THE ACADEMY: LEFTISTS, JIHADISTS AND USEFUL IDIOTS

DR. SANITY:

Socialism and its various incarnations, as I have written before, is a completely discredited utopian fantasy that was responsible for the death and misery of literally millions of people around the world in the last century. To the extent that any society has implemented its ideology, it has led to the impoverishment of material wealth and progress for that society as well as to a sickness of the soul that infects all the individuals within the society.

The end of the 20th century should have seen the relegation of this perverse,anti-human social system to the dustbin of history. And yet, it continues to flourish in academic environments such as Columbia.

A new generation of useful idiots are being cultivated on the university campuses of the West. Instead of being taught about the history of this particularly malignant idea, our children are being indoctrinated into its ideological perversities and encouraged to act them out. And, if you think this is a good thing, think again. These college thugs are learning that the concept of free speech means to prevent the speech of those you disagree with; they are learning not to use reason to argue their point of view, but to use violence and intimidation to impose it on anyone who happens to disagree with them.

Gee, doesn't this sound familiar? Aren't we now at war with the fanatical adherents to a religion that intend to impose their beliefs at the point of a sword? That don't want to tolerate any differences from thier ideology? [Link added by TAB.]

RTWT.

MORE PROOF THE NEW PRO-TRIBAL STRATEGY IS WORKING IN PAKISTAN

AP:

Police acting on a tip raided several militant hide-outs in southwestern Pakistan and arrested 48 suspected Taliban who had arrived in small groups from Afghanistan, police said Saturday. The arrests were made during the past 24 hours in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, said Wazir Khan, the city police chief.

The "anti-war" AP ends their piece by subtly attacking Bush and NATO:

But resurgent Taliban militants have stepped up their campaign against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan this year. The country has seen the worst bout of violence since the regime was removed from power five years ago.

IN FACT, we have been kicking the enemy's ass for weeks: killing them; routing them. So the violence is only "bad" (as in the generally negative term "worst violence"), if you don't support the US, the democratic government of Afghanistan, and our allies.

THE MOST ACCURATE AND INFORMED PERSPECTIVE IS RIGHT HERE.

DEFICIT CRASHING! I BLAME BUSH!

AP:

The federal budget estimate for the fiscal year just completed dropped to $250 billion, congressional estimators said Friday, as the economy continues to fuel impressive tax revenues. The Congressional Budget Office's latest estimate is $10 billion below CBO predictions issued in August and well below a July White House prediction of $296 billion.

The Bushhitlerhalliburtonecheneyrove Tax Cuts (TM) lowered taxes for EVERYONE, AND NOW TAX RECEIPTS ARE SOARING! Let's take it out on the GOP!

Complete round-up HERE AT MEMEORANDUM.

SHARIA, MORAL RELATIVISM, "COMMUNITY STANDARDS" AND DHIMMITUDE

LGF LINKS TO A STORY OF MORE DHIMMITUDE IN EUROPE("Reuters"):

A London gallery has decided not to show some works of art because it fears they would upset Muslims, a curator said on Friday, a week after a German opera house canned a Mozart production for the same reason.The director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery decided to remove works by surrealist artist Hans Bellmer from an exhibition the day before it was due to open, one of the museum’s curators, Agnes de la Beaumelle, told Reuters.

“The motive was simply to not shock the population of the Whitechapel neighbourhood, which is partly Muslim,” she said. The Whitechapel area in east London is home to many ethnic minorities including a large Bangladeshi community.

The gallery is just acceding to "community standards." They can do this and not realize they are dhimmis because they themsleves are (most likely) post-modern Leftists and as a result they have no standards; they believe everything is relative and are willing to cave into threats of violence from thugs who pose as victims. This is the same attitude that looked the other way as the banlieues of Paris became virtual "no mans lands" where the Paris cops routinely get chased away by rioting mobs of Muslim youths: "Leave them alone; it's their community!" These examples are the unavoidable result of moral relativism: With no standards to believe in these post modernists have no standards to defend, none worth defending. Which is why the Left today is our weak link and the enemy's Fifth Column.

[NOTE: my feeling that the gallery is run by post-modernists is the result of my personal dealings with many galleries over the last few decades, and based on the works by the artist in question.]

WINDSOR AND THE WINDS OF WAR

Last Tuesday I posted on dhimmitude at WINDSOR CASTLE. Today there's news of a backlash:

Extra police are being drafted into the Windsor area today after three nights of violent clashes between white and Asian youths.

Gangs have fought battles in the streets using baseball bats and pitchforks. A Muslim-run dairy which wants to build a mosque was petrol bombed.

If the government has been doing their job the last decade - instead of using multiculturalism to surrender to reverse-colonization by jihadists at home and kowtowing to jihadoterrorists abroad, (a veritable double helping of dhimmitude! More on how this amounted to a "surrender" HERE - via POWERLINE) - then people would not feel the need to resort to vigilantism and violence.

