HOW DO YOU SAY "MORE COWBELL!" IN FRENCH?

CAPTION: Nicolas Sarkozy being offered a cow bell and cheese during a visit to the French Alps on Friday.

(Remy de la Mauviniere/AP)


TITLE OF THE ACCOMPANYING ARTICLE:

Sarkozy increases his lead in France

ANSWER: "Plus clochette de bétail!"

UPDATE - BETTER ANSWER - PUNDITARIAN: A better translation might be

"Encore de clochette de bétail!"

or

"De la clochette de bétail, davantage!"

or

"Augmentez la clochette de bétail!"

THANKS! Here's the COWBELL!

Fred Thompson in 1995: We need to do more to fight foreign terrorist threats...

Watch Fred! on the Charlie Rose Show in 1995; (you have to watch a coupla three minutes to get to him; he's the first guest).

He's was as warm and self-deprecating then as he is now - which kinda even more proves his AUTHENTICITY - (GEE: I just love usin' them Upper West Side words!).

But what really blew me away was how - in the aftermath of the Oklahoma bombing - he zeroed right in on al Qaeda. IN 1995! YUP: he said that the folks who tried to bring down the WTC in 1993 needed to be countered. And that our visa situation was pathetic, too.

PRESCIENT.

He may be the man for the times...

Watch it - and decide for yourself...

PREDICTION: IN 2008, "HAIL TO THE CHIEF" WILL BE REPLACED

YUP: THE POTUS WILL GET NEW THEME MUSIC... THIS.

(BUY IT HERE.)

HERE'S ONE REASON I THINK THIS WILL BE SO.

HERE'S ANOTHER REASON WHY I THINK THIS WILL BE SO.

HERE'S WHAT PRESIDENT SARKOZY MIGHT HAVE IN STORE FOR FRANCE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS

UK TELEGRAPH:

After taking a few days off to "meditate" on his election, the former interior minister is planning to name a slimmed-down caretaker government, with just 15 cabinet ministers, ahead of legislative elections on June 10 and 17 in which he hopes to secure a solid majority in France's parliament, the National Assembly.

Two names are said to be in the running for prime minister: François Fillon, Mr Sarkozy's chief political adviser, who has barely left his side during the campaign, and Jean-Louis Borloo, 56, the employment and social cohesion minister who is regarded as the social conscience of the Right.

... Mr Sarkozy has promised that half of his ministers will be women, among them his star recruit and spokesman Rachida Dati, 40, a former judge of North African origin.

Françoise de Panafieu, who will run for mayor of Paris next year, may also get a post.

RTWT.

THE ROAD AWAY FROM SERFDOM WON'T BE EASY: UK GUARDIAN:

And though Royal's claims last week that a Sarkozy victory would lead to 'violence' were dismissed as scaremongering by her opponent's media team, significant social strife is likely if he wins. Many local mayors in areas where tensions are already high - Sarkozy is hated in many of the poorest housing estates in France for having described delinquents as 'scum' - are planning heavy police deployments tonight.

There is talk too of a 'third round' of the election in the streets. France's powerful unions last week vowed a trial of strength with Sarkozy who, through his plans to modify France's legally enforced 35-hour week, labour laws and expensive welfare model, is seen as the living incarnation of 'the excesses of American-style capitalism'.

'If Nicolas Sarkozy thinks that if elected he will have the right to push through all the reforms that he has announced, whatever the unions think of them, then he is making a big mistake,' said Bernard Thibault, the general secretary of the CGT, France's biggest union.

If Sarkozy wins, his likely Prime Minister is Francois Fillon, a former minister and senator reviled by the left for his controversial pension reforms five years ago.

France needs at least as much reform now as the UK did in the 1980's. WILL SARKOZY BE AS GOOD FOR FRANCE AS THATCHER WAS FOR GREAT BRITAIN? I HOPE SO... WE'LL SOON SEE - I HOPE!

A SHORT HISTORY OF PARTISAN AUDACITY: A COMPARISON OF DEMOCRAT AND GOP POSITIONS ON A VARIETY OF ISSUES

THIS WEEKEND'S MUST READ POST - FROM DOUG ROSS:

DEMS VERSUS THE GOP ON:

• DEBATING;
• PARTISANSHIP DURING WAR;
• NOMINEES TO THE SCOTUS;
• VOTING SCANDALS & VANDALS;
• FREE SPEECH & MEDIA CRITICISM;
• AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

WITH PICTURES AND HYPERLINKS! RTWT.

