 10,000 years.

Leading scientists, including some senior IPCC representatives, acknowledge that today's computer models cannot predict climate. Consistent with this, and despite computer projections of temperature rises, there has been no net global warming since 1998. That the current temperature plateau follows a late 20th-century period of warming is consistent with the continuation today of natural multi-decadal or millennial climate cycling."
The dispatch, which rebukes the conference's disregard of Kyoto's failures in attempting to craft severe CO2 restrictions and trading markets, then concludes:
"Attempts to prevent global climate change from occurring are ultimately futile, and constitute a tragic misallocation of resources that would be better spent on humanity's real and pressing problems."
Bona fide experts, dispassionately relating facts and proffering cogent analysis will certainly assuage segments of the quivering heat-fearing masses lamenting a no-deal summit, right? After all, they do appear to react quite passionately to letters of Science.

Remember the hysterical mandatory emissions caps rally-cry letter -- signed by 200 likely less objective and categorically less distinguished scientists -- that was all the rage at the opening of the conference? And the wide and excited coverage it received from the greenhouse gasbag media-at-large?

Might the fortnight visitors to the Bali of the Folly Green Giant respond similarly to this letter, further authorized by physics legend Dr. Freeman Dyson and Dr. Edward J. Wegman, of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences? As the media is delirious with the same green fever, the degree of the letter's dissemination will provide a strong indicator.

Try this little experiment over the next few days: Google the words 200 Scientists Bali. Page through the results until you've properly appreciated the lay of the land. Now, replace 200 with 100 and repeat.

Any questions?

High noon in Iowa

2007-12-13T07:48:00.000-05:00

The moment he stood out

Someday it will be understood by all that climate changes are a natural phenomena--that warming trends and cooling trends are driven by a variety of factors and not by the puny effects of mankind.

In today's world, however, there is a movement intent on foisting anthroprogenic global warming as a means toward changing our way of life on both an individual and sovereign national level.

McCain, Giuliani, and Romney have drunk the koolaid.

Thompson had the stones to place the blame for our abysmal state of education squarely on the NEA. I would have enjoyed one minute of Fred on the UN's efforts to destroy America and the developed world.

Hell's Angels

2007-12-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

From WIKI:

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a controversial world-wide motorcycle club whose members traditionally ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States, and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation.

Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada classify the Angels as one of the "big four" outlaw motorcycle gangs; contending that members carry out widespread violence, drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion.[1][2] Hells Angels advocates assert that this is a mischaracterization, and that they are victims of the "one-percenter" phenomenon, in which a criminal element that comprises one percent of an organization leads to the vilification of the remaining 99% of law-abiding members.

Sound familiar?

So...Do the 99% of benevolent H.A. go after the nasty 1% and clean up their ranks?

Maybe they could have an advocacy group. They could be called the Council on Hell's Angels Innocent Relations--CHAIR for short. CHAIR would obfuscate on behalf of the Angels, present the harmless face of them, and minimize the threat they pose to ordinary folk.

If ever there were angels sent up from what Christians and Jews understand as hell they would be Muslims. Despisers of freedom and the free will bestowed us by a loving G*d. Slavers most foul.

Our ancestors 800 years gone knew what we are now slowly learning. Too damn slowly. The Great Deceiver, the Prince of Hell, has a billion strong swarm of sworn enemies of peace and freedom. Their goal--plunge mankind into darkness. Their creed--shari'a--a law of whips and chains. Their method--myriad forms of jihad.

A mother helps strap an explosive vest on her son and 'blesses' him as he goes out to commit murder and mayhem of innocents. Is this not human sacrifice? How can any civilized person believe that people who advocate such are deserving of a sovereign state carved from a nation that is civilized?

No. Our forefathers knew what we are wont to know: Invite them to the light. Kill them if they make war. Put them in reservations if they do not accept civilization.

Mapping Shari'a

2007-12-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

David Yerushalmi explains Mapping Shari'a to Michael Savage.

Just audio:

Here

Diversidarity

2007-12-06T11:40:00.000-05:00

Some pickings from the Freedom/Justice and Defining Liberty Brigades.

Bill Whittle
11.28.07

Are you in favor of Freedom? Well, who isn’t?

What about Justice? Put me down for that too.

Everybody wants freedom, and everybody wants justice… but it occurs to me, if you really get down to brass tacks, that pure freedom and pure justice are mutually exclusive.

For example, if one was truly free, utterly at liberty to do whatever one wanted, whenever they wanted to do it, then that person would leave a vast wake of injustice. To walk wherever you wanted: trespassing. To take what you wanted: stealing (or rape if it was who you wanted). If you were absolutely, utterly free you could murder at will. Or perhaps just drive as fast as you want.

The fact that you are not able to do any of these things puts constraints on your liberty. It limits your freedom to act. Thank God.

Read it all at .ejectejecteject

Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred on 12.05.07 blogs commentary from an US perspective regarding an essay by David Goodhart.

She chose two excerpts in particular from The discomfort of strangers.

“…And therein lies one of the central dilemmas of political life in developed societies: sharing and solidarity can conflict with diversity. This is an especially acute dilemma for progressives who want plenty of both solidarity (high social cohesion and generous welfare paid out of a progressive tax system) and diversity (equal respect for a wide range of peoples, values and ways of life). The tension between the two values is a reminder that serious politics is about trade-offs. It also suggests that the left’s recent love affair with diversity may come at the expense of the values and even the people that it once championed….”

Moreover, modern liberal societies cannot be based on a simple assertion of group identity - the very idea of the rule of law, of equal legal treatment for everyone regardless of religion, wealth, gender or ethnicity, conflicts with it. On the other hand, if you deny the assumption that humans are social, group-based primates with constraints, however imprecise, on their willingness to share, you find yourself having to defend some implausible positions…”

and

“…When solidarity and diversity pull against each other, which side should public policy favour? Diversity can increasingly look after itself - the underlying drift of social and economic development favours it. Solidarity, on the other hand, thrives at times of adversity, hence its high point just after the second world war and its steady decline ever since as affluence, mobility, value diversity and (in some areas) immigration have loosened the ties of a common culture. Public policy should therefore tend to favour solidarity in four broad areas.

…Negotiating the tension between solidarity and diversity is at the heart of politics. But both left and right have, for different reasons, downplayed the issue. The left is reluctant to acknowledge a conflict between values it cherishes; it is ready to stress the erosion of community from “bad” forms of diversity, such as market individualism, but not from “good” forms of diversity, such as sexual freedom and immigration. And the right, in Britain at least, has sidestepped the conflict, partly because it is less interested in solidarity than the left, but also because it is still trying to prove that it is comfortable with diversity.”

But in my reading of the original text I find this gem:

Thinking about the conflict between solidarity and diversity is another way of asking a question as old as human society itself: who is my brother, with whom do I share mutual obligations? The traditional conservative, Burkean view is that our affinities ripple out from our families and localities to the nation, and not very far beyond. That view is pitted against a liberal universalist one that sees us in some sense equally obligated to all human beings, from Bolton to Burundi - an idea that is associated with the universalist aspects of Christianity and Islam, with Kantian universalism and with left-wing internationalism.

Goodhart is not wrong about "the universalist aspects of Christianity and Islam, with Kantian universalism and with left-wing internationalism".

But some juxtapositions are hard to compare. Consider: Catholic charities supported the four decade mission of Mother Teresa in Calcutta, ministering to the poor, the sick and dying, widows and orphans, few of which were Christian. Some, a relative few, saw her example and converted.

In the heart of Islam, the house of Saud commits millions to fund Madrassas that teach two subjects: The Quran (memorized by rote in Arabic) and the Wahhabist doctrinal interpretation of it--jihad.

Muslim charities worldwide and--gaak--Western governments including the US send aid money almost directly to Hamas. Hamas must be laughing at us.

Kant wrote of the great expansion of enlightenment to reach all mankind in rejection of the purely empirical theory of Hume. There must be a willingness to come to reason, not the coerced method of indoctrination as evidenced by 'left-wing internationalism', err...Marxism.

I only want equality under the law in a land that values freedom. I don't wish for any special treatment. Some diversity-based groups don't share this belief. They want a special status under the law and a different set of behaviors--formerly frowned upon--to be not just accepted but embraced and celebrated.

Gay Last Supper

In this era, with its celebration of diversity, it seems that the melting pot has become a stew pot with the lid on and the burner set at max. it's not constitutional for some groups to have elevated rights, and privileges still must be earned to be honored. Nothing illustrates this better than in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens (immigrant implies that one did more than swim a river or cross a desert). States that have passed these laws have elevated an illegal's rights to be above residents of the other 49.

"With liberty and justice for all".

Liberty meaning freedom to pursue your happiness within the constraints of the law.

Justice meaning equality under the law.

Eleven

2007-12-02T15:48:00.000-05:00

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer."

Thomas Paine, 1776

Eleven months to election '08.

Every candidate with a 'D' behind their names will introduce heightened calamity into our lives. Universal healthcare and global warming legislation are agendas to make us less free.

Choose right.

Mohammed & Marx

2007-12-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

Rare to see video of Darwin Award presentation

God is Great, indeed.
Let's sort through a few things before I get started. Somehow in the last five decades, by accident or intent, Nazism has been commingled with the 'Far Right' in the political spectrum. As if Nazi was to the right of Christian Conservatives and staunch Republicans. Such thinking is polluted from years of propaganda. Propaganda from where?

Nazi is short for National Socialism and it differs from the Soviet style in its 'national' rather than 'international' designation. (The Soviet national anthem was The International.) This places Nazis correctly on the left. Brutal centralized government, lockstep adherence to ideology and leaders that stay in power for life are the hallmarks of the 'left' as in Cuba, N. Korea, maybe Venezuela after this weekend's elections there and...Nazi Germany.

There is no 'center'.
There are only the left and the right and degrees therein.

The right believe in personal freedom and responsibility. The left believe in ceding personal freedom and responsibility to a governing body.

The right generally adopt a live and let live stance while seeking justice for those miscreants who step over established societal norms. The left actively proselytize and seek to normalize what no sane society has ever tolerated.

The person who posted this gem wrote this to go along with it:

We, people of the EU, have a dream. Let us work together and make our dream come true.

I dont want much. All I want is a Socialist European Union! Once this is achieved, we will be able to help people across the world achieve Socialism and one day we will unite and form the Socialist World Republic!

May fortune smile at you, comrades!

For Solidarity, Equality, Freedom, Peace and Democracy!

For Socialism!
For our Socialist European Union!

So the ultimate example of the far right would not be a Nazi. It would be the fellow who moves his family to the forest and becomes what used to be designated a survivalist.

And the ultimate example of the left would be found where? Most likely in a university molding young minds. Because the left needs more adherents.

Is it nexus or parallel?

"The moment it stopped spreading..."
Adherents. Those that adhere. True believers or koolaid drinkers--it doesn't matter--when the power of the individual is handed to a commissar or a caliph it is not easily won back. It's simply easier to go along and try to better one's position within the system than to exit from it.

Tens of thousands of native Europeans are now making the choice to exit from Marx's dream but tens of millions stay and feed the beast that is now the EU. There are now millions of adherents of Islam in Europe.

Wafa Sultan throws down
National borders are being erased as new and artificial districts are being created. Ghettos of immigrants practice Sharia and commit outrageous acts of lawlessness against non-believers. Freedoms of speech and movement are now restricted in the UK and Western Europe.