MORE HERE - by our own PASTORIUS at his other blog: INFIDEL BLOGGERS ALLIANCE.

AND ANOTHER GOOD ARTICLE FROM A BRIT TABLOID HERE.
10/07/05 UPDATE: Good round-up HERE at PJM.

BUSH 41 HITS BACK AT CHAVEZ

The first vote I ever cast was for George Bush back in 1992. I was frustrated with him at the time, but I knew he was a good man and much better than the two alternatives. In the 13 years he's been out of office, my estimation of the man has only increased and I think by far he is our best ex-President.

On Larry King Live, he was asked how he felt about Hugo Chavez calling his son the devil. After being goaded by King, Bush replied, "Well, he's an ass."

That's the tell-it-like-it-is moxie I knew he had in him.

However, this reminded me of the 1992 campaign in which one of Bill Clinton's big arguments was that George Bush coddled dictators and he would put an end to that. More at Jim-Rose.com...

Reliapundit Is Right Again - There Is A New Tribal Strategy In The War On Terror

The other day, Reliapundit noted that he believes Musharraf's Waziristan Accord (granting Waziristan autonomy) was aimed at coopting the Waziri tribe and setting them loose on Al Qaeda. Reliapundit theorized that this is our new strategy in the GWOT (because we were also employing it in the Sunni provinces of Iraq - with success).

Today comes news which appears to prove that Reliapundit was right:

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he wants to hold a jirga (council) of Pashtun tribes from Pakistan and Afghanistan to end Taleban violence. The two countries disagree on how to fight the Taleban - mostly drawn from the Pashtun tribes- on their border.

Mr Karzai said he expected both he and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to attend the meeting by the year-end. Afghan ministers and officials are however concerned that such a meeting may be "manipulated" by Pakistan.

"I am thinking of a meeting between Afghan civil society, Afghan elders, tribal chiefs, clergy and Afghan spiritual leadership plus the intellectuals. From the Pakistan side I am hoping for the same thing," Mr Karzai told this correspondent in an exclusive interview.

Al Qaeda, and the various other terrorist organizations (Islamic Jihad, Hizbollah, Fatah, Hamas) are all based on ideologies which transcend tribal allegiance. However, when it comes down to it, much of the population of the Middle East breaks down along tribal lines. So, exploiting tribal allegiances and resentments is an effective way to divide and conquer.

I have a question though, as with any weapon, this strategy will have its drawbacks; there may be unforseen blowback from this strategy. What can we anticipate going wrong with this strategy? (Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section.)

NORTH KOREA THREATENS ATTACKS AGAINST THE USA

I take these threats seriously, (main article HERE). As the Captain points out,

it's easy to dismiss this as North Korean fantasy, but North Koreans do not get to pen articles for the Asia Times without some sort of official approval. The author's long connection to the regime means that the opinions expressed in this hallucinatory screed definitely reflects the positions of management. Kim Jong-Il wants to spread the perception that he considers himself at war with the US -- and he thinks he will win it.

And the attack does NOT have to come via NOKO missiles. Maybe NOKO has given nuclear bomb materiel to terrorists who have already infiltrated the USA and are assembling their bomb(s) right here, right now? I'm suspicious of this because we KNOW that NOKO and Iran have ties, (and that Iran has ties to jihadoterrorists who have attacked the USA and killed hundreds of US citizens: HIZBALLAH), and because of a threat made by Saddam to US Ambasador Glapsie in 1990 - beofre the Gulf War:

SADDAM: "If you use pressure, we will deploy pressure and force. We know that you can harm us although we do not threaten you. But we too can harm you. Everyone can cause harm according to their ability and their size. We cannot come all the way to you in the United States, but individual Arabs may reach you."

This TYPE of threat might just be carried out - using nukes - delivered by jihadoterrorists posing as students, or by NOKO agents posing as South Koreans, living in the USA. Unfortunately for us, this type of threat is immune from a preemptive a strike - and therefore it would function as a NOKO version of the Trident sub: able to survive a first strike and deliver a nuclear counter-attack... no matter what. And - like Iran's secret nuke program - this strategy may very well have been in the making for the last 20 years. I fear that we shall see if this threat is real in the near future - unfortunately.

WELCOME DR. SANITY AND RCP READERS! AND, DAOU REPORT READERS! AND MEMEORANDUM READERS!

ANOTHER REASON WHY WE MUST DEFEAT THE NEO-JIHADISTS

Jazz. Along with Jews and kite-flying, the NEO-jihadi sado-masochists would erase it from the face of the earth.

JUST A LITTLE BIT OF FIGHT

Well, it's been one helluva week with this Mark Foley story. I haven't seen a feeding frenzy like this in quite a while. The big question this week has been Dennis Hastert and whether he's going to resign as Speaker of the House. Allahpundit is predicting his resignation by the end of the day Friday. Meanwhile, Fox News is reporting that internal GOP polls show Hastert could be devastating for the party on election day.