SARKOZY INCREASES LEAD - POLLS NOW SHOW 55%-45%

Wow, those calls for violence, er, warnings of violence are really paying off for Segolene Royal:

The final poll before the actual vote gives Sarkozy 55%, a score which has been rising steadily since the debate earlier this week (which the French preSS saw as a win for the combative and pugnacious Ségolène -- it would seem that the French public, for whom she came across as shrill and hysterical, begs to differ). Ségolène Royal, when not making catastrophic proclamations of impending doom should Sarkozy be elected, is making impassioned calls to the French to ignore all polls before Sunday's vote.

The défaitisme at the Socialist Party is such that certain talking heads are stating that, at 47% of the vote Ségolène Royal will chalk up a symbolic victory.

Hah! A symbolic victory?!!?

Ah, now I understand: We Americans always make fun of France's surrender instinct, and of the fact that they seem to lose every single war they get themselves into. But, you know, now I understand how they look at it. Those weren't military defeats. They were symbolic victories.

Hee hee.

Yes, and tomorrow, it seems, Segolene Royal is going to have a symbolic victory heavy on the humiliation and despair.

MORE KASSAMS IN SDEROT

Still more "revenge" tactics by Hamas and Islamic Jihad:

The Islamic Jihad fired three rockets into Israel on Saturday, damaging a house in Sderot, but causing no injuries.

According to the group, the rocket strike was meant to avenge the killing of three members by Israeli undercover troops in the West Bank on Friday.

Some good news while we're on the subject is that the Labor party, following the mass protest on Thursday, is now rethinking its position in the government. And Amir Peretz faces stiff competition for leadership now.

WE'RE GOING TO MISS WESTMINSTER ABBEY - SHARIA COURTS IN BRITAIN

We mean this without sarcasm: we are not looking forward to the day when lunatic Islamists finally get around to rampaging through Westminster. Here's how bad things are going:

This presents the British authorities with an opportunity to reassert the fact that all in Britain must abide by British law: they could move decisively to shut down these courts, and to criminalize Sharia in Britain. Will they do any of that? Probably not... Muslim radicals have established their own draconian court systems in Britain. Controversial Sharia courts have been set up in major towns and cities to impose Islamic law and enable Muslims to shun the legitimate British legal system. Last night religious leaders and politicians expressed outrage that Sharia law is gaining an increasing foothold in our society. Critics insisted that the Government is allowing a two-tier legal system to flourish in the name of political correctness and that the authority of UK justice is being undermined.

Add this to shameless public calls for sharia law, and the situation looks less like an excess and more like a trend. And in case you were wondering how British journalists are choosing between confrontation and appeasement, here's another article about execrable Journalists boycott of Israel. This one identifies the journalists' moral cowardice partly as an attempt to make nice with the radical Muslims in their midst. In addition to latent anti-Semitism and fashionable European leftism (is there a difference any more?), it's probably not far from the mark.

[Read an extended version of this post at Mere Rhetoric]

SWASTIKAS PASTED ON JEWISH LA COUNCILMAN'S OFFICE

Los Angeles has the largest Israeli ex-pat population on the planet. Yes, larger than even NYC - no offense meant to our friends in the Capital of the World, but your burekas suck and your hummus is not nearly as good as you think it is. But if you think that "it couldn't happen here", you are very much mistaken:

A vandal today glued drawings of swastikas and two anti-Semitic messages to the front of the Sherman Oaks office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss. Epoxied to the glass front door were three 8.5-by-11-inch sheets of paper, each showing the Nazi flag in color. Another sheet, glued above Weiss' name on the door, contained a printed message: "Mein Fuhrer Die Office Official of Natziesque Extraordinaire." The final sheet contained a long message that began: "Our policy: we have no time to listen to Jewish American children!!! If you don't believe us, just try talking to us... Hail Weiss!"

Now admittedly the message is a little... unclear. Doesn't the note kind of sound like a rightwing Jew complaining that Weiss is a Nazi because he doesn't care about Jewish American children (ala settlers calling Rabin, Barak, Sharon, etc Hitlers or IDF troops Nazis). We kind of doubt that's what's going on though: (1) most people simply aren't that crazy and (2) as Rick Richman explained late last year, Weiss is one of the good guys. It's more likely, this is just a random quote that the LAT took from the notes because they were totally incoherent, LA Observed says that there was white supremacist graffiti included in the vandalism, which means that this is probably just a straightforward hate crime. But no matter how it turns out, the article talks about how LA is seeing a spike of anti-Semitic hatred across the board. It could very much happen here.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

It Had An Unfortunate Gloating Tone

KC Johnson at Durham in Wonderland is discussing hate mail. Specifically hate mail recieved by some of the professors involved in the Duke Hoax.

The latest example of creatively interpreting what constitutes “harassing” e-mails comes from the newly elected chairwoman of the Academic Council, Paula (“No to Due Process”) McClain. A Free Republic reader sent two emails to McClain. The first asked for comment about the end of the case; the second said that she had been “hoisted on the petard of Political Correctness, racial identity politics, gender determining feminism and what [the writer] coined as ‘Tawana Brawley Syndrome’.”