Mohammed has lain with the daughter of Marx and Eurabia is their freedom killing issue. International socialism and Islam have, at their heart, the same, identical goal--universal enslavement to a perfect ideology. And that's just hunky dory to the adherents.

Hundreds of millions are 'going along' in Europe. A small fraction are opting out by emigration.

But a relative few are choosing the hard option. They're organizing for the war ahead. And for their efforts they're being labeled as Nazis.

European politics have always been fractious but now the left are marginalizing the few clear thinkers who still respect their freedoms. It has even infected the American blogosphere as witnessed in the contretemps between Little Green Footballs and Gates of Vienna and now spilling over elsewhere.

The Jihad war will continue long and horrible. Whatever their other beliefs may be I will ally with anyone who values freedom and hates slavery.

Rape, murder, arson...and rape

2007-11-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

From Mel Brooks BLAZING SADDLES

Sure, it's all very funny until somebody gets hurt.

Aww, shucks--this here's funnier'n hell no matter what you think about rape, murder, arson...and rape.

Because it's a classic scene from a Mel Brooks movie. Maybe in 50 or 100 years when Islam is as eradicated as polio someone will make a movie sending up Muslim slavery, murder and rape but there's been nothing amusing about it the previous 14 centuries and nothing amusing now.

From FRONTPAGEMAG.ORG

Islam, Slavery and Rape

By Jamie Glazov

FP: Bill Warner, welcome back to Frontpage Magazine. This is the second part in our two-part series with you on the Center’s most recent book. In the first part we discussed Islam and its doctrine on the submission of women. In this second and final part we will discuss the matter of slavery. Welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Warner: It is a pleasure to work with Frontpage.

FP: So tell us in general where Islam stands on slavery.

Warner: Islam’s stand on slavery is based on its political principles of submission and duality. The principle of submission could not be clearer. By definition a slave is the most submissive of all people. You become a slave only when you have no more choices. A slave has completely submitted to a master.

The principle of duality is shown by the fact that Islam does not enslave Muslims, only kafirs (non-Muslims). Since only kafirs are enslaved, it assures that more of the world submits to Islam.

Islamic slavery is based on the Trilogy of the Koran, the Sira (Mohammed’s life) and the Hadith (the Traditions of Mohammed). All three texts say that slavery is permitted, ethical, desirable and a virtue. There is not one single negative word about slavery.

Slavery is seen as a process that brings kafirs to Islam. It is a virtue to free slaves, but Mohammed only freed slaves who submitted to Islam. If the kafir slave does not submit, then their children will. So given enough time, slaves convert to Islam. That is one of the reasons that Islam sees slavery as a positive.

Of course, there is another reason that Islam sees slavery as being so "good" and that is the money. Mohammed and the other jihadists made a fortune out of enslaving kafirs. Mohammed used the money for more jihad. So slavery financed the spread of Islam and jihad from the beginning.

...

FP: Can you talk a bit about Islam and sexual slavery?

Warner: All morality in Islam is patterned after the example of Mohammed. Everything that he did and said defines what is permitted or “good”. Mohammed repeatedly sanctioned forced sex (rape) with kafir females after they were captured. The Hadith clearly reports that he got first choice of the women. In one case, he repeatedly demanded one particular woman for himself and swapped two other kafir slave women for his choice. So if Mohammed was involved in the rape of kafirs, then rape is a virtue, not a sin or error.

When Mohammed destroyed the B. Qurayza tribe, all of the adult male Jews were beheaded, so that no husbands were left. Mohammed then took the children and gave them to Muslims to raise as Muslims and he sold off the Jewish women as slaves.

We know from another story that the women were divided into sex slaves and domestic slaves. In one scene, a jihadist is trying to obtain a high ransom for a woman and he is told that her breasts are flat and her mouth is cold, so her value was less. In short, she was only good for work around the house, not in the bedroom.

...

When Mohammed attacked the Jews at Khaybar, many moral precedents were set. Sexual slavery received an entire set of rules. Muslims were not to rape pregnant or menstruating women until they had delivered the child or finished their periods. At Khaybar, Mohammed’s god Allah, announced that even married women were fair game for rape.

Mohammed only killed some of the Jews at Khaybar. The male and female survivors were needed to work the land as dhimmis. (The original dhimmis were semi-slaves with no civil rights. Today, dhimmis are ignorant kafirs who apologize for Islam.) Since Islam needed the men to work, husbands were left alive. That was the reason that the Koran said that in this case, even with the husbands looking on, it was good to rape the women.

...

FP: This institution of Islamic sexual slavery isn’t just a reality of the past is it?

Warner: Everything that has been said up to now is not only history; it is Sunna (the example of the perfect pattern of action and morality found in Mohammed). So today we don't have a beautiful blonde Christian girl* on the block in Mecca, but we have continuous and ongoing rapes by Muslims in kafir cities. This goes on everywhere that Islam goes because it is Sunna.

This is a continuous 1400-year history of jihad. In every detailed history that comes from the original documents from history, rape is a constant. You have to look in the original documents, since our historians refuse to report it in so-called history books.

Rape is Sunna. Rape is not a sin. Rape is permitted and encouraged by Mohammed and the Koran. Islam is the only political system in the world that includes rules for rape and war. Rape is jihad. How good can it get? A Muslim gets to rape a kafir girl and get heaven credits. All jihad is a ticket to Paradise.

The most disgusting aspect of the Islamic rape of kafirs is not the rapes, but the kafir response. Kafirs become dhimmis by ignoring the rapes. I challenge you to find one, even one, mention of Islamic rape in the history books.

Islamic rape is more taboo than the N-word in the media. At least the N-word is acknowledged to exist. Even unicorns exist in media fantasy. But Islamic rape is forbidden to even exist as a fantasy.

...

One thing whites and blacks have in common is that their ancestors were enslaved by Islam, and both are too ignorant to know it. Blacks and whites have a secret shame buried under the denial of being slaves inside Islam.

But the rest of the media and intellectuals line up as dhimmis, too. One of the marks of a dhimmi under the fourth caliph, Umar, was that a dhimmi was forbidden to study the Koran. The chief mark of dhimmitude today is ignorance of the Koran, the Sira and the Hadith. The ignorance of kafir intellectuals about Islam is profound.

They don't know about how jihad killed the 120,000,000 Africans, the 60,000,000 Christians, the 80,000,000 Hindus or the 10,000,000 Buddhists. Our intellectuals do not know about the Tears of Jihad (detailed in all of our books). That is a lot of death and ignorance—270,000,000 dead. Our intellectuals don't know, don't care and don't bother. They deny.

University Islamic studies never mention the Islamic political doctrine. The media discusses Islam in terms of political correctness, and multiculturalism. History courses don’t teach about the civilizational annihilation due to jihad. Religious leaders placate imams in public gatherings and have no knowledge what the imam actually thinks of them. Political thinkers do not even know Islam as a political force

The problem with this ignorance is that our intellectuals are unable to help us. They do not understand that Islam is a civilization based upon the ideal of dualism. Islamic ethics and politics have one set of rules for Muslims and another for kafirs. Our civilization is based upon the ideal of unitary ethics, the Golden Rule. We do not have two sets of laws and ethics, like Islam. Our intellectuals cannot explain what dualism has meant in the past or what it will mean for our future—civilizational annihilation.

Snippets:

Report: Bomb That Killed 170 in Pakistan Was Strapped to a 1-Year-Old Child

Saudi defends verdict [200 lashes] against gang-rape victim

Iraqi school guard and wife beheaded as children watch

Reuters: Blasts in three Indian cities kill 10

And just from today at Atlas Shrugs

Now my red-blooded comrades--if this is not deserving of our sacrifice, nothing God has created is.

*In the past? Maybe not so much

SUCH A SACRIFICE

2007-11-23T20:25:00.000-05:00

Meet the women who won't have babies - because they're not eco friendly

By NATASHA COURTENAY-SMITH and MORAG TURNER
Last updated at 22:05pm on 21st November 2007

Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers - and a voice calling her Mummy.
But the very thought makes her shudder with horror.

Because when Toni terminated her pregnancy, she did so in the firm belief she was helping to save the planet.

Incredibly, so determined was she that the terrible "mistake" of pregnancy should never happen again, that she begged the doctor who performed the abortion to sterilise her at the same time.

He refused, but Toni - who works for an environmental charity - "relentlessly hunted down a doctor who would perform the irreversible surgery.

Finally, eight years ago, Toni got her way.

At the age of 27 this young woman at the height of her reproductive years was sterilised to "protect the planet".

Incredibly, instead of mourning the loss of a family that never was, her boyfriend (now husband) presented her with a congratulations card.

So selfless. /sarc

Wait--there's an upside. She's removed herself from the gene pool.

Steyn weighs in:

Not with a bang but a whimper [Mark Steyn]
By the way, regarding that English lady who sterilized herself to save the planet, I wouldn't mind betting that voluntary, environmentally responsible, civilizational self-extinction catches on big time as the logical end-point of western progressivism. Even a smart guy like Lord May, (one of Australia's most eminent scientists, former advisor to the British Government, etc), finds the fall in global fertility encouraging without appreciating that this trend is not evenly distributed, and that it's precisely those groups that profess to care most about the environment - Western Europeans, Canadians, Vermonters, San Franciscans - that are self-liquidating the fastest. If you've ever seen the trash in small Yemeni villages or even in Bedouin encampments, the environment doesn't seem to be a big priority. But they'll be the ones left to man the Greenpeace offices.

Home town Heroes

2007-11-23T07:59:00.000-05:00

I have an elderly neighbor with type one diabetes that I check up on frequently as his wife is in a rehab facility for a nasty fall she took earlier this year. I looked in on him upon returning from my family's Thanksgiving celebration and instantly saw that his blood sugar was far too low. I tried to get him to drink some apple juice but he wouldn't respond to my cajoling. It was time to call 911.

In minutes the EMS were at his home and within an hour he was sorted out and OK.

Thanksgiving night. Local heroes. Sacrifice in the home town.

Magnificent.

Blondes maik me stoopid

2007-11-19T19:26:00.000-05:00

By Laura Clout | Nov 19, 2007 |

Blonde women really do make men lose their heads, according to scientists. Tests showed that men performed worse after they were shown pictures of fair-haired women, most likely because they believed they were dealing with someone less.../continued on Telegraph (U.K.)/

Performed worse at what, exactly?

I have personal experience. In my late 20's I was smitten upon walking into a venue I was scoping for a gig, and there, across the proverbial 'crowded room' stood a 5'11' blonde that could have easily stepped off the cover of Cosmo. And she was staring at moi.

And she was crazy.

I don't want to go too far past the land of PG13 so I'll just have to express this in a way that a lot of men will understand--crazy monkey sex is even better when the female partner is off her nut.

Then she dug in. For 2 1/2 years. Until she burned my brand new sectional with a dropped cigaret in a drunken stupor. I took her to the hospital at 0400 and called her mother to take over. I was done--the fork was stuck in me.

Then the calls started. 20, 30 a day. For about three months then they stopped.

Last I heard she married a pharmacist in Georgia. With her proclivity for pills and drink I wonder if either survived.

Name initials may influence grades: study
Fri Nov 16, 11:44 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Certain initials may look better than others as monograms but they can also have an impact on how well a person performs in a sport or at school, according to a new study.

Researchers who studied the impact of initials found that baseballs players whose first or last name starts with the letter K, which signifies a strikeout, tended to strike out more often than other players.