"The data suggests Americans have bailed on the speaker," a Republican source briefed on the polling data told FOX News. "And the difference could be between a 20-seat loss and 50-seat loss."

I'm just not buying any of this. I have to agree with Maha Rushie when he pointed out that GOP resignations have never gotten the party anywhere. Newt resigned, Bob Livingston resigned...what possible good will Hastert resigning do? What the Republican base is looking for is not a party of quitters but a party of men and women that will fight! This is the biggest "October Surprise" that the Democrats have engineered at least since Bush's DUI in 2000 (and that was technically November). If the Repubs can campaign like hell, go on the offensive and drive the point home that the Dems have nothing to offer they could not only hold on to the Congress but maybe add a few key members (Michael Steele, I'm looking at you). A little bit of fight, that's all we ask.

Relipaundit adds: WELCOME RCP/BUZZTRACKER READERS! Take a look around. UPDATE: Here's how COUNTER COLUMN expressed it:

While Democrats have lured weak-assed Republicans into the mire of Foley's IMs to a 17/18 year-old kid, look at the rhetoric coming out of North Korea. Foley will be a footnote in history in three weeks. North Korea? Not so much.

Bottom-line: The MSM is relentlessly reporting the Foley crap to suppress the GOP turnout. DON'T FALL FOR IT!

THE SO-CALLED PALESTINIAN "PEACE PROCESS"

HAARETZ:

Speaking at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Abbas said any new Palestinian government had to honor signed agreements with Israel. ... The Palestinians had hoped that the formation of a unity government would ease the crippling aid embargo.

Abbas said earlier in the day that a new cabinet had to be formed to end the recent surge in violence that erupted after coalition talks collapsed and which has claimed more than 10 lives in three days. ... Interfactional violence continued throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip yesterday for the third consecutive day since unity government talks broke down.

Abbas also said at his presser with Rice that he wanted to get the "Peace process" going again. Sheesh.

When people talk of "The Palestinian Peace Process" now they can only TRULY mean talks between Hamas and Fatah - two terrorist groups. IF PALESTINIANS TRULY WANTED PEACE, THEN THEY WOULD STOP KILLING EACH OTHER. Instead, they are nearly as brutal to each other as Sunnis and Shias are to each other. IS THERE A PATTERN HERE!? YES: Muslim extremists are unreasonable violent and untrustworthy. They are not the type of people Israelis can make any deal with. Until Palestinians CHOOSE to become reasonable and non-violent, Israel has no choice but to build a wall and keep the Palistanis on the freakin' other side of it.

ADDENDUM: You know things are really bad in Palistan when HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH calls them out on their violence!

MORE ON PALI'S BLAMING OTHERS FOR THEIR OWN "SADO-MASOCHISTIC JIHADISM" HERE. (Sado-masochistic jihadism is so much more accurate than "inter-factional violence.")

THAI COUP WAS PURE DHIMMITUDE: JUNTA AGREES TO NEGOTIATE WITH JIHADITERRORISTS

BBC:

Thailand's new military rulers say they have agreed to talks with Islamic rebels in the south, in a significant policy change from the ousted regime. General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, who led the September coup, said he had agreed to a request for talks from several rebel factions. ... Former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the coup, had refused to hold discussions with the insurgents.

Gen Sonthi, who is himself a Muslim, had proposed such talks before the coup but the idea had been rejected by Mr Thaksin. Gen Sonthi has also confirmed that he has no immediate plans to end martial law, which has been in place since the coup.
...More than 1,500 people have been killed since January 2004 in the bloody insurgency in Thailand's southern provinces.

REPEAT: The coup leader is a Muslim. And who does the coup serve? Muslim terrorists. This is a very bad development - one which will embolden jihadoterrorists throughout the world and especially in SE Asia, epsecailly Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philipines.

Muslims Are Waging War Against Us, Says French Police Union - Police Casualties Are Higher Than American Casualties In Iraq

Nikolas Sarkozy looks as if he doesn't know what to do. Who can blame him?

Today's edition of the London Telegraph contains an article wherein the head of the Police Union in France declares,

"We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada ..."

My friend Blueslord from Actual Jihad has translated an article from the French paper Le Figaro which indicates that this year police casualties will reach 15% of the total police force:

"Violent acts are rising in an exponential proportion", says a speaker from the Police. "If this tendency continues, we will have 15% of the policemen hurt in a year".

That means French police police are suffering a higher number of casualties than are American armed forces in Iraq. The total number of casualties in Iraq per year is approximately 6,800, which represents about 4.5% of total American forces.

The casualty rate for the French police force will be over 3 times higher than that of the American military forces in Iraq. That is a stunning statistic.

