Sunday, October 30, 2005
The Religion of Peace Strikes Again!
NEW DELHI - Near-simultaneous explosions rocked the Indian capital Saturday evening, tearing through a bus and two markets crowded with people shopping for gifts for a Hindu festival. At least 58 people were killed and dozens wounded in the blasts, which the government blamed on terrorists.
..and have we mentioned how the media will not name the nationality/religious affiliation of these terrorists?
Asked who was responsible, he would only say "there are several clues." The Indian government faces opposition from dozens of militant groups — particularly Kashmiri separatists, some of whom also oppose the peace process between Pakistan and India.
"Opposition"?? That's like saying the US government faces "opposition" from al-Qaeda...Well, let's look into the souls of the "opposition":
The attacks targeted the many people shopping just days before the festival of Diwali, a major Hindu holiday during which families exchange gifts, light candles and celebrate with fireworks.
"...I took out at least 20 bodies, most of them were children," Singh said. He and others wrapped the bodies in sheets that were being sold by one of the destroyed shops.
As he spoke someone asked him, "Where is Lal Chand?"
"He is gone," Singh replied, and then started crying.
{link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051029/ap_on_re_as/india_explosion}
Well, I'm sure the oppressive Hindu people had this coming, right? Well, as Clint Eastwood's jaded gunslinger says in Unforgiven,
We all have it coming, Kid...
And we all do, if we allow the Iranian Goverment to continue with sick anti-semetic indoctrination like this:
Iranian school boys shoot with their toy guns at an Israeli flag as it burns during an anti-Israeli rally marking 'Al-Quds Day' (Jerusalem Day)
{here http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/051028/481/vah10110281023}
Somewhere (in the deepest bowels of Hell, hopefully), Herr Goebbels himself is shaking his head in disbelief...
UPDATE: Again, this is all America's fault! Via Dogpundit, we learn:
...the Telegraph (UK) is reporting that, after September 11, Prince Charles said, "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational." Further, Prince Charles "will try to persuade George W Bush and Americans of the merits of Islam this week" at a meeting.
But calling for the death of millions of Jews? Just okay-dokey, as far as Prince Charles is concerned....
{link: http://dog-pundit.blogspot.com/2005/10/on-day-before-three-indonesian.html}
..and have we mentioned how the media will not name the nationality/religious affiliation of these terrorists?
Asked who was responsible, he would only say "there are several clues." The Indian government faces opposition from dozens of militant groups — particularly Kashmiri separatists, some of whom also oppose the peace process between Pakistan and India.
"Opposition"?? That's like saying the US government faces "opposition" from al-Qaeda...Well, let's look into the souls of the "opposition":
The attacks targeted the many people shopping just days before the festival of Diwali, a major Hindu holiday during which families exchange gifts, light candles and celebrate with fireworks.
"...I took out at least 20 bodies, most of them were children," Singh said. He and others wrapped the bodies in sheets that were being sold by one of the destroyed shops.
As he spoke someone asked him, "Where is Lal Chand?"
"He is gone," Singh replied, and then started crying.
{link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051029/ap_on_re_as/india_explosion}
Well, I'm sure the oppressive Hindu people had this coming, right? Well, as Clint Eastwood's jaded gunslinger says in Unforgiven,
We all have it coming, Kid...
And we all do, if we allow the Iranian Goverment to continue with sick anti-semetic indoctrination like this:
Iranian school boys shoot with their toy guns at an Israeli flag as it burns during an anti-Israeli rally marking 'Al-Quds Day' (Jerusalem Day)
{here http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/051028/481/vah10110281023}
Somewhere (in the deepest bowels of Hell, hopefully), Herr Goebbels himself is shaking his head in disbelief...
UPDATE: Again, this is all America's fault! Via Dogpundit, we learn:
...the Telegraph (UK) is reporting that, after September 11, Prince Charles said, "I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too confrontational." Further, Prince Charles "will try to persuade George W Bush and Americans of the merits of Islam this week" at a meeting.
But calling for the death of millions of Jews? Just okay-dokey, as far as Prince Charles is concerned....
{link: http://dog-pundit.blogspot.com/2005/10/on-day-before-three-indonesian.html}
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Is Paris Burning?
Via Gateway Pundit:
Hundreds of French youths fought with police and set cars ablaze on Saturday in a second night of rioting which media said was triggered when two teenagers were electrocuted while fleeing police...
French youth face riot police in the Paris suburb of Clichy, October 29, 2005...Youths rioted for the second night in a Paris suburb torching 30 cars and fighting with police...
Can you imagine the media madness if this was happening in the suburbs of say, New York or Los Angeles? The way it would be dissected (especially in the foreign press) to show a "society in decline", or "the inequality of the socioeconomic system?". Yet this story seems to be unable to break through the surface...curious...
How's Britain these days? Funny you should ask...http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/britians-race-riots-shhh.html#links
Link to Gateway Pundit story here: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/10/death-of-immigrants-spark-riots-in.html
Update [10/31] here: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/paris-new-beriut.html
Update [11/1] on our bouncing baby intifada here: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/11/paris-intifada.html
Hundreds of French youths fought with police and set cars ablaze on Saturday in a second night of rioting which media said was triggered when two teenagers were electrocuted while fleeing police...
French youth face riot police in the Paris suburb of Clichy, October 29, 2005...Youths rioted for the second night in a Paris suburb torching 30 cars and fighting with police...
Can you imagine the media madness if this was happening in the suburbs of say, New York or Los Angeles? The way it would be dissected (especially in the foreign press) to show a "society in decline", or "the inequality of the socioeconomic system?". Yet this story seems to be unable to break through the surface...curious...
How's Britain these days? Funny you should ask...http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/britians-race-riots-shhh.html#links
Link to Gateway Pundit story here: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/10/death-of-immigrants-spark-riots-in.html
Update [10/31] here: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/paris-new-beriut.html
Update [11/1] on our bouncing baby intifada here: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/11/paris-intifada.html
France's Race Riots! Shhhh...
Via E-nough!:
Hundreds of angry youths rioted in a Paris suburb early on Thursday, setting fire to cars and shop fronts, after two of their peers were electrocuted while fleeing police.
The rampage in Clichy-sous-Bois, northeast of Paris, started with an attack on firefighters called in to help the two youths, who died after seeking cover next to an electrical transformer. A third youth suffered serious burns.
Crowds of rioters hurled stones at the firefighters then rioted through the streets until early morning, leaving a trail of charred destruction as they set fire to cars, garbage cans and buildings.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the three had not been “physically pursued” by the police.
{link here: http://www.e-nough.hmdnsgroup.com/archives/001120.html}
"An attack on firefighters"...interesting that neither of the two reports quoted mention the ethnicity of the rioters; especially surprising given the politically correct and racially charged tone of the Western media. Maybe...
...The reason is obvious. The cult of multiculturalism holds that all minorities are victims of the majority, and therefore minorities must always be blameless.
{link: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/britians-race-riots-shhh.html}
Yesterday's point, illustrated today...now that's instant gratification!
Hundreds of angry youths rioted in a Paris suburb early on Thursday, setting fire to cars and shop fronts, after two of their peers were electrocuted while fleeing police.
The rampage in Clichy-sous-Bois, northeast of Paris, started with an attack on firefighters called in to help the two youths, who died after seeking cover next to an electrical transformer. A third youth suffered serious burns.
Crowds of rioters hurled stones at the firefighters then rioted through the streets until early morning, leaving a trail of charred destruction as they set fire to cars, garbage cans and buildings.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the three had not been “physically pursued” by the police.
{link here: http://www.e-nough.hmdnsgroup.com/archives/001120.html}
"An attack on firefighters"...interesting that neither of the two reports quoted mention the ethnicity of the rioters; especially surprising given the politically correct and racially charged tone of the Western media. Maybe...
...The reason is obvious. The cult of multiculturalism holds that all minorities are victims of the majority, and therefore minorities must always be blameless.
{link: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/britians-race-riots-shhh.html}
Yesterday's point, illustrated today...now that's instant gratification!
Friday, October 28, 2005
Britians' Race Riots? Shhh...
Great Britian is an example of the cancer of political correctness eating away at a once vibrant body. Now watch, as the whole liberal theory unravels before your eyes - Melanie Phillips is our narrator:
...a rumour spread ...that a 14 year-old black girl had been gang-raped by between three and 25 Pakistani men...in the disturbances that followed a black Christian was set upon by up to 11 armed youths and stabbed to death as he walked home from the cinema, a mixed-race man was shot dead and an Asian taxi-driver was attacked.
And the media exploded the way it always does when there are race riots, correct? Eh, no...
By any standards such occurrences are deeply disturbing. If this had been white on black violence, there would have been a media feeding frenzy and the newspapers would have been full of reconstructions, analysis and instant opinions and recriminations. Instead, there has been near silence. The reason is obvious. The cult of multiculturalism holds that all minorities are victims of the majority, and therefore minorities must always be blameless. When two minorities start beating each other up, therefore, politically correct Britain is paralysed. By definition, it cannot divide up the actors in the drama into good guys and bad guys. There can be no minority bad guys. It dare not investigate what actually happened, who started it and who was to blame because no minority can ever be blamed without incurring the dreaded labels of ‘racism’ and ‘prejudice’.
And our progressive betters help society thusly:
The result is that a serious and dangerous breakdown in community relations has not been investigated or analysed, the murder of two innocent people has been treated with near-indifference and the implications for multiculturalism all but ignored
Its implications are obvious - multiculturalism is a non-working social model. When you immigrate to a new society, to a certain degree you must conform to its norms. The striving of the media to ignore events like these has actually drawn more attention to them. Fine with me...
And yet, may it be too late to save Britian?
Link to Ms. Phillips here: http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/001462.html
...a rumour spread ...that a 14 year-old black girl had been gang-raped by between three and 25 Pakistani men...in the disturbances that followed a black Christian was set upon by up to 11 armed youths and stabbed to death as he walked home from the cinema, a mixed-race man was shot dead and an Asian taxi-driver was attacked.
And the media exploded the way it always does when there are race riots, correct? Eh, no...
By any standards such occurrences are deeply disturbing. If this had been white on black violence, there would have been a media feeding frenzy and the newspapers would have been full of reconstructions, analysis and instant opinions and recriminations. Instead, there has been near silence. The reason is obvious. The cult of multiculturalism holds that all minorities are victims of the majority, and therefore minorities must always be blameless. When two minorities start beating each other up, therefore, politically correct Britain is paralysed. By definition, it cannot divide up the actors in the drama into good guys and bad guys. There can be no minority bad guys. It dare not investigate what actually happened, who started it and who was to blame because no minority can ever be blamed without incurring the dreaded labels of ‘racism’ and ‘prejudice’.
And our progressive betters help society thusly:
The result is that a serious and dangerous breakdown in community relations has not been investigated or analysed, the murder of two innocent people has been treated with near-indifference and the implications for multiculturalism all but ignored
Its implications are obvious - multiculturalism is a non-working social model. When you immigrate to a new society, to a certain degree you must conform to its norms. The striving of the media to ignore events like these has actually drawn more attention to them. Fine with me...
And yet, may it be too late to save Britian?
Link to Ms. Phillips here: http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/001462.html
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Don't Mess with Dubya...
...cause his enemies seems to have a funny way of "falling out of favor". Be they Democrats (John Kerry, Tom Dashale, jeez-the party as a whole), foreign leaders (Saddam, Gerhard Shroeder, Arafat, the wildly unpopular Chirac), or simply unholy alliances (the "European Union", the "anti-war movement"), when they go up against this guy whom they are so convinced is sooo dumb, they wind up...losing:
CBS News on Wednesday named Sean McManus, head of CBS Sports, as its news chief, replacing Andrew Heyward, whose decade-long tenure was marred by fallout from a botched report last fall on U.S. President George W. Bush' s military record.