And students whose names start with the letters C or D, which denote mediocre marks in some grading systems, did not perform as well as other pupils with different initials.

That it! I'm changing my childrens' surname to Aaherne.

From The Sunday Times
November 18, 2007
UN unveils full danger of climate change
Jonathan Leake, Science Editor

SCIENTISTS leading global research into climate change have set out a stark vision of how the world will change if humanity fails to tackle surging greenhouse gas emissions.

A report issued yesterday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) described how a warming world would threaten billions of people with thirst and malnutrition, endanger more than half of wildlife species with extinction and initiate a melting of the Greenland ice cap that could raise global sea levels by more than 22ft.

Such warnings have been heard before but never with so much scientific certainty. The IPCC’s report was based on 29,000 observations taken around the world and published in more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Yesterday, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, who unveiled the report in Valencia, Spain, said: “All humanity must now assume responsibility for climate change.”

Natter, natter. Goes on to say the oceans are becoming too acidic.

The earth has a fever and now the oceans have heartburn.

I can fix all this, you know.

Aspirin and Alka Seltzer.

And boot the UN and its worthless science.

Excerpts

2007-11-19T07:43:00.000-05:00

The following are ideas simply condensed from longer articles.

From Suzanne Fields in The Politics of Irrational Ideology

Monday, November 19, 2007

[snip]
For many humans, however, the interplay of good and evil isn't as clear as it could be and is often clouded by an intellectual arrogance that keeps otherwise intelligent men and women from seeing what's right in front of their eyes. This was certainly true for the fellow travelers among us during the Stalin years. No matter how many men and women were tortured into false confessions behind the Iron Curtain, no matter how many men and women simply disappeared from life and history, Marxist apologists dismissed the brutality as an aberration, and besides, it was still preferable to bourgeois individualism. Similar irrational defenses are made on behalf of the Islamists in the Middle East who brutalize women, plot the obliteration of Israel and who deprive their own people of the freedoms of speech and movement.

[snip]

In modern times, such blindness proliferates among so-called intellectuals who insist on blaming America first and George W. Bush foremost for everything that goes wrong in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hating the president is as old as the presidency itself, possibly excepting the first one. Blamemongering is particularly virulent today, often preventing rational discussion. "Bush hatred compels its progressive victims -- who pride themselves on their sophistication and sensitivity to nuance -- to reduce complicated events and multilayered issues to simple matters of good and evil," writes Peter Berkowitz, professor at George Mason University School of Law, in the Wall Street Journal. "Like all hatred in politics, Bush-hatred blinds to the other sides of the argument, and constrains the hater to see a monster instead of a political opponent."

And from Timothy Birdnow

Liberals are using the concept of Anthropogenic Global Warming to advance their favorite causes, and that the whole War of the Worlds AGW scare is a tool to that end. This piece in LiveScience.com certainly buttresses that opinion.

The Left has traditionally hated Americans eating red meat and driving their cars, and now we are told that, in order to ``save the planet`` we should eschew both! This from the article:

In a little-noticed scientific paper in 2005, Paul Higgins, a scientist and policy fellow with the American Meteorological Society, calculated specific savings from adopting federal government recommendations for half an hour a day of exercise instead of driving.

The average person walking half an hour a day would lose about 13 pounds a year. And if everyone did that instead of driving the same distance, the nation would burn a total of 10.5 trillion calories, according to the scientist, formerly with the University of California at Berkeley. At the same time, that would cut carbon dioxide emissions by about the same amount New Mexico produces, he said.

"The real bang for the buck in reducing greenhouse gas emissions was from the avoided health expenses of a sedentary lifestyle,'' said Higgins.

But it's not just getting out of the car that's needed, said Dr. Robert Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. A diet shift away from heavy meat consumption would also go far, he said, because it takes much more energy and land to produce meat than fruits, vegetables and grains.

Recent studies support that argument. Last year the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the meat sector of the global economy is responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Much of that is indirect, including the fertilizer needed to grow massive amounts of feed for livestock, energy use in the whole growing process, methane released from fertilizer and animal manure, and transportation of the cattle and meat products.

So, America`s general lifestyle is to blame for Global Warming-not just our use of fossil fuels, but the way we eat and how we choose to live our lives. Changing our lifestyle seems to be a primary goal:

As for fighting obesity and global warming by walking and cycling, don't expect people to do it easily, said Kristie Ebi. She's a Virginia public health consultant and one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

Now, why did the IPCC need a public health consultant, and why was she one of the "leading authors" of the IPCC? Does it not seem obvious that transforming our way of life is the critical point of all this? Can any informed person continue to doubt that this issue is primarily a political power grab?

Rowan Atkinson LIVE

2007-11-18T16:32:00.000-05:00

Lessons on dating for young men

What the French, Germans and atheists may expect

Rowan Atkinson rocks.

Finally

2007-11-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

I'm usually too busy trying to find the tidbits on the net that are interesting enough to wish to pass on. Every now and again I'll write about a personal experience. And mostly I'm too distracted to spend hours learning a new skill set that I won't probably use much--but today was to finally be the day.

On a very early post at RR I revealed that I had been a musician in my previous career and some folks asked a few questions. It's now my pleasure to introduce you to some of that work (after navigating IMovie HD and much reformatting.

As you will see, I'm not much of a photog--perhaps we should all be grateful that I don't attempt video. But the music--well, that's my arrangement for jazz orchestra, it's me singing and at the piano.

Let me know if you like and I'll post some more.

Performance art

2007-11-18T11:12:00.000-05:00

Michael Israel in New York

You don't say

2007-11-17T21:13:00.000-05:00

Shattering Conventional Wisdom About Saddam's WMD's

By John Loftus
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, November 16, 2007

Finally, there are some definitive answers to the mystery of the missing WMD. Civilian volunteers, mostly retired intelligence officers belonging to the non-partisan IntelligenceSummit.org, have been poring over the secret archives captured from Saddam Hussein. The inescapable conclusion is this: Saddam really did have WMD after all, but not in the way the Bush administration believed. A 9,000 word research paper with citations to each captured document has been posted online at LoftusReport.com, along with translations of the captured Iraqi documents, courtesy of Mr. Ryan Mauro and his friends.

This Iraqi document research has been supplemented with satellite photographs and dozens of interviews, among them David Gaubatz who risked radiation exposure to locate Saddam’s underwater WMD warehouses , and John Shaw, whose brilliant detective work solved the puzzle of where the WMD went. Both have contributed substantially to solving one of the most difficult mysteries of our decade.

The absolutists on either side of the WMD debate will be more than a bit chagrinned at these disclosures. The documents show a much more complex history than previously suspected. The "Bush lied, people died" chorus has insisted that Saddam had no WMD whatsoever after 1991 - and thus that WMD was no good reason for the war. The Neocon diehards insist that, as in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the treasure-trove is still out there somewhere, buried under the sand dunes of Iraq. Each side is more than a little bit wrong about Saddam's WMD, and each side is only a little bit right about what happened to it.

The gist of the new evidence is this: roughly one quarter of Saddam's WMD was destroyed under UN pressure during the early to mid 1990's. Saddam sold approximately another quarter of his weapons stockpile to his Arab neighbors during the mid to late 1990's. The Russians insisted on removing another quarter in the last few months before the war. The last remaining WMD, the contents of Saddam's nuclear weapons labs, were still inside Iraq on the day when the coalition forces arrived in 2003. His nuclear weapons equipment was hidden in enormous underwater warehouses beneath the Euphrates River. Saddam’s entire nuclear inventory was later stolen from these warehouses right out from under the Americans’ noses. The theft of the unguarded Iraqi nuclear stockpile is perhaps, the worst scandal of the war, suggesting a level of extreme incompetence and gross dereliction of duty that makes the Hurricane Katrina debacle look like a model of efficiency.

Without pointing fingers at the Americans, the Israeli government now believes that Saddam Hussein’s nuclear stockpiles have ended up in weapons dumps in Syria. Debkafile, a somewhat reliable private Israeli intelligence service, has recently published a report claiming that the Syrians were importing North Korean plutonium to be mixed with Saddam’s enriched uranium. Allegedly, the Syrians were close to completing a warhead factory next to Saddam’s WMD dump in Deir al Zour, Syria to produce hundreds, if not thousands, of super toxic “dirty bombs” that would pollute wherever they landed in Israel for the next several thousands of years. Debka alleged that it was this combination factory/WMD dump site which was the target of the recent Israeli air strike in Deir al Zour province..

Read the rest here.

10,000

2007-11-16T07:51:00.000-05:00

There have now been over 10,000 Islamist terrorist attacks since September 11, 2001 according to web site Religion of Peace.com.

Most in the West have little understanding that this 'problem' has been ongoing--waxing and waning--for almost 1400 years.

The confusion stems from our understanding of morality. Even atheists in our Western cultures generally agree to certain norms of behavior and we expect that all other cultures share these norms. We expect these 'facts' at our own peril.

There are divine truths and wicked truths. The wicked truth referred to here is that many adherents of Islam do not recognize the basic humanity of those that don't practice their worldview--and that includes many Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

Slavery still exists primarily in Muslim regions. There was a time--until the West stood up to it--that Europeans and the nascent Americans were enslaved or ransomed. One of our greatest stood up and said, "No more."

BDS--hilarious!

2007-11-15T17:24:00.000-05:00

Usually I find no pleasure in watching addled and drooling persons go off the deep end.

Usually.

This requires a little backstory. Over the last several months Bernie from Planck's Constant has followed the story of Judge Roy Pearson and the $54 million civil suit against a family run dry cleaners in Washington. When I came across a reference that Pearson had been removed from the bench I checked Bernie's blog to see if he had the story. He didn't but I figured he'd want to know the outcome so I emailed the link to him.

He didn't let me down and posted this.

Now living in the general environs of The District I was surprised that this little item was not more or less in my face--I had to dig a bit for it. So when I saw that Bernie had blogged the story I commented this:

I'm most surprised that this news seemed somewhat buried.
turn | Homepage | 11.14.07 - 5:50 pm |

That was the first comment on the thread.

Now the hilarity begins. Comment #2:

Buried? Are you joking? Are you saying that America has never carried out an unprovoked attack on any other sovereign nation? Do you know that people in Laos still die from unexploded land mines littered all over the country side?

And I'm sorry but hasn't the whole world now agreed that there was absolutely no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq prior to the war?

That war cost Tony Blair his credibility and his job.

It is also common knowledge that the USA sold weapons to Saddam in the eighties to aid in his war against Iran as well as giving weapons and TRAINING the Taliban in their fight against the Russians.

Your president lied to you. He LIED so he could wage an unjust and, in the eyes of the United Nations, an illegal war over a country that was no threat to the USA whatsoever.

I cannot believe that, with the access we have to information these days, you people are still so blind to the truth.

I guess we only see what we want to see. If it makes you feel safe to believe that the USA can do no wrong then so be it and nothing, not even the cold hard facts will change your mind but if you really want to discover the truth I suggest you stop watching Fox 'news ' and open your eyes and minds to news from more impartial and reliable sources.

Believe me America looks very different from the point of view of the rest of the world.
Ruby | 11.14.07 - 8:58 pm | #

And it just keeps getting better.

Oh please! Some disgruntled has-been makes a shameless grab for fame with NO PROOF to back up his claims and I am supposed to feel stupid?

Ooh they lost it, they lost it! Yeah, and my dog ate my homework Miss.

