Saturday, December 30, 2006

Saddam finally received what the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao and Arafat managed to avoid - temporal justice for crimes committed against humanity. He was hanged as the execrable criminal that he was, reportedly clutching the Quran, though from all accounts he was not a particularly religious man. He was more of a secular mass-murderer rather than the much more common religious variety. In the end, I guess the Quran unites murderers of all stripes.

UPDATE: Victor Davis Hanson offers his inimitable perspective:

One of the most depressing sights of the entire Saddam postmortem were the clips shown ad nauseam of all the dignitaries, diplomats, and obsequious reporters who in years past trekked to Baghdad to flatter or to pay homage to this creepy mass murderer. Watching a younger Kofi Annan, Lindberg like, pump Saddam's hand, smiling and offering blandishments was sickening. Surely the world can learn from this sordid spectacle, and not repeat the same mistake with Ahmadinejad and Assad. Their demise will come soon enough, and only the clips and outtakes of the appeasers will remain.

It is getting so that the cheap anti-American rhetoric from Europe and the Middle East about our purported complicity in killing a mass murderer should be worn as a badge of honor. We caught him, turned him over for a transparent trial, and ensured he would never murder again. So the question remains: where is the true morality-building this killer's bunkers, selling him weapons, taking his oil-or putting him in a noose?

Nothing was more evident of the moral impoverishment of the Palestinians than their collective lamentation over the fate of this mass killer of the Kurds and Arabs. We gave the Palestinian Authority hundreds of millions of dollars for housing, schools, and security and they hate us; Saddam gave them a few thousand dollars as bounty for suicide murderers and they loved him.

That says it all.

Indeed it does. Theirs is a "culture" hopelessly mired in a dark and violent past where blood lust and violence are the currency and killers such as Saddam are revered as heroes. They have created a "win win" situation in their minds whereas even in abject defeat, they achieve glorious martyrdom.

Monday, December 25, 2006

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. No, not happy holidays, Merry Christmas. Have you noticed that "Merry Christmas" is becoming something of a symbol of rebellion? Indeed, there seems to be a backlash, and more and more people are using the phrase "Merry Christmas" with an subtle underlying attitude that whispers "take your happy holidays and shove it". A very good thing, indeed. Let's face it, if you are offended by someone wishing you Merry Christmas, you have issues that need to be addressed by you, not by those around you.

In short, if you want tolerance, try practicing some yourself.

As a side note, I haven't been blogging nearly as much as I should or would I have liked. It's been a fairly rough time and next week looks busy in the extreme. I promise that more blogging will be in the offing as we close out '06 and prepare for '07.

Again, Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 11, 2006

NOW THIS IS INTERESTING
Wishful thinking perhaps, but any progress is welcome.

Captain Ed had a very interesting post that indicates that maybe, just maybe, Iraqis are beginning to realize the opportunity that has been laid before them:

It appears that events have begun to pick up pace in Iraq. First a broad agreement seems to have coalesced around revenue sharing for Iraq's oil production, and now it looks like Nouri al-Maliki might be getting the heave as Prime Minister:

Major partners in Iraq's governing coalition are in behind-the-scenes talks to oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki amid discontent over his failure to quell raging violence, according to lawmakers involved. The talks are aimed at forming a new parliamentary bloc that would seek to replace the current government and that would likely exclude supporters of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is a vehement opponent of the U.S. military presence.

The new alliance would be led by senior Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz
al-Hakim, who met withPresident Bush last week. Al-Hakim, however, was not expected to be the next prime minister because he prefers the role of powerbroker, staying above the grinding day-to-day running of the country.

Back in March, the thinking was that by allowing a Sadr ally to form the government, it might encourage Sadr to end his efforts to gain power through violence. That has obviously failed, and failed badly. As I wrote earlier today, it torpedoed the efforts to get the Sunni and Ba'athist insurgents to end their campaigns, and Sadr has only gotten worse ever since.

Maliki needs to go, and go soon. Engaging Sadr doesn't work, and the US should return to our previous policy of targeting him and his Mahdi army lieutenants if they refuse to disarm. Thanks to Maliki, he has infiltrated the Interior ministry, so he will present a difficult opponent if he chooses to fight it out. However, Sadr makes a better power broker than a general, as he has proven several times now. Without Maliki running interference, he will be more exposed than ever.

And guess who has apparently given his blessing to the change? Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. We have not heard much from the widely respected Shi'ite cleric since Sadr's star rose, but it looks like he's coming out of his de facto retirement from national politics.

The Iraqis have tired of the lack of progress even more than we have. It looks like they have formed a coalition of groups large enough to shut down Maliki and Sadr in the National Assembly, which means that even the Shi'ites have had enough. Keep an eye on this over the next few days.


Maybe all of this "pull out of Iraq" prattle that has been going on may well be incentivizing the Iraqis to get their act together and recognize those who stand in the way of progress. A lot of people have a lot to lose if we pull out of Iraq and the Iraqis are at the top of that list.

It is said that "The gallows doth wonderfully concentrate the mind" and perhaps the Iraqis have seen the shadow of their gallows.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

IRANIAN WEAPONS ARM IRAQI MILITIA

I guess our pen pal, Ahmadinejad, forgot to mention this in his most recent missive to us "noble Americans".

Let's see, we have Syria actively destabilizing Lebanon and, more than likely, giving aid and comfort to the Iraqi "insurgents. We now have Iran arming the Iraqi militia who are killing American troops, not to mention massive numbers of Iraqis. And there are those who honestly feel that that same Iran and Syria should be "engaged" to assist in quelling the violence in Iraq?

It's clear that we are fighting a proxy war with both Iran and Syria in Iraq. In view of the fact that both of these countries have been both facilitators and havens for terrorism, calling Iraq the major front in the "War on Terror" is not a misnomer.

To leave Iraq at this time would send a signal that would reverberate not only throughout the Middle East, but the world at large. I still hold out hope reason will prevail and even the Nancy Pelosis and Harry Reids who now control Congress will see the folly of their premature exit strategy, better known as capitulation.
Africa Faces Growing Obesity Problem

So, does this signal the end of world hunger? Alas, probably not. It is however, a headline that caught my eye.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

PEACE WITH MUSLIMS REQUIRES "LETTING GO" OF SOME OF THOSE CHRISTIAN BELIEFS
No, this is not a parody, it's all too real

If Christians were so "Christian" we could live peacefully, or so says some all-knowing theologian speaking in, of all places, Tennessee:

To live peacefully with Muslims and Jews, Christians must put aside the notion that their faith requires the creation of a Christian kingdom on Earth, a Lipscomb University theologian told an interfaith gathering at the university.

"We are not going to get very far in our relationship with Jews or Muslims if we do not let go of this idea," Lipscomb professor Lee Camp said at Tuesday's conference.
The unusual gathering of several dozen clergy and lay people was devoted to
resolving religious conflict in Nashville and around the world.

"We need to forsake the Christendom model," Camp said. "The most basic Christian commitment … is that we say we believe in the Lordship of Jesus. But, if we claim that, how can a Muslim or Jew trust us, if we say Jesus is the Lord of all Lords?"

So, we can only achieve harmony with Muslims if we first "forsake the Christendom model"? A better example of western civilization in full retreat I cannot imagine. Were it not so depressing, it would be hilarious.

But if that weren't enough, there is still more; you should also bone up on your Islam:
For Kahled Sakalla, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Nashville, some of the answers lie in better education about Islam in the non-Muslim world.
Sorry Kahled, the problem isn't our limited knowledge of Islam, it's the unlimited capacity for violence and mehem in the name of your faith. With apologies to Shakespeare, the fault dear Kahled, lies not in your stars, but in yourselves.

The level of guile that we are constantly presented with is breathtaking. Islam has been the main source of bloodshed for the past quarter-century, and they can't even admit it much less stop it. Islamic countries openly foment and finance terrorist activities toward the West, while their leaders spew forth the vilest anti-Semitism and overt calls for the destruction of Israel. They do all of this while claiming "victimhood" and "intolerance" and American leftists and the media are more than happy to play the part of useful idiots.