The reader continued, “Aside from the fact that petty tyrants like you have turned US college campuses into little ivy covered North Koreas, I suspect that you were seeking to appropriate PC bonus points and obtain instant moral authority by championing the cause of the “other” (marginalized black exotic dancer) against racist male chauvinist members of the privileged white elite. A case of cultural Marxist Class warfare that boomeranged. GOD how I love it so!!!!!”

I would not have sent the e-mail above. It had an unfortunate gloating tone.

Yeah KC. I loved it too!

ACLU Rejects Equality

The ACLU recently said:

The American Civil Liberties Union today cheered the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, with strong bipartisan support

In other words, they cheer unequal treatment for some classes of Americans -- with homosexuals being especially privileged. How does that square with the usual Leftist religion of equality for all? Search me! It's just another example of the utter lack of any principles on the Left, I guess. But they often tell us that "There is no such thing as right and wrong" so that should not really surprise us. They really believe it when they say that. They are actually telling us what guides them -- and it's not morality, ethics or principles of any kind. We should believe them.

But various Christian groups seem to be attacking this bill on the wrong grounds altogether. It is an assault on equality before the law, not an assault on free speech. You can say anything you like about queers as long as you keep your hands off them. That should not be too hard! The bill concerns "bodily injury" only. Read it. Whatever else they do, the ACLU describes the content of the bill accurately.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

More Google strangeness

I was looking at this old article by Tom Wolfe that appeared on "Wicked Dox" a few days ago. I decided to see where else it was available on the internet. The answer varied a lot according to which search term is used. If I used the string "adroitly papering over the fact that the Nazis" -- which is a phrase found well into the body of the article -- I found no full copies of the article available anywhere. If however I used the string "Did a single historian mention that America now dominates the world" -- which is from the beginning of the article -- I found various full copies of the article (e.g. here).

So what are we to conclude from that? I think Google must be working on the assumption that they only need to store the first bit of a long article to be able to retrieve references to it. So the Lesson is? Break your writings up into lots of small documents, I guess. Good for bloggers if for no-one else!

I usually don't use a string from early in the article if I am searching for it -- as your search results get cluttered up with a whole lot of partial quotations from the article that way. A search for text occurring well into the body of the article is much more likely to lead you straight to a full copy of the article. But I guess I will have to change my ways in future.

I think Google should announce how much of a given article they are likely to store but I guess I am pissing into the wind with that hope. How they hope to store all the world's books when they cannot store what is already on the internet quite escapes me. The only things they seem to store comprehensively are blogs -- rather strangely. I am the last one to bad-mouth blogs but they are hardly the last word in information. I can think of many that are the last word in crap.

The results of Google searches vary from day to day and from hour to hour so whether anyone else gets the same results as I did above remains to be seen, of course. They did not have the Wicked Dox article at all when I searched but seeing that it is on a blog, they should pick it up fairly quickly. Google make us bloggers into the elite of the internet so perhaps I should not criticize them at all! It seems a pity that they are such a poor guide to the net, though. And the biggest pity is that most people don't realize that.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

MY CHAT WITH RUSH LIMBAUGH

I'm still on Cloud 9 and just beaming. Yesterday, I was able to get through on Rush Limbaugh's show.

Here is the transcript from his website on my question:

CALLER: Hi. Mega dittos. I'm so excited that I got through.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: I just wanted you to know, I have a political blog and I have a Rush babe emblem right there on the front to show everybody my support --

RUSH: That a babe, that a babe.

CALLER: So I wanted to let you know I was listening to your response to the "we can't win" guy on Wednesday and I was just cheering the whole time. It just expressed my views on the war to a T, and I feel like you do in that I've been a little discouraged by some of the people in our own party that seem to have the same we can't win attitude, and especially Bill Buckley wrote this piece, you know, recently about The waning of the GOP saying that --

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: -- we can't win the war, the Republican Party might even suffer from this. And I know you love Bill Buckley, and I'm just wondering where is he coming from with this?

RUSH: Well, I can only speculate, because I haven't spoken to him about it. I got e-mail about that. "Hey, Rush, you love Buckley, did you see what he wrote? How can you still like Buckley?" You people are not aware of the pressures I'm under because of the things that I admit. There's a branch of conservatism that holds we ought go nowhere where our national interests are not threatened. We cannot be, quote, unquote, policemen of the world. I can't tell you for sure that I know that Bill Buckley has been on board and then got off the train. I don't know if he started out being for this or if he didn't. I think what he's assessing is the bungling of this as he sees it, and he thinks that the bungling of this is going to really, really decimate the Republican Party, because it's looking incompetent. It could well be that Mr. Buckley has fallen prey to what we've been talking about the last couple days, the media bubble. But he's not the only one. There are quite a few others --

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: -- who I know at the outset were very supportive and ready to go, and simply don't like the way it's been, and I think in his view his criticism is based on incompetence of the whole thing. No, he's not rooting for defeat. It's a big difference out there, Dionne. He's not rooting for defeat. He's ruing it, and he's worried about the impact that it might have on the Republican Party and of course the future.