Hans Blix, the weapons inspector was in Australia recently and on national radio he said that the inspection team found absolutely no proof of WMD's and they were searching round the clock.

And no he didn't make these statements on an obscure left-wing station but on a nation-wide youth music station funded by the Australian Govt (which you may recall blindly followed your country into that disaster zone) and which would thus have nothing to gain personally/politically from his statements.

As for the Spectator, isn't that owned by the guys who own the Daily Telegraph? Hardly the most impartial and credible newspaper in the England.

Surely you can do better than that.

Sorry mate, my position still stands and as for me picking the wrong side, last time I checked most Americans now oppose the war in Iraq.

And why do you have to insult me personally? Are you that frustrated by your lack of credibility that you have to try to humiliate me?
Ruby | 11.14.07 - 11:34 pm | #

Bernie,

I don't even know where to start. American restraint? Did America show restraint on Sept 11 1973 when it backed that coup in Chile that deposed the democratically elected leader Salvador Allende and instilled the truly terrifying and murderous tyrant Augusto Pinochet in his place?

What about the recent events in Venezuela when the US government gave money to the organisers of the coup who deposed and imprisoned the democratically elected leader Chavez only to have egg on their face when the people of Venezuela revolted, marched on the streets and demanded the return of their rightful leader.
Now that is true democracy.

And we could argue about this until the end of time but I really can't be bothered anymore. I don't wish America or Americans any harm, I simply wish that people would wake up and realise that there is no clear cut right and wrong here.

Powerful men become powerful by oppressing others and that is true no matter what country or religion they belong to.

And why do we owe our gratitude to America? You would think you were the only country involved in the wars you mentioned above. I am not saying that every single thing that America does is wrong but by the same token, not everything that America does is right either.

America didn't invent democracy, but it sure has tried to own it.
Ruby | 11.14.07 - 11:59 pm | #

And she checked back in the morning with high dudgeon to another commenter:

Erm. Damn, wasn't this post about some judge's drawers? How did Ruby (related to "red," as in "commie bitch") stretch that into a BDS screed?

Ruby, you have enough to worry about in the UK, what with your failing health care system, Islamotards, and your high taxation rates. Take care of your house before you presume to take care of ours. Bitch.
skh.pcola | 11.15.07 - 1:45 am | #

Bitch huh? And you expect the world to take you seriously.

By the way, I have never been to the UK and don't get me started on healthcare. Does that even exist in America?

Why do I make you so angry? Could it be that I am touching a raw nerve that shakes you up and makes you think that maybe, just maybe, I could be right?

In a perfect world we would all be liberal- as in free.
Ruby | 11.15.07 - 9:15 am | #

Well, heck, Ruby--everything should be free. All the butterflies and squirrels, birds and whales, all free.

How Far Gone #1

2007-11-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

Each Thursday expect a post on the encroachment by various forces on our civilization and culture.

Santa ho,ho,ho gets heave-ho

RENATO CASTELLO
November 11, 2007 12:15am

THERE'LL be no ho, ho, ho this Christmas. Aspiring Santas have been told not to use the term "ho" because it could be seen as derogatory to women.

Thirty trainees at a Santa course in Adelaide last month, held by recruitment company Westaff, were urged to replace the traditional festive greeting with "ha, ha, ha".

A Santa veteran of 11 years who attended the course told the Sunday Mail the trainer was very clear in spelling out no to "ho".

Two Santa hopefuls reportedly left the course after the trainer's edict.

The term "ho" is also American slang for a prostitute. "We were told it (ho) was a derogatory term for females and can upset people," said the Santa, who did not want to be identified publicly.

Stuart Pid

2007-11-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

Stuart? Stuart Pid? Is Stu Pid in the auditorium?

November 14, 2007
Iran hands over Blueprints for Part of a Nuclear Device

Rick Moran
From our "How'd That Get In There?" Department...

Iran has finally handed over the proof that their nuclear enrichment activities were not entirely peaceful despite rigorous protests to the contrary that fooled no one except those disposed to be fooled in the first place:
Iran has met a key demand of the U.N. nuclear agency by delivering blueprints that show how to mold uranium metal into the shape of warheads, diplomats said Tuesday, in an apparent concession meant to stave off the threat of new U.N. sanctions.

But the diplomats said Tehran has failed to meet other requests made by the International Atomic Energy Agency in its attempts to end nearly two decades of nuclear secrecy on the part of the Islamic Republic.

The diplomats spoke to The Associated Press as IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei put the finishing touches on his latest report to the agency's 35-nation board of governors, for consideration during a meeting that begins on Nov. 22, Thanksgiving Day. The confidential report, expected to be distributed to agency members this Wednesday or Thursday, is likely to show substantial but not full compliance by Iran with its pledges to come clean on past activities — and confirm at the same time that Tehran continues to enrich uranium in defiance of the U.N. Security Council.

So we get 'slammi warheads for peace and self defense and the world is somehow safer?

Mo, the car thief

2007-11-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

Religion of Peace and Honesty^TM "acts up"

Mohamed was arrested Monday afternoon on auto theft charges but complained of chest pains when he was being processed. He was taken to the Laurel hospital where he was under police guard before he attacked the trooper.

The inmate who escaped from Laurel Regional Hospital after he took the gun of a state trooper and fired shots was captured.

The Maryland state trooper injured in the incident was being treated at Greater Laurel Regional Hospital for non life-threatening injuries. Her name wasn't released by Maryland State Police.

Crap! Girl with gun loses gun to perp!

Police performed an air and ground search around the hospital for hours Tuesday morning to locate 39-year-old Kamara Mohamed.
Authorities told WBAL TV 11 News that Mohamed was caught at about 9 a.m.

Perhaps this is why he went relatively unnoticed.

Police said Mohamed fled barefoot and in a white hospital gown.

An alert citizen noticed a Mohammedan-looking man in a somewhat white, flowing (hospital) gown.

A Taser was used to eventually subdue Mohamed. He was taken to a hospital for examination.

Oh my, oh my... What will CAIR say?

BABY KILLERS!

2007-11-13T07:39:00.000-05:00

15 year old Lizzie Palmer produced this remarkable video

Four decades ago youngsters thought little of hurling epithets like the headline above at GIs returning from Viet Nam. The grownups more or less tolerated this behavior unless it grew to riot proportions.

Today (and temporarily, I pray) many of the late '60s persuasion actually hold power.

But today, new media allows for more expression by the 'grown-ups'--some of whom are mere teenagers.

Islamic Car

2007-11-12T20:33:00.000-05:00

Malaysia firm's 'Muslim car' plan

By Robin Brant
BBC News, Kuala Lumpur

The Malaysian carmaker Proton has announced plans to develop an "Islamic car", designed for Muslim motorists.

Proton is planning on teaming up with manufacturers in Iran and Turkey to create the unique vehicle.

The car could boast special features like a compass pointing to Mecca and a dedicated space to keep a copy of the Koran and a headscarf.

Available options include:

Sun roof

Moon roof

Goat leather seats

Spinners

AM radio

GPS

Motorized pop-up machine gun*

Undercoating

Reinforced front end

Semtex

Semtex with ball bearings

Semtex with nuts and bolts

Cruise control (on steering wheel)

Detonator (on steering wheel)

Air conditioning

Flat-proof tyres

Passenger side ejection seat (for reluctant suicide bombers)*

Limited warranty

*only available with sun roof

RAGE BOY'S SOFTER SIDE

2007-11-12T19:56:00.000-05:00

Who knew? When we all thought that Rage Boy^TM was two dimensional it turns out that there's sooo much more...

Rage Boy^TM as we have come to love him
Excerpted from The Daily Mail:

But who is the real person behind the cartoon and what does he believe in? I travelled to Kashmir in search of the poster-boy of fundamentalism.

Thank you, Patrick French. We'd have never known.

Conscious that I was the only foreigner in town, I linked up with a local reporter, Peerzada Arshad Hamid, who took me to what he called 'the Gaza Strip of Kashmir'.

We went to Malik Angan, a poor area that the security forces monitor closely, though they risk being shot at or stoned.

I almost remember how strong that shit was from the '70s. Oh, Hell yes--they know their smoke in that part of the world.

Arriving at a simple, traditional three-storey Kashmiri house, I was taken up steep wooden steps by the light of a gas lamp to the top of the building. There, standing in an empty room, dressed in a salwar kameez and zip-up cardigan, with crooked teeth and a quizzical look on his face, was Islamic Rage Boy.

Shakeel Ahmad Bhat is a 29-year-old failed militant. Over two days, sitting cross-legged at the home he shares with his mother and smiling shyly much of the time, Shakeel told me, through an interpreter, his life story and why he had come to wave his fists at the cameras.

His story was not what I had expected and showed the personal torment of life in a society that has gone wrong. Although it is hard to prove the authenticity of his story, given my knowledge of Kashmiri political history over the past 20 years, everything he told me sounded plausible: after all, what reason would he have to lie?

A somewhat more subdued Rage Boy^TM

Shakeel did not like school and he had difficulty learning to read and write. His teacher thrashed him with a stick but it did not improve his studies. Aged ten, he refused to go to class and stayed at home with his family.

Perhaps he didn't play well with others.

Shakeel was not a very good militant. When I asked him how many people he had killed, he looked embarrassed.

"I gave scares but I never killed anyone," he said. "I couldn't. I never hurled a grenade in a public place."

His greatest achievement was opening fire on the cavalcade of a visiting Indian government minister.

Erm...OK.

Shakeel's understanding of the world is limited by his inability to read or write. He likes going to demonstrations and has an ambition to start a political party.

Ooh. Sign me up.

I suggested to Shakeel that he must have been tempted by the prospect of a job and a wife – he was unlikely ever to get such a good opportunity again. He looked shy and covered his face with his hands.

"I want to marry a non-Muslim woman and convert her to Islam."

Why? I asked.

In a moment that might have come straight out of the Borat film, he answered in a soft, serious voice: "I have been told that if I can convince a non-Muslim woman to marry me – but not convert her by force – then there will be a place for me in heaven."

I suggested there might be some suitable candidates in Britain. "If the offer comes," Shakeel said, "I am ready to accept it."

Well ladies, the offer is on the table.

Who could resist?

Told ya

2007-11-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

In the previous post I mentioned the ZPG movement and the left. Check this from the corner :

Thursday, November 08, 2007

People who don't need people [Mark Steyn]
"Humanity is the greatest challenge," says Colorado environmental activist John Feeney in "The Green Room" at BBC News. It's not enough to reduce emissions, we have to reduce the folks doing the emitting:

We must end world population growth, then reduce population size. That means lowering population numbers in industrialised as well as developing nations.
It's fascinating to observe how almost any old totalitarian racket becomes respectable once it's cloaked in enviro-hooey. For example, restrictions on freedom of movement were previously the mark of the Soviet Union et al. But in Britain, they're proposing limits on your right to take airline flights to other countries - and, as it's in the name of environmental responsibility, everyone thinks it's a grand idea. Mr Feeney's views are the logical reductio, which means in another six months or so European cabinet ministers and UN officials are bound to start taking them up. Nobel Peace Prize winner and notorious cat slayer Jimmy Carter will turn his shotgun on two-legged targets and start building Habitats for Inhumanity.

I'm with this guy:

George Osmond married his wife, Olive, on Dec. 1, 1944. She died in 2004. The couple had nine children, many of whom became singing stars; 55 grandchildren; and 48 great-grandchildren.

When does the mass euthanasia start?