UPDATE: A reader had brought to my attention a follow-up article in which Dr Camp disputes how his comments were taken, and in fairness, I feel compelled to bring this to your attention.

As I told the reader, while I think that Dr. Camp's clarification somewhat softens some of his rather extreme quotes from the conference, I still disagree with his basic thrust.
YOU HAVE MAIL!
Ahmadinejad Pens Letter to "Noble Americans"

And guess what? It sounds lake it was written by Howard Dean, though much more polite. Read the whole thing here, if you wish.

The sad truth is that countries such as Iran and Syria (not to mention al Qaeda) have mastered the art of manipulating our willing media. We have reached the point where bin Laden, Ahmadinejad, Assad and a whole host of dangerously bad actors are sharing talking points and goals with many Democrats as evidenced by this letter. I can just see members of the Democrat leadership reading this letter thinking "you know, he has a point", all the while with visions of negotiated peace with tyrants dancing in their heads.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

BAD CHOICES, WORSE CHOICES

Iran is building nukes and anyone who believes Iranian statements to the contrary is gullible in the extreme. Russia is selling Iran defensive missile systems, presumably to protect those areas which need the highest degree of protection – those areas where the nuclear development is taking place. Syria, on the other hand, is brazenly assassinating anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians in a naked attempt to re-occupy and eventually annex Lebanon, a sovereign state and fledgling democracy.

Some will owe this situation to our actions in Iraq, but they would be wrong. Iran has been a rogue state since the revolution that began its “great step backward” in 1979 and it is a culture that has been politically devolving ever since. Now they seem to be a leadership hopelessly mired in medieval attitudes and animosities on the fast track to arming themselves with the most terrible and destructive weapons known to man. Syria, on the other hand, has long been a belligerent state, financing, arming and generally facilitating civil unrest throughout the Middle East. Relations between Syria and the West have fluctuated between warm and cold through the years, but I think this is more a result of doing what is necessary to maintain their influence rather than any form of developing moderation.

Often, there are no good choices and bad choices – instead, we are confronted with bad choices and worse choices, but choose we must. History is rife with examples choices between lesser of evils and those examples have taught us that not choosing is often the worst choice of all.

Post 9/11, it became clear that, in the global war against “radical Islam” (a term I find somewhat redundant), we had but two choices – forcibly confront Islam from without or attempt to moderate Islam’s medieval, violent tenets with freedom and democracy from within. We chose the latter option in the hope that self-moderation would follow civilizational development in a region that has remained stagnant for centuries. Since Iraq had spent more than a decade thumbing its collective nose at the U.S. and numerous U.N. resolutions, threatening its neighbors and lusting after (and developing) WMDs, it was targeted for regime change. This was a daunting challenge, to be sure, but a far preferable starting point than the former.

The United States is in Iraq trying to promote a fragile democracy while Iran and Syria are doing everything on their power to negate our efforts, including the wholesale murder of Iraqi civilians and sending fighters into Iraq to attack U.S. troops. A functioning, free democracy in the heart of the Middle East is terrifying to the despotic regimes that have defined Middle Eastern politics for decades, or rather, centuries. The depots in question will stop at nothing to see that the Iraqi experiment ends in failure, lest they lose control of their own populace. Much as Poland’s defiance of the Soviet Union spelled the beginning of the end of Soviet domination in Eastern Europe, a liberal democracy in the heart of the Middle East could portend profound changes, for the better, in the political landscape of the region and Iran and Syria may well be the first recipients (or in their eyes, victims) of that change.

The Iraq war has not been an easy one, though enormously more successful and costing far fewer U.S. lives than its early critics had predicted. Nonetheless, the military action that was once enjoyed enormous support has become an unpopular albatross due to our inability to wrap it up in a tidy package in under three years. The fault lies not in our military prowess, but rather in the short attention span of our populace exacerbated by a full-court press by the MSM. The Islamofacists are not going away and the actions of Iran and Syria as well as their subsequent disregard of “World opinion” thereof clearly shows that they have been emboldened rather than chastised. They smell blood in the water in the form of weakness and fatigue on the part of the west.

Thanks to the never-ending concentration on the negative and complete disregard of the positive emanating from a collection of Democrat politicians and “peace advocate” throwbacks and amplified by the media, our nation’s resolve has been all but vanquished. With those Democrats now controlling the Congress and Senate, retreat is quickly moving from possibility to probability. This development elicits glee not only from Democrats, but from Iran, Syria and a host of other terrorist thugs who have been patiently waiting for America’s dogs of war to be transformed into the puppies of appeasement.

Is this really what the American people want? Do we want to watch Iraq descend into chaos and civil war as those brave Iraqi citizens who embraced democracy are the first to be slaughtered? Would not even the most vehement Bush-Haters among us agree that even a semi-progressive democracy in Iraq is not only far preferable to an aggressive tyranny, but is also conducive to spreading throughout the region? Do we really feel that three years is too long to invade, conquer, rebuild, reform and leave a functioning, free state, particularly when surrounding states (Iran, Syria) actively aid and abet our opposition? Does our loyalty to and support for those who seek freedom and democracy have an expiration date?

If your answers to these questions are “yes”, your vision is sadly obscured by the lens of partisan politics. The “war is not the answer” attitude has been superceded by those who clearly state their goals (destruction of Israel, global Islamic domination, etc.) and on a daily basis demonstrate that they will literally stop at nothing in order to achieve them. Those who feel that negotiation is the answer choose to ignore the fact that submission to Islam is non-negotiable.

There is still time for the Democrats, et al to step back from the precipice of ignominy and stand with the democrats of Iraq. There is still time to show that the United States is the greatest friend to those who choose freedom and self-determination over tyranny and despotism and the greatest foe to those who oppose it. I would like to think that the sober reality of leadership will erode the rhetoric of the campaign and those who championed the “cut and run” strategy will reconsider in view of its disastrous implications.

The clock is ticking.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Airport Arrest Turns Up Nuclear Info

A man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after officials say they found him carrying more than $78,000 in cash and a laptop computer containing information about nuclear materials and cyanide.

Sisayehiticha Dinssa, an unemployed U.S. citizen, was arrested Tuesday after a dog caught the scent of narcotics on cash he was carrying, according to an affidavit filed in court.

When agents asked him if he had any cash to declare, he said he had $18,000, authorities said. But when agents checked his luggage, they found an additional $59,000. When they scrolled through his laptop, they said they found the mysterious files.

Hmmm, $78,000 in cash and a laptop containing info on nuclear materials and cyanide. Call me paranoid, but try as I will, I cannot come up with any logical explanation - aside from the obvious. By the way, the unemployed man in question lives in Dallas, had just just arrived from Nigeria by way of Amstrerdam and was on his way to Phoenix.

I seem to notice these obscure stories ever so often. For instance, there was this one in September about some dude trying to board an aircraft with a knife hidden in a carved-out book. He was bound for Yemen and, of course, he had no idea how the knife got there.

And these are just the things we hear about.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

NANCY AND HARRY
Is this what America Wanted?

Well, it's not what I wanted but we can't always get what we want, can we?

For some time now, I have been pretty much a one issue voter and my one issue is The War. Call it the Iraq War, the Afghan War, the War on Terror or more to the point, the War to Preserve our Civilization, it is all connected and is the issue that matters the most to me. Yes, I have opinions on abortion, immigration, healthcare and the myriad of other issues on the table, but none of them really matter of we fail in the war of survival in which we are now involved. This is the most serious of issues and we need the most serious of people in place to deal with it.

When President Bush said, before a joint Session of Congress "We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail" I took it seriously. The election of people such as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to the highst posts in the legislative branch signals a tiredness, a faltering and eventual failure in this most serious of issues. These are people who have argued against the wiretapping of foreign terrorists and for bestowing rights to them when they are captured. Most importantly, these are people who have pledged withdrawl from Iraq. These are people who either ignore or are too blind to see the enormous threat that clearly lies before us. They're just not serious people.