He then went on to ask me about this KC story, Airport adds foot basins for Muslim cabbies.

I hadn't heard about it but I was able to go on and ask him another question that I was hoping to be able to slip in. I asked him for advice on my internet radio show starting in June. He asked what it was going to be about and joked that I could do my best imitation of him.

During this part of the conversation I mentioned that I was a conservative Christian so he asked me another question about Mitt Romney and why Christians have a problem with Mormonism. The caller right before me didn't understand why people had issues with Romney being a Mormon. I explained that most Evangelicals view Mormonism as a cult. I mentioned that even though I agreed with that view it wasn't going to affect my view of Romney. I brought up that it would probably just indicate he was more moral than your average person and Orrin Hatch would be the perfect example. He then told the call screener not to take any calls about Mormonism because he had just gotten the answer to his question. Yah!!

It was a great experience and it was so great that I got to talk to him longer than just asking the one question. An awesome day!!

WHAT CHRIS MATTHEWS SHOULD ASK THE DEMOCRATS AT THE NEXT DEBATE:

Oh. Sorry. It's rhetorical. Never mind.

THE AUDACITY OF LEFTISM

I live in NYC. Where about 75% of the folks LOVE BILL'n HIL' and hate Dubya.

And they think that everyone who supports Bush -- and the Iraq War, and is pro-life, believes in God, supports the 2nd Amendment, favors low taxes on EVERYONE, thinks global warming is mostly natural, concludes from history that peace only comes through strength and victory, and who questions what they read/see/hear from the MSM -- IS A FREAKING MORON!

I guess that makes me a moron.

Funny thing about these folks... they think they KNOW MORE than me. They only read the NYTIMES, and only watch CNN (or MSNBC), and they never watch, listen to, or read a speech by their president. AND YET... they think they know more than me. ME, who reads the NYTIMES AND the NYSUN, (and NRO etc.), and who watches CNN and FOX and the BBC, and who reads the president's speeches.

These leftists are the same folks who BELIEVE in AGW and evolution EVEN THOUGH THEY CAN EXPLAIN NEITHER!

It's a matter of FAITH for them. Leftist faith. A leftist faith that tells them gun control lowers crime - (when in fact it doesn't). A leftist faith that tells them that life doesn't begin at conception; (WELL THEN.... WHAT IS BEING CONCEIVED, A MARBLE?!). A leftist faith that believes that raising taxes on the wealthy is fair and good for the economy.

Sheesh. THEY ARE SO FREAKIN' WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING! And it's mostly because most of them refuse to examine their RECEIVED "wisdom", their INHERITED partisan affiliation, and the concomitant ideology which has been handed down to them through the generations.

I KNOW IT IS TOUGH TO BREAK FREE: I WAS A LEFTIST RAISED BY CARD-CARRYING MEMBERS OF THE CP-USA!

So... I also know this: It is possible.

All we need to do is keep fightin' baby! Keep trying to get them to consider and read OUR SIDE. Get un-hooked from the leftist MSM which tells them what to think. (REALLY: it's like they don't know what to think until the NYTIMES writes an editorial on it, and then - whatever that is, THAT'S what they think! REALLY!!! Like... these folks won''t accept that the economy is good until PAUL KRUGMAN SAYS IT IS! Idiots.)

We can open their eyes. We can do it. We need to. We must.

The only way the jihadist enemy can win is if the postmodern leftists here take over and surrender to them. That's what at stake. And that's why I have said - over-and-over-and-over again: BEFORE WE CAN DEFEAT THE ENEMY OVERSEAS, WE MUST DEFEAT THE LEFT AT HOME.

We can defeat them by opening their eyes. The truth will set them free.

MORE PROOF THAT THE DEMOCRAT PARTY IS DOMINATED BY THE LOONY LEFT

RASMUSSEN POLLS REPORTS THIS, (PARAPHRASED):

71% OF DEMOCRATS FEEL THAT BUSH HAD PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF 9/11, OR ARE UNSURE IF HE DID.

ONLY 39% FEEL HE DID NOT.

AMONG INDEPENDENTS THE NUMBERS ARE REVERSED.


AMONG GOP voters, only 14% think he might have known beforehand. (I think this is the bunch of nuts supporting for Ron Paul for president!)