McManus takes over a network news division shaken by the election-year firestorm over its September 8, 2004 broadcast of a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story suggesting Bush received preferential treatment while serving in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
The report, which CBS retracted 12 days later, was based in part on documents the network has since acknowledged could not be authenticated.
CBS fired the producer of the segment and ousted three other employees after an independent panel concluded that "myopic zeal" led the network to disregard basic journalistic principles in rushing the piece onto the air.
So someone finally held accountable at CBS News for trying to perpertrate a hoax on the American people designed to swing the election. Myopic zeal is right; that's when you call it when you create forgeries to uphold an untenable position.
But based on the fun the mainstream media is having with the "Grim Milestone" (I saw that headline on at least three Jersey papers today; can't any of these guys have an independent thought?) of the 2,000th American casualty in Iraq, it doesn't appear as if they've learned a damn thing.
Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051027/tv_nm/media_cbs_dc
CBS News on Wednesday named Sean McManus, head of CBS Sports, as its news chief, replacing Andrew Heyward, whose decade-long tenure was marred by fallout from a botched report last fall on U.S. President George W. Bush' s military record.
McManus takes over a network news division shaken by the election-year firestorm over its September 8, 2004 broadcast of a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story suggesting Bush received preferential treatment while serving in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
The report, which CBS retracted 12 days later, was based in part on documents the network has since acknowledged could not be authenticated.
CBS fired the producer of the segment and ousted three other employees after an independent panel concluded that "myopic zeal" led the network to disregard basic journalistic principles in rushing the piece onto the air.
So someone finally held accountable at CBS News for trying to perpertrate a hoax on the American people designed to swing the election. Myopic zeal is right; that's when you call it when you create forgeries to uphold an untenable position.
But based on the fun the mainstream media is having with the "Grim Milestone" (I saw that headline on at least three Jersey papers today; can't any of these guys have an independent thought?) of the 2,000th American casualty in Iraq, it doesn't appear as if they've learned a damn thing.
Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051027/tv_nm/media_cbs_dc
Aw, heck...Give 'em Nukes!
Iran President Wants Israel "Wiped Off the Map"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Israel should be ``wiped off the map,'' the official IRNA news agency reported.
Israel must be wiped off the map,'' Ahmadinejad told a conference called ``The World without Zionism,'' attended by some 3,000 conservative students who chanted ``Death to Israel'' and ''Death to America.''
Ahmadinejad, a former member of the hard-line Revolutionary Guards and traditional religious conservative, said there could be no let-up in its hostility to Israel.
``The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its heartland,'' he said.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms, but Tehran says it needs atomic fuel only for power stations. Iran has developed ballistic missiles able to hit Israel.
Again...we bemoaned the fact, after WWII, that Hitler had written down his plan for global domination, step by step, and we ignored it. When Iran completes Hitler's work, how will we look in the mirror again?
Link via Atlas Shrugged: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2005/10/iran_president_.html
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Israel should be ``wiped off the map,'' the official IRNA news agency reported.
Israel must be wiped off the map,'' Ahmadinejad told a conference called ``The World without Zionism,'' attended by some 3,000 conservative students who chanted ``Death to Israel'' and ''Death to America.''
Ahmadinejad, a former member of the hard-line Revolutionary Guards and traditional religious conservative, said there could be no let-up in its hostility to Israel.
``The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its heartland,'' he said.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms, but Tehran says it needs atomic fuel only for power stations. Iran has developed ballistic missiles able to hit Israel.
Again...we bemoaned the fact, after WWII, that Hitler had written down his plan for global domination, step by step, and we ignored it. When Iran completes Hitler's work, how will we look in the mirror again?
Link via Atlas Shrugged: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2005/10/iran_president_.html
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Funny, in a Sad Way...
I was reading this article on the nomination of White House economist Ben Bernanke (a former chairman of the Princeton University economics departmen) to replace Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and I found this particular line very funny:
Many of his Princeton colleagues did not even know Bernanke was a registered Republican until he joined the Fed.
Are campuses so indoctrinated into liberal philosophy that even members of the economics department (a more conservative discipline by nature) would naturally assume that their colleagues could only be a member of one political party?
And this is a so-called "Ivy-League" school...Sacre Bleu!
Many of his Princeton colleagues did not even know Bernanke was a registered Republican until he joined the Fed.
Are campuses so indoctrinated into liberal philosophy that even members of the economics department (a more conservative discipline by nature) would naturally assume that their colleagues could only be a member of one political party?
And this is a so-called "Ivy-League" school...Sacre Bleu!
Speaking of the French...how do they react when the Syrians are caught with their hands dripping with blood? As usual, they cower, whimper, and appease:
The United States has also demanded action, but France, which has a veto on the council, said it would not consider sanctions until the end of the probe.
"We have here an opportunity to do justice with an independent inquiry. Let's go to the end ... if we need to make it longer, let's do it, and afterwards lets see what the consequences should be, including on the question... of sanctions," Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said.
France was the former colonial power in Lebanon and Syria.
So the French practically guarantee the Syrians years of fudging, negotiations, and all-around smoke-blowing until "consequences" are arrived at. With pals like these on the Security Council, why the hell should Syria stop its policies of murder and interference in Lebanon? Doesn't the French position here actually work against the democratic movement in Lebanon?
Aaargh!
Yahoo! News link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051024/bs_nm/bush_fed_dc and here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051024/wl_nm/hariri_syria_protest_dc
Sunday, October 23, 2005
North Korea; or, Socialism In Action!
Physical Abuse of a Woman by the North Korean Military - Pictures taken on August 17, at a border military station
Via Swimming against the Red Tide, a Brazilian conservative's blog, with more lovely photos available here: http://againstred.blogspot.com/2005/09/north-corea-doesnt-allowed-us-to.html :
That's the real socialism. The way defined as "social-democracy" is just a slower lane to reach the same spot: total control over the human being by a giant state.This is what happens when the disguise of "egalitarianism" is left behind.
I know this is America's fault somehow...oh, right, aren't we supposed to be giving into their demands on nuclear weapons? If we don't, they'll keep kicking this defenseless woman!
Yet maybe she is lucky; after all, she could have been in North Korea's Camp 22:
In the remote north-eastern corner of North Korea, close to the border of Russia and China, is Haengyong. Hidden away in the mountains, this remote town is home to Camp 22 - North Korea's largest concentration camp, where thousands of men, women and children accused of political crimes are held.
Now, it is claimed, it is also where thousands die each year and where prison guards stamp on the necks of babies born to prisoners to kill them.
Over the past year harrowing first-hand testimonies from North Korean defectors have detailed execution and torture, and now chilling evidence has emerged that the walls of Camp 22 hide an even more evil secret: gas chambers where horrific chemical experiments are conducted on human beings.
Witnesses have described watching entire families being put in glass chambers and gassed. They are left to an agonising death while scientists take notes.
And no one lifts a finger, and America gets blamed, blamed, for being undiplomatic when our President calls them "evil". Remember that, the next time Europe dares lectures us on morality...
Link to Guardian article on 22 here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,2763,1136483,00.html
but plenty of gruesome stuff for anyone willing to do a quick search...
Meanwhile, in Bizarro World...
...otherwise known as the BBC, the United States is a festering hellhole not worthy of our miserable existence. Today's headlines include:
US Probe into 'Taleban burnings'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4359128.stm
{Americans, in what the reporter, John Martinkus, describes as a "deliberate desecration of Muslim beliefs", may have burned the dead bodies of Taliban terrorists!! This one comes complete with proud pix of muslim children swearing their allegience to the Mujadeen...for the truth on these trumped-up charges, see LGF link here: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17949_World_Gone_Nuts&only }
US firm admits Oil-for-Food bribe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4361838.stm
{These guys were strictly small fry; can't seem to find much about France's bloody hands, though...}
US Defeated in Film Row
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4360496.stm
Only a direct quote can show the horrors that lie within:
The United Nations cultural body voted in favour of a cultural diversity convention, backed by France, Canada and the UK.
The US had said the "deeply flawed" convention could be used to block the export of Hollywood films and other cultural exports.
...that's right, fellow Americans, we have been defeated...
US Planning Invasion - Chavez
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4359386.stm
{Read a few hundreds words of unquestioned wisdom from the mouth of South America's premiere despot!}
US diplomats in London roads row
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4359566.stm
US diplomats who refuse to pay London's traffic congestion charge are guilty of an "abuse of hospitality", the city assembly's transport spokesman says
...never can get tired of putting the words "abuse", "guilty", and "U.S." side by side, can you?
President George Bush: Troubled Times
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4362658.stm
Bush is in bad shape at a press conference:
From the president, a strained-sounding reply...
And trust me, this isn't even the half of it...see here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm for the complete carnival of BBC insanity...
US Probe into 'Taleban burnings'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4359128.stm
{Americans, in what the reporter, John Martinkus, describes as a "deliberate desecration of Muslim beliefs", may have burned the dead bodies of Taliban terrorists!! This one comes complete with proud pix of muslim children swearing their allegience to the Mujadeen...for the truth on these trumped-up charges, see LGF link here: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17949_World_Gone_Nuts&only }
US firm admits Oil-for-Food bribe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4361838.stm
{These guys were strictly small fry; can't seem to find much about France's bloody hands, though...}
US Defeated in Film Row
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4360496.stm
Only a direct quote can show the horrors that lie within:
The United Nations cultural body voted in favour of a cultural diversity convention, backed by France, Canada and the UK.
The US had said the "deeply flawed" convention could be used to block the export of Hollywood films and other cultural exports.
...that's right, fellow Americans, we have been defeated...
US Planning Invasion - Chavez
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4359386.stm
{Read a few hundreds words of unquestioned wisdom from the mouth of South America's premiere despot!}
US diplomats in London roads row
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4359566.stm
US diplomats who refuse to pay London's traffic congestion charge are guilty of an "abuse of hospitality", the city assembly's transport spokesman says
...never can get tired of putting the words "abuse", "guilty", and "U.S." side by side, can you?
President George Bush: Troubled Times
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4362658.stm
Bush is in bad shape at a press conference:
From the president, a strained-sounding reply...
And trust me, this isn't even the half of it...see here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm for the complete carnival of BBC insanity...
UN Scandals: Simply Bottomless?
So says Claudia Rosett of the New York Sun, one of the few journalists left that actually investigates and reports news, unlike her follow-the-liberal-herd bretheran. Just a little digging shows that Saddam and al-Qaeda may have been financially connected through a little UN program known as "Oil for Food". She looks at:
...a mysterious private company called IHC Services, which did big business with the procurement department until it was removed from U.N. rosters in June...It now appears that while doing business with the U.N., IHC had links both to Saddam Hussein’s old sanctions-busting networks, and to a Liechtenstein-based businessman, Engelbert Schreiber, Jr., known among other things for his ties to a figure designated by the U.N. itself as a financier of Al Qaeda.
Connect the dots with Claudia here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173039,00.html
...a mysterious private company called IHC Services, which did big business with the procurement department until it was removed from U.N. rosters in June...It now appears that while doing business with the U.N., IHC had links both to Saddam Hussein’s old sanctions-busting networks, and to a Liechtenstein-based businessman, Engelbert Schreiber, Jr., known among other things for his ties to a figure designated by the U.N. itself as a financier of Al Qaeda.