But this is the hand we are dealt and play it we must. While we have suvived worse leaders, rarely, if ever, have we been presented with a threat as dire.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

NEW LOOK!

As you can see, the old blog has undergone some changes this morning. A bit more streamlined and easier on the eyes, no? Rest assured that the content will remain unchanged, like it or not.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?

Some days is feels as though the world is tumbling toward oblivion and this is one of those days. Consider these stories:

Iran Says Nuke Program Is Near Complete
Lovely, an apocalytic madman continues his development of nuclear weapons and the world-at-large has decided that doing nothing is far superior to doing anything. Ahmadinejad is crowing as though he won, I think he did.

Blair - we must work with 'Axis of Evil' states
Before our very eyes, Tony Blair seems to be transforming from Winston Churchill to Neville Chamberlain. He seems to think that a "partnership" with Iran and Syria is the key to peace in Iraq and the greater middle-east. Yeah Neville, er, Tony, that'll work.

Iran plotting to groom bin Laden's successor
Yes, the same Iran that is developing nuclear weapons. Behold your new partner in peace, Mr. Blair.

Al-Qaida plotting nuclear attack on UK, officials warn
Let's see, Iran is developing nukes and his looking to groom the new head of Al-Qaida and Al-Qaida is plotting a nuke attack in the UK. Does the phrase "connect the dots" come to mind?

Netanyahu: It's 1938 and Iran is Germany; Ahmadinejad is preparing another Holocaust
Well, at least someone gets it. Unfortunately, I question if anyone is listening.

Meanwhile, Americans have decided to hand control if the Legislative Branch of our government over to the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Murtha and company. Swept into office on a platform of "we're not Bush", they are well on the way to finding a way to keep their promise.

The White House looks as though they have sensed a winning strategy and is experimenting with the "we're not Bush" approach as well. The President chucked Rumsfeld and has been huddled up with something called the Iraq Study Group - a collection of high-profile has-beens who, it could be argued, layed the groundwork for many of the problems that we now face.

Perhaps the President has just temporarily vacated the spotlight so as to allow the Democrats their moment in the sun, or to allow them to show their true colors. Perhaps the Iraq Study Group will conclude that the Iraq war must be concluded with no less than an unqualified victory, thus bolstering the President's position. These are the things that I would like to think but alas, I am not filled with optimism.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

Democrats, needless to say are just beside themselves with joy over the elections.

Our enemies are also feeling quite optimistic as a result of the Democrats' electoral victory.

If you are a Democrat, does it make you uneasy to find common cause with the sworn enemies of western civilization?

Monday, November 06, 2006

My Prediction

Republicans will hold control of the House and Senate.....narrowly.

UPDATE 11/08/06:

Then again, perhaps not. The American people have obviously chosen to hand the reigns of the House of Representatives, and possibly of the Senate as well, to the Democrats. I can only hope that the Nancy Pelosi-led congress will take seriously the most important issue of our time, but it's a slim hope indeed.

Do you know what image that I cannot get out of my head? The last helecopter lifting off from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, ushering in the era of defeatism and appeasement that plagues us to this day. On that day we showed the world that the United States did not have the stomach to finish a fight, and the world took notice. Will there be a similar scene be played out in Baghdad? If so, mark this day down as the beginning of the end for we have given our government to the appeasers, to those who honestly believe that there is nothing worse than war, not even the shame of defeat and betrayal.

I think a Winston Churchill quote may well be in order: "We seem to be very near the bleak choice between War and Shame. My feeling is that we shall choose Shame, and then have War thrown in a little later on even more adverse terms than at present."

Perhaps the American people have chosen to go back to their comfortable 9/10 world and simply forget this war, but rest assured, the war has not forgotten us.

UPDATE, Later on 11/08/06:

Via Mona Charen at "The Corner":
Nancy Pelosi just told Brit Hume that the war in Iraq is "not a war to
be won but a situation to be solved."

The sounds you hear is that slim hope, of which I wrote above, snapping.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

What Lessons Have We Learned in the Middle East?

Victor Davis Hanson, as usual, simplifies it for us:

It is difficult in history to find any civilization that asks as much of others as does the contemporary Middle East - and yet so little of itself. If I were to sum up the collective mentality of the current Arab Middle East - predicated almost entirely on the patriarchal sense of lost "honor" and the rational calculation to murder appeasing liberals and appease murdering authoritarians - it would run something like the following:

(1) We will pump oil at $3 and must sell it over $50 - and still blame you for stealing our natural treasure

(2) We will damn your culture and politics, but expect our own to immigrate in the thousands to your shores; upon arrival any attempt to integrate Muslim immigrants into Western pluralistic society will be seen as Islamaphobic

(3) Send us your material goods, whether machine tools, I-pods, or antibiotics. We desperately want them, but will neither make the necessary changes in our own statist, authoritarian, religiously intolerant, tribal, and patriarchal culture to allow us to produce them ourselves, nor will show any appreciation for the genius of others who can do what we cannot

(4) We ostensibly wish you to stop the killing of Muslims by ourselves and others - Milosevic murdering Kosovars, Saddam destroying Kuwaitis, Kurds, and Shiites, Russians killing Afghans and Chechnyans - but should you concretely attempt to do so, we will immediately consider your intervention far worse than the mayhem caused by others or ourselves.

(5) Any indigenous failure in the Arab Middle East will eventually be blamed on the United States or Israel

(6) Your own sense of multiculturalism must serve as an apology for our own violent pathologies, that can only be seen as different from, never worse than, your own culture.

(7) We must at all times talk of anti-Americanism and why we want you out of the Middle East; you must never become anti-Arab or anti-Muslim, much less close your borders to our immigrants and students.

(8) We will tolerate and often defend those who burn churches, ethnically cleanse Jews from our cities, behead priests, kill nuns, and shoot infidels as the necessary, if sometimes regrettable, efforts of our more zealous to defend Islam. But if any free spirit in the West satirizes Islam, we will immediately demand that Western governments condemn such blasphemy - or else!

(9) Material aid - billions to Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, or the Palestinians - is our entitlement. Any attempt to curtail it is seen as an assault on the Arab nation

(10) We are deathly afraid of nuclear Russia, China, and India who have little tolerance for either Islamism or terrorism, and so will ignore their felonies, while killing you for your misdemeanors


Read it all here.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

North Korea staged a chilling show of "anti-imperialist" defiance last night amid warnings from the US and Japan that the isolated communist leadership could be preparing to stage a second nuclear test.

Thousands of performers were corralled into the capital, Pyongyang, to take part in a spectacular synchronised torchlight display, in scenes reminiscent of the days of the Third Reich.

The event was orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Down With Imperialism Union, started by the "Great Leader" of North Korea, Kim Il Sung. Speaking at a commemorative meeting on Monday, a senior party leader, Kim Yong Nam, praised the "recent successful underground test", which he said would "contribute to preserving peace and stability on the peninsula".
Yet another "Gathering Storm" that we ignore at our own peril.
UPDATE:
Well, it seems that the UN-imposed sanctions are having the effect that I expected-none. Make no mistake that Iran is watching this carefully drawing their plans accordingly.
Gorbachev compares proposed U.S. border wall to Berlin Wall

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev compared the United States' proposed 700-mile wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to the Berlin Wall during a Tuesday visit to Midland.

Addressing a Tuesday news conference at UTPB's Center for Energy and Economic Diversification, the JBS Public Leadership Institute Distinguished Lecture Series speaker was by turns serious and flippant prior to a reception with more than 100 people.

"You remember President Reagan standing in Berlin and saying, 'This wall should be torn down,'" said the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner. "Now the United States seems to be building almost the Wall of China between itself and this other nation with which it has been associated for many decades and has had cooperation and interaction with.