Sooner or later

2007-11-08T11:30:00.000-05:00

HEADLINE

WE'RE AT WAR, FOLKS

Not with a nation--although nations like Iran are involved.

Islamists (I like to call 'em 'slammis) have declared war on the West. I guess they figure once the West falls the rest of the world will sign up for prayer rug.

I wonder if the clerics of Islam have given any thought to the traffic problems of 6*10⁹ human beings converging on Mecca for the Hajj boogie. But maybe they reckon that their world should be populated by a whole lot fewer people.

True believer^TM socialists are waging war against capitalism and personal wealth. Their zero sum economic models are prevailing in the left wing among us. Somewhere north of 20% of US citizens are already subscribed and many are instructing our children.

That would be the children that enjoyed the privilege of actually being born rather than discarded as medical waste. Largely because 'forward thinking' people bought into another zero sum wrong-headed idea promulgated by Paul Ehrlich in his book The Population Bomb.

And the aforementioned groups--'slammis and soshies--groups that would not seem to be naturally inclined to get in bed together--are now firmly allied. Author David Horowitz covers this in detail in his book Unholy Alliance.

So Iran announced yesterday that 3000 centrifuges are now operational for the enrichment of uranium, a process that most ordinary folk have little understanding. The bangie kind is U₂₃₅ which is about 3/4 of 1% of natural uranium. The rest is U₂₃₈.

The enrichment process leaves a lot of U₂₃₈ just lying around but it's not without some uses. It is, after all, a very dense metal and has been used by the US as armor piercing shells called sabots. I'd be surprised if some Western educated Iranian scientist didn't start applying that technology to build sabots for Iraqi insurgents.

Oops. Did I just reveal an unclassified but well-stifled secret about explosively formed penetrators and why they're so devastatingly effective?

Anyhow, Iran is getting busy with enriching U₂₃₅ to wipe Israel off the map and lord it over its neighbors (who don't particularly like the feeling) while working on ballistic missile technology and other things like the B and C in NBC.

Iran Chemical, Bio Weapons Threat Is Real

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 8:09 PM
By: Steven J. Allen

An attack on Iran could trigger horrific retaliation against the U.S. and her allies in the Middle East with chemical and biological weapons including nerve gas, anthrax, and a germ similar to the devastating Ebola virus.

While the U.S. has not overtly threatened to bomb Iran’s burgeoning nuclear facilities, it has warned of using the “military option.” And Iran has countered if attacked it would retaliate.

Western intelligence experts doubt Iran has acquired a nuclear device and suggest she is several years from doing so.

But many agree that Iran has a program for chemical and biological weapons (CBWs) -- one more shrouded in secrecy than her nuclear program. Not only do analysts say the Islamic regime has stockpiles of CBWs, they also suggest that Iran also has the means to deliver the weapons to targets in Israel, Iraq and the United States.

“The threat of chemical and biological retaliatory attack by Iran is very real,” Dr. Dany Shoham, a chemical and biological weapons expert at the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Israel, tells Newsmax. “Iran is prone to dare what Iraq did not, and has the needed operational capabilities.”

In response to a U.S. or Israeli attack, analysts maintain that Iran could strike U.S. forces in Iraq with artillery shells containing CBWs. Iran’s Shahab-3 missiles, with a range of up to 1,200 miles, could hit U.S. bases as far away as Oman, as well as Israeli targets in Haifa and Tel Aviv, experts say.

In addition to aerial bombardment, the Iranians could spray CBWs -- including anthrax -- from unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters or boats. Iran could also employ suicide attackers to drive trucks filled with CBWs into target areas, experts add.

Military experts also fear that Iran’s retaliation might not be limited to the Middle East. CBWs – especially biological weapons, which take up little space – could even be smuggled into the U.S.

Tick...tick...tick...

Every day Iran is a little closer to a bomb and a little more prepared to retaliate against what we know we're going to have to do anyway.

A French Reagan

2007-11-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hey!

Today's my birthday. I have all I could want but sometimes find gifts not expected.

One such gift was actually given to us all but delivered to the US Congress. It came in the form of a speech from the president of a country that has not been known for being very favorable to Americans of late.

The worm turns.

Speech by Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic before the Congress of the United States of America

Washington, November 7, 2007

Madam Speaker,
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States Congress,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The state of our friendship and our alliance is strong.

Friendship, first and foremost, means being true to one’s friends. Since the United States first appeared on the world scene, the loyalty between the French and American people has never failed. And far from being weakened by the vicissitudes of History, it has never ceased growing stronger.

Friends may have differences; they may have disagreements; they may have disputes.

But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, friends stand together, side by side; they support each other; and help one another.

In times of difficulty, in times of hardship, America and France have always stood side by side, supported one another, helped one another, fought for each other’s freedom.

The United States and France remain true to the memory of their common history, true to the blood spilled by their children in common battles. But they are not true merely to the memory of what they accomplished together in the past. They remain true, first and foremost, to the same ideal, the same principles, the same values that have always united them.

The deliberations of your Congress are conducted under the double gaze of Washington and Lafayette. Lafayette, whose 250th birthday we are celebrating this year and who was the first foreign dignitary, in 1824, to address a joint session of Congress. What was it that brought these two men—so far apart in age and background—together, if not their faith in common values, the heritage of the Enlightenment, the same love for freedom and justice? Upon first meeting Washington, Lafayette told him: “I have come here to learn, not to teach.” It was this new spirit and youth of the Old World seeking out the wisdom of the New World that opened a new era for all of humanity.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant putting into practice the dreams of the Old World.

From the very beginning, the American dream meant proving to all mankind that freedom, justice, human rights and democracy were no utopia but were rather the most realistic policy there is and the most likely to improve the fate of each and every person.

America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who—with their hands, their intelligence and their heart—built the greatest nation in the world: “Come, and everything will be given to you.” She said: “Come, and the only limits to what you’ll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent.” America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and every person a second chance.

Here, both the humblest and most illustrious citizens alike know that nothing is owed to them and that everything has to be earned. That’s what constitutes the moral value of America. America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible.

What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The men and women of my generation heard their grandparents talk about how in 1917, America saved France at a time when it had reached the final limits of its strength, which it had exhausted in the most absurd and bloodiest of wars.

The men and women of my generation heard their parents talk about how in 1944, America returned to free Europe from the horrifying tyranny that threatened to enslave it.

Fathers took their sons to see the vast cemeteries where, under thousands of white crosses so far from home, thousands of young American soldiers lay who had fallen not to defend their own freedom but the freedom of all others, not to defend their own families, their own homeland, but to defend humanity as a whole.

Fathers took their sons to the beaches where the young men of America had so heroically landed. They read them the admirable letters of farewell that those 20-year-old soldiers had written to their families before the battle to tell them: “We don’t consider ourselves heroes. We want this war to be over. But however much dread we may feel, you can count on us.” Before they landed, Eisenhower told them: “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”

And as they listened to their fathers, watched movies, read history books and the letters of soldiers who died on the beaches of Normandy and Provence, as they visited the cemeteries where the star-spangled banner flies, the children of my generation understood that these young Americans, 20 years old, were true heroes to whom they owed the fact that they were free people and not slaves. France will never forget the sacrifice of your children.

To those 20-year-old heroes who gave us everything, to the families of those who never returned, to the children who mourned fathers they barely got a chance to know, I want to express France’s eternal gratitude.

On behalf of my generation, which did not experience war but knows how much it owes to their courage and their sacrifice; on behalf of our children, who must never forget; to all the veterans who are here today and, notably the seven I had the honor to decorate yesterday evening, one of whom, Senator Inouye, belongs to your Congress, I want to express the deep, sincere gratitude of the French people. I want to tell you that whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I think of them and I am sad, as one is sad to lose a member of one’s family.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The men and women of my generation remember the Marshall Plan that allowed their fathers to rebuild a devastated Europe. They remember the Cold War, during which America again stood as the bulwark of the Free World against the threat of new tyranny.

I remember the Berlin crisis and Kennedy who unhesitatingly risked engaging the United States in the most destructive of wars so that Europe could preserve the freedom for which the American people had already sacrificed so much. No one has the right to forget. Forgetting, for a person of my generation, would be tantamount to self-denial.

But my generation did not love America only because she had defended freedom. We also loved her because for us, she embodied what was most audacious about the human adventure; for us, she embodied the spirit of conquest. We loved America because for us, America was a new frontier that was continuously pushed back—a constantly renewed challenge to the inventiveness of the human spirit.

My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were fueled by the winning of the West and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Hemingway. By John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth. And by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind’s oldest dream.

What was so extraordinary for us was that through her literature, her cinema and her music, America always seemed to emerge from adversity even greater and stronger; that instead of causing America to doubt herself, such ordeals only strengthened her belief in her values.

What makes America strong is the strength of this ideal that is shared by all Americans and by all those who love her because they love freedom.

America’s strength is not only a material strength, it is first and foremost a spiritual and moral strength. No one expressed this better than a black pastor who asked just one thing of America: that she be true to the ideal in whose name he—the grandson of a slave—felt so deeply American. His name was Martin Luther King. He made America a universal role model.

The world still remembers his words—words of love, dignity and justice. America heard those words and America changed. And the men and women who had doubted America because they no longer recognized her began loving her again.

Fundamentally, what are those who love America asking of her, if not to remain forever true to her founding values?

*
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today as in the past, as we stand at the beginning of the 21st century, it is together that we must fight to defend and promote the values and ideals of freedom and democracy that men such as Washington and Lafayette invented together.

Together we must fight against terrorism. On September 11, 2001, all of France—petrified with horror—rallied to the side of the American people. The front-page headline of one of our major dailies read: “We are all American.” And on that day, when you were mourning for so many dead, never had America appeared to us as so great, so dignified, so strong. The terrorists had thought they would weaken you. They made you greater. The entire world felt admiration for the courage of the American people. And from day one, France decided to participate shoulder to shoulder with you in the war in Afghanistan. Let me tell you solemnly today: France will remain engaged in Afghanistan as long as it takes, because what’s at stake in that country is the future of our values and that of the Atlantic Alliance. For me, failure is not an option. Terrorism will not win because democracies are not weak, because we are not afraid of this barbarism. America can count on France.

Together we must fight against proliferation. Success in Libya and progress under way in North Korea shows that nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. Let me say it here before all of you: The prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons is unacceptable. The Iranian people is a great people. It deserves better than the increased sanctions and growing isolation to which its leaders condemn it. Iran must be convinced to choose cooperation, dialogue and openness. No one must doubt our determination.

Together we must help the people of the Middle East find the path of peace and security. To the Israeli and Palestinian leaders I say this: Don’t hesitate! Risk peace! And do it now! The status quo hides even greater dangers: that of delivering Palestinian society as a whole to the extremists that contest Israel’s existence; that of playing into the hands of radical regimes that are exploiting the deadlock in the conflict to destabilize the region; that of fueling the propaganda of terrorists who want to set Islam against the West. France wants security for Israel and a State for the Palestinians.

Together we must help the Lebanese people affirm their independence, their sovereignty, their freedom, their democracy. What Lebanon needs today is a broad-based president elected according to the established schedule and in strict respect of the Constitution. France stands engaged alongside all the Lebanese. It will not accept attempts to subjugate the Lebanese people.

*
Ladies and Gentlemen,

America feels it has the vocation to inspire the world. Because she is the most powerful country in the world. Because, for more than two centuries, she has striven to uphold the ideals of democracy and freedom. But this stated responsibility comes with duties, the first of which is setting an example.