BDS IS SO DEEPLY INGRAINED IN THE DEMOCRAT DNA NOW, THAT I DON'T THINK THE PARTY WILL EVER MODERATE.

Essentially, BDS began on the day the SCOTUS decided for Bush: the Dems claim he stole the election - or that he was appointed by the SCOTUS. Ever since, they've been consumed with rage - against Bush and Rove and Cheney and Halliburton... and so on.

I WISH WE COULD GET THEM AS ANGRY ABOUT THE JIHADISTS!

If they would only go after Bin Laden and the rest of the jihado-thugs the way they went after Libby....

DEMOCRATS PUBLISH A FOREIGN POLICY JOURNAL

SEE THE COVER HERE.

MORE LEFTIST THUGGERY FROM BRAZIL: THEY'LL STEAL WHAT THEY CAN'T BUY

One of the MANY reasons leftist economies always do less well than more free economies is that leftists do not respect intellectual property.

When you don'T respect intellectual property you create DISINCENTIVES to anyone creating new intellectual property. As a result, there is less innovation.

Today, the leftists running Brazil gave us another example [all umph added]:

REUTERS:

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday authorized Brazil to break the patent on an AIDS drug made by Merck & Co. Inc. ... and import a generic version from India instead.

It was the first time Brazil bypassed a patent to acquire cheaper drugs for its AIDS prevention program, a step recently taken by Thailand. Other countries, including Canada and Italy, have also used a clause in World Trade Organization rules to flout drug patents in the name of public health.

BLOOMBERG:

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva broke the patent on Merck & Co's AIDS drug Efavirenz after the company's offer to cut prices failed to satisfy demands from the country's health ministry.

Lula, in a presidential palace ceremony today in Brasilia, signed a law allowing the government to buy a generic version of Efavirenz from laboratories certified by the World Health Organization. The government would consider a new proposal from Merck should the company choose to make one, Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said in an interview.

"Our decision today involves this one drug, but we can take the same steps with any other that we consider necessary,'' Lula said. "It doesn't matter if it's a U.S., German, French, Brazilian or Argentine company.''

MSNBC/AP:

Silva issued a “compulsory license” that would bypass Merck’s patent on the AIDS drug efavirenz, a day after the Brazilian government rejected Merck’s offer to sell the drug at a 30 percent discount.

A compulsory license is a legal mechanism that allows a country to manufacture or buy generic versions of patented drugs while paying the patent holder only a small royalty.

Brazilian law and rules established under the World Trade Organization allow for compulsory licenses in a health emergency or if the pharmaceutical industry uses abusive pricing. ... It was the first time Brazil has bypassed a patent.

After Thailand moved to override patents on three anti-AIDS drugs, including those made by Abbott Laboratories Inc. and Merck, the United States placed Thailand on a list of copyright violators.

“As the world’s 12th largest economy, Brazil has a greater capacity to pay for HIV medicines than countries that are poorer or harder hit by the disease,” Merck said in a statement after Silva’s announcement.

RANT ALERT:

TO THE LEFT, MAKING A PROFIT IS AMORAL AND ABUSIVE. BUT WITHOUT A PROFIT MOTIVE THERE WOULD BE NO WONDER DRUGS.

I WOULD ALSO ADD THAT AIDS IS A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE WHICH NO RESPONSIBLE PERSON SHOULD BE GETTING ANYMORE.

THE USA AND OUR COMPANIES SHOULD NOT BE FORCED TO SUBSIDIZE SEXUALLY PROMISCUOUS, IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE THEY CLAIM TO BE POOR.

WE SHOULD BE AS GENEROUS AS WE CAN BE IN OUR AID TO THE POOR ALL OVER THE WORLD IN COMBATING INFECTIOUS DISEASES WHICH ARE A TRUE PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT - LIKE MALARIA.

AIDS IS NOT AS PREVALENT AS MALARIA OR SCHISTOSOMIASIS AND IS LESS TRANSMISSIBLE THAN FLU - WHICH KILLS MORE PEOPLE IN EPIDEMIC YEARS. THEREFORE, IT DESERVES LESS STATE SUBSIDIZATION THAN THESE OTHER DISEASES, NOT MORE. (WHAT INDIVIDUALS AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS WANT TO DO IS THEIR BUSINESS.)

MALARIA EFFECTS 500 MILLION PEOPLE PER YEAR - KILLING 1,000,000! AND OVER 200 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE SHISTO. 100 MILLION MAY HAVE HIV - THOUGH SOME SUSPECT THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN INFLATED BY THIRD WORLD KLEPTOCRACIES LOOKING FOR AID.

BUT IF PEOPLE WOULD JUST HAVE SAFE SEX, THEN THEY WOULDN'T GET HIV. IT'S UP TO THEM, NOT A MOSQUITO (AS IN MALARIA) OR A SNAIL OR A FLATWORM (AS IN THE CASE OF SCHISTO').