Eh, Mr. Gorbachev, does the fact that the Berlin Wall was constructed to keep people IN somehow escape you? This must be part of the "Re-Write History Tour 2006."
Forgive me, but the thought of the former leader of the Soviet Police State, formerly known as the USSR, lecturing in the United States about freedom and democracy (in Midland TX?) is one that I find at best surreal, and at worst repugnant.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Actor Wesley Snipes faces 40 years for alleged tax evasion

According to the indictment, Snipes, Kahn and Rosile tried "through dishonest means, to make it appear as if Snipes had no liability for federal income taxes, when, in fact, Snipes had such tax liabilities. As part of the scheme, the defendants allegedly prepared and filed two amended federal income tax returns for Snipes, fraudulently claiming refunds of 1996 and 1997 income taxes previously paid, totaling almost 12 million dollars."

What, like this guy didn't already have enough money? If this is true, they should lock him up for a long time - not one of those Martha Stewart slaps on the wrist, no probation. Hard time.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

This is a man that never ceases to impress and amaze. Even his short posts on The Corner are quite suitable for being carved in granite, as is this one from today:

The Rise of the Therapeutic [Victor Davis Hanson]

One of the saddest developments in the last few years has been the easy moralizing that masks abject cowardice, hypocrisy, or fear.

The other day Bill Clinton was on the stump warning about right-wing extremism and its polarizing rhetoric - at about the same time a Hillary staffer started in on John McCain in Hanoi.

Then there was the de rigeur European outrage over Guantanamo, followed by refusal to accept its extradited prisoners to their countries of origin.

France protests over Israeli overflights of Lebanon, and is silent at the violations by Syria and Hezbollah under its nose.

What all these incidents, foreign and domestic - Jimmy Carter is the best exemplar of the therapeutic sense - reveal is grandstanding morality followed by real silence instead of honesty: Bill could have said the resort to the invective has polarized our entire political landscape as we saw with the Durbin/Kennedy/Kerry remarks about Nazis, Abu Ghraib, and terrorist American soldiers; the EU could have said that in such an existential war there are no good choices in incarcerating non-uniformed terrorists; the French could have called for all sides to respect Lebanese autonomy, etc.

It's got to the point now anytime I hear of moral outrage, I automatically assume that the lecturer is himself amoral.

That is why Israel - aside from the political questions involved - is so important: it is a litmus test of contemporary character: without oil, international terrorists, or a half-billion people, its support rests on principled sympathy with democratic society; while opposition to it hinges on, among other things, realpolitik dressed up as "concern" for (fill in the blanks) "refugees", "reciprocity", "UN resolutions", etc. The latest to lecture us in moral terms on the dangers of tilting toward Israel, is, of course, the ever vacuous Gen. Clark, who can't distinguish between a democracy that was attacked and tried to strike back at military targets, and a terrorist cadre that attacked and targeted only civilians.


I mean, what more can you say? Exept, maybe, AMEN!
How Do They Do It?

I mean, how is it that the French have this uncanny ability to be on the wrong side of literally every issue that's placed before them? Consider (via LGF):

Peretz: French UNIFIL commanders say will shoot at IAF overflights

Commanders of the French contingent of the United Nations force in Lebanon have warned that they might have to open fire if Israel Air Force warplanes continue their overflights in Lebanon, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

Peretz said that nevertheless, Israel would continue to patrol the skies over Lebanon as long as United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 remained unfulfilled, adding that such operations were critical for the country's security, especially as the abducted IDF soldiers remain in Hezbollah custody and the transfer of arms continue.

Over the past few days, Peretz said, Israel had gathered clear evidence that Syria was transferring arms and ammunition to Lebanon, meaning that the embargo imposed by UN Resolution 1701 was not being completely enforced.

The French have repeatedly stated that they will not use force to disarm Hizballah or to inhibit the smuggling of arms from Syria that Hizballah is using to attack Israel. They will, however use use force to shoot down Israeli planes during overflights.

The French "peacekeeping" mission in Lebanon seems to be little more than to provide protection to Hizballah while it rearms for further attacks on Israel, all with the tacit approval of the UN. Could we expect any less from the French, or the UN?

Monday, October 16, 2006

China Inspects North Korean Cargo


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea appeared to slip further into isolation on Monday, as China - under intense pressure to enforce new U.N. sanctions - inspected cargo trucks bound for its communist ally and stepped up construction of a border fence.

Japan - once a major trading partner with the North Korea - said it was considering further sanctions, and Australia banned the North's ships from its ports.

The Chinese inspections at a border crossing with the North came amid concerns that Beijing would ignore the new U.N. sanctions leveled against the reclusive communist country for its proclaimed nuclear test. China is a major trader with North Korea and its support is key to the success of the new U.N. measures, which call for nations to check cargo leaving and arriving from North Korea.

Hmmm. Color me unconvinced. Expecting China to enforce UN resolutions on North Korea just seems a bit optimistic for my taste. While China may well not rise to the point of enemy, it is certainly in the adversary category. Both Russia and China had to be cajoled into signing on to these sanctions. That said, both of these countries may well have an incentive to put a leash on Kim Jong Il but I don't expect that leash to be particularly short, or secure.
Muslims Find Yet Another Reason to be Angered

Islam seems to be a bottomless pit of resentment and anger. In fact, it seems to be just about the only thing that really animates them. Now, they are highly offended that the west has been so insensitive as to schedule the 2012 London Olympics during Ramadan.

Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "They would not have organised this at Christmas. It is equally stupid to organise it at Ramadan.

"It shows a complete lack of awareness and sensitivity.

"This is going to disadvantage the athletes and alienate the Asian communities by saying they don't matter.

"It's not only going to affect the participants it's going to affect all the people who want to watch the Games.

"They won't want to travel during Ramadan and they won't want to watch sport. It's a spiritual time."

Ah yes, a spiritual time. Is that why Ramadan tends to yeild higher levels of violence during this so-called "holy month"? As to the remark about the "....complete lack of awareness and sensitivity", let's face it, sensitivity is not exactly a hallmark of Islam.

I am just so over these whiney, violent, intolerant SOB's. I work in a 7 day a week industry and, as a result I regularly work on Christmas, Easter and any number of other holidays. The world does not revolve around Islam and every precaution should be taken to ensure that fact remain unchanged. This is just another way for them to weave their Islamic law into the fabric of western society and it must be resisted at all costs.

Alas, I would not be surprised at all if "Londonistan" relents to their ever-increasing Muslim population. If that happens, it will not be a victory for "tolerance", instead it will be a victory for the most intolerant people on earth.
The Welfare State Formerly Known as Great Britain

Great Britain's welfare state has evidently become so attactive, that Americans are beginning to show up in order to cash in on the largesse. Good news for the U.S., not so much so for the U.K..

Wednesday, October 11, 2006


I'm not going to comment on the Foley scandal except to say that the guy is a creep and deserves pretty much what he got. The naked political motivation in the Democrats' feigned "outrage" over this incident however, says more about them than it does about Foley.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

WELL, DUH!

So, after all we have been through, we are just now determining that the problem really is Islam? Better late than never, but they seem to be a little bit behind the curve. Has this not been pretty obvious for some time now?

Suicide bombers follow Quran,concludes Pentagon briefing
With suicide bombings spreading from Iraq to Afghanistan, the Pentagon has tasked intelligence analysts to pinpoint what's driving Muslim after Muslim to do the unthinkable.

Their preliminary finding is politically explosive: it's their "holy book" the Quran after all, according to intelligence briefings obtained by WND.

In public, the U.S. government has made an effort to avoid linking the terrorist threat to Islam and the Quran while dismissing suicide terrorists as crazed heretics who pervert Islamic teachings.


"The terrorists distort the idea of jihad into a call for violence and murder," the White House maintains in its recently released "National Strategy for Combating Terrorism" report.

But internal Pentagon briefings show intelligence analysts have reached a wholly different conclusion after studying Islamic scripture and the backgrounds of suicide terrorists. They've found that most Muslim suicide bombers are in fact students of the Quran who are motivated by its violent commands – making them, as strange as it sounds to the West, "rational actors" on the Islamic stage.