Connect the dots with Claudia here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173039,00.html
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Iraqi Voters 2, Western Media 0
The second time, since the liberation of their nation, that the Iraqi people have voted for peace, democracy, and sanity - all despite (or in spite of) a mainstream media that insists on chaos, racial strife, and American defeat. Ralph Peters in today's New York Post uses better words than I to express much of the sentiment of this blog:
Iraq may yet fail as a unified state. Violence will continue. But what's frustrating is the determination of so many in our media to convince the American people that Iraq's a hopeless mess. It's an example of vanity, selfishness and spite virtually without precedent in the history of journalism....The greatest tragedy imaginable for our "mainstream media" would be to have to admit that President Bush was right about Iraq
We've said it here before - the media would rather let millions suffer and die than admit that their worldview may be incorrect. That's liberalism for you?
A startling number of editors and opinion columnists have been wrong about every development in Iraq (and Afghanistan). First, they predicted a bloody, protracted war against Saddam's military. Then they predicted civil war. They insisted that Iraq's first elections would fail amid a bloodbath. Then they declared that Iraq's elected delegates would not be able to agree on a draft constitution. Next, they thundered that Iraq's Sunni Arabs wouldn't vote...
A herd mentality has taken over the editorial boards. Ignoring all evidence to the contrary, columnists write about our inevitable "retreat" from Iraq, declaring that "everyone knows" our policies have no chance of success.
And yet, despite a track record of failure, they continue to appear on every talk show. Doesn't anyone at the networks vet these guys? Or do the gatekeepers only allow those whom subscribe to a certain philosophy (BushAmerica bad, Muslims misunderstood) to pass through?
Anyway, Peters sums up these despicable media lowlifes perfectly:
We are dealing with parasitical creatures who, never having done anything practical themselves, insist that the bravery and sacrifice of others has no meaning. Their egos have grown so enormous that they would sacrifice the future of Iraq's 26 million human beings just so they could write "I told you so." And, of course, the greatest military experts are those who never served a day in uniform.
The mission we've set for ourselves in Iraq is a tough one. Mistakes made it even harder. But any man or woman of integrity would have to admit that our troops have performed with remarkable skill and tenacity — and that the Iraqi people have displayed confounding courage in their efforts to build a just government for themselves.
A media with no integrity. It's time to burn the whole establishment to the ground (figuratively), sprinkle some holy water on it, and start anew.
Actually, the process has begun...
Link to Peters here: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/55588.htm
Iraq may yet fail as a unified state. Violence will continue. But what's frustrating is the determination of so many in our media to convince the American people that Iraq's a hopeless mess. It's an example of vanity, selfishness and spite virtually without precedent in the history of journalism....The greatest tragedy imaginable for our "mainstream media" would be to have to admit that President Bush was right about Iraq
We've said it here before - the media would rather let millions suffer and die than admit that their worldview may be incorrect. That's liberalism for you?
A startling number of editors and opinion columnists have been wrong about every development in Iraq (and Afghanistan). First, they predicted a bloody, protracted war against Saddam's military. Then they predicted civil war. They insisted that Iraq's first elections would fail amid a bloodbath. Then they declared that Iraq's elected delegates would not be able to agree on a draft constitution. Next, they thundered that Iraq's Sunni Arabs wouldn't vote...
A herd mentality has taken over the editorial boards. Ignoring all evidence to the contrary, columnists write about our inevitable "retreat" from Iraq, declaring that "everyone knows" our policies have no chance of success.
And yet, despite a track record of failure, they continue to appear on every talk show. Doesn't anyone at the networks vet these guys? Or do the gatekeepers only allow those whom subscribe to a certain philosophy (BushAmerica bad, Muslims misunderstood) to pass through?
Anyway, Peters sums up these despicable media lowlifes perfectly:
We are dealing with parasitical creatures who, never having done anything practical themselves, insist that the bravery and sacrifice of others has no meaning. Their egos have grown so enormous that they would sacrifice the future of Iraq's 26 million human beings just so they could write "I told you so." And, of course, the greatest military experts are those who never served a day in uniform.
The mission we've set for ourselves in Iraq is a tough one. Mistakes made it even harder. But any man or woman of integrity would have to admit that our troops have performed with remarkable skill and tenacity — and that the Iraqi people have displayed confounding courage in their efforts to build a just government for themselves.
A media with no integrity. It's time to burn the whole establishment to the ground (figuratively), sprinkle some holy water on it, and start anew.
Actually, the process has begun...
Link to Peters here: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/55588.htm
Sunday, October 16, 2005
"Unrelenting Gloom and Negativity..."
...is the title of a post by Dr. Sanity, where he grabs some thirteen examples of mainstream media stories spun as far negative as possible, all of which lay "blame" at the feet of W. It's kind of sickening that this propoganda can be willingly created by the Western media - if Osama himself had put a gun to the media's collective head and demanded them to "slant" as hard as possible, they could not have produced results as pleasing as the examples here http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2005/10/unrelenting-gloom-negativity.html .
The Doctor's entry was dated Friday; here's a good example of some "media confusion" on the Iraqi Constitution vote today - from Oxblog:
"WaPo VS. NYT: WHAT HAPPENED TODAY IN IRAQ? Was turnout high or low? Were the voters subdued or celebrating? It's hard to figure out even that much if you read both the NYT and WaPo. Under the headline Turnout Is Mixed as Iraqis Cast Votes on Constitution, the NYT reported the following:
Turnout appeared to be highest in Shiite and Kurdish areas, although in many places, including Baghdad, it seemed not to approach the levels seen in January...The mood on the streets of many Iraqi cities, even in Shiite areas, appeared markedly less enthusiastic than on Jan. 30, when millions of Iraqis braved an onslaught of violence to cast ballots and celebrate in a vast outpouring of pro-democratic sentiment.
In contrast, the WaPo reports the following in articles entitled On the Streets of Iraq, Scenes of Joy and Determination, In a Sunni Quarter, A Day of Emotion, and Sunni Turnout Is High In Vote on Iraqi Charter:
Through the day, the referendum unleashed paroxysms of emotion among many in the Sunni Arab community...In Baghdad's heavily Shiite, middle-class Karrada district, thousands of children spilled out onto the streets, bicycling and wobbling on roller skates down deserted thoroughfares...Voting en masse for the first time since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Sunni Arabs cast ballots in large numbers, according to electoral officials and witnesses. Turnout in areas populated by the country's Shiite majority and ethnic Kurds, whose political leaders drafted the proposed constitution, was described by officials as low.
Obviously, one of these news organizations is either:
a) too incompetent to interpet the facts on the ground correctly
b) spinning the facts furiously in way that matches their agenda
c) knowingly distributing false information, otherwise known as "lying"
Either way, the media continues to be tarnished, and with fewer and fewer places to find "unfiltered" news, the odds rise that rumor and innuendo will replace facts and intelligent conversation as the coin of the realm. A bitter blow to democracy, delivered by those whom claim to protect it...
Link to Oxblog here: http://oxblog.blogspot.com/2005_10_16_oxblog_archive.html#112944074878462285
The Doctor's entry was dated Friday; here's a good example of some "media confusion" on the Iraqi Constitution vote today - from Oxblog:
"WaPo VS. NYT: WHAT HAPPENED TODAY IN IRAQ? Was turnout high or low? Were the voters subdued or celebrating? It's hard to figure out even that much if you read both the NYT and WaPo. Under the headline Turnout Is Mixed as Iraqis Cast Votes on Constitution, the NYT reported the following:
Turnout appeared to be highest in Shiite and Kurdish areas, although in many places, including Baghdad, it seemed not to approach the levels seen in January...The mood on the streets of many Iraqi cities, even in Shiite areas, appeared markedly less enthusiastic than on Jan. 30, when millions of Iraqis braved an onslaught of violence to cast ballots and celebrate in a vast outpouring of pro-democratic sentiment.
In contrast, the WaPo reports the following in articles entitled On the Streets of Iraq, Scenes of Joy and Determination, In a Sunni Quarter, A Day of Emotion, and Sunni Turnout Is High In Vote on Iraqi Charter:
Through the day, the referendum unleashed paroxysms of emotion among many in the Sunni Arab community...In Baghdad's heavily Shiite, middle-class Karrada district, thousands of children spilled out onto the streets, bicycling and wobbling on roller skates down deserted thoroughfares...Voting en masse for the first time since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Sunni Arabs cast ballots in large numbers, according to electoral officials and witnesses. Turnout in areas populated by the country's Shiite majority and ethnic Kurds, whose political leaders drafted the proposed constitution, was described by officials as low.
Obviously, one of these news organizations is either:
a) too incompetent to interpet the facts on the ground correctly
b) spinning the facts furiously in way that matches their agenda
c) knowingly distributing false information, otherwise known as "lying"
Either way, the media continues to be tarnished, and with fewer and fewer places to find "unfiltered" news, the odds rise that rumor and innuendo will replace facts and intelligent conversation as the coin of the realm. A bitter blow to democracy, delivered by those whom claim to protect it...
Link to Oxblog here: http://oxblog.blogspot.com/2005_10_16_oxblog_archive.html#112944074878462285
Quagmire Alert!
Via Roger Simon: {http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2005/10/how_short_it_ha.php }
Because the mainstream media has done its best to hypnotize the public into believing the "failure" of the American democracy project in Iraq, it is worth comparing some dates:
Operation Iraqi Freedom - began March 19, 2003...Election to ratify constitution for a democratic Iraq - October 14, 2005
That's two years and seven months.
US Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776...Completion of US Constitution - September 17, 1787 (took effect 1789)
That's eleven years and two months.
Same sentiment here, via No Parasan! { http://no-pasaran.blogspot.com/2005/10/outrageous.html}
Because the mainstream media has done its best to hypnotize the public into believing the "failure" of the American democracy project in Iraq, it is worth comparing some dates:
Operation Iraqi Freedom - began March 19, 2003...Election to ratify constitution for a democratic Iraq - October 14, 2005
That's two years and seven months.
US Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776...Completion of US Constitution - September 17, 1787 (took effect 1789)
That's eleven years and two months.
Same sentiment here, via No Parasan! { http://no-pasaran.blogspot.com/2005/10/outrageous.html}
Harold Pinter understands..and a poetry sample!
...that his selection as a Nobel Prize winner for literature may have little to do with, well, his literature...from yesterday's New York Post :
...even Pinter yesterday wondered aloud whether he was being honored for his plays or for his politics: "I've been writing plays for about 50 years," he said. "But I am also very politically engaged and I am not at all sure to what extent that factor had anything to do with this award."
The Post then reports:
...he went on to blast the war in Iraq, which is pretty much par for the course for Pinter, whose past political rants included railing against "the nightmare of American hysteria, ignorance, arrogance, stupidity and belligerence."
The Swedish Academy, which awards the literature prize, and the Nobel Committee, which selects the winners of the other prizes, clearly share a common mindset: The most important criterion for selecting non-scientific Nobel laureates is the glibness with which they hurl invective at the United States.
More surprise, and more kudos:
He had not been among those identified as favorites for this year's prize, but the jury's choice met with immediate and widespread approval.
"I couldn't be happier. This is a brilliant choice," fellow British playwright David Hare said. Tom Stoppard called the award "wholly deserved."
Edward Albee, in a voicemail message, said, "He's a splendid writer and a good political activist. I can't think of a better choice."
David Hare, another America-hater, is best known for this quote: "The ultimate tendency of civilization is towards barbarism". Maybe that's why he approves of autocratic Mideast regimes, and is able to lump the United States, liberators of those enslaved by Hare's heroes, as "barbaric" as well. There's Nobel-winning logic for you!
Tom Stoppard: "It is better to be quotable than to be honest" - too bad the media doesn't realize this when they blindly quote this fool....
And here's Albee, another American whom loathes his country - he describes his plays " an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen. "
Must have been tough for the Nobel committee to chose - aw, heck, they all hate America, and they write somewhat legibly...give 'em all a prize!
UPDATE: Nobel-winning poetry sample from our man Pinter:
God Bless America
Here they go again, The Yanks in their armoured parade
Chanting their ballads of joy
As they gallop across the big world
Praising America's God.