AGAIN I ASK: WHY SHOULD MY TAX DOLLARS GO TO PEOPLE WHO CAN'T CONTROL THEIR SEXUAL HABITS - (IN EFFECT SUBSIDIZING THEM)!?!? WHY SHOULD A COMPANY'S PROFIT BE HURT BECAUSE POOR PEOPLE CAN'T CONTROL THEIR SEX-LIVES!?

AND WHO IN THE EFFIN' WORLD DIED AND MADE THE FRIGGIN' W.H.O. POWERFUL ENOUGH TO OVERRIDE MY NATION'S PATENT LAWS AND INTERNATIONAL PATENT LAW!?!

SHEESH. TALK ABOUT UNELECTED WORLD GOVERNMENT. THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. IT'S TYRANNICAL.

NEITHER MERCK OR THE USG SHOULD STAND FOR IT.

I FAVOR GIVING HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED - OR EVEN FREE DRUGS TO PREGNANT WOMEN WITH HIV IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE CHILD FROM GETTING AIDS. THE BABY IS INNOCENT.

BUT LET THEM PAY WHATEVER THE DRUG COMPANIES WANT THEM TO PAY IN ORDER TO GET DRUGS FOR THE REST OF 'EM.

ROYAL AND GIULIANI HAVE BOTH WARNED OF INEVITABLE VIOLENCE IF THEIR OPPONENTS ARE ELECTED

However, there is an important distinction to be made here. From my buddy, Gormless Norman:

Royal's warning is similar to Giuliani's recent warning, insofar as both of them warn the public that if their opponent wins, there will be increased danger from Muslims.

But there is an all-important difference:

Giuliani is warning that, if the Democrats win, they will take a more conciliatory and appeasing posture towards Islamofascism, which will ultimately endanger us.

Royal is warning that, if we don't take a more conciliatory and appeasing posture towards Islamofascism, we risk making them angry.

This is a Madrid Moment for France. However, I don't think France will cave. What we have to remember is the riots are precisely the reason Sarkozy's star has ascended in French politics.

DOES MURTHA HAVE DEMENTIA?

CONFEDERATE YANKEE PRESENTS THE FACTS OF THE CASE - WITH LINKS AND EXCERPTS.

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MURTHA IS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF ALZHEIMER'S.

FIND A DOCTOR WHO CAN MAKE A CURSORY CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS, AND THEN POST IT IN COMMENTS.

We Will Get All Industrial On Them

Wonderful discussion going on at Dr. Sanity's about shame cultures, why they tend to despotism, and why their war on the West could lead to unfortunate consequences. Especially for them.

The Dr. not being an avid historian gives Dresden as an example of what Americans are capable of. Commenter Simon-Peter sets her straight and proves it was mainly a British show. So I decided to help the Doctor out:

Simon-Peter,

I think the point is not to make exact American points, but to show what Western Man is capable of.

The fire bombing of Japanese cities is probably the best American example - with Hiroshima and Nagasaki the exclamation points.

The generals bombing Japan were worried. They were running out of cities to destroy. As I recall they figured that by Nov. or Dec. of '45 there would be no major targets worth bombing.

Heck, the atom bomb guys were worried. The production rate was only about 3 a month. Not enough to sustain a bombing campaign.

Consider the state of mind required to think like that.

These islamo nut jobs do not want to continue tickling the dragon's tail. We will get all industrial on them.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

FRANCE'S ROYAL WARNS OF VIOLENCE IF SARKOZY WINS

Extreme desperation from the Socialist candidate in France. This race is pretty much over.

PARIS (Reuters) - Socialist opponent Segolene Royal said on Friday that France risks violence and brutality if her opponent right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy wins Sunday's presidential election.

On the last day of official campaigning, opinion polls showed Sarkozy enjoyed a commanding lead over Royal, who accused the former interior minister of lying and polarizing France.

"Choosing Nicolas Sarkozy would be a dangerous choice," Royal told RTL radio.

"It is my responsibility today to alert people to the risk of (his) candidature with regards to the violence and brutality that would be unleashed in the country (if he won)," she said.

Just sad.

THE INFIDEL RADIO SHOW

... coming to you live from beneath the burqa of a hot Muslim babe in Tehran, it's the Inifdel Radio Show featuring Pastorius and the Fu2rman.

Last night we interviewed Dominque Pussois from the United Nations Council on Unity, Neutrality, and Tolerance (UN-CUNT). Dominique explained to us that the United Nations moral purpose is to make war illegal.

Click here to listen to the show.

He also had a curious habit of spitting whenever he said the word "America."