Monday, September 25, 2006

"It is interesting to note that while a lot of people in the world are asking the pope to apologise for his speech, I have never heard a Muslim say sorry for having conquered Spain and occupying it for eight centuries"

Jose Maria Aznar, Former Prime Minister of Spain

CBS: War Casualties Pass 9/11 Death Toll

It begins:

(AP) Now the death toll is 9/11 times two.

U.S. military deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan now surpass those of the most devastating terrorist attack in America's history, the trigger for what came next.

So what? I'm sure that in the offices of CBS and the Associated Press it is believed that there is some sort of equivalence here that is in need of heralding, but I just don't get the point. Are they trying to tell us that if, after 9/11 we had just retreated into a shell maybe, just maybe we could have limited our losses to only the 2,973 people that were lost on 9/11? How far does one have to reach to find moral equivalence between the indescriminate murder of civilians and the loss of American troops in a war, whether you find that war justified or not?

The only thing that these two groups have in common is their killers - fascist Muslims, and on that point, I will agree. I am sure, however, that this is not the equivalence that the AP and CBS had in mind.
DOES ISLAM NEED A POPE?

Jonah Goldberg seems to think so, and he makes a persuasive argument. Goldberg's work is always well worth the time and no less so in this case.

He reminds us that the Protestant Reformation was not a liberalization of Christianity, but a return to fundamentalism as a reaction to the Catholic Church, which was seen to have become far too liberal and corrupt. The problem with Islam is not that it's too liberal, the problem is that it's overrun by Islamic "Martin Luthers" promoting a return to fundamentalist Islam and that's the problem.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

IS ISLAM BEYOND REDEMPTION?

Anyone who has ever been to this site knows I have no small degree of antipathy toward toward Islam. The more time that goes by, this antipathy does not abate and I state this unapologetically. While I have no strong feelings against any of the worlds other major, or minor religions, I am forced to make an exception to Islam due to its ever increasing radicalization, lack of reason or tolerance and ever increasing levels of barbarous behavior on the part of Muslims. I have said this, in this space, many times and in many ways.

So, why am I saying it again? Because it needs to be said, over and over, until people wake up from their love affair with cultural coexistence long enough to understand that some cultures do not share our "we are the world" mentality. In their view, they are the world and our culture is an evil to be overcome and replaced by Islamic law and Islamic culture and they are determined to achieve this goal by any means necessary.

Yes, I know many would say that "you cannot judge all Muslims by the acts of a radical few." The fact is that a conservative estimate places the world's Muslim population at about 1 billion, and growing at a rate of 2.9% per year. As to how many of these could be considered "radicalized" Muslims, estimates vary but the figure that I've heard bantered about is in the neighborhood of 10% worldwide, more in some countries less in others. This would indicate that we may well have some 100 million radicalized Muslims but, just for the sake of argument, let's say that only 10% of that figure could be considered truly dangerous. This gives us 10 million, so if saying that "you can't judge the many by the few" let's you sleep better at night, so be it. Personally, I think it's pretty significant figure.

While I am sure that there are a great many perfectly peaceful Muslims, men and women of goodwill who practice their faith in harmony with God and their fellow man, the religion as a whole seems to be a remnant of the past that the civilized world has long moved beyond. Much like its followers, Islam has seen little change, and no reformation in 1,400 years. Tragically for them, none seems to be forthcoming, Muslim leaders seem even more intent on moving backward rather than forward. They demand tolerance from us but show none toward us. They remain silent while their brothers kill and maim innocent Jews, Christians and even fellow Muslims in the name of their faith. They say that they are a religion of peace while at best condoning and at worst enabling the most barbaric forms of war upon the most innocent of victims.

Here in the west, far too many of us wax philosophically about tolerance while these enemies of tolerance use our goodwill against us. Even after all we have been through, we still cannot seem to identify an enemy that stands in full view before us, clearly stating their nefarious intentions!

It's clear that we are in the midst of a war that will determine the survival of our civilization. Call it a religious war if you will, as that is how it has been foisted upon us by the Islamic fascists. The fact remains that it is a struggle in which we must prevail. The only other option is a marked change in the nature of the Islamic culture that will bring it in line with the other religions of the world that have set aside their primitive and violent pasts.

So how does one change Islam from without when it shows no interest in changing from within? Well, cessation of the practice of bending over backwards to appease their every whim and demand would be a start. Every western nation must begin by making it clear that certain behaviors will simply not be tolerated. Preaching hate and inciting violence in mosques will not be tolerated. Consorting with known terrorist groups will not be tolerated. Violence against women will not be tolerated. These people must be made to feel isolated and their countries must be made to feel isolated as well. "Outreach" programs simply play into their victim mentality, they don't need "outreach", they need to be told in no uncertain terms that if they are to become members of our society, they will have to conform and respect our customs. Is that not the way it is in Islamic countries? They make no attempt whatsoever to accommodate the customs of westerners and failure to conform to their social order is harshly penalized. If they choose not to conform to our societal structure, they are welcome to leave. Tolerance is a two way street and I do not think that reciprocity is too much to ask. Freedom of religion is one thing, but when that religion becomes a means and motive for mayhem it is no longer religion, it is sedition.

To assume that Islam, as a whole, bears no responsibility for its radicalized believers is sheer folly. For far too long putative Islamic leaders have whined incessantly about "Islamophobia" while casting a blind eye toward their brethren who speak and act in the most un-Godly of ways and wage their "holy war" in a most unholy manner. The fact is that Islam, in its current state is the problem. Islamic apologists continue to speak of the "religion of peace" but I see nothing but butchery in its past, present and immediate future. I see the rhetoric of so-called Muslim leaders continually dialed up, not down. Their reaction toward even the mildest criticism is met with vitriolic displays of indignation and, in many quarters, calls for increased violence and execution of the critics. If Imams can condone and foment violence as they speak to the faithful at mosques throughout the world, then they can do the opposite. Regrettably, they have no incentive to do so, because they have succeeded in convincing us that the radicals do not speak for Islam though Islamic moderates seem to have little taste for rebuttal.

In short, until the voices of reason within Islam cry louder than the voices of violence and death, I can only assume that the "religion of peace" is, in fact a religion of brutality. History has left me unconvinced and the events of each passing day leave me more so.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Heir Apparent
~

I wrote below about the recent loss of "The Duffer", a better dog, and friend one would dare not hope to to have. He left such a tremendous hole in our lives, one that is hard to describe, but well known to those whose lives are touched by them. When it was first clear that he was ill, there was no doubt that the end was nigh and since that time the grief has been almost more than we could bear.

It has become increasingly clear that this gaping hole must be filled as nature abhors a vacuum. The vaunted post of family Scottie is simply too important be left vacant for long. We have had the privilege of keeping Scotties for more than 25 years (that's a long time in dog years) and we feel lost without their steady hand, or paw, on the tiller.

I am pleased to announce the imminent arrival of the above pictured Scottie who will soon grace us with his noble presence. While he will never replace The Duffer, may he pick up the standard and carry on the proud tradition that has been set forth for him.

It's a daunting task, but he looks up to the challange, don't you think?

A FRESH BREEZE OF CLARITY FROM DOWN UNDER

(Via Michael Ledeen in The Corner)

AUSTRALIA'S Muslim leaders have been "read the riot act" over the need to denounce any links between Islam and terrorism. The Howard Government's multicultural spokesman, Andrew Robb, yesterday told an audience of 100 imams who address Australia's mosques that these were tough times requiring great personal resolve.

Mr Robb also called on them to shun a victim mentality that branded any criticism as discrimination.

"We live in a world of terrorism where evil acts are being regularly perpetrated in the name of your faith," Mr Robb said at the Sydney conference.

"And because it is your faith that is being invoked as justification for these evil acts, it is your problem.

"You can't wish it away, or ignore it, just because it has been caused by others.

"Instead, speak up and condemn terrorism, defend your role in the way of life that we all share here in Australia."