It seems France really is at war, and thus far the French police are showing no signs that they intend to surrender, unlike the British police.

RELIAPUNDIT: Good one Pastorius! Atlas has some more on Eurabia here and HERE TOO. And the latter is from a different perspective - Paul Beline's, who argues that France is surrendering too (hat tip POWERLINE):

The attempt by the French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, a second-generation immigrant himself (though not from a Muslim country), to assert the authority of the French Republic over its lost territory has triggered the current civil warfare in France. For the “youths” this is a declaration of war. They are not in Sarkozy’s country but in their own country, where the West promised they could retain their own cultural values and spread them.

Those media that tell us that the rioting “youths” want to be a part of our society and feel left out of it, are misrepresenting the facts. As the insurgents see it, they are not a part of our society and they want us to keep out of theirs. The violence in France is in no way comparable with that of the blacks in the U.S. in the 1960s. The Paris correspondent of The New York Times who writes that this a “variant of the same problem” is either lying or does not know what he is talking about.

In other words: France surrendered YEARS ago; now they are trying - meagerly - to take back what they surrendered!

THE JUSTIFIABLE PENALTY IS OFTEN DEATH - EVEN WITHOUT A COURT ORDER

First - thanks to Reliapundit for letting me join in! I'll start with a little commentary about the death penalty - it will lead into some posts I intend to transmit in the near future regarding the larger issues such as WWIV - aka the GWOT.

Maybe you've heard of Angilo Freedland? He's a - a criminal who supposedly killed a sheriffs deputy and a K9. When the law caught up to him they filled him with 68 rounds out of 110 fired - thats all they had according to one officer: "I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that's all the ammunition they had," Judd said. "We were not going to take any chance of him shooting back."

Well - in principle I don't think the state should have the power to irrevocably take someone's life...but the state may need to take life to save lives: preventing terrorism is one example. If the authorities are corrupt then citizens are in danger no matter how well the laws are written. On the otherhand - as long as the officers are just in their actions, then perhaps we should not bemoan the fact that they may have circumvented the judicial process.

GOP SCANDALS VERSUS DEMOCRAT SCANDALS: THERE'S A DIFFERENCE ...

... AND IT HAS TO DO WITH HONORABLE EXITS.

IS THERE A NEW TRIBAL STRATEGY IN THE GWOT?

Many have been whining that we're losing the GWOT and relenting to the enemy ever since Musharraf signed a deal with the tribal leaders of the tribally administered region within Pakistan called Waziristan - despite the fact that the US state department approved the deal, and Karzai of Afghanistan had no problem with it, either.

Basically the deal was simple: the Pakistan "federales" would stay out of the tribal zone, and in return the tribes would expel foreign fighters, i.e al Qaeda. If the tribes don't uphold their end of the deal, then Musharraf is free to reenter with his army.

Yesterday, at this blog, Pastorius linked to another blogger's suggestion (Steve Harkonen) that this treaty cleared the way for US forces to follow al Qaeda from Afghanistan INTO Waziristan.

Perhaps. But I have another idea which explains why the US is okay with Musharraf's deal: I feel that we are employing a strategy aimed at co-opting the TRIBES, and turning them against al Qaeda. After all, we are using this strategy - to some good effect - in Iraq:

Iraqi tribes who have vowed to take on Al Qaeda captured five militants yesterday, including three foreign fighters from Yemen, police and tribal leaders said.

The five militants were captured without a fight in a car under a bridge in Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, police Major Salam Obeid said. Tribal leader Sheikh Sattar Al Buzayi confirmed the incident. The province, which makes up a third of Iraq's territory, is the heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency and has been the deadliest region of Iraq for US forces. Osama bin Laden's followers control towns and villages throughout the Euphrates valley from Falluja, near Baghdad, to the Syrian border.

But their violent rule and severe interpretation of Sunni Islam has alienated traditional-minded Sunni tribal leaders.

Tribes are by defintion very traditional and persistent, and therefore VERY USEFUL IF WE CAN GET THEM ON OUR SIDE - especially against terrorists who need local support for their cover. In the Sunni regions of Iraq, MOST of the tribes are now fighting AGAINST al Qaeda and for the Iraqi federal government. This is a very VERY good development in Iraq - [UPDATE: MORE PROOF HERE THAT IT IS WORKING] - and it would be good if it develops this way in Waziristan.

And another thing: Musharraf's deal came just as NATO began EXPANDING it's counter-offensive against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And as we are building up our naval assets in the region. That's why I seriously doubt that this was NOT coordinated with the US and NATO, and therefore it seems even more likely to me that it is a positive strategy - one developed to improve results... in the very near term. Like killing OBL and Dr. Z.

Complete round up at MEMEORANDUM. 10/06/06 UPDATE: Welcome Gateway Pundit and Pajamas Media readers!