We also had a chat with counter-Jihad hero Joe Kaufman of Americans Against Hate. Joe is a one-man CAIR wrecking crew. The guy has great big golden balls.

This weekend Joe is staging an anti-CAIR demonstration in Manhattan. Check it out.

THE JACKAL FACES ANOTHER TRIAL

The terrorist from Venezuela named Carlos the Jackal is now facing trial for his crimes against France in the early 1980s:

PARIS — The jailed Venezuelan terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal is to face trial for his alleged role in deadly terror bombings in 1982 and 1983 in France, a judicial official said today.

Top anti-terror judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere — renowned for tracking down Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez — ordered him to stand trial for the four attacks, which killed 12 and injured at least 100, a judicial official said on condition of anonymity. Such officials are not authorized to speak to the media about such matters.

Ramirez, 57, is serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murders of two French secret agents and an alleged informer. He gained international notoriety as the Cold War-era mastermind of deadly bombings, killings and hostage dramas.

After years on the run, Ramirez was captured in Sudan in 1994 and hauled in a sack to Paris by French secret service agents. He was convicted three years later for the 1975 murders.

What led to his capture was partly that the Sudanese dictatorship at the time was pressured into giving him up.

He is also suspected in the 1976 Palestinian hijacking of a French jetliner in flight to Entebbe, Uganda.

I have to wonder if there's more than meets the eye to this - could Carlos be a Muslim convert as well? Regardless, he is certainly a sympathiser with Muslim terrorists, and has certainly proven himself just as dangerous and repugnant. Update: as a matter of fact, it appears that yes, he is a convert! And, according to this article by Amir Taheri, he supports bin Laden.

Athletephobia in Vermont

Middlebury College do-gooders got themselves twisted into real knot recently. They were having a big group therapy session about "homophobia" and how to eradicate it on their campus. They put their conclusions up in a library display. But in doing so they defamed another group -- athletes. Accusing anybody of homophobia on a modern-day American campus is worse than calling them terrorists. Jihadis are seen as positively cuddly compared to homophobes. So the campus athletes rightly felt that they had been gravely insulted by being accused of being homophobic.

"Two anonymous suggestions for eliminating homophobic hate speech at Middlebury by changing the athletics program were removed from a College display last week after student athletes criticized the suggestions and a college administrator acknowledged that posting the recommendations was a "major mistake." The suggestions that raised controversy proposed that Middlebury should "stop recruiting athletes" and "better educate its athletes about homophobia."....

At the town meeting, several students were critical of those who linked homophobia to Middlebury athletics, but the issue was lost in the larger discussion. On paper and in the display, however, the suggestions sparked another debate. While expressing solidarity with and support of the intent of the display, student athletes said they were disappointed to find a project addressing how to eliminate hate speech, in fact containing hate speech of its own.

"I was surprised at how big of a space was allotted to the comments. I had thought that maybe they were hidden in a longer list of ideas, but they held their own spots," said women's soccer player Christine Bolger '07. "I was disappointed that they had found their way into the public as stereotyping other groups because in my eyes, that discredits the overall intention of the display, which I think was a very good intention."

In response to the display, four-year varsity soccer player Dave Lee '07 wrote an e-mail to Ramirez. "I am personally a firm believer in gay rights and also agree that hate speech should not be tolerated at this college," wrote Lee. "When this fight for enlightenment chooses to degrade and stereotype other groups of people, however, I can't help but be disappointed in the entire cause."

The offensive suggestions were removed from the display by Thursday. Ramirez responded with an apology to Lee and met with other students who felt marginalized by the suggestions. She accepted responsibility for the public display of the suggestions on athletics, calling it "a major, major mistake that I feel terrible about." Ramirez said that the "stop recruiting athletes" comment was removed from the first draft and somehow snuck its way back into the final display.

Source

In the weird world of the Left, comments apparently have a life of their own. The same people seem to think that guns do things too so I suppose we should not be surprised.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

You Shall Have No Gods Before Envy

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. --Winston Churchill

If you are a true leftist, then you shall covet. Your life is built around a chronic feeling of lack for which you imagine that others are responsible. Unlike some of the other commandments, which at least rouse the person into action -- however evil the action -- envy is entirely passive and internal, and can be done from the discomfort of your own head. While it can become active, it is generally powerless unless it embodies a pathological cultural value system or is translated into a collective political movement. Absent the collective will of envy, it can only ruin your own life.

Why is the commandment to envy so central to the nihilistic left? Lying, stealing, murdering and adultery all harm others, but envy seems only to affect oneself. True, it is absolutely corrosive to the self, but why should it be among the five horizontal commandments governing man-to-man relations?