The gutters are clogged with the dead
The ones who couldn't join in
The others refusing to sing
The ones who are losing their voice
The ones who've forgotten the tune.
The riders have whips which cut.
Your head rolls onto the sand
Your head is a pool in the dirt
Your head is a stain in the dust
Your eyes have gone out and your nose
Sniffs only the pong of the dead
And all the dead air is alive
With the smell of America's God.
"Our" God smells of Death. I wonder, if he had said that about "Allah" - do you think he would have won a Nobel?
Link to this "poetry" at Annika's Journal: http://annika.mu.nu/archives/126088.html
New York Post editorial here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/10142005/postopinion/editorial/53481.htm
Yahoo news story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20051014/ts_latimes/pintermasterofmenacingdramawinsnobelprize
...even Pinter yesterday wondered aloud whether he was being honored for his plays or for his politics: "I've been writing plays for about 50 years," he said. "But I am also very politically engaged and I am not at all sure to what extent that factor had anything to do with this award."
The Post then reports:
...he went on to blast the war in Iraq, which is pretty much par for the course for Pinter, whose past political rants included railing against "the nightmare of American hysteria, ignorance, arrogance, stupidity and belligerence."
The Swedish Academy, which awards the literature prize, and the Nobel Committee, which selects the winners of the other prizes, clearly share a common mindset: The most important criterion for selecting non-scientific Nobel laureates is the glibness with which they hurl invective at the United States.
More surprise, and more kudos:
He had not been among those identified as favorites for this year's prize, but the jury's choice met with immediate and widespread approval.
"I couldn't be happier. This is a brilliant choice," fellow British playwright David Hare said. Tom Stoppard called the award "wholly deserved."
Edward Albee, in a voicemail message, said, "He's a splendid writer and a good political activist. I can't think of a better choice."
David Hare, another America-hater, is best known for this quote: "The ultimate tendency of civilization is towards barbarism". Maybe that's why he approves of autocratic Mideast regimes, and is able to lump the United States, liberators of those enslaved by Hare's heroes, as "barbaric" as well. There's Nobel-winning logic for you!
Tom Stoppard: "It is better to be quotable than to be honest" - too bad the media doesn't realize this when they blindly quote this fool....
And here's Albee, another American whom loathes his country - he describes his plays " an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen. "
Must have been tough for the Nobel committee to chose - aw, heck, they all hate America, and they write somewhat legibly...give 'em all a prize!
UPDATE: Nobel-winning poetry sample from our man Pinter:
God Bless America
Here they go again, The Yanks in their armoured parade
Chanting their ballads of joy
As they gallop across the big world
Praising America's God.
The gutters are clogged with the dead
The ones who couldn't join in
The others refusing to sing
The ones who are losing their voice
The ones who've forgotten the tune.
The riders have whips which cut.
Your head rolls onto the sand
Your head is a pool in the dirt
Your head is a stain in the dust
Your eyes have gone out and your nose
Sniffs only the pong of the dead
And all the dead air is alive
With the smell of America's God.
"Our" God smells of Death. I wonder, if he had said that about "Allah" - do you think he would have won a Nobel?
Link to this "poetry" at Annika's Journal: http://annika.mu.nu/archives/126088.html
New York Post editorial here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/10142005/postopinion/editorial/53481.htm
Yahoo news story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20051014/ts_latimes/pintermasterofmenacingdramawinsnobelprize
Friday, October 14, 2005
Hey, America-Hater! You too can win a Nobel Prize...
From Daimination!, we learn about the standards of the Nobel Prize committee:
"Harold Pinter, an outspoken member of the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic, has been awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature - ostensibly because of his contributions to the dramatic arts, most of which occurred several decades ago, but more likely because of this kind of thing:"
The United States is a monster out of control. Unless we challenge it with absolute determination American barbarism will destroy the world. The country is run by a bunch of criminal lunatics, with Blair as their hired Christian thug. The planned attack on Iraq is an act of premeditated mass murder.
Here's a poem, it's called The Bombs:
There are no more words to be said
All we have left are the bombs
Which burst out of our head
All that is left are the bombs
Which suck out the last of our blood
All we have left are the bombs
Which polish the skulls of the dead
In fact there are at least 2 more words to be said, the first is "Resistance". And the second I address to Tony Blair "Resign! Resign! Resign!"
Demented human, and a terrible poet to boot - well, the fact that he now shares company with Yassar Arafat kinda says it all, no?
Link to Daimian Penny here: http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/005024.html
"Harold Pinter, an outspoken member of the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic, has been awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature - ostensibly because of his contributions to the dramatic arts, most of which occurred several decades ago, but more likely because of this kind of thing:"
The United States is a monster out of control. Unless we challenge it with absolute determination American barbarism will destroy the world. The country is run by a bunch of criminal lunatics, with Blair as their hired Christian thug. The planned attack on Iraq is an act of premeditated mass murder.
Here's a poem, it's called The Bombs:
There are no more words to be said
All we have left are the bombs
Which burst out of our head
All that is left are the bombs
Which suck out the last of our blood
All we have left are the bombs
Which polish the skulls of the dead
In fact there are at least 2 more words to be said, the first is "Resistance". And the second I address to Tony Blair "Resign! Resign! Resign!"
Demented human, and a terrible poet to boot - well, the fact that he now shares company with Yassar Arafat kinda says it all, no?
Link to Daimian Penny here: http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/005024.html
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Oasis vs. Coldplay!
The JerseyNut is now a Liam Gallagher fan! The Oaisis frontman, angered by anti-war remarks made by Coldplay's Chris Martin at a teenage cancer charity benefit, takes him on:
LIAM GALLAGHER has called COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN a "knobhead student" for expressing strong anti-war views at a fundraising show.The Oasis singer slammed Martin for his comments at the band's Teenage Cancer Trust show In London on Monday (March 24), where he encouraged the sell-out crowd at the Royal Albert Hall to "sing against war".
The verbal assault came after Gallagher appeared as a special guest at Richard Ashcroft's Teenage Cancer Trust show at the same venue on Wednesday (March 26). He told The Sun : "When Coldplay did this gig they banged on about the war, that's wrong. Chris Martin shouldn't be using this cause to bang on about his own views on the war. If him and his gawky bird [ a reference to Gwenneth Paltrow, I suppose - ed.] want to go banging on about the war they can do it at their own gigs."
"These gigs are about kids who have got cancer, they've got to fight a war every day of their lives. That's what we're all here doing this for."
Thank you, Liam!
Link to New Music Express here: http://www.nme.com/news/104623.htm
LIAM GALLAGHER has called COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN a "knobhead student" for expressing strong anti-war views at a fundraising show.The Oasis singer slammed Martin for his comments at the band's Teenage Cancer Trust show In London on Monday (March 24), where he encouraged the sell-out crowd at the Royal Albert Hall to "sing against war".
The verbal assault came after Gallagher appeared as a special guest at Richard Ashcroft's Teenage Cancer Trust show at the same venue on Wednesday (March 26). He told The Sun : "When Coldplay did this gig they banged on about the war, that's wrong. Chris Martin shouldn't be using this cause to bang on about his own views on the war. If him and his gawky bird [ a reference to Gwenneth Paltrow, I suppose - ed.] want to go banging on about the war they can do it at their own gigs."
"These gigs are about kids who have got cancer, they've got to fight a war every day of their lives. That's what we're all here doing this for."
Thank you, Liam!
Link to New Music Express here: http://www.nme.com/news/104623.htm
Deposed German Leader Spits Venom at America!
Europe's #1 dumkoff , Gerhard Schroeder, forced off the world stage, leaves with stately charm:
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has led Germany since 1998, said for the first time on Wednesday he would not play a role in the next government, in an emotional farewell including broadsides at the United States and Britain.
Wait, Reuters will give you the "strong points":
...hitting his stride in a passionate defense of a strong German state and lashing out at "Anglo-Saxon" economic policies favoured in Britain and the United States, which he said had "no chance" in Europe.
In an apparent reference to Hurricane Katrina, Schroeder castigated Washington for liberal, hands-off policies that left it exposed in times of crisis. The Bush administration was widely criticised for its response to the devastating storm.
"I do not want to name any catastrophes where you can see what happens if organised state action is absent. I could name countries, but the position I still hold forbids it, but everyone knows I mean America," he said to loud applause.
Is this the European diplomacy we are supposed to emulate? Using the bodies of those whom died in natural disasters to prop up unsuccessful political and social theories ? Could we then blame Islam for the thousands dead in earthquakes in Pakistan? Perhaps a different philosophy (towards modernization, for example) may have saved them! See how stupid (and offensive) it all sounds if you replace "Americans" with any other religious/etnic group? Schroeder's time-tested anti-Americanism has failed him; and while he pukes bile on us on the way out, we at least get newfound clarity on the hatred that forms the basis of the dream of a Franco-German New World Order.
Besides, as David Medienkritik points out:
Where was the more caring "social" European model while this was going on???
Buh-Bye, Gerhard. Sorry to see ya go. Don't let the door smack your *ss on the way out, pal...
Incidently,Gerhard...if it wasn't for America standing up to your vicious forefathers; if it wasn't for unprecedented American generosity after WWII, if it wasn't for Americans willing to sacrifice certain social comforts to build the military that protected Germany during the cold war, if it wasn't for the American moral courage that dared Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!".....where would you have gotten the freedom you now possess to speak out so hatefully against us?
Yahoo! news story with Schroeder comments here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051012/wl_nm/germany_schroeder_dc_4
Link to Meidienkritik here: http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2005/10/schroeder_goes_.html
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has led Germany since 1998, said for the first time on Wednesday he would not play a role in the next government, in an emotional farewell including broadsides at the United States and Britain.
Wait, Reuters will give you the "strong points":
...hitting his stride in a passionate defense of a strong German state and lashing out at "Anglo-Saxon" economic policies favoured in Britain and the United States, which he said had "no chance" in Europe.
In an apparent reference to Hurricane Katrina, Schroeder castigated Washington for liberal, hands-off policies that left it exposed in times of crisis. The Bush administration was widely criticised for its response to the devastating storm.
"I do not want to name any catastrophes where you can see what happens if organised state action is absent. I could name countries, but the position I still hold forbids it, but everyone knows I mean America," he said to loud applause.
Is this the European diplomacy we are supposed to emulate? Using the bodies of those whom died in natural disasters to prop up unsuccessful political and social theories ? Could we then blame Islam for the thousands dead in earthquakes in Pakistan? Perhaps a different philosophy (towards modernization, for example) may have saved them! See how stupid (and offensive) it all sounds if you replace "Americans" with any other religious/etnic group? Schroeder's time-tested anti-Americanism has failed him; and while he pukes bile on us on the way out, we at least get newfound clarity on the hatred that forms the basis of the dream of a Franco-German New World Order.
Besides, as David Medienkritik points out:
Where was the more caring "social" European model while this was going on???
Buh-Bye, Gerhard. Sorry to see ya go. Don't let the door smack your *ss on the way out, pal...
Incidently,Gerhard...if it wasn't for America standing up to your vicious forefathers; if it wasn't for unprecedented American generosity after WWII, if it wasn't for Americans willing to sacrifice certain social comforts to build the military that protected Germany during the cold war, if it wasn't for the American moral courage that dared Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!".....where would you have gotten the freedom you now possess to speak out so hatefully against us?
Yahoo! news story with Schroeder comments here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051012/wl_nm/germany_schroeder_dc_4
Link to Meidienkritik here: http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2005/10/schroeder_goes_.html
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
The European / American split: Permanent?