I've said for some time that our position should be "clean up your own house or we shall clean it for you." What began as a Muslim problem is now our problem and all of this whining that exudes from "the Arab Street" whenever someone dares question this cult of death, better known as Islam, has become tiresome in the extreme. The current Pope controversy is a perfect example. These people who regularly refer to Jews as "decendants of pigs and monkeys" have the audacity to be outraged when anyone so much as casts a wary eye at the violence and barbarity that is practiced on a daily basis in the name of Islam. Enough already!

We are involved in a war that will determine no less than the survival of our civilization. These are people who do not want peaceful coexistance, they want total dominance over us. Their goal is that all governments be replaced by Islamic law. When will we listen to what they say and take them at their word?
POPE'S REMARKS PART OF ISRAELI-US PLOT
Paranoia Reaches New Heights in Iran

Let's see, the Catholic Pope makes comments that strike a nerve with Muslims, and it's all the fault of the Jews? It just boggles the mind.

Iranian hardline newspapers said there were signs of an Israeli-US plot behind remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that linked Islam to violence and created a wave of anger across the Muslim world.

The daily Jomhuri Islami said Israel and the United States -- the Islamic republic's two arch-enemies -- could have dictated the comments to distract attention from the resistance of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah to Israel's offensive on Lebanon.

NUN MURDERED IN SOMALIA

In an effort to display the peaceful nature of Islam, Muslim gunmen in Somalia shot and killed a 70 year old Catholic nun. She was shot in the back.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Religious Leaders Across Mideast Rage Against Pope's Comments on Islam

I never ceased to be amazed by Muslims' abject inability to "get it".

The Pope, while delivering a lecture chose to quote a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The quote, it appears to me, is one that is simply drenched in historical accuracy, though Benedict was very careful to not endorse the emperor's remarks. I think that Benedict gives Islam too much credit, and the Muslims, shall we say, doth protest too much.

To say that Mohammed was a "man of peace" is crude revisionism. Mohammed was a soldier and the spread of Islam over the centuries was less conversion than it was coersion. The simple fact is that there has been rivers of blood shed in the name of Islam. Certainly, there has been much blood shed in the name of many religions over the centuries. In the case of Islam, however, those rivers of blood still flow and that is what sets it apart in the modern world. This is something that Islam simply refuses to come to grips with and therein lies the problem.

But even that was not the point of Benedict's speech. His point was his belief in God's rejection of the shedding of blood in His name and the quote was used in the context of 14th century thought. Personally, I think that the Muslim reaction says much more about them than it does about Benedict XVI.

And the what is the Muslim reaction? Indignation, seething, anger and...maybe even violence!

But anger still swept across the Muslim world, with Pakistan's parliament uanimously adopting a resolution condemning the pope for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam, and seeking an apology from him.

"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.


Examine last sentence once more: "Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence." That pretty much says it all, don't you think?

Ah yes. Islam, the religion not only of peace, but of tolerance as well (cue the chirping blubirds). And if anyone even so much as insinuates the contrary, these otherwise placid souls are compelled to carry out bombings, beheadings, dismemberment any any other number of barbaric acts.

Well, it seems that that old Byzantine emperor may well have been onto something. As for Benedict XVI, I think that I'm starting to like the guy!
ORIANA FALLACI, R.I.P.

We lost a brave voice against Islamic facism today, and I morn her passing. If you have not read "The Rage and the Pride" and "The Force of Reason" , do so. It is simply all you really need to know about the crisis we face.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

MacDuff
"The Duffer"
April 1, 1994 - September 12, 2006

I lost my friend today. His name was MacDuff, but he will always be The Duffer to those who knew him. He was as good a friend as one could want and probably a better friend than I deserved. He had no enemies, and had a way of endearing himself to those who met him. He loved everyone and everyone loved him.

Some would say "he was just a dog" but those of us who love them and welcome them into our family know that they are much more.

I was out of town when he breathed his last. My friend, The Duffer, who was always there for me, did not have the comfort of knowing I was there for him when he needed me the most. He was very sick and I simply did not want to prolong his suffering for one moment longer, while he awaited my return. He had already spent much of his life loyally awaiting the return of his humans as we went about our work and chores that took us out of the house. I tried to relieve him of that duty on this, his last day. I acted in his interest rather than my own, but I wish that I could have seen his adoring brown eyes just one more time and said goodbye. I wish that I could have kissed his forehead once more and let him know how much he meant to me.

He was suffering kidney failure and that, coupled with his age was simply more than he could overcome. As his humans, my wife and I made the heart-wrenching decision to send him to his appointed end, rather than allow him to suffer any more agony. I feel that he had probably been in pain for some time, but he would not allow us to see. They're like that you know, they don't want to trouble us with their pain. He received his shot from his vet, and his little loyal heart slowly stopped while he lay in my wife's arms. Now, all we have is a gaping hole that The Duffer once occupied. I would like to think that the joy he gave us during his life far outweighs the current pain of his absence, but that's hard to see right now through the veil of tears.

Godspeed my freind. Thank you for your love and loyalty, I'll never forget you.

Monday, September 11, 2006

September 11, 2001 Never Forget, Never Forgive.
September 11, 2006 Not Forgotten, Not Forgiven.
~
As we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, may we rededicate ourselves to ridding the world of those who would make war on free people and kill innocents in the name of a misbegotten and corrupted religion. May God have mercy on all those who have been murdered in His name and may His special justice rain down upon the souls of those murderers, in His time and in His way. May we unite those souls with Him as quickly as possible.
~
And for those who still still refuse to understand the nature and the motivation of our enemy, may you continue to be protected by those who do, whether you want to be or not, for you are my fellow Americans, whether I like it or not.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Man arrested in airport knife scare

ROMULUS, Mich. - A man with a one-way ticket to Yemen attempted to board a plane with a knife hidden in a book, authorities said.

Mohammed Ghanem, 21, of Hamtramck, was jailed Saturday on $500,000 after being arraigned on a charge of possessing a weapon in the sterile area of an airport.

Ghanem was arrested Thursday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after Transportation Security Administration officers detected the knife "artfully concealed" in the book, airport spokesman Michael Conway said.

Someone had carved out the inside of the book and placed the knife inside it, said Ghanem's attorney, Nabih Ayad.

"He said he didn't know where the knife came from," Ayad told the Detroit Free Press.



Let's see, Mohammed has a one-way ticket to Yemen, and it just so happens that he has a knife hidden inside of a carved-out book, and his attorney, Nabih Ayad says his client Mohammed has no idea where the knife came from.

Oooookay. I think Mohammed may well need a long vacation at Club Gitmo.
China Calls for Peaceful Iran Resolution

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday that the international standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program must be resolved peacefully and he cautioned against the imposition of sanctions.

Wen stressed his country doesn't want Iran to develop nuclear weapons and would "make tireless efforts" for a negotiated solution.

"That said, diplomatic efforts will be a long process," he told reporters on the sidelines of a summit with the European Union. "

To mount pressure or impose sanctions will not necessarily bring about a peaceful solution."

His comments came as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met with Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in Vienna, Austria, about Tehran's defiance of international demands that it give up uranium enrichment.


Immediately what comes to mind here is Neville Chamberlain. But in fairness to Chamberlain, he was just a pathetic idiot and dupe. China, on the other hand, is a not-so-thinly-veiled enemy of the United States.

"...diplomatic efforts will be a long process." Yeah, right. Just long enough for Iran to achieve its goal.
More Muslims Arrive in U.S., After 9/11 Dip
America's newest Muslims arrive in the afternoon crunch at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Their planes land from Dubai, Casablanca and Karachi. They stand in line, clasping documents. They emerge, sometimes hours later, steering their carts toward a flock of relatives, a stream of cabs, a new life.
This was the path for Nur Fatima, a Pakistani woman who moved to Brooklyn six months ago and promptly shed her hijab. Through the same doors walked Nora Elhainy, a Moroccan who sells electronics in Queens, and Ahmed Youssef, an Egyptian who settled in Jersey City, where he gives the call to prayer at a palatial mosque.
"I got freedom in this country," said Ms. Fatima, 25. "Freedom of everything. Freedom of thought."