Those who love this nation which, more than any other, has demonstrated the virtues of free enterprise expect America to be the first to denounce the abuses and excesses of a financial capitalism that sets too great a store on speculation. They expect her to commit fully to the establishment of the necessary rules and safeguards. The America I love is the one that encourages entrepreneurs, not speculators.

Those who admire the nation that has built the world’s greatest economy and has never ceased trying to persuade the world of the advantages of free trade expect her to be the first to promote fair exchange rates. The yuan is already everyone’s problem. The dollar cannot remain solely the problem of others. If we’re not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims.

Those who love the country of wide open spaces, national parks and nature reserves expect America to stand alongside Europe in leading the fight against global warming that threatens the destruction of our planet. I know that each day, in their cities and states, the American people are more aware of the stakes and determined to act. This essential fight for the future of humanity must be all of America’s fight.

Those who have not forgotten that it was the United States that, at the end of the Second World War, raised hopes for a new world order are asking America to take the lead in the necessary reforms of the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the G8. Our globalized world must be organized for the 21st century, not for the last century. The emerging countries we need for global equilibrium must be given their rightful place.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to express one last conviction: Trust Europe.

In this unstable, dangerous world, the United States of America needs a strong, determined Europe. With the simplified treaty I proposed to our partners, the European Union is about to emerge from 10 years of discussions on its institutions and 10 years of paralysis. Soon it will have a stable president and a more powerful High Representative for foreign and security policy, and it must now reactivate the construction of its military capacities.

The ambition I am proposing to our partners is based on a simple observation: There are more crises than there are capacities to face them. NATO cannot be everywhere. The EU must be able to act, as it did in the Balkans and in the Congo, and as it will tomorrow on the border of Sudan and Chad. For that the Europeans must step up their efforts.

My approach is purely pragmatic. Having learned from history, I want the Europeans, in the years to come, to have the means to shoulder a growing share of their defense. Who could blame the United States for ensuring its own security? No one. Who could blame me for wanting Europe to ensure more of its own security? No one. All of our Allies, beginning with the United States, with whom we most often share the same interests and the same adversaries, have a strategic interest in a Europe that can assert itself as a strong, credible security partner.

At the same time, I want to affirm my attachment to NATO. I say it here before this Congress: The more successful we are in the establishment of a European Defense, the more France will be resolved to resume its full role in NATO.

I would like France, a founding member of our Alliance and already one of its largest contributors, to assume its full role in the effort to renew NATO’s instruments and means of action and, in this context, to allow its relations with the Alliance to evolve.

This is no time for theological quarrels but for pragmatic responses to make our security tools more effective and operational in the face of crises. The EU and NATO must march hand in hand.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want to be your friend, your ally and your partner. But a friend who stands on his own two feet. An independent ally. A free partner.

France must be stronger. I am determined to carry through with the reforms that my country has put off for all too long. I will not turn back, because France has turned back for all too long. My country has enormous assets. While respecting its unique identity, I want to put it into a position to win all the battles of globalization. I passionately love France. I am lucid about the work that remains to be accomplished.

It is this ambitious France that I have come to present to you today. A France that comes out to meet America to renew the pact of friendship and the alliance that Washington and Lafayette sealed in Yorktown.

Together let us be worthy of their example, let us be equal to their ambition, let us be true to their memories!

Long live the United States of America!

Vive la France!

Long live French-American friendship!

Great speech. We shall see. I have very little faith in the EU. I don't agree with further capitulations by Israel for those that would be called 'Palestinians'--a name cobbled in the 1960s for those Arabs that chose neither Jordan nor Israeli citizenship.

But in a world that relies on the US for so much while simultaneously despising us while simultaneously trying to emigrate from their cesspools to enjoy our opportunities [come up for breath] it is a gift to be recognized by an outstanding foreign leader.

A compass of dross

2007-11-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

Who is Philip Pullman and why should we care?

h/t Red Sonya

A month from today a film will go into wide release entitled The Golden Compass. That's the name of the North American release of what was published as Northern Lights to the rest of the world. It stars heavyweight Nicole Kidman and is probably going to be a holiday blockbuster

Holiday ~~block~~buster.

I don't profess any religion; I don't think it's possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or 'spirituality'"

"My books are about killing God"

-Philip Pullman

My kids and I attend cinema regularly. We've probably seen the trailor for this six or more times and always remarked that we'd put this on our list this season.

Not now. Not that I know what this is about.

Pullman despises C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia so he sets out to use similar themes to discredit the notion of God. (What's that old saw about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery?

What's this--he was raised (after his father was killed in plane crash when Philip was seven) by his evil clergyman grandfather who presumably tormented the young Philip with moral instruction?

Millions of impressionable children will see this movie and read the following two books in the Dark Materials trilogy.

Please take this movie off your list for the holidays. The Holy Days.

Fixing what isn't broken

2007-11-06T07:40:00.000-05:00

Stop "Making A Difference"
By Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Among the many mindless mantras of our time, "making a difference" and "giving back" irritate me like chalk screeching across a blackboard.

I would be scared to death to "make a difference" in the way pilots fly airliners or brain surgeons operate. Any difference I might make could be fatal to many people.

Making a difference makes sense only if you are convinced that you have mastered the subject at hand to the point where any difference you might make would be for the better.

Very few people have mastered anything that well beyond their own limited circle of knowledge. Even fewer seem to think far enough ahead to consider that question. Yet hardly a day goes by without news of some uninformed busybodies on one crusade or another.

Even the simplest acts have ramifications that spread across society the way waves spread across a pond when you drop a stone in it.

Among those who make a difference by serving food to the homeless, how many have considered the history of societies which have made idleness easy for great numbers of people?

How many have studied the impact of drunken idlers on other people in their own society, including children who come across their needles in the park -- if they dare to go to the parks?

How many have even considered such questions relevant as they drop their stone in the pond without thinking about the waves that spread out to others?

Maybe some would still do what they do, even if they thought about it. But that doesn't mean that thinking is a waste of time.

"Giving back" is a similarly mindless mantra.

I have donated money, books and blood for people I have never seen and to whom I owe nothing. Nor is that unusual among Americans, who do more of this than anyone else.

But we are not "giving back" anything to those people because we never took anything from them in the first place.

If we are giving back to society at large, in exchange for all that society has made possible for us, then that is a very different ballgame.

Giving back in that sense means acknowledging an obligation to those who went before us and for the institutions and values that enable us to prosper today. But there is very little of this spirit of gratitude and loyalty in many of those who urge us to "give back." continued...

Age of Entitlement

2007-11-06T07:29:00.000-05:00

At the bottom of the pile of rocks that forms this union are two conflicting mindsets--freedom to advance as far in this life as your abilities and aspirations may take you or freedom (?) from responsibility.

The Entitlement Society
By Bill Murchison
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

This has to be the Entitlement Age, because nobody I know of would call it the Age of Common Sense.

You take these two, I suppose you call them, ideals -- entitlement to blessings and benefits on the one hand and shrewd appraisal of the way life works, and you find, I think, they match poorly, if at all.

Take the driver's license flap -- the one that arose when Hillary Clinton couldn't or wouldn't come out and say what she thought about New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal for the issuance of driver's licenses to illegal aliens. From the media Mrs. Clinton took a drubbing. She wouldn't say yes and she wouldn't say no; or anyway she wouldn't say either with any conviction, calling into question her credentials for taking charge of the world's still, despite reverses, No. 1 nation.

Put the lady's electoral prospects to the side. A matter worth more extensive chewing is the inability, wherever it exists, to shut off the driver's license argument on account of the sheer unacceptability of such a notion -- i.e., bestowing an entitlement of citizenship on non-citizens.

Let us see why this might be so. We could venture that in general you don't acquire privileges in consequence of being somewhere you aren't supposed to be. If anything, you acquire liabilities. Your job is to rectify the situation rather than reshape it to your own tastes.

Plenty of good arguments exist for rectifying and redrafting immigration policies that presently help no one -- those who come illegally, those in whose midst they take root. Is a grant of driver's licenses to violators of the law -- which is what illegal immigrants are -- an instrument of rectification? Or is it, far likelier, a white flag of abject surrender? Surrender to what? To the notion that racial politics disobliges America from making everyone in America play by the rules established for all.

Common sense tries to interject a couple of points: First, that when illegal immigrants start to receive the entitlements of citizenship, such as the legal right to drive a motor vehicle, it won't be long before they demand, or someone does it for them, new and enhanced benefits. Second, that when you start to break down the urgent distinctions between citizenship and non-citizenship, you debase and trivialize the former. Third, that it's just plain bad policy to break rules when you don't have to. continued...

The Chile solution

2007-11-05T07:54:00.000-05:00

Embracing the third rail

I wonder just how much of the resistance to intelligent and open debate on the SS entitlement system might originate not in the political arena but rather is the massive bureaucracy itself.

Life is not a defined benefit
By Star Parker
Monday, November 5, 2007

The U.S Comptroller General and head of the GAO, Government Accountability Office, has described the entitlements crisis facing this country as a "tsunami" that approaches while we continue to party on the beach.

What GAO head David Walker is talking about are the massive upcoming obligations under Social Security and Medicare that we have no funds to meet. Tens of trillions of dollars of supposed commitments, promises made to us by our government, that today we have no clue how we'll pay.

In those rare moments when our political "leaders" screw up sufficient courage to acknowledge this dark and ominous fiscal cloud hanging over us, the discussion is invariably technical. Proposed tax increases, cap increases, retirement age increases, benefit cuts, indexing -- all geared to "save the system."

But who has considered that, despite all the discussion about unfunded liabilities, what we really have on our hands is, at root and core, a moral crisis?

No one explains this better than my friend Jose Pinera.

And no one has better credentials to talk about this problem.

Twenty seven years ago, in November 1980, Chile, Dr. Pinera's home country, approved Social Security reform in which a tax-based, pay-as-you go government retirement system -- essentially identical to what we have here -- was replaced with an ownership based system of individually owned retirement accounts. Yes, in principle the kind of reform that President Bush proposed.

As the then youthful Minister of Labor and Social Security of Chile, Pinera was the godfather, mastermind, architect, navigator, and quarterback of the reform.

Key in execution was to allow every Chilean worker the dignity of choice.

They could choose to stay in the existing system, continue to pay payroll taxes, and qualify for government benefits at retirement, or they could get out and use those same funds to open and invest in their own personal retirement account.

Within months, 90 percent of the Chilean workforce opted out of the government system and into their own personal ownership regime.

The result has been more than just an enormously successful transformation of a failed government retirement system. Chile's social security privatization -- if I may use the word that politicians, even the conservative ones, choke on these days -- has been a driving piston in Chile's economic engine, now the most powerful in Latin America.

The average real (adjusted for inflation) annual return of Chile's personal retirement accounts over the last 26 years has been over ten percent (the historical real annual return on stocks in the U.S. is 7 percent).

Read the rest here.

The Compact

2007-11-04T07:09:00.000-05:00

Twelve months from today, November 4th, 2007; 366 days from today we'll go to the polls and quite literally decide the fate of America. It will be our doing in the 50 state elections that shall determine our leadership.

Up to that day, on the 4th day of each month, I will select a pertinent quotation of Thomas Paine and expand upon it for our times.

The Crisis

These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.

– Thomas Paine 23 December 1776

I'm guessing that's a little over dramatic. After all, it was meant to inspire the fence-sitters of the day to take an active role in a revolution that never saw more than 4000 men fighting on the side of independence.