So claims Victor Davis Hanson, in a soundly researched and conclusive essay (of the type so rarely found to be written by those favored left-wing intellectuals like Dowd, Krugman, et al..). Some of the highlights:
Americans tend to wish for less government and more personal freedom. They are more religious, aggressive, and acquisitive. Europeans instead prefer statism and an enforced equality of result. Far more of them are irreligious, pacifist, and more interested in leisure than in national progress and personal wealth. Now that they have no fear of the Soviet army, they have little need for us — or so they think.
The shaky European Union is as much driven by anti-Americanism as by pro-Europeanism. Only with unity comes the hope to rebuff the United States effectively. In response, it is far more likely that Americans will envision Germany and France less as friends than as rivals. Since our own European ancestors tamed the frontier in order to craft a nation that would in many ways be an antithesis to their home continent, this is not a big stretch...our past shows frequent antipathy, punctuated several times by violent hostilities: most recently in 1898, 1914, and 1941
Now that the shared purpose of holding back the Russian bear has faded, perhaps these endemic rifts between our relationship/cultures are simply resurfacing, now that it is "safe" for them to come back out. That's OK, obvious demographic trends are strongly in America's favor:
The United States is rapidly becoming a universal nation. Continuing immigration, our democratic society, our ethnic and racial assimilation, our common popular culture, our meritocracy, and shared material dreams have created equal and unified Americans out of nearly all the tribes and races of the globe. Europe, for all its socialist pretenses, is a much more stratified and narrow society, plagued with unassimilated minorities. It is hard to imagine a Colin Powell, Alberto Gonzales, or Condoleezza Rice running the key ministries of France, Italy, or Belgium....For four out of ten Americans today, their physical and spiritual origins have nothing to do with Europe — they are offspring of Asia, Latin America, or Africa. Demographic and immigration realities mean that our ostensible blood link with Europe will continue to thin.
But how about that great European quality of life? Well ,the Europeans themselves put paid to that illusion:
The differences between American and European material wealth are now marked and growing — Americans increasingly enjoy larger homes, more cars, more appliances, cheaper food and energy, more advanced health care, and more disposable income. A recent European visitor to my farm, a member of the professional and affluent class, was stunned when I showed him the new suburban houses and multiple cars of first generation immigrants from Mexico living nearby — in the poorest section of one of the poorest inland counties of rural California. “They seem wealthier than I am!” he exclaimed. In a global sense they really are, even without the subsidized train tickets, day care payments, and a government-guaranteed six-week vacation.
Hanson has a number of steps he believes are prudent to take at this time given the status of American/European relations; some samples would be -
...Withdraw as many American troops from the Continent as is not injurious to the global responsibilities of the United States. That will remind the Europeans that anti- American rhetoric has consequences...
...Allow dissident Europeans to enjoy fast-track immigration to the United States. Welcoming folks from Europe who wish to join the American experience will send a powerful reminder to European elites that there were reasons their own people left their shores in the first place...
...Quietly cultivate friendships with eastern European countries, and encourage stronger relations with countries that have signaled shared interests with the U.S., like Britain, Denmark, Holland, and Italy, all of which have reason to be wary of the French- German axis.
Simply one of the best essays on transcontinental relations I have ever read; please read it all here at The American Enterprise: http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson092705.html
Americans tend to wish for less government and more personal freedom. They are more religious, aggressive, and acquisitive. Europeans instead prefer statism and an enforced equality of result. Far more of them are irreligious, pacifist, and more interested in leisure than in national progress and personal wealth. Now that they have no fear of the Soviet army, they have little need for us — or so they think.
The shaky European Union is as much driven by anti-Americanism as by pro-Europeanism. Only with unity comes the hope to rebuff the United States effectively. In response, it is far more likely that Americans will envision Germany and France less as friends than as rivals. Since our own European ancestors tamed the frontier in order to craft a nation that would in many ways be an antithesis to their home continent, this is not a big stretch...our past shows frequent antipathy, punctuated several times by violent hostilities: most recently in 1898, 1914, and 1941
Now that the shared purpose of holding back the Russian bear has faded, perhaps these endemic rifts between our relationship/cultures are simply resurfacing, now that it is "safe" for them to come back out. That's OK, obvious demographic trends are strongly in America's favor:
The United States is rapidly becoming a universal nation. Continuing immigration, our democratic society, our ethnic and racial assimilation, our common popular culture, our meritocracy, and shared material dreams have created equal and unified Americans out of nearly all the tribes and races of the globe. Europe, for all its socialist pretenses, is a much more stratified and narrow society, plagued with unassimilated minorities. It is hard to imagine a Colin Powell, Alberto Gonzales, or Condoleezza Rice running the key ministries of France, Italy, or Belgium....For four out of ten Americans today, their physical and spiritual origins have nothing to do with Europe — they are offspring of Asia, Latin America, or Africa. Demographic and immigration realities mean that our ostensible blood link with Europe will continue to thin.
But how about that great European quality of life? Well ,the Europeans themselves put paid to that illusion:
The differences between American and European material wealth are now marked and growing — Americans increasingly enjoy larger homes, more cars, more appliances, cheaper food and energy, more advanced health care, and more disposable income. A recent European visitor to my farm, a member of the professional and affluent class, was stunned when I showed him the new suburban houses and multiple cars of first generation immigrants from Mexico living nearby — in the poorest section of one of the poorest inland counties of rural California. “They seem wealthier than I am!” he exclaimed. In a global sense they really are, even without the subsidized train tickets, day care payments, and a government-guaranteed six-week vacation.
Hanson has a number of steps he believes are prudent to take at this time given the status of American/European relations; some samples would be -
...Withdraw as many American troops from the Continent as is not injurious to the global responsibilities of the United States. That will remind the Europeans that anti- American rhetoric has consequences...
...Allow dissident Europeans to enjoy fast-track immigration to the United States. Welcoming folks from Europe who wish to join the American experience will send a powerful reminder to European elites that there were reasons their own people left their shores in the first place...
...Quietly cultivate friendships with eastern European countries, and encourage stronger relations with countries that have signaled shared interests with the U.S., like Britain, Denmark, Holland, and Italy, all of which have reason to be wary of the French- German axis.
Simply one of the best essays on transcontinental relations I have ever read; please read it all here at The American Enterprise: http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson092705.html
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Control of the Internet, Part II...or, "Where's YOUR Science, Dude?"
It is with much disbelief that some people (primarily international, or "Internationalists") seem to actually think that America should willfully hand over control of the internet simply because the rest of the world says we should do so. I barked about it here http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/eu-to-usa-all-your-internet-belong-to.html ; I wanted to add the thoughts of the unnamed ladyblogger posting as Atlas Shrugs:
This is a distinctly American invention. It is ours. We chose to share it with the world. And frankly, it's the last vestige of free speech left. The Fifth Column doesn't like what we are doing? Clearly!...
I think we have tolerated and absorbed enough of the evil that the United Nations and the world community at large has perpetrated on America and free peoples everywhere.
It was one thing when we all believed their ineptitude and ill effects of their action(s) were a result of a naivety and "good will" - as in the road to hell is paved with good intentions ...
The UN on the other [hand] is evil, not "enlightened". We know this. We have empirical evidence.
[here: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2005/10/un_world_body_t.html ]
It is ours. I suggested that if the brilliant "international community" could equal our innovation, or even competently mimic it, by all means they should. But what happens when the international community tries that science thingy? Well, let's look at just today's headlines:
Euro Satellite Said to Break Up in Flight
MOSCOW - A European Space Agency satellite that was to have collected data on polar ice broke up in flight after being launched on a converted ballistic missile, a Russian space agency official said Saturday.
Remnants of the satellite crashed into the ocean, Vyacheslav Davidenko, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency, told The Associated Press.
The loss of the CryoSat satellite is a major blow to the agency, which had hoped to conduct a three-year mapping of polar sea ice and provide more reliable data for the study of global warming.
[here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_sc/russia_polar_satellite ]
And to think this is where your "global warming" data is coming from, friends...anyway, agian from today's front pages:
Experimental Russian Spacecraft Missing
MOSCOW - Russian and European teams searched for an experimental mini-spacecraft on the eastern peninsula of Kamchatka on Saturday, a day after the prototype was test-launched from a nuclear submarine thousands of miles away, news reports said
The Demonstrator spacecraft — designed to carry cargo and passengers from the international space station to Earth — was launched from the submarine Borisoglebsk in the Barents Sea on Friday and was reported to have descended toward its target on time.
Russian news agencies and television, however, later reported that engineers had no communication with the craft and had to call off the search at nightfall.
[here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_sc/russia_spacecraft]
Now, in contrast:
Four Robotic Vehicles Finish Desert Race
PRIMM, Nev. - Four robotic vehicles finished a
Pentagon sponsored race across the Mojave desert Saturday and achieved a technological milestone by conquering steep drop-offs, obstacles and tunnels over a rugged 132-mile course without a single human command
The impossible has been achieved," cried Stanford University's Sebastian Thrun, after the university's customized Volkswagen crossed first. Students cheered, hoisting Thrun atop their shoulders.
Also finishing was a converted red Hummer named H1ghlander and a Humvee called Sandstorm from Carnegie Mellon University. The Stanford robot dubbed Stanley overtook the top-seeded H1ghlander at the 102-mile mark.
"I'm on top of the world," said Carnegie Mellon robotics professor William "Red" Whittaker, who said a mechanical glitch allowed Stanley to pass H1ghlander.
The sentimental favorite, a Ford Escape Hybrid by students in Metarie, La., was the fourth vehicle to finish Saturday. The team lost about a week of practice and some lost their homes when Hurricane Katrina blew into the Gulf Coast.
[here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051009/ap_on_hi_te/robot_race ]
How about that - all done by American amateurs, no less. I understand why the Louisiana team was the sentimental favorite - imagine, rather then claim victim status and whine for government assistance, they simply went ahead and did what they had to do. That's American pluck, boys and girls. In the meantime, remind me again why we must comply with the international community's claims upon our internet technology?
Any Rand claimed (in Atlas Shrugged http://www.atlasshrugged.tv/, ironically) that the desire to appropriate the work of another intelligent mind and bestow it as a "gift to the peoples of the world" was the mentality of an intellectual looter - a type who could not equal the achievements of others, so simply stole their work instead, under the guise of "equality", "global rights" , or the like. In Rand's novels, this intellectual thievery was usually followed by economic disruption and social chaos, as the corrupt wielders of new technologies did not understand the forces they were bringing to bear.
Kinda sound like what the EU/UN are trying to pull off now, right? Rand saw the base evil of it, way back when, and that's why her books and theories still carry so much intellectual heft today. Hands off our internet, you second-raters, and don't come back until you can accomplish something on your own...
UPDATE: An applicable excerpt from Atlas Shrugged - Francisco D'anconia explains how our morality is being corrupted by the rule of "the looter" (substitute the UN, EU, etc...):
...the looters' credo has brought you to regard your proudest achievements as a hallmark of shame, your prosperity as guilt, your greatest men, the industrialists, as blackguards, and your magnificent factories as the product and property of muscular labor, the labor of whip-driven slaves, like the pyramids of Egypt. The rotter who simpers that he sees no difference between the power of the dollar and the power of the whip, ought to learn the difference on his own hide— as, I think, he will.
This is a distinctly American invention. It is ours. We chose to share it with the world. And frankly, it's the last vestige of free speech left. The Fifth Column doesn't like what we are doing? Clearly!...
I think we have tolerated and absorbed enough of the evil that the United Nations and the world community at large has perpetrated on America and free peoples everywhere.
It was one thing when we all believed their ineptitude and ill effects of their action(s) were a result of a naivety and "good will" - as in the road to hell is paved with good intentions ...
The UN on the other [hand] is evil, not "enlightened". We know this. We have empirical evidence.