Birds Of A Feather - The Left And Religious Fascists

The Left loves to brand the religious right as "Nazis" and "fascists". But the truth is, the fascists are almost always people of the Left, even in the case of religious fascists. Check this out (via Hip Hop Republican):

Jim Jones - was a progressive left winger whose intentions were to create an agricultural utopia in the jungle, free from racism and based on quasi-communist principles. Jones told his followers to think of him as the incarnation of Christ and God. He took hundreds of black people most no doubt Democrats to Guyana killed them all.

Fred Phelps - Phelps' voting registration in Kansas is Democrat. Phelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries in Kansas five times, but has never won. These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15% of the vote in 1998.

According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore's 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps has stated that he hosted a Gore fundraiser in his home attended by about 500 people. Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment; "We are not dignifying those stories with a response. Also, Fred's son, Fred Phelps Jr. held a fundraiser, which Al and Tipper Gore attended, at his home in Topeka, and Fred, Jr. served as a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

The reason Lefty preachers are more likely to resort to murderous fascism is because Leftism is utopian. Jim Jones was a utopian. He wanted to create a perfect environment for his followers. When he was not able to achieve that utopia, death seemed like the second-best answer. This is the method of utopians from Stalin to Pol Pot to Jim Jones.

In the case of Fred Phelps, it is clear that his philosophy is that the fate of a people is inextricably linked to the behavior of its government. This is a Leftie idea. Righties think the less government the better. Freedom is the watchword of the right. Fred Phelps is not at all interested in freedom, so he went with those who would govern more strongly, like Al Gore.

THE MEDIA'S PROPAGANDA WAR ROLLS ON

From Jim-Rose.com:

Folks, we are about to face an election that will be like none anyone has ever seen. Well, maybe that's incorrect. The newspapers in the early days of our Republic were very partisan and did what they could to sway public opinion, but we now live in a technological age where information is ubiquitous and immediate.

And make no mistake, the media has dropped almost all pretense of impartiality. This election a month from now is going to show just how powerful the media is today. Yes, inroads have been made to break up the MSM monopoly, but they remain a powerful force and they are doing everything they can to bring the Left back into power. Will it work? That's the big question.

UPDATE - (Relipaundit): Dr. Sanity and VDH and Austin Bay agree. Nice company Popinjay!

MORE PROOF THAT EUROPE AND THE EU ARE IN REAL TROUBLE

TWO HEADLINES FROM TODAY'S BBC SAY EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHY THE USA IS GREAT AND THE EU SUCKS:

Dow Jones closes at record high The Dow Jones hits an all-time closing high, beating its record set six years ago as oil prices continue to slide.

Airbus super-jumbo in new delay Airbus parent firm EADS says deliveries of its flagship A380 will be extended by an extra year, two years after the original date.

The EUssr cannot compete. Their socialist inspired, state-owned enterprises - like Airbus - are a joke. And they cannot afford their socialist welfare state. And they don't have the courage to defend their own culture against islamicization. Unless something drastic happens, and they change - and become more Anlgo-American, more Hayekian and more proud of their own culture - then it's all over for them: Paris will become Paristanbul; Notre Dame a mosque and the Eiffel Tower a muezzin. YUP: As the European elites debate whether or not to admit Turkey into the EU, Europe is quickly becoming another Turkey. (More on the Airbus fiasco HERE.)

UPDATE: COMPLETE BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS HERE, at The American Thinker.

QATAR AND EGYPT PRESSURING HAMAS TO ACCEPT PEACE-PLAN, UNITY GOVERNMENT AND HOSTAGE/PRISONER EXCHANGE

HAARETZ:

Qatar on Tuesday presented the leaders of Hamas and Fatah with a plan for a new Palestinian unity government, which would accept international demands on the recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and compliance with previously signed interim accords.

The proposal also secures the release of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Palestinian militants in June. ... According to the agreement, the new Palestinian government would accept three terms posed by the Quartet - recognizing Israel, complying with the accords signed in the past and renouncing violence, to enable renewed peace talks. ... Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Monday that Israel has agreed to release 900 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including women, children and elderly prisoners, as part of a deal to ensure Shalit's release, but Hamas turned down the offer.

Egypt threatened Meshal that if an agreement for prisoner release is not reached by the end of Ramadan - the Muslim month of fast that ends October 22 - the Hamas leader would be held responsible for a wide-scale Israeli military attack in the Gaza Strip.

I think this might be a good interim deal - since all deals with jihadists must be considered hudnas. There's lots more to the deal (so RTWT) - and some doubts whether Hamas will even agree to it (since it overtly casts the state of Israel as an entity with rights). Time will tell. I think the Egyptian timeline is really a DEADLINE from Israel. Stay tuned...