Oh. Goody. Just what we needed.

Forgive me if I do not wax ecstatic at the thought of more Muslims "assimilating" in this country. Call me what you will, but I just get a bad feeling about such things, particularly when it's a New York Times piece dated September 10, heralding the fact.


While I was on the subject of dogs (below), I simply could not resist posting this picture. He's the winner of an "ugliest dog" contest that I came across several months ago.

He certainly would have gotten my vote.

Good luck getting this face out of your head.

Friday, September 08, 2006

NO DOGS? NO CATS?
The Muslims are Doomed

The ever-tightening circle of Mulsim hatred now includes house pets. What a bunch of ass-hats:

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's religious police, normally tasked with chiding women to cover themselves and ensuring men attend mosque prayers, are turning to a new target: cats and dogs.

The police have issued a decree banning the sale of the pets, seen as a sign of Western influence. The prohibition on dogs may be less of a surprise, since conservative Muslims despise dogs as unclean. But the cat ban befuddled many, since Islamic tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad loved cats — and even let a cat drink from his ablutions water before washing himself for prayers.

The religious police, known as the Muttawa, have the role of enforcing Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic code. Its members prowl streets and malls, ensuring unmarried men and women do not mix, confronting women they feel are not properly covered or urging men to go to prayers.

But the government also gives the Muttawa wide leeway to enforce any rules they deem necessary to uphold the social order.

The decree, which applies to the Red Sea port city of Jiddah and the holy city of Mecca — bans the sale of cats and dogs because "some youths have been buying them and parading them in public," according to a memo from the Municipal Affairs Ministry to Jiddah's city government.

The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, urges city authorities to help enforce the ban. Pet owning is not common in the Arab world, though dogs are kept for hunting and guarding. In large cities around the Middle East, stray dogs often wander the streets and are considered pests. Street cats are also plentiful, and people will often feed them or play with them — but it isn't a widespread custom to keep one in the home, and many cannot afford it.

However, in the past decades, owning dogs or cats has become a fashion tatement among Saudis. Showing off a Doberman, pit bull or fancy breed of feline has became a status symbol.

Conservatives decry the trend as a Western influence, just like the fast food, shorts, jeans and pop music that have become more common in the kingdom, which is ruled by the puritanical Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. They say it should be fought because it is threatening the fabric of Gulf nations.

"One bad habit spreading among our youths is the acquisition of dogs and showing them off in the streets and malls," wrote Aleetha al-Jihani in a letter to Al-Madina newspaper. "There's no doubt that such a matter makes one shudder."

"Then what's the point of dragging a dog behind you?" he added. "This is blind emulation of the infidels."


Given the choice of a dog or Islam, I'll take a dog any day. A god that doesn't like dogs is simply not my kind of god. Call me infidel extrorinaire.

In view of the fact that I've never much liked people who dislike animals, I'm not surprised in the least by this story. I've always found dogs, in particular, to be pretty good judges of character - perhaps that's why "the prophet" dispised them so.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

COMAIR FLIGHT 5191
High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee

Oh I have slipped the surely bonds of earthand danced the skies on laughter silvered wings. Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun split cloudsand done a hundred things you have not dreamed of, wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.

Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind aloft and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. Up up the long delirious burning blue, I've topped the wind swept heights with easy grace where neither lark nor eagle flew.

And there with silent lifting mind I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

A bit too close to home. May God rest their souls.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

PEOPLE POWER

Mutiny on Flight 613
Passengers refuse to allow holiday jet to take off until two Asian men are thrown off plane

British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.

The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic.

Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action. Some stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus A320 minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for Flight ZB 613 in the departure lounge refused to board it.

The incident fuels the row over airport security following the arrest of more than 20 people allegedly planning the suicide-bombing of transatlantic jets from the UK to America.

It comes amid growing demands for passenger-profiling and selective security checks.It also raised fears that more travellers will take the law into their own hands - effectively conducting their own 'passenger profiles'.


I just love that last paragraph. First, some major "passenger profiling" is in order. The problem is Middle Eastern Muslim terrorists! And another thing, these people didn't "take the law into their own hands", they simply chose not to place themselves in a potentially threatening situation.

Whether or not these two "Asian" (what happened to "Middle-Eastern", is that all of a sudden politically incorrect?) men were treated unfairly is really not the point. The point is that all of the people involved in all of the terrorist activity are Middle Eastern Muslims. Sorry if that's an inconvenient fact that flies in the face of all of this politically correct kumbaya claptrap, but it's indeed a fact. I'm sorry if these two men were treated unfairly, but given the current situation, I think it's a natural reaction. They should blame their brothers who use their religion as a justification for murder.

Certainly, all Muslims are not terrorists, but it would appear that all terrorists are Muslims.

Perhaps if the people at CAIR (Council on American and Islamic Relations) and other like institutions, not to mention Muslims in general, would spend a little less time whining about "profiling" and more time forcefully denouncing the large swath of terrorist activity that calls Islam home, people could get back to the pre-9/11 mindset with regard to Middle-Easterners.

I think before 9/11, most people didn't have much of an opinion one way or another about Arabs or Middle Easterners. Now, one sees two Arab men in an airport or sitting across the aisle on an airplane and one tends to think "potential terrorist." Do I have this reaction? You better believe it. As a Flight Attendant, I mentally "profile" every person on my aircraft. I don't treat them any differently and I am equally hospitable to all passengers. That said, when I see Middle-Eastern men, I tend to watch them more closely than I would some "good ol' boy" wearing a NASCAR cap. If the IRA had been responsible for the 9/11 attacks and I knew there were thousands of IRA terrorists in this country plotting against us, I would have the same reaction to everyone I encountered sporting an Irish brogue.

I don't call this racism, I call it realism.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Theme park calls off "Muslim Fun Day"

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday.

Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas.
Perhaps choosing September 11 would have been more in the spirit of "Muslim Fun."

Why many in the Western world continue to find it necessary to suck up to these people when it is they who should be begging our forgiveness is beyond my comprehension.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

North Korea's Kim Jong-Il Marries

The "lucky" lady is Kim Ok (which is more than you can say about her new husband.)

Once again, proof that truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimers funnier.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

IS HEZBOLLAH NOW RUNNING LEBANON?

Captains Quarters poses the question with some pretty complelling evidence that the answer may well be "yes." Up to this point, I've had some sympathy for Lebanon as a feckless pawn stuck in the middle of a conflict that they really never wanted. If, in fact, they have decided to cast their lot with Hezbollah, well, they deserve what they get. As I said below, when you lie down with dogs.......

Friday, July 21, 2006




Immediate Cease-Fire a "False Promise"

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected the "false promise" of an immediate cease-fire in the spreading war between Israel and Hezbollah on Friday and said she would seek long-term peace during a trip to the Mideast beginning Sunday.

The top U.S. diplomat defended her decision not to meet with Hezbollah leaders or their Syrian backers during her visit.

" Syria' name knows what it needs to do, and Hezbollah is the source of the problem," Rice said as she previewed her trip, which begins with a stop in Israel.

Rice said the United States is committed to ending the bloodshed, but not before certain conditions are met. The Bush administration has said that Hezbollah must first turn over the two Israeli soldiers whose capture set off the 10-day-old violence, and stop firing missiles into Israel.

"We do seek an end to the current violence, we seek it urgently. We also seek to address the root causes of that violence," Rice said. "A cease-fire would be a false promise if it simply returns us to the status quo."

The United States has resisted international pressure to lean on its ally Israel to halt the fighting. The U.S. position has allowed Israel more time to try to destroy what both nations consider a Hezbollah terrorist network in southern Lebanon.

I watched her press conference to day and I was deeply impressed. She was articulate, clearly in command of her subject and she hit all of the right notes. I would imagine that, if you found her across a conference table from you, that she would be a force to be reckoned with. She is by far the best cabinet pick that President Bush has made.