[here: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2005/10/un_world_body_t.html ]
It is ours. I suggested that if the brilliant "international community" could equal our innovation, or even competently mimic it, by all means they should. But what happens when the international community tries that science thingy? Well, let's look at just today's headlines:
Euro Satellite Said to Break Up in Flight
MOSCOW - A European Space Agency satellite that was to have collected data on polar ice broke up in flight after being launched on a converted ballistic missile, a Russian space agency official said Saturday.
Remnants of the satellite crashed into the ocean, Vyacheslav Davidenko, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency, told The Associated Press.
The loss of the CryoSat satellite is a major blow to the agency, which had hoped to conduct a three-year mapping of polar sea ice and provide more reliable data for the study of global warming.
[here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_sc/russia_polar_satellite ]
And to think this is where your "global warming" data is coming from, friends...anyway, agian from today's front pages:
Experimental Russian Spacecraft Missing
MOSCOW - Russian and European teams searched for an experimental mini-spacecraft on the eastern peninsula of Kamchatka on Saturday, a day after the prototype was test-launched from a nuclear submarine thousands of miles away, news reports said
The Demonstrator spacecraft — designed to carry cargo and passengers from the international space station to Earth — was launched from the submarine Borisoglebsk in the Barents Sea on Friday and was reported to have descended toward its target on time.
Russian news agencies and television, however, later reported that engineers had no communication with the craft and had to call off the search at nightfall.
[here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_sc/russia_spacecraft]
Now, in contrast:
Four Robotic Vehicles Finish Desert Race
PRIMM, Nev. - Four robotic vehicles finished a
Pentagon sponsored race across the Mojave desert Saturday and achieved a technological milestone by conquering steep drop-offs, obstacles and tunnels over a rugged 132-mile course without a single human command
The impossible has been achieved," cried Stanford University's Sebastian Thrun, after the university's customized Volkswagen crossed first. Students cheered, hoisting Thrun atop their shoulders.
Also finishing was a converted red Hummer named H1ghlander and a Humvee called Sandstorm from Carnegie Mellon University. The Stanford robot dubbed Stanley overtook the top-seeded H1ghlander at the 102-mile mark.
"I'm on top of the world," said Carnegie Mellon robotics professor William "Red" Whittaker, who said a mechanical glitch allowed Stanley to pass H1ghlander.
The sentimental favorite, a Ford Escape Hybrid by students in Metarie, La., was the fourth vehicle to finish Saturday. The team lost about a week of practice and some lost their homes when Hurricane Katrina blew into the Gulf Coast.
[here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051009/ap_on_hi_te/robot_race ]
How about that - all done by American amateurs, no less. I understand why the Louisiana team was the sentimental favorite - imagine, rather then claim victim status and whine for government assistance, they simply went ahead and did what they had to do. That's American pluck, boys and girls. In the meantime, remind me again why we must comply with the international community's claims upon our internet technology?
Any Rand claimed (in Atlas Shrugged http://www.atlasshrugged.tv/, ironically) that the desire to appropriate the work of another intelligent mind and bestow it as a "gift to the peoples of the world" was the mentality of an intellectual looter - a type who could not equal the achievements of others, so simply stole their work instead, under the guise of "equality", "global rights" , or the like. In Rand's novels, this intellectual thievery was usually followed by economic disruption and social chaos, as the corrupt wielders of new technologies did not understand the forces they were bringing to bear.
Kinda sound like what the EU/UN are trying to pull off now, right? Rand saw the base evil of it, way back when, and that's why her books and theories still carry so much intellectual heft today. Hands off our internet, you second-raters, and don't come back until you can accomplish something on your own...
UPDATE: An applicable excerpt from Atlas Shrugged - Francisco D'anconia explains how our morality is being corrupted by the rule of "the looter" (substitute the UN, EU, etc...):
...the looters' credo has brought you to regard your proudest achievements as a hallmark of shame, your prosperity as guilt, your greatest men, the industrialists, as blackguards, and your magnificent factories as the product and property of muscular labor, the labor of whip-driven slaves, like the pyramids of Egypt. The rotter who simpers that he sees no difference between the power of the dollar and the power of the whip, ought to learn the difference on his own hide— as, I think, he will.
The Harriet Miers Nomination
OK, even the most casual peruser of this blog knows of my fondness for W. But for the life of me I cannot fathom his selection of Harriet Miers, whom is essentially his personal lawyer, as his nominee for the next Supreme Court justice. It reeks of cronyism at a time when many of Bush's appointees are seeing their credentials for their posts coming under increased scrutiny as a result of the Michael Brown/FEMA mishaps. Even if she was a truly outstanding candidate, this would be the wrong time to pick a loyal associate for such a critical position.
But she is not an outstanding candidate. Bush's choice of Justice Roberts was astute - he was obviously a brilliant legal mind, albiet a conservative one (in the truest sense of the word); and as the American center has tilted towards the right, Roberts was viewed by most Americans as a logical fit on the court. Democrats, for the most part, looked foolish in bashing him.
Miers is but a shadow of the most recent nominee; and will present a much easier target for lefties out to drag Bush down. There is no doubt that many Republicans, sensing this is a weak candidate, will jump on the anti-Miers bandwagon, leading to an overwhelming repudiation of Bush and weakening him while fighting a war (and finally doing it right - see here: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/bush-gets-it-right-finally.html). And the media, of course, will have a field day. How ironic that W. will bring about his long-promised bipartisanship by uniting both parties against him...
While I have always admired Bush's ability to ignore the drone of ill-informed criticism of his policies from the media and the Left, I fear that he may be developing a type of tone-deafness that doomed his father's presidency. Remember the first President Bush's famous vacation snaps, fishing gleefully from his cigarette boat, while the country was mired in recession? It suggested a type of aloofness from the average man - their President did not understand them, was not one of them. Could the blatant loyalty pick of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court be George II's "Cigarette Boat" moment?
Let's hope he wises up and allows this nomination to go to quick defeat (he would never withdraw the nomination, it's not a Bush thing to do, although if things get hot, he might ask her to "fall on the grenade"). There is too much at stake in the world right now to allow this folly to continue on for long...
UPDATE: Dan Drezner links to many more on both sides of the political spectrum with thoughts on the Meirs nomination here http://www.danieldrezner.com/archives/002351.html ...here's a taste, from Ann Althouse:
I have yet to see a single piece of writing by Harriet Miers dealing with an issue of constitutional law or even anything purporting to demonstrate the analytical, interpretive skills required to serve on the Supreme Court... Can we have something in writing that shows her mind in action, that inspires confidence that this is a person whose judgment we should all trust for the next two decades?
But she is not an outstanding candidate. Bush's choice of Justice Roberts was astute - he was obviously a brilliant legal mind, albiet a conservative one (in the truest sense of the word); and as the American center has tilted towards the right, Roberts was viewed by most Americans as a logical fit on the court. Democrats, for the most part, looked foolish in bashing him.
Miers is but a shadow of the most recent nominee; and will present a much easier target for lefties out to drag Bush down. There is no doubt that many Republicans, sensing this is a weak candidate, will jump on the anti-Miers bandwagon, leading to an overwhelming repudiation of Bush and weakening him while fighting a war (and finally doing it right - see here: http://jerseynut.blogspot.com/2005/10/bush-gets-it-right-finally.html). And the media, of course, will have a field day. How ironic that W. will bring about his long-promised bipartisanship by uniting both parties against him...
While I have always admired Bush's ability to ignore the drone of ill-informed criticism of his policies from the media and the Left, I fear that he may be developing a type of tone-deafness that doomed his father's presidency. Remember the first President Bush's famous vacation snaps, fishing gleefully from his cigarette boat, while the country was mired in recession? It suggested a type of aloofness from the average man - their President did not understand them, was not one of them. Could the blatant loyalty pick of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court be George II's "Cigarette Boat" moment?
Let's hope he wises up and allows this nomination to go to quick defeat (he would never withdraw the nomination, it's not a Bush thing to do, although if things get hot, he might ask her to "fall on the grenade"). There is too much at stake in the world right now to allow this folly to continue on for long...
UPDATE: Dan Drezner links to many more on both sides of the political spectrum with thoughts on the Meirs nomination here http://www.danieldrezner.com/archives/002351.html ...here's a taste, from Ann Althouse:
I have yet to see a single piece of writing by Harriet Miers dealing with an issue of constitutional law or even anything purporting to demonstrate the analytical, interpretive skills required to serve on the Supreme Court... Can we have something in writing that shows her mind in action, that inspires confidence that this is a person whose judgment we should all trust for the next two decades?
Saturday, October 08, 2005
These colors, they do run...
Courtesy No Parasan! - link here http://no-pasaran.blogspot.com/2005/10/we-joke-but-perhaps-shouldnt-laugh-too.html
Friday, October 07, 2005
Lies and Racism in the Media
Now that the truth is coming out regarding the media's distortion of the "facts on the ground" in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it begs the question: How many deaths are the media responsible for? How many people changed their course of action after hearing reports of rape, murder, and mayhem in the Superdome, none of which apparently happened? Via Daimnation, we quote the Washington Post:
Five weeks after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to New Orleans, some local, state and federal officials have come to believe that exaggerations of mayhem by officials and rumors repeated uncritically in the news media helped slow the response to the disaster and tarnish the image of many of its victims.
Claims of widespread looting, gunfire directed at helicopters and rescuers, homicides, and rapes, including those of "babies" at the Louisiana Superdome, frequently turned out to be overblown, if not completely untrue, officials now say.
The sensational accounts delayed rescue and evacuation efforts already hampered by poor planning and a lack of coordination among local, state and federal agencies.
Daimian Penny adds the following:
Once again, the parallels to the Jenin "massacre" - in which the media reported the most outrageous rumours and lies, in no small part because they wanted them to be true - are striking.
Good analogy, but I'll go one further - the parallels to the war in Iraq - in which the media potrays all events through the prism of Vietnam, in no small part because they wanted them to be true - are striking.
Will the media be able to "Katrina" Iraq? By reporting only the violent acts staged for them in front of their hotel windows, can reporters create an impression of terror, fear and desperation, resulting in a public backlash against what is in actuality a winning battle?
Additionally, why the racism in the media? Did the idea of looting and mayhen by black Americans seems so plausible to these guys that they reported it uncritically? And why are all disagreements between parties in Iraq expected to lead towards "civil war" - are these Arabs simply unable to control themselves? Or govern themselves? Seems like most reporters are starting out with a base of racial/ethnic preconceptions that belie any notion of fair reporting to begin with...
In my eyes, the more the media's credibility suffers at this point, the better...they need to get their act together - and soon.
Link to Daimnation! here: http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/004975.html
Five weeks after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to New Orleans, some local, state and federal officials have come to believe that exaggerations of mayhem by officials and rumors repeated uncritically in the news media helped slow the response to the disaster and tarnish the image of many of its victims.
Claims of widespread looting, gunfire directed at helicopters and rescuers, homicides, and rapes, including those of "babies" at the Louisiana Superdome, frequently turned out to be overblown, if not completely untrue, officials now say.
The sensational accounts delayed rescue and evacuation efforts already hampered by poor planning and a lack of coordination among local, state and federal agencies.
Daimian Penny adds the following:
Once again, the parallels to the Jenin "massacre" - in which the media reported the most outrageous rumours and lies, in no small part because they wanted them to be true - are striking.
Good analogy, but I'll go one further - the parallels to the war in Iraq - in which the media potrays all events through the prism of Vietnam, in no small part because they wanted them to be true - are striking.
Will the media be able to "Katrina" Iraq? By reporting only the violent acts staged for them in front of their hotel windows, can reporters create an impression of terror, fear and desperation, resulting in a public backlash against what is in actuality a winning battle?