DICK MORRIS: HILLARY WILL BE NEXT PREZ

ESCANABA -

Dick Morris pulled no punches in talking about his former bosses, Hillary and Bill Clinton, to members of the Bay Area Economic Club Monday night. Of Bill Clinton, Morris said, "He's often not a very nice person to be with in private." Of Hillary Clinton, he said, "She reminds me of President Nixon. She's very ruthless." ... Morris predicts Hillary Clinton will be the next president. But, he is not happy about his prediction. He does not think she would make a good president.

This is excellent news. Why, you ask? Because Dick Morris is almost always wrong when he makes election predictions. A good political advisor perhaps, but a horrible

Musharraf Agreed To Allow Waziristan To Be Independent - Why Is That?

The idea making the rounds is that he signed the agreement with the Islamic Republic of Waziristan because he could no longer govern the territory, so why not just admit it and get on with the show.

But, what if there is more to it than that? When have you ever heard of an Islamic state ceding territory without a real fight? What if Musharraf ceded Waziristan as a way of clearing it for America to go in and capture Bin Laden?

Steve Harkonen examines this interesting possibility over at Steve's Hodgepodge.

WHAT THE BIBLE TELLS US ABOUT 21st CENTURY JIHADISTS

From THE AMERICAN THINKER (Patrick Poole):

“All those who hate me love death” – [YHVH], Proverbs 8:36

“We love death. The US loves life. That is the difference between us two.” – Osama bin Laden, November 2001

I think Osama's quote - especially juxtaposed with the quote fro the Bible - proves that the jihadists are - in their own words, and in comparison with the essence of Judeo-Christian/Western ethos - the essence of evil. Pure, unadulterated, diabolical evil. Utterly false prophets. Poole at TAT has more; RTWT. The New Testament has more, too:

Jesus spoke about creeds - false creeds and false prophets. What he said is very instructional:

You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. - Matthew 7:6-20:

TAT also has this - by Amil Imani -(which relates dirctly to the quote from Matthew):

Sadly enough, instead of Muslims marching out of the suffocating swamps of submission to the meadow of liberty, Allah’s faithful aim to drag the rest of humanity into the deadly Islamic quagmire. Islam may have been an improvement to the life of the nomads that roamed the Arabian deserts some 1400 years ago. The 21st century world, in spite of all its problems and challenges, is not willing to surrender to the clearly failed and failing Islamic experiment.

By failed experiment, Imani obviously means that - by any objective measure, and compared to Western societies - the societies and economies of the Islamic world are awful - swamps. IOW: the fruits of their "tree" are bad. We mustn't let them drag us back into that swamp. Or eat of their bad fruits.

MSM CAUGHT IN ANOTHER BLATANT "ANTI-WAR" LIE

HARRY'S PLACE (via PJM):

Last Wednesday Jonathan Freedland reported for the Guardian on Tony Blair's final speech to the Labour Party conference. According to Freedland the audience in Manchester weren't appreciative of the Labour leader's foreign policy positions on Afghanistan and Iraq and demonstrated it by failing to applaud him when he spoke:

... when Blair said that a withdrawal from Iraq or Afghanistan would be "a craven act of surrender", he said it to silence.

Yesterday the Guardian was forced to come clean:

In a Comment piece headed "A storming send-off - but the silences show why he had to go, page 29,"... we said that Tony Blair's statement that a withdrawal from Iraq or Afghanistan would be "a craven act of surrender" was received by conference delegates in silence.

That was not the case. As our "clapometer" recorded on page 6 of the same issue, the statement drew 11.44 seconds of applause.

Sheesh. Caught in a huge freakin' lie. Now, VIA HARRY... YOU CAN LISTEN TO BLAIR AND THE APPLAUSE YOURSELF. 12 seconds of applause is NOT silence. Stating otherwise was a blatant lie, a calculated lie meant to smear Blair and the GWOT. ALLTHE LIES OF THE MSM ARE "ANTI-WAR" OR PRO-JIHADI. As Glenn pointed out long ago: "They are not anti-war; they're on the other side. [December 2003]"

They've just succeeded in forcing Blair from office (albeit delayed for a few face-saving months), and they're trying to get a Democrat Congress in power IN ORDER TO IMPEACH BUSH. And then, they will surrender to the enemy - like they did in 1975 when they abandoned South Vietnam. And as they abandoned the Shah in 1979. And as they they abandoned the Contras in 1982. They will abandon Iraq and Afghanistan and even Israel.

If this wasn't the case - if the MSM wasn't actively distorting the news and actually broadcasting "anti-war" PROPAGANDA , then how do you explain the fact that ALL the MSM bias, all the MSM fauxtography, and all their LIES ALWAYS ARE ANTI-WAR? There is no other sane explanation. They are a Fifth Column. And that's why I have been syaing for a while, "In order to defeat the enemy abroad we must first defeat the MSM at home." Sadly, many on the right (like DAILY PUNDIT and POLITBURO DIKTAT) are beginning to buckle under the MSM's RELENTLESS assault on the truth, their relentless assault on the GWOT. But we mustn't ever relent. We must never give in. Never, never, never, never, never.