Perhaps this next is more pertinent to our understanding of what is now at stake.

It is a perversion of terms to say that a charter gives rights. It operates by a contrary effect - that of taking rights away. "Rights are inherently in all the inhabitants; but charters, by annulling those rights, in the majority, leave the right, by exclusion, in the hands of a few. They consequently are instruments of injustice.”

The fact therefore must be that the individuals themselves, each in his own personal and sovereign right, entered into a compact with each other to produce a government: and this is the only mode in which governments have a right to arise, and the only principle on which they have a right to exist.

"individuals...entered into a compact with each other..."

This bears repeating.

"individuals...entered into a compact with each other..."

No. It needs to be hollered-

"INDIVIDUALS ENTERED INTO A COMPACT WITH EACH OTHER."

You and I have a compact. A sober and solemn agreement regarding what we acknowledge to be our natural rights and the compact means that I have to defend your rights as if they were mine.

Because they are.

And now we must think of unnatural rights.

We shouldn't have to, but given the current state of affairs we must.

How about state-run universal health care?

How about allowing unbridled immigration by those that don't care about our compact?

How about granting power to liars and thieves for the benefit of few?

Something needs to be reviewed and revisited. By each and every thinking American. Our pact. Our compact. Our responsibility.

This is a turnpost.

Capitulation?

2007-11-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

Various sources are espousing that al Qaeda is in its death throws--that they are giving up the ghost,

Believe it?

I don't.

Ideologies are harder to exterminate than snakes in a swamp--they bite when they have the opportunity and slither away in the tall weeds when they can't. BUT THEY DON'T LAY DOWN AND DIE--THEY HAVE TO BE KILLED. More Americans (and Americans in positions of power) are embracing socialist themes and tactics after the fall of the CCCP than when it threatened the world with its juggernaut of populist ideology.

The Saudis began exporting their Wahabi madrassa program about 30 years ago. Given the young age of marriage and reproduction we now have two generations of indoctrinated, dedicated fighters waiting for their chance to 'do right by allah'.

Here is some important text.

This is a bit long and complex. Pretty little heads may opt to skip it. Pretty little heads may ignore it. Pretty little heads may someday roll.

To the writers and readers of these words this is not propaganda. It is a religeously inspired mission statement.

November 03, 2007
The Al Qaeda Reader: A Review

By Gary H. Johnson, Jr.

A review of The Al Qaeda Reader
Raymond Ibrahim, Editor/translator.
$15.95, 282 pp.

Recently, Raymond Ibrahim edited and translated into English a decade's worth of public releases by al Qaeda's leadership. Published by Broadway Books, with partial proceeds donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Ibrahim's The Al Qaeda Reader is not only a timely fountainhead for the United States citizenry's understanding of our Jihadi enemies, it is also a necessary release for all Muslims living under secular governments to grapple with in the coming years.

The text focuses on the prepared statements of both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leading authority figures of the Al Qaeda forces, which coordinated and carried out the devastating attacks of 9/11/2001. Since Muhammad's definition of war is "deceit", and al Qaeda has declared war against America, we can only assume that these al Qaeda releases hold a two-fold purpose: to provide sound, doctrinal justification for terrorism; and to gather popular support for their cause.

Raymond Ibrahim tackles these angles admirably well by splitting the releases into the broader sections: Theology and Propaganda. This revealing text brings forth the Doctrines of Loyalty and Enmity, Jahaliyya, Taqiyya, in jihadi context for the Western witness. It also sheds light on the source blood of the modern Islamist mentality in terms of ibn Taymiyya as well as the pivotal battle of Taif eight years after Muhammad's celebrated Hegira to Medina.

Part 1, Theology, begins with a thesis entitled, "Moderate Islam is a Prostration to the West". What is obvious from this essay is that Osama bin Laden feels betrayed by the Muslim Intellectuals (particularly of Saudi Arabia) who would seek to stamp out extremism by helping President Bush in his "Crusade" against Islam. Bush's actual statement was made on September 16th, 2001: "This Crusade, this war on terror, is going to take a while." Regardless of President Bush's intent, the slip was made, and Osama bin Laden berates these "Moderate Muslims" for not including into their dialogue, with the Western Crusaders, three central elements of the Islamic Faith: the doctrine of Loyalty and Enmity; the necessity of jihad; and the bounds of Sharia.

Osama bin Laden chides the moderates for seeking the UN's concept of equality, freedom, and justice, which differ from the Islamic Notions, of the same, in the sunna tradition. This train of thought rolls like a juggernaut into its culmination on page 43 when Osama places down the cornerstone of Al Qaeda, the Koranic ayat (sign/verse) 60:4, in which Allah via his Messenger, Muhammad, summarizes the Muslim-Infidel relation as plainly exampled by Abraham, when he states
"We disown you and that which you worship besides Allah. We renounce you. Enmity and hate shall forever reign between us--till you believe in Allah alone."
Bin Laden lays the brick with ease, stating,
"Battle, animosity, and hatred - directed from the Muslim to the infidel - is the foundation of our religion. And we consider this a justice and kindness to them." [emphasis added]
Osama is vexed by the pesky Moderates, since they don't uphold Islam while dealing with the West. After all, he notes that,
"Muslims are obligated to raid the lands of the infidels, occupy them, and exchange their systems of governance for an Islamic system, barring any practice that contradicts the sharia..."
It is as if bin Laden is saying, if only these moderates had simply invited the West to submit to Islam; but, instead, by cooperating with the West, they have become apostates, denying the ultimate truth of Islam its rightful place above the Infidel, who has only three options when confronted with the Islamic faith: conversion to Islam, paying the Jizya tax, or death.

Part 1 continues with a Treatise by Ayman al-Zawahiri entitled "Loyalty and Enmity", in which he expounds upon Osama bin Laden's efforts. The controversial topic of Taqiyya is broached in which it is permissible for Muslims to associate with infidels to dissemble rather than befriend. Taqiyya basically states that if forced to deal with infidels, lie and smile, remain secure in faith, knowing you are not helping the enemy. Loyalty comes first, for all Muslims must heed ibn Taymiyya when he states,
"...he is obligated to befriend a believer - even if he is oppressive and violent toward you, while he must be hostile to the infidel - even if he is liberal and kind to you."
Al-Zawahiri confirms that all Muslims are ordered to wage jihad against infidels, apostates, and hypocrites by the consensus of the ulema (jurists of accepted hadith).

It is in this vein that ibn Taymiyyah's power is demonstrated in the line of Islamic jurists, for repulsing an invading force is second only to faith in Allah as a duty to Islam. Ibn Kathir then shows his value by verifying that unquestioning obedience to the will of the ulema is the right path of submission to Allah, while doubt and refusal to adhere is caused by fear.

But by far the most striking feature of this lengthy treatise comes when he notes those leaders that Al Qaeda has targeted, "that clique of rulers who, while domineering over the lands of Islam, oppose sharia." Al-Zawahiri proceeds to enumerate the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan as the secular clique of governments that aid the Crusader armies against the Mujahidin.

He goes on to state that anyone who joins the UN is not a true Muslim, calling them Henchmen of the Crusaders. He takes aim at the cowards who oppose sharia out of fear that the Crusaders will hurt them. And al-Zawahiri then pounds on the Northern Alliance Muslims who are aiding the American cause in Afghanistan. This juristic wrangling is the establishment of a purge to come. One can only wonder what type of purge is in store for these apostates should Al Qaeda win or become desperate. And if you doubt the purge to come, consider that the Tawhid (Oneness) of God, demands Submission to Allah and Fear of Allah, alone; yet, in this treatise's conclusion, al-Zawahiri states,

Al-Zawahiri confirms that all Muslims are ordered to wage jihad against infidels, apostates, and hypocrites by the consensus of the ulema (jurists of accepted hadith).

It is in this vein that ibn Taymiyyah's power is demonstrated in the line of Islamic jurists, for repulsing an invading force is second only to faith in Allah as a duty to Islam. Ibn Kathir then shows his value by verifying that unquestioning obedience to the will of the ulema is the right path of submission to Allah, while doubt and refusal to adhere is caused by fear.

But by far the most striking feature of this lengthy treatise comes when he notes those leaders that Al Qaeda has targeted, "that clique of rulers who, while domineering over the lands of Islam, oppose sharia." Al-Zawahiri proceeds to enumerate the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan as the secular clique of governments that aid the Crusader armies against the Mujahidin.

He goes on to state that anyone who joins the UN is not a true Muslim, calling them Henchmen of the Crusaders. He takes aim at the cowards who oppose sharia out of fear that the Crusaders will hurt them. And al-Zawahiri then pounds on the Northern Alliance Muslims who are aiding the American cause in Afghanistan. This juristic wrangling is the establishment of a purge to come. One can only wonder what type of purge is in store for these apostates should Al Qaeda win or become desperate. And if you doubt the purge to come, consider that the Tawhid (Oneness) of God, demands Submission to Allah and Fear of Allah, alone; yet, in this treatise's conclusion, al-Zawahiri states,

"We warn our umma against falling to defeatism and ignoring the dangers that oppressively lie atop our chests. Behold! the Crusader-Jewish military machine... It gears its aggression against us through a network of submissive rulers."

What happens to apostates again?

Part 1 culminates with two shorter treatises by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the first of which is entitled "Sharia and Democracy" and is simply an extract from his 1991 release, Bitter Harvest: The Muslim Brotherhood in Sixty Years. The importance of this section is in the simplicity with which democracy is labeled as the defining difference between Muslims and infidels, namely, Muslims submit to God, while infidels submit to men. Al-Zawahiri takes the consensus view of seven different jurists of the ulema, the source of Sharia Law, to explain why democratic government, created by the whims of men and nations is "a motley set of contrived rules".

Not only that, democracy is a primitive form of religion in comparison to faithful submission to Allah's Sharia. As proof for this rationale, Zawahiri examines Seven Islamic Jurist opinions, including those of the sheik of Islam, Ibn Taymiyya, and the father of radical Islam, Sayyid Qutb, all of which consider the rules of men to be a jahiliyya initiative, which is an attempt to bring mankind back to the time of man's law, before the Divine Koran was delivered, before the time of Muhammad, when true Sovereignty was ordained to Allah, by Allah himself.

This section is a revealing legalist perspective on why democracy is idolatry, the earmark of infidelity, and punishable by death. But, the most startling outburst in this treatise comes as a response to the "equality" to be had under democratic institutions, raging that there isn't anything more blasphemous than a society that does not limit apostasy (with death), abolishes jihad against infidelity, abolishes the protection tax and second-class dhimmi status of infidels, and (to top it off) abolishes man's dominion over women. But in order to understand the impact of these ruminations on the Islamic community, one must trace back to Sayyid Qutb, who provides the just definition of democracy as a religion. Without this linchpin, the argument just sounds like raving lunacy and an attack on reason.

The Second of the minor treatises, "Jihad, Martyrdom, and the Killing of Innocents" is actually al-Zawahiri's master stroke of blending ulema doctrines in order to justify his chief weapon of deception in his war on America: the suicide bomber. For thirty odd pages, he examines suicide and "proves" that the intent of the suicide determines whether it is a sin or an act of martyrdom. But by far the most striking element in this treatise is the examination of accidental killing of innocents or fellow Muslims, which culminates in Ibn Tamiyya's statement,

"Based on the consensus of the ulema, those Muslims who are accidentally killed are martyrs; and the obligatory jihad should never be abandoned because it creates martyrs."