Additionally, why the racism in the media? Did the idea of looting and mayhen by black Americans seems so plausible to these guys that they reported it uncritically? And why are all disagreements between parties in Iraq expected to lead towards "civil war" - are these Arabs simply unable to control themselves? Or govern themselves? Seems like most reporters are starting out with a base of racial/ethnic preconceptions that belie any notion of fair reporting to begin with...
In my eyes, the more the media's credibility suffers at this point, the better...they need to get their act together - and soon.
Link to Daimnation! here: http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/004975.html
Bush Gets it Right - Finally...
"We will never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory," he said in a speech on Washington's war on terrorism...
He better mean it - sometimes I wonder if W. is always cognizant of the responsibilities of fighting a war. Responsibility one is Fight To Win. Hopefully, we'll continue to stay on the offensive in Iraq and act, rather than react.
And, FINALLY, Bush speaks clearly on the aims of our enemy:
Citing recent attacks in London, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and Bali, Indonesia, Bush said while the bombings appeared random, they served a clear ideology: "a set of beliefs that are evil but not insane."
He gave a name to the ideology: Islamo-fascism.
Bush used new and more-specific language in characterizing Islamic militants as part of a radical movement much like Soviet-style communism. Rather than dismissing them as terrorist "evildoers" as he once did, he said they have a "clear and coherent ideology" and territorial ambitions.
Bush outlined what he considers a militants' goal as he tried a new approach to convincing Americans of the necessity of the war on terrorism.
"The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that expands from Spain to Indonesia," he said.
He is right, down to every last word. Had he spoken thusly from the beginning, maybe there would be more support, both locally and globally, for a war in which the very culture of the West is at stake.
He need to continue speaking clearly, truthfully, and loudly to be heard over the rabble of the media, which so dearly wants America to lose this war, so that they may have their own Vietnam to crow about, so they may be able to look down on us and say, "I told you so..."
(al-)Reuters via Yahoo! here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/pl_nm/iraq_bush_dc
He better mean it - sometimes I wonder if W. is always cognizant of the responsibilities of fighting a war. Responsibility one is Fight To Win. Hopefully, we'll continue to stay on the offensive in Iraq and act, rather than react.
And, FINALLY, Bush speaks clearly on the aims of our enemy:
Citing recent attacks in London, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and Bali, Indonesia, Bush said while the bombings appeared random, they served a clear ideology: "a set of beliefs that are evil but not insane."
He gave a name to the ideology: Islamo-fascism.
Bush used new and more-specific language in characterizing Islamic militants as part of a radical movement much like Soviet-style communism. Rather than dismissing them as terrorist "evildoers" as he once did, he said they have a "clear and coherent ideology" and territorial ambitions.
Bush outlined what he considers a militants' goal as he tried a new approach to convincing Americans of the necessity of the war on terrorism.
"The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that expands from Spain to Indonesia," he said.
He is right, down to every last word. Had he spoken thusly from the beginning, maybe there would be more support, both locally and globally, for a war in which the very culture of the West is at stake.
He need to continue speaking clearly, truthfully, and loudly to be heard over the rabble of the media, which so dearly wants America to lose this war, so that they may have their own Vietnam to crow about, so they may be able to look down on us and say, "I told you so..."
(al-)Reuters via Yahoo! here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/pl_nm/iraq_bush_dc
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Britian Bows Down to their Muslim Masters!
The once "Great" Britian is now willingly subserving themselves to Islam...Mark Steyn talks about how the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (a liberal bastion), has banned Winnie the Pooh's pal Piglet because his mere existence may offend Muslims:
...as we know, Muslims regard pigs as "unclean", even an anthropomorphised cartoon pig wearing a scarf and a bright, colourful singlet.
Cllr Mahbubur Rahman is in favour of the blanket pig crackdown. "It is a good thing, it is a tolerance and acceptance of their beliefs and understanding," he said. That's all, folks, as Porky Pig used to stammer at the end of Looney Tunes. Just a little helpful proscription in the interests of tolerance and acceptance.
How about a little tolerance of someone else's belief, my Muslim friend? Or are yours the only feelings that matter? Would you deny the whole world the adventures of Christopher Robin because the existence of a pig may offend you? I guess you would...
...these little news items that pop up every week now are significant mostly as a gauge of the progressive liberal's urge to self-abase and Western Muslims' ever greater boldness in flexing their political muscle.
Well put. That's why we must avoid like the plauge any politicians whom proudly flaunt the title of "progressive", for this is the world they wish to lead us towards...
Is it really a victory for "tolerance" to say that a council worker cannot have a Piglet coffee mug on her desk? And isn't an ability to turn a blind eye to animated piglets the very least the West is entitled to expect from its Muslim citizens? If Islam cannot "co-exist" even with Pooh or the abstract swirl on a Burger King ice-cream, how likely is it that it can co-exist with the more basic principles of a pluralist society?
Tha's the point - Islamists do not believe in a pluralistic society, and those whom believe there is a compromise position with them are sadly deluded...
But at some point Britons have to ask themselves - while they're still permitted to discuss the question more or less freely - how much of their country they're willing to lose.
Don't worry, aren't they passing a law to prevent this very type of discussion right now in England under a "hate-crimes" statute? With this type of thinking, the last days of the West really may be upon us...
Need more proof? Now the question is, should Britian change their national flag because it may remind some of the Crusaders of the 12th century? I kid you not; after all, some Muslim prisoners took offense at their guards sporting the Union Jack:
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, said Tuesday the red cross was an insensitive reminder of the Crusades.
"A lot of Muslims and Arabs view the Crusades as a bloody episode in our history," he told CNN. "They see those campaigns as Christendom launching a brutal holy war against Islam.
"Muslim or Arab prisoners could take umbrage if staff wore a red cross badge. It's also got associations with the far-right. Prison officers should be seen to be neutral."
Doyle added that it was now time for England to find a new flag and a patron saint who is "not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with."
How fast will Britian cave? And is the government's policy of dhimmitude in line with the thoughts of the average Brit? Could they have changed so much in the last half-century?
Link to Steyn via LGF: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17757_Steyn-_In_a_Pigs_Ear&only
Link to flag story here at CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/04/britain.redcross/index.html
...as we know, Muslims regard pigs as "unclean", even an anthropomorphised cartoon pig wearing a scarf and a bright, colourful singlet.
Cllr Mahbubur Rahman is in favour of the blanket pig crackdown. "It is a good thing, it is a tolerance and acceptance of their beliefs and understanding," he said. That's all, folks, as Porky Pig used to stammer at the end of Looney Tunes. Just a little helpful proscription in the interests of tolerance and acceptance.
How about a little tolerance of someone else's belief, my Muslim friend? Or are yours the only feelings that matter? Would you deny the whole world the adventures of Christopher Robin because the existence of a pig may offend you? I guess you would...
...these little news items that pop up every week now are significant mostly as a gauge of the progressive liberal's urge to self-abase and Western Muslims' ever greater boldness in flexing their political muscle.
Well put. That's why we must avoid like the plauge any politicians whom proudly flaunt the title of "progressive", for this is the world they wish to lead us towards...
Is it really a victory for "tolerance" to say that a council worker cannot have a Piglet coffee mug on her desk? And isn't an ability to turn a blind eye to animated piglets the very least the West is entitled to expect from its Muslim citizens? If Islam cannot "co-exist" even with Pooh or the abstract swirl on a Burger King ice-cream, how likely is it that it can co-exist with the more basic principles of a pluralist society?
Tha's the point - Islamists do not believe in a pluralistic society, and those whom believe there is a compromise position with them are sadly deluded...
But at some point Britons have to ask themselves - while they're still permitted to discuss the question more or less freely - how much of their country they're willing to lose.
Don't worry, aren't they passing a law to prevent this very type of discussion right now in England under a "hate-crimes" statute? With this type of thinking, the last days of the West really may be upon us...
Need more proof? Now the question is, should Britian change their national flag because it may remind some of the Crusaders of the 12th century? I kid you not; after all, some Muslim prisoners took offense at their guards sporting the Union Jack:
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, said Tuesday the red cross was an insensitive reminder of the Crusades.
"A lot of Muslims and Arabs view the Crusades as a bloody episode in our history," he told CNN. "They see those campaigns as Christendom launching a brutal holy war against Islam.
"Muslim or Arab prisoners could take umbrage if staff wore a red cross badge. It's also got associations with the far-right. Prison officers should be seen to be neutral."
Doyle added that it was now time for England to find a new flag and a patron saint who is "not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with."
How fast will Britian cave? And is the government's policy of dhimmitude in line with the thoughts of the average Brit? Could they have changed so much in the last half-century?
Link to Steyn via LGF: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17757_Steyn-_In_a_Pigs_Ear&only
Link to flag story here at CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/04/britain.redcross/index.html
EU to USA: All your Internet belong to us!
From Reuters (sigh, again...):
UN agency says would be ready to run Internet
The United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is ready to take over governance of the Internet from the United States, ITU head Yoshio Utsumi said on Friday.
The United States has clashed with the European Union and much of the rest of the world over the future of the Internet. It currently manages the global information system through a partnership with California-based company ICANN
OK, let's pause here for a second...The United States has clashed with the European Union and much of the rest of the world over the future of the Internet ???? Since when? In all that has been written about American policy clashes with the EU, and the rest of the world, very little ink has been spilled on the "clash" over the Internet. Clash? Says who? What are the details of the clash? None are forthcoming from the hardworking reporters at Reuters...
"We could do it if we were asked to," Utsumi told a news conference. The U.N. agency's experience in communications, its structure and its cooperation with private and public bodies made it best-placed to take on the role, he said.
Now let me be clear on this...there is NO U.N. agency that is best-placed to take on ANY role - that includes peacekeeping (see Darfur), emergency relief (see tsunami), refugees (see the Palestinian camps), or human rights (see UN Human Rights council, chaired by Sudan!). Give them control of the internet? Yeah, in their wet dreams...
Washington has made clear it would oppose any such move despite widespread demands for changes in the current system.
WIDESPREAD DEMANDS FROM WHOM??? Again, no references are drawn upon in this article from Bizarro World (aka Reuters). Question - would the average world citizen rather have the US control the internet, or the EU? Trust me, they would take Uncle Sam over Jacque "Le Grande Pulet" Chirac any time...
The issue could sour the Tunis meeting from November 16-18.
(Typical UN/EU genius at work - hold an internet convention in a country with no access...)
The EU says it is proposing a new "cooperative model" to run the Internet and the way addresses - or domain names -- are assigned that everyone could support.
But (State Department official David) Gross, speaking to reporters on Thursday, described the plan as a "shocking and profound change" of the EU's earlier stance that opened the way for control by governments -- some of whom already censor what their citizens can read on the Net.
EU spokesman David Hendon described this as "misrepresentation."
A "cooperative model" is translated here as full government control of internet content; "misrepresentation" here is defined as the truth, just put into terms too clear for the EU's comfort (they prefer the phrase "cooperative mode", you see).
Now, finally, some honesty:
Although many EU nations were happy with what ICANN is doing, many countries "just cannot accept that the Americans have control of the Internet in their countries," he (Hendon) told Reuters, and this had to be recognized.
The EU proposal would bring the Internet and ICANN under international law rather than U.S. law.
Sure, why not? Americans invented the internet, developed it into a worldwide tool of communication and commerce, yet we should turn it over to "international law" (the EU and the UN, in other words) because obviously we cannot be trusted to control it. Kinda like what they have been trying to do to the United States military for the last decade or so...
Well, the EU had better accept that the Americans control the internet. But if they don't, options are available:
- develop your own improved sytem, and implement it (bwahahahahaha!!!!!)
- don't use the internet at all, as a protest against American intellectual imperialism!
But don't even dream (and that includes you, al-Reuters!) that we are just going to hand it over on your say-so. Gosh, these international intellectaul elites really don't have a clue about Americans, do they?