ADDENDUM: The MSM lies all the time because the truth is not on their side. And their lies are BIG and they repeat them over and over. Many people still trust the MSM and fall victim to their propaganda, stuff like: the plastic turkey which wasn't; ot that Rove outted Plame - but he didn't; and the granddaddy of them all - "Bush stole Florida in 2000", and the updated version "Bush stole Ohio in 2004."

As Churchill once said, (paraphrasing): "A lie travels around the world five times before the truth gets its pants on."

We're here to help the truth get its pants on faster.

DOW SETS NEW RECORD HIGH! I BLAME BUSH!

The DOW set a new all-time record. More here and here and here. What do the Democrats say? Where is Krugman? HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?! You out there!?

UPDATE: The strong economy is primarily the result of PRIVATE US citizens working hard and working well - and having a federal government run by folks who want the government to stay out of our way and out of our wallets! YUP: Low taxes are a major factor. But, when Bush cut taxes the Left HOWLED: IT WILL RUIN US!!!! YUP: The Left promised us THE SKY WOULD FALL!

Well...er um... it hasn't. The sky is clear and the light is rosy. Mmmmmm....

In fact, the Left howls that the sky is falling ALL THE TIME - the Left's howls are a litany of FALSE HYSTERIA:

Iraq and Afghanistan are disasters we can't win; the economy is headed for ruin; the Earth is boiling over; Gitmo is a Nazi torture factory; the NSA is listening to all our calls; the SWIFT program is looking at all our bank records; Wal-Mart is destroying the economy; the lack of universal healthcare coverage is a national disaster; BUSH IS TURNING AMERICA INTO A THEOCRACY; Bush is going to outlaw all abortions; and so on.

All wrong - all hysterically wrong. WHY IS THE LEFT SO HYSTERICALLY WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING? I blame Bush. Seriously. And... Rove. Heh. BOTTOM-LINE: The silence of the Left on the DOW, is golden.

WITHOUT RECIPROCITY, MUSLIM PRAYER ROOMS IN WINDSOR CASTLE IS DHIMMITUDE

I'm all for freedom of religion, and having the state allow all people to worship all faiths - in private. And if the Queen of England wants to have a MUSLIM PRAYER ROOM in Buckingham Palace AND Windsor Castle - as a token of respect for her Muslim subjects (MORE HERE) - this is just swell... EXCEPT THAT NO SUCH DEAL IS POSSIBLE IN THE SAUDI KINGDOM, or any other Muslim nation, really.

Without reciprocity, all these prayer rooms - and the Muslim Imam meetings Bush has had - are simply expressions of dhimmitude, and that means these acts are essentially rewarding islamothuggery and extortion - which of course only encourages more thuggery and extortion form Muslims.

When Jews and Christians are free to worship WITHOUT FEAR in the Saudi Kingdom - and elsewhere in the Muslim world, then and only then should we be extending special priveleges and special recognition in places like the Windsor Castle or the White House to Islam here in the West. We are at war with Islamoterrorists - it's a real war, and not a PR war. We need to be more demanding of our Islamic allies. On all fronts: we should be demanding thaat they allow religious freedom and that they shutdown mosques and madrassas which preach islamoterror.

Bush has been way too soft on these allies (especially Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) - just as he has been way too soft in the theater of war, (by not using our complete arsenal against the enemy, and by not wiping out the enemy when he had the chance: he let al Sadr get away a few times; he has let Assad wiggle away; he let Hizballah off the hook; he should have nuked Torabora when the CIA agents on the ground were demanding more firepower and the best we could come up with was a 5000lb bomb!).

I wish there was a REAL HAWK in the White House - someone like FDR or Truman, two men who never held back and relentlessly sought to destroy the enemy and smash them into accepting unconditional surrender. The sad thing is: there don't seem to be politicians like them around anymore... to our peril.

THE ATTA TAPES AND BINLADEN: A SIGNAL TO ATTACK?

GATEWAY PUNDIT:

In early September Hamid Mir, the only person who has interviewed both Osama bin Laden and his second in command Ayman al Zawahiri since 9-11, reported that Al Qaeda was planning a nuclear attack inside the United States during Ramadan (September 24-October 23).

Today, Hamid Mir said that the Atta video was the signal to operatives to go ahead with the planned terror strike!

... Today Hamid Mir said during a FOX News interview that the release of the Atta video was the signal for Al Qaeda operatives to strike! ... More from FOX... "Bin Laden said a few years ago that he was saving Atta's last testament to release for a special occasion, Venzke said." [THIS GATEWAY POST HAS A GREAT ROUNDUP AND MANY LINKS: GO TO GATEWAY FOR MORE!]