Is she presidential timber? Well, I certainly hope so. Given what I have seen thus far, I would not only vote for her, I would actinely work for her election.

Meanwhile, Kofi Annan continued to sing the only song he knows:

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanded an immediate cease-fire Thursday, and denounced the actions of both Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon's beleaguered prime minister has also asked for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Whatever, Kofi. Just sit down, shut up and we'll call you when we need you.
GERMAN CHANCELLOR MERKEL GIVES AHMADINEJAD BUM'S RUSH

Regarding the letter that the Iranian president wrote to German Chancelloer Merkel requesting her help on his "Jewish problem", I wrote below that Merkel should publicly tell him to go to hell. I then concluded that it's "just not going to happen."

Well, I am happy to say that I misjudged the Chancellor. While she didn't use those exact words, she came close enough:
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday forcefully rejected a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeking cooperation with Germany, saying it did not even deserve an answer.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivered the letter to the German embassy in Tehran earlier this week. A German government official who saw the letter told Reuters it criticised Israel and said Germany and Iran should cooperate in dealing with Zionism and solving the Palestinian problem.

"He's repeating the old thinking, which is totally unacceptable to us," Merkel told ZDF state television. "Israel's right to exist is a key part of our state policy and he calls this into question time and again; and at the same time our offer - an offer which really gives the Iranian people hope for the future - is not mentioned once," she added.

"That's not in order and thus does not need to be answered."
Well done Frau Merkel, well done!














"At the rate that technology is advancing, people will be implanting chips in our children to advertise directly into their brains and tell them what kind of products to buy"

No, this is not a parody.

WASHINGTON - Madison Ave. ad execs are so bent on taking control of America's children, they'd put computer chips in kids' brains if they could, Sen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday.

Saying advertisers have found so many new ways to get at kids through video games and the Internet, Clinton warned that we're verging on a society out of a grim science fiction novel.

"At the rate that technology is advancing, people will be implanting chips in our children to advertise directly into their brains and tell them what kind of products to buy," Clinton said at the Kaiser Family Foundation.


The New York Democrat said the country was performing a "massive experiment" on kids who average more than six hours a day with media and advertising, soaking it up through TV, computers, games and iPods. She said the fastest growing advertising market is the 6- and under set, and that children's health is already being hurt by products like Camel's candy-flavored cigarettes and junk food sold with tips for video games - used to sell more junk food.

"People are spending billions and billions of dollars enticing children basically to be obsessed with food," she said. "These foods are almost universally unhealthy." Clinton has offered legislation to study the effects of the "advertising-saturated, media-intense" world on kids.

Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, said Clinton and other politicians like to attack advertising because it's easier than trying to ban bad food products or fund broad education programs.


"To go after advertising really makes no sense," he said. "It's sort of a backdoor tack, but it's the safer one politically."


Yet another example of a news story that reads like a joke but, unfortunately is all too real. The Middle East is on the verge of a protracted war and Hillary Clinton is concerned that Madison Avenue advertising executives are planning to implant chips in the heads of American children so as to pump advertising directly into their brains.

Wow. Aside from the tin foil hat, black helicopter, "they're goning to put chips in my head" paranoia which is really weird, to say the least, this is quite illustrative of the liberal mindset.

"Big Advertising" is just the latest in a long line of industries that Hillary and her ilk have chosen to attack for political gain. The tobacco industry was first, then came (in no particular order) oil, companies, insurance, hospital companies, pharmaceuticals, fast food, soft drinks and probably more that I have failed to mention. The sad fact is that eventually, every industry in this country will be blamed for some deficiency in American life. In Hillary's view, nothing is really the fault of individuals, it's those pesky corporations that are to blame.

Hey America, it's your fault. You're too fat because you eat too much and exercise too little. Stop eating, take a walk and stop blaming your lack of willpower on McDonalds.

The truth is that American kids eat too much of the wrong foods and sit on their big butts watching TV and playing video games. The reason they eat the wrong foods is because their parents are either too timid, or too lazy to tell their child "no". Far too many of these kids are growing up with no fear or respect of their elders, authority figures or their parents because for their entire live they have been raised to think that they are the center of the universe. Many are unruly, impolite, undisciplined and completely anti-social as a result of our child-centric society that has been created by the likes of, well, Hillary Clinton.

Far too many parents are far too indulgent of their children. They give their kids what they ask for and they're not asking for fruits and vegetables or exercise. Too many parents have found that it's much easier to tell their child "yes" than it is to tell them "no." The fruits of this indulgent attitude are lethargic blobs that think the world should satisfy their every whim. There truly can be "too much of a good thing" and the proof is before us.

Does she actually think that this is the first generation of children to be targeted by advertisers? Does she think that prior to now, children didn't crave burgers, fries and anything loaded with sugar? This has been going on since TV was invented. The difference is that the previous generations of parents tended to discipline their children more and insisted that they sit down for family meals, meals that didn't come in a styrofoam box. Sure, there was McDonalds, but it was a treat-not a daily routine.

None of this will be solved by "funding broad education programs" or, God forbid, the banning of certain types of foods, as the "professor of pop culture" seems to be suggesting. Solving it will take some discipline on the part of parents, not only discipline of their children but self-discipline as well. Perhaps some straight talk on the part of government officials would be a start, rather than absolving people of blame that is clearly theirs. Recognition of the problem is the first step.
What right have Muslims to claim moral superiority?

Mary Ann Sieghart (Timesonline UK) asks that question in this poignant story about the practice of family values by the "Religion of Peace":


Rarely does a news story bring tears to the eyes. But when I read the account last week of the murder of Samaira Nazir in an "honour killing" (surely an oxymoron), I nearly wept. Here was a bright, articulate graduate who had her throat cut, was stabbed 18 times by her brother and cousin because she wanted to marry a Muslim man whom her family had not chosen.

The details were particularly horrific. Her mother stood and watched as she was murdered "how could any mother do that? Her two nieces, aged just 2 and 4, were forced to witness their father stabbing her, close enough to be spattered by her blood "
how could any parent do that? She screamed for help and neighbours saw her blood-soaked arm emerge briefly from the front door, but their attempts to intervene were rebuffed.

Of course, grotesque acts of violence happen in all countries. The West is not free from sin. But what sets this type of murder apart is that the perpetrators believe that what they are doing is morally justified. In another (dis)honour killing in 2001, Faqir Mohammed stabbed his daughter 20 times in the head and stomach. He told police: "According to the law it was not right, but according to religion it was right."

Moral superiority? This is barbaric in the extreme. Sadly, this is far from an isolated occurrence among Mulims. A culture that allows this sort of thing to occur without vehement outcry from within is a sick culture indeed.
Pat Buchanan weighs in......
My country has been "torn to shreds," said Fouad Siniora, the prime minister of Lebanon, as the death toll among his people passed 300 civilian dead, 1,000 wounded, with half a million homeless.

Israel must pay for the "barbaric destruction," said Siniora.

To the contrary, says columnist Lawrence Kudlow, "Israel is doing the Lord's work."

On American TV, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says the ruination of Lebanon is Hezbollah's doing. But is it Hezbollah that is using U.S.-built F-16s, with precision-guided bombs and 155-mm artillery pieces to wreak death and devastation on Lebanon?

No, Israel is doing this, with the blessing and without a peep of protest from President Bush. And we wonder why they hate us.
Oh, and how should Israel have responded to the kidnapping and brutal murder of her citizens and soldiers, not to mention rocket attacks launched from Lebanese soil? Perhaps an appeal to the U.N., which despises Israel even more than does Pat Buchanan?

Pat has become increasingly annoying over the years and in my opinion he has become increasingly anti-semitic as well. He seems to love the role of contrarian and delights in making controversial statements, seemingly just because they are controversial. On those rare occasions that I agree with him (even a stopped clock is right twice a day), I feel like I should take a shower.

In short, the guy just creeps me out.