Link to this nonsense here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050930/wr_nm/internet_dc
UN agency says would be ready to run Internet
The United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is ready to take over governance of the Internet from the United States, ITU head Yoshio Utsumi said on Friday.
The United States has clashed with the European Union and much of the rest of the world over the future of the Internet. It currently manages the global information system through a partnership with California-based company ICANN
OK, let's pause here for a second...The United States has clashed with the European Union and much of the rest of the world over the future of the Internet ???? Since when? In all that has been written about American policy clashes with the EU, and the rest of the world, very little ink has been spilled on the "clash" over the Internet. Clash? Says who? What are the details of the clash? None are forthcoming from the hardworking reporters at Reuters...
"We could do it if we were asked to," Utsumi told a news conference. The U.N. agency's experience in communications, its structure and its cooperation with private and public bodies made it best-placed to take on the role, he said.
Now let me be clear on this...there is NO U.N. agency that is best-placed to take on ANY role - that includes peacekeeping (see Darfur), emergency relief (see tsunami), refugees (see the Palestinian camps), or human rights (see UN Human Rights council, chaired by Sudan!). Give them control of the internet? Yeah, in their wet dreams...
Washington has made clear it would oppose any such move despite widespread demands for changes in the current system.
WIDESPREAD DEMANDS FROM WHOM??? Again, no references are drawn upon in this article from Bizarro World (aka Reuters). Question - would the average world citizen rather have the US control the internet, or the EU? Trust me, they would take Uncle Sam over Jacque "Le Grande Pulet" Chirac any time...
The issue could sour the Tunis meeting from November 16-18.
(Typical UN/EU genius at work - hold an internet convention in a country with no access...)
The EU says it is proposing a new "cooperative model" to run the Internet and the way addresses - or domain names -- are assigned that everyone could support.
But (State Department official David) Gross, speaking to reporters on Thursday, described the plan as a "shocking and profound change" of the EU's earlier stance that opened the way for control by governments -- some of whom already censor what their citizens can read on the Net.
EU spokesman David Hendon described this as "misrepresentation."
A "cooperative model" is translated here as full government control of internet content; "misrepresentation" here is defined as the truth, just put into terms too clear for the EU's comfort (they prefer the phrase "cooperative mode", you see).
Now, finally, some honesty:
Although many EU nations were happy with what ICANN is doing, many countries "just cannot accept that the Americans have control of the Internet in their countries," he (Hendon) told Reuters, and this had to be recognized.
The EU proposal would bring the Internet and ICANN under international law rather than U.S. law.
Sure, why not? Americans invented the internet, developed it into a worldwide tool of communication and commerce, yet we should turn it over to "international law" (the EU and the UN, in other words) because obviously we cannot be trusted to control it. Kinda like what they have been trying to do to the United States military for the last decade or so...
Well, the EU had better accept that the Americans control the internet. But if they don't, options are available:
- develop your own improved sytem, and implement it (bwahahahahaha!!!!!)
- don't use the internet at all, as a protest against American intellectual imperialism!
But don't even dream (and that includes you, al-Reuters!) that we are just going to hand it over on your say-so. Gosh, these international intellectaul elites really don't have a clue about Americans, do they?
Link to this nonsense here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050930/wr_nm/internet_dc
Monday, October 03, 2005
Germans Fire up the Ovens, again...
Rosh Hashanah eve in America; the eve of a new Kristallnacht in Germany? David Medienkritik reports on the new cinematic fave in his homeland, "Paradise Now":
Said is a suicide bomber in Nablus. Long trained for this job, he and his friend Khaled don't hesitate a moment when their organization's leader announces they've drawn the winning straw and will be allowed to stage a double mass murder the next day in TelAviv...although Khled gets cold feet at the last moment, Said goes through with it and blows himself up with a bus load of jews. Mission accomplished. So much for the plot of the German-Dutch-French co-produciton "Paradise Now".
Hany Abu-Assad's film is the first fruit of the "World Cinema Fund", the mutual film sponsorship of the Berlinale and Federal Cultural Foundation.
The evangelical film jury names "Paradise Now" as the film of the month because it invites the viewer to "think about the assasin's motives".
Amnesty International distinguishes it with its peace prize because it's neither "lecturing nor moralizing".
That's true: No one in the film says that it might morally wrong, to mass murder the innocent.
Most German critics praise the "sophisticated" presentation.
Mmmm, the deep thought processes that go into slaughtering Jews - hey, it's just art, man! The Europeans still speak the same anti-semetic language they always did, just in a different code...whether it's using the phrase "Filthy Zionists", or depicting the mass murder of Jews as an avant-garde theatrical event...it is all done with the EU's blessing, and cash. And showing to rave reviews in Germany, natch.
Thankfully, I have the media to remind me that as an American, I am the truly evil one...
Link to Medienkritik here: http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2005/10/no_to_paradise_.html
Said is a suicide bomber in Nablus. Long trained for this job, he and his friend Khaled don't hesitate a moment when their organization's leader announces they've drawn the winning straw and will be allowed to stage a double mass murder the next day in TelAviv...although Khled gets cold feet at the last moment, Said goes through with it and blows himself up with a bus load of jews. Mission accomplished. So much for the plot of the German-Dutch-French co-produciton "Paradise Now".
Hany Abu-Assad's film is the first fruit of the "World Cinema Fund", the mutual film sponsorship of the Berlinale and Federal Cultural Foundation.
The evangelical film jury names "Paradise Now" as the film of the month because it invites the viewer to "think about the assasin's motives".
Amnesty International distinguishes it with its peace prize because it's neither "lecturing nor moralizing".
That's true: No one in the film says that it might morally wrong, to mass murder the innocent.
Most German critics praise the "sophisticated" presentation.
Mmmm, the deep thought processes that go into slaughtering Jews - hey, it's just art, man! The Europeans still speak the same anti-semetic language they always did, just in a different code...whether it's using the phrase "Filthy Zionists", or depicting the mass murder of Jews as an avant-garde theatrical event...it is all done with the EU's blessing, and cash. And showing to rave reviews in Germany, natch.
Thankfully, I have the media to remind me that as an American, I am the truly evil one...
Link to Medienkritik here: http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2005/10/no_to_paradise_.html
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Brought to you by the Religion of Peace!
Reuters-
Suicide bombers were behind the three attacks in Bali which killed as many as 26 people and wounded 122, the island's police chief said on Sunday...Three separate bombs tore through restaurants packed with Saturday evening diners, many of them foreign tourists. Two were at outdoor seafood eateries on Jimbaran Beach and one at a steak bar at Kuta Beach, an area surrounded by popular shops.
Now Cliff May, writing on NRO's blog The Corner:
The al-Qaeda affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah, is suspected. You’ll recall that JI also attacked predominately Hindu Bali (part of predominately Muslim Indonesia) three years ago.
Since the 2002 attacks, Jemaah Islamiyah has been tied to at least two other bombings in Indonesia, both in Jakarta. Those blasts, one outside the Australian Embassy in 2004 and the other at the J.W. Marriott hotel in 2003, killed at least 23. …The group wants to establish an Islamic state across Southeast Asia.
But maybe Indonesians should ask themselves: “Why do they hate us?”
Maybe they should change their foreign policies.
Maybe they need better public diplomacy to win hearts and minds.
Or maybe those on the post-humanitarian Left and the neo-isolationist right need to think about what attacks such as this one tell us about the goals of Militant Islamism.
Where are the humanity-loving peace protesters now? What does their silence in the face of these attacks tell us about the true goals of the so-called "antiwar movement" , and of America's radical left?
The Corner link: http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_09_25_corner-archive.asp#078197
Before anyone uses the phrase "the religion of peace" again, I would click here: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Suicide bombers were behind the three attacks in Bali which killed as many as 26 people and wounded 122, the island's police chief said on Sunday...Three separate bombs tore through restaurants packed with Saturday evening diners, many of them foreign tourists. Two were at outdoor seafood eateries on Jimbaran Beach and one at a steak bar at Kuta Beach, an area surrounded by popular shops.
Now Cliff May, writing on NRO's blog The Corner:
The al-Qaeda affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah, is suspected. You’ll recall that JI also attacked predominately Hindu Bali (part of predominately Muslim Indonesia) three years ago.
Since the 2002 attacks, Jemaah Islamiyah has been tied to at least two other bombings in Indonesia, both in Jakarta. Those blasts, one outside the Australian Embassy in 2004 and the other at the J.W. Marriott hotel in 2003, killed at least 23. …The group wants to establish an Islamic state across Southeast Asia.
But maybe Indonesians should ask themselves: “Why do they hate us?”
Maybe they should change their foreign policies.
Maybe they need better public diplomacy to win hearts and minds.
Or maybe those on the post-humanitarian Left and the neo-isolationist right need to think about what attacks such as this one tell us about the goals of Militant Islamism.
Where are the humanity-loving peace protesters now? What does their silence in the face of these attacks tell us about the true goals of the so-called "antiwar movement" , and of America's radical left?
The Corner link: http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_09_25_corner-archive.asp#078197
Before anyone uses the phrase "the religion of peace" again, I would click here: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
"Anatomy of a Photograph"
Can one photograph, and the story behind it, display beyond a shadow of a doubt the truth of a hard left-wing bias in the American media?
Better believe it.
Please, follow the link here to ZombieTime http://www.zombietime.com/sf_rally_september_24_2005/anatomy_of_a_photograph/
This is scary. Leads one to believe how much of anything we see/read is real...and perhaps a picture is no longer worth 1,000 words. You can thank our mainstream media for the devaluation...
Better believe it.
Please, follow the link here to ZombieTime http://www.zombietime.com/sf_rally_september_24_2005/anatomy_of_a_photograph/
This is scary. Leads one to believe how much of anything we see/read is real...and perhaps a picture is no longer worth 1,000 words. You can thank our mainstream media for the devaluation...
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Air America goes buh-bye in Philadelphia!
Via The Radio Equalizer:
Al Franken and Randi Rhodes are getting the boot from Philadelphia airwaves, as WHAT-AM (1340) is pulling off programming from Air America, the liberal talk-radio network. Friday will be the last day, and a new WHAT lineup will begin Monday, said general manager Kernie Anderson, adding that "things were not working out" with Air America after about a year.
WHAT aired Air America's programming from noon to 7 p.m. weekdays, sandwiched between the rest of its lineup. The juxtaposition of liberal talk and WHAT's African America-targeted talk programming seemed an odd fit from the start.
Ratings were abysmal.
And yet they tell me that Philadelphia is a liberal city; or maybe it just appears to be so because the ballot boxes already come pre-stuffed. This sleazy network, which fraudulantly heisted funds from a freakin' charity group to stay afloat, is going down, fast. It's all part of a conservative plot, I'm sure...
Link here: http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2005/09/more-thursday-updates.html
Al Franken and Randi Rhodes are getting the boot from Philadelphia airwaves, as WHAT-AM (1340) is pulling off programming from Air America, the liberal talk-radio network. Friday will be the last day, and a new WHAT lineup will begin Monday, said general manager Kernie Anderson, adding that "things were not working out" with Air America after about a year.
WHAT aired Air America's programming from noon to 7 p.m. weekdays, sandwiched between the rest of its lineup. The juxtaposition of liberal talk and WHAT's African America-targeted talk programming seemed an odd fit from the start.
Ratings were abysmal.
And yet they tell me that Philadelphia is a liberal city; or maybe it just appears to be so because the ballot boxes already come pre-stuffed. This sleazy network, which fraudulantly heisted funds from a freakin' charity group to stay afloat, is going down, fast. It's all part of a conservative plot, I'm sure...
Link here: http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2005/09/more-thursday-updates.html
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