THE JAWA REPORT POSTS LINKS TO THE RECENT BINLADEN VIDEOS. Check them out yourself.

MY OPINION: I agree with Blair, who said - before the Afghan Campaign - "our enemy is only limited by their means." As soon as the jihadoterrorists CAN strike us with WMD, they WILL. Remember, every single strike against the USA has been bigger and more spectacular than the previous one. If this holds up - and they succeed in attacking us again - it means the next attack will be worse than 9/11. A WMD attack achieves this for the enemy. Binladen has a fatwa to kill 10 MILLION Americans, and he and Zawahiri and "Azzam" have warned us they will carry it out. I believe they will at least try, as soon as they can. Whether this particular video is the signal or not.

BRITISH SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE IS SO BAD UK SOLDIERS WOULD RATHER GET SHOT IN HEAD ...

... which would land them in an American hospital - than receive a lesser wound, which would land them in a British hospital:

There is also resentment among serving troops unhappy about being treated in a NHS hospital that they believe is unsuitable for military patients. Soldiers on operations say they would rather receive a more serious injury and go to the top American military hospital in Ramstein, Germany, than end up in a NHS hospital.

They now half jokingly refer to getting "a Boche rather than a Blighty" in reference to the wounds that would send them home. Ramstein has an outstanding unit for brain surgery, and neurological intensive care beds in Britain are in short supply.

"The blokes see it that if you are unlucky you get wounded and go to the UK at the mercy of the NHS, but if you get a head wound you get sent to Ramstein in Germany where the US has an outstanding medical facility," said an officer serving in Afghanistan.

"It also does not do morale much good knowing that within 18 hours of being wounded you could wake up in a NHS hospital with a mental health patient on one side and an incontinent geriatric on the other."

When you take the profit motive away from healthcare, the quality of care goes down. If there is no profit motive, the healthcare administrators feel less sense of responsibility to the patients compfort and well-being. When there is a profit motive, Administrators are motivated to provide excellent service so that patients will return in the future.

UPDATE: Reliapundit comments:

I agree in general with the main thrust of this post (and have posted on the issue from other angles many times), but in this case the Ramstein hospitals are military and not run for profit either. That US military has a better healthcare system than the NHS IS an important indicator of just how bad the NHS is, and it is due to military morale which trumps the non-profit aspect. Also, the heathcare providers in the US miltary are trained within a private system and may one day decide to return to it - two things which ensure their excellence.

Pastorius says: Oh yeah?!? Well, even though the American hospital was a military hospital, that doesn't say much. Here's why. There are two basic components to good healtcare: technology; and people. In America, both of these components are raised in a strict capitalist system which provides the motive for excellence. In Britain, even if they did pump a lot of money into a military health system, it wouldn't help much, because the people and the technology would still not be raised within a system which would provide the motive for excellence.

Actually, that was a good point, Reliapundit. You almost made me look stupid here.

HAS DENMARK LEARNED THE RIGHT LESSONS FROM THE MOHAMMED CARTOON INTIFADA?

The BBC asks if Denmark has learned their lesson. What lesson might that be?

Almost everyone agrees that the ensuing row was a wake-up call for Denmark. Ironically, the controversy may have been what the country needed to begin engaging with its Muslim citizens.

As the row turned international, traders and supermarkets across the Arab world began boycotting Danish goods. The latest figures from Danish Industry (DI) suggest that export of Danish foods to Muslim countries has fallen 35% while other European countries have seen a 10% rise in exports to the same region.

The question everyone is asking is has Denmark learned its lesson?

The BBC neglects to mention that Danish exports to America were up 17%. It would seem to me that one lesson Denmark may then have learned is that America is their friend who will stick by them in times of trouble, and, well, Europe is not. So, I ask again, "Has Denmark learned their lesson?" I think they have:

53% of Danes: Publication of cartoons was right

A majority of Danes still support the decision to print the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons that enraged much of the Islamic world, according to a poll published Saturday on the one-year anniversary of the printing.

The survey by pollster Ramboell Management - published by the Jyllands-Posten daily, the newspaper that first printed the drawings - showed 53 percent of Danes still think it was correct to publish the cartoons as a demonstration of free speech.

Lesson learned. Thanks for fighting for free speech Denmark.

ISRAEL'S LEBANON PULLOUT ALMOST COMPLETE

MARWAHEEN, Lebanon - The Israeli army abandoned almost all of its positions in Lebanon early Sunday, a key step toward fulfilling a major condition of the truce that ended a monthlong war against Hezbollah.

Well thank God for that. I'd hate for Israel to break their streak of fulfilling one-sided truces.

Following Sunday's withdrawal, Israeli spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel was "now waiting for Lebanon to do its part under the truce." Israel wants Lebanon to keep Hezbollah out of the south and disarm it.

No word if Eisin is entertaining plans to hold his breath.