This is the logic that America needs to understand. America must come to grips with the fact that the jihad is obligatory to the Islamic faithful. Thus, with a sweep of historic citations, Ayman al-Zawahiri, utilizes the sheik of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, whom all Muslims adhere or respect, to define defensive jihad as second only to faith in Islam, and at the same time justifies suicide bombing in the measure of antiquity... via ijma, or parallels, to Muhammad's battle of Ta'if.

Part 2, Propaganda, is a hodgepodge of shorter releases, aimed at specific groups, and documented in order to seek popular support for methods and aims as well as provide the righteous sword of reciprocity for all to see. Strangely, in "Why are We Fighting You", Osama bin Laden begins listing reasons for Al Qaeda's war with the West, and ironically claims that the clique of secular Islamic governments give true Muslims "...a taste of humiliation, placing us in a large prison of fear and submission."

In "Your Fate is in Your Hands Alone," Osama bin Laden tells the touching story of tragedy in the 1982 occupation of Lebanon by Israel, with American support, which filled his heart with nebulous ideas concerning occupation and repelling the oppressor regimes of Islam, and lo! a freedom fighter was born. But it is not until bin Laden offers a truce to America that we see plain the intentions of al Qaeda for the long run, when he states,

This is the logic that America needs to understand. America must come to grips with the fact that the jihad is obligatory to the Islamic faithful. Thus, with a sweep of historic citations, Ayman al-Zawahiri, utilizes the sheik of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, whom all Muslims adhere or respect, to define defensive jihad as second only to faith in Islam, and at the same time justifies suicide bombing in the measure of antiquity... via ijma, or parallels, to Muhammad's battle of Ta'if.

Part 2, Propaganda, is a hodgepodge of shorter releases, aimed at specific groups, and documented in order to seek popular support for methods and aims as well as provide the righteous sword of reciprocity for all to see. Strangely, in "Why are We Fighting You", Osama bin Laden begins listing reasons for Al Qaeda's war with the West, and ironically claims that the clique of secular Islamic governments give true Muslims "...a taste of humiliation, placing us in a large prison of fear and submission."

In "Your Fate is in Your Hands Alone," Osama bin Laden tells the touching story of tragedy in the 1982 occupation of Lebanon by Israel, with American support, which filled his heart with nebulous ideas concerning occupation and repelling the oppressor regimes of Islam, and lo! a freedom fighter was born. But it is not until bin Laden offers a truce to America that we see plain the intentions of al Qaeda for the long run, when he states,
"You have occupied our lands, transgressed against our manhood and dignity, spilled our blood, plundered our wealth, destroyed our homes, dislocated us, and played with our security -- and we will give you the same treatment."
Words like these seem to give weight to President Bush's notion that if we tuck tail and run in Iraq (a process called redeployment in some circles), the terrorists will follow us home, especially when you take into account a previous promise of bin Laden:
"...this has not been because of a failure to break through your security measures. The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your own homes once they are readied."
Bin Laden hints at possible future targets in his "To the Muslims of Iraq", when he defines the countries most in need of liberation: Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. But as far as recent news is concerned, the five releases under the theme heading, "The Youth of Islam" basically state that men over 25 are busy building families, and those under 15 are still dependent on parents, while those Muslims between 15 and 25 are strongly urged to join ranks with Al Qaeda. This call virtually demands that "profiling" be implemented in all transit areas on men between 15 and 25, especially since the 2007 July Pew Report of Islam in America notes that "26 percent of Muslims [in America] age 18 to 29 believe that suicide bombing can be justified" (Newsweek Special Report, July 30, p. 31). To attempt to view the issue in any other way is suicide by denial.

The purpose of revolutionary propaganda is to gather popular support, to justify the righteousness of the cause, to generate outrage and fervor in its proponents, and to demonstrate why victory is inevitable for the righteous few. Part 2 of Ibrahim's text, Propaganda, demonstrates these purposes well; however, it is the Soviet paradigm of victory which is the least convincing. The key element in this battle according to both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri is Patience. The element is woven through every treatise and release. It is the belief that like Soviet Russia while fighting with Afghanistan, America will, through its "War on Terror" grow politically fractured, will eventually go bankrupt and will split apart, by the grace of Allah.

It would be hubris to say that America can't go the way of the dodo. Yet, while the opinions in this country are divided almost 50-50 on every issue, it is this freedom to have a polarity of opinion that differentiates America from both the communism of Stalin and Khrushchev and the rigid, puritanical Islam of al Qaeda. And, in the end, the resilience of capitalism's inequalities compared with the desperate equality of communism promises only the inevitability of exhaustion for al Qaeda, hence its call for Muslim youth to dedicate their lives to Jihad.

In full, Raymond Ibrahim's text The Al Qaeda Reader provides the world of English-speakers many lessons that we may choose to learn or dismiss. Chief among these lessons is that in Islam there is no separation between Mosque and State. For years, since the fall of the Twin Towers, moderate Muslims have claimed their religion had been hijacked by fundamentalists, literalists, radicals, and extremists; and, now the West has been apprised of the twisted view of two of these hijackers.

Is this message of hate the literalist perspective of Islam laid bare for the world to see? And if it is, what does it teach the World of English-speakers about the Koran's content, intent, and merit? The fact is, all Muslims believe the Koran to be the literal, uncorrupted word of Allah, written in the celestial language of Arabic. Moving past the arrogance necessary to declare to the world that any language is that of God, what does this text teach us about the original words of the Islamic God? Has the God of Islam, Allah, demanded His followers to wage jihad on all infidels in a quest to force the entire planet to convert, pay alms, or die? And if the Koran is the literal, uncorrupted, Word and Warning of Allah; then, why would we, infidels, ever consider "Peaceful" a religion which promises our demise as sovereign states in one form or another, following obligatory genocidal purges, inquisitions, enslavements, indoctrination, trials of apostasy, and the death of the very idea of American Freedom, and the death of every value held as heroic in the West? For the West's concepts of equality, justice and freedom do not hold parallel with the Koran's or Sharia's view of the same.

In full, Raymond Ibrahim's release The Al Qaeda Reader is a necessary addition to the scholarship of jihad. The text begs the question: does the doctrine proclaimed by al Qaeda's leadership, now widely known among the world's Muslims, guarantee a state of perpetual war against the whole of humanity? And if so, what is the process of eradication of these elements from the Ulema consensus in order to defuse this ticking bomb of world-wide genocide?

This is a turnpost.

J'accuse!

2007-11-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

I dunno. I'm scratching the grey noggin trying to parse what is actually being reported here.

J-Post reports al Jazeera asserting Syrian reactor attack was USAF and (maybe) nuke.

Stretches the imagination (if ya know what I mean).

Nov 2, 2007 10:30 | Updated Nov 2, 2007 19:20
'USAF struck Syrian nuclear site'
By JPOST.COM STAFF

The September 6 raid over Syria was carried out by the US Air Force, the Al-Jazeera Web site reported Friday. The Web site quoted Israeli and Arab sources as saying that two US jets armed with tactical nuclear weapons carried out an attack on a suspected nuclear site under construction.

The sources were quoted as saying that Israeli F-15 and F-16 jets provided cover for the US planes.

The sources added that each US plane carried one tactical nuclear weapon and that the site was hit by one bomb and was totally destroyed.

At the beginning of October, Israel's military censor began to allow the local media to report on the raid without attributing their report to foreign sources. Nevertheless, details of the strike have remained clouded in mystery.

On October 28, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the cabinet that he had apologized to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan if Israel violated Turkish airspace during a strike on an alleged nuclear facility in Syria last month.

In a carefully worded statement that was given to reporters after the cabinet meeting, Olmert said: "In my conversation with the Turkish prime minister, I told him that if Israeli planes indeed penetrated Turkish airspace, then there was no intention thereby, either in advance or in any case, to - in any way - violate or undermine Turkish sovereignty, which we respect."

The New York Times reported on October 13 that Israeli planes struck at what US and Israeli intelligence believed was a partly constructed nuclear reactor in Syria on September 6, citing American and foreign officials who had seen the relevant intelligence reports.

According to the report, Israel carried out the report [attack?] to send a message that it would not tolerate even a nuclear program in its initial stages of construction in any neighboring state.

On October 17, Syria denied that one of its representatives to the United Nations told a panel that an Israeli air strike hit a Syrian nuclear facility and added that "such facilities do not exist in Syria."

A UN document released by the press office had provided an account of a meeting of the First Committee, Disarmament and International Security, in New York, and paraphrased an unnamed Syrian representative as saying that a nuclear facility was hit by the raid.

However, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA said media reports, apparently based on a UN press release, misquoted the Syrian diplomat.

So al Jazeera seems to be alluding to a US nuclear attack on an incomplete Syrian reactor.

Didn't happen. I'm not saying a pre-emptive nuke strike is not in the cards that we hold very near our vest--just that we didn't nuke it and we wouldn't nuke it. We may have aided Israelis but we can't get in the Syrian briar patch...just yet.

Even relatively small--tactical--nukes yield two effects that are unmistakable. Seismic and electromagnetic features are well documented and widely known. If such an event had occurred our friends in Russia and China would be howling. Some of our own would, as well.

al Japropagandazeera should do some homework. But then again...the Arab 'street' isn't all that savvy.

This is a turnpost.

Your Daily Paine

ONE

Failure IS an option

New Power

Seven Years Gone

Moments

My "antennae of evil" is now well lit.

TWO

Symbols Matter

Chicago Style

Common Sense--the Video

Why is 20 July not a national day of remembrance?

We did it.

The race was on

1969

Is Set

FOUR

The Stage

Europe. Sooner than you think.

Afghanistan. Sooner than you think.

Iraq. Sooner than you think.

Iran. Sooner than you think.

US. Sooner than you think.

Flashpoint

Ruby Ridge August, 1992.

Waco April, 1993.

YFZ Ranch Raid April, 2008.

L.A. Riots April-May, 1992.

Washington D.C. Sooner than you think.

Sold Out

UPDATE

(Slip Opinion)

A Perfect Storm

Five to go

Economic Equality

Memorial Day Post

Comment to Coulter

6

Craven

It's a first

Venture

seven

It sounded like a good idea at the time...

Hitting the Fan

Useless Buggers, or

Why the UN should be relocated to a domed island and cut off from the rest of the planet

Climate change a new factor in global tensions: EU

Newsflash

Eight

al-Obama

Reprint #1

PEACE QUEEN DISSED AT WALTER REED

Media complicity?

Well...he has a sense of humor

Gladio

Another Plan

I have a plan to destroy America

Law

Nine

Where's the outrage?

Suicide by compassion

Cleverness

Press three for

HEADLINEJohn Edwards is correct about the Two Americas theme.

Press one for English

para toca dos por Español

Press two for other

Press three fo' GhettoHeezeelineJiznohn Edwards be right `bout tha Two Americas thing.

Language is an agreement.

Darkness is falling

The Professional Standard

Sunday morning gleanings

01.06.08

Humor in the Jihad War

Less humor here

TEN

Months to Ground Zero

D

R

Whittle in the New Year

HEADLINE
John Edwards is correct about the Two Americas theme.

Press three fo' Ghetto

Heezeeline

Jiznohn Edwards be right `bout tha Two Americas thing.

Religion of Peace and Honesty^TM "acts up"

HEADLINE

WE'RE AT WAR, FOLKS