Because envy is not just an emotion, or mental state. Rather, it is a relationship. It is a relationship with an other whom one feels possesses something lacking in oneself. It is actually first an internal object relationship, only projected outward. In other words, there is an envious mind parasite in dynamic rapport with a frustrating object it feels is "withholding" that to which it feels entitled -- ultimately it is a frustrated infant imagining a bountiful breast that is selfishly keeping its infinite supply of milk and other goodies to itself. Therefore, it will either seize the breast or attack it so that no one else can have it. At various times leftists can adopt either strategy toward the breast, which they call their "economic policy."

Now importantly, the leftist necessarily operates in an "insight free" zone, so he naturally focuses on the object of envy, and in fact, builds his entire worldview around feeling enviously entitled to the object he lacks.

The above is just a small excerpt from Gagdad Bob

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

JIHADISTS TRAIN IN JORDAN, TOO

NYTIMES:

“Most of the young people here in Zarqa are very religious,” an Islamist community leader said. “And when they see the news and what is going on in the Islamic countries, they themselves feel that they have to go to fight jihad. Today, you don’t need anyone to tell the young men that they should go to jihad. They themselves want to be martyrs.”

The anger is palpable on the streets of Zarqa. “He’s American? Let’s kidnap and kill him,” one Islamist activist said during an interview with a reporter before the host of the meeting dissuaded him.

The stories of the men from Zarqa help explain the seemingly endless supply of suicide bombers in Iraq, most of whom are believed to be foreigners.

FASCINATING! RTWT! Three things JUMP OUT at men:

• (1) All this happens under the nose of our SUPPOSED ally - King Abdullah II.
• (2) Here is ANOTHEZR case of these genocidal/suicidal maniacs calling themselves RELIGIOUS - and most people see fear to call this global war, WW4, a religious war. IT IS! And, it is because they say it is, and they are instigating the war.
• (3) The NYTIMES IS EXPLICITLY ADMITTING THAT MOST OF THE SUICIDE BOMBERS IN IRAQ ARE FOREIGN! This measn that they MUST ADMIT that the "insurgency" is NOT a native rebellion against the USA occupation or a native rebellion against the native/elected, but part of global jihad - PART OF THE GLOBAL JIHAD EXACTLY LIKE 9/11.
• AND ANOTHER THING: The NYTIMES fails to mention the "king" of Jordan once. NOT EVEN ONCE. Yet all this is happening under his nose.

I wish Bush enforced the Bush Doctrine: "You're either with us or with them." As a result of Dubya's wimpiness, we get double-dealing from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. As Iran gets closer to having a bomb, and Pakistan becomes less stable. These supposed "allies" are not doing enough to help us in the battles for Afghanistan and Iraq.

AND WE ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH TO FORCE THEM TO - or to strangle the Iranian and Syrian tyrannies.

Jihadist training schools like the one in Zarqa exist ALL OVER THE MUSLIM WORLD. THEY ARE, IN EFFECT, BOMB FACTORIES, and should be shut down or bombed.

If we CONTINUE TO fail to confront these nations, then in time, Iraq and Afghanistan will look like picnics compared the the battles that ahead - between the allies of modernity and the jihadist enemies of modernity - in Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. And Iran.

COMRADE CHAVEZ THREATENS BANKS WITH "NATIONALIZATION"

BBC:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to take over the country's private banks and largest steelmaker.

But he said he would refrain from nationalisation if the firms began to work in the "national interest".

The banks should make domestic loans a priority while steel firm Ternium-Sidor should supply the local market with cheap products, Mr Chavez added.

The threat comes days after Venezuela took control of the last privately-run oil operations in the country.

... Mr Chavez embarked on a widespread nationalisation drive in January, after winning a landslide victory in the national elections.

As a result of the measures the country's largest telecom firm, CANTV, the electricity sector and its oil refineries are being brought under state control.

There is NO DOUBT about it: Chavez is a thug. And STILL a darling of the chic leftist glitterati. Lke that other thug Castro. Meanwhile, they accuse Bush - AND RUDY - of being fascsist. HYPOCRITES. Idiots.

HEZBOLLAH GLOATS - WE SPENT A MONTH HIDING BEHIND THE UN'S SKIRTS, SO WE WON!

Yes, we know it's annoying. But who cares - it's classic lady doth protest too much blithering. If Nasrallah's best argument is that the consequences of Lebanon II have hurt Olmert's political career, he ought to look into how the Lebanese blogosphere is reacting to Winograd:

If the Israeli prime minister is being held accountable for failing to deliver on his promises, Hizbullah took an entire nation to war without consulting its government or people, and delivered them death and destruction. Yet you don't hear of a probe or investigation into how a militia got away with destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands, and how it continues to hold a country hostage. Why stop at Hizbullah? Soon, many "citizens" of this Arab world will be claiming victory over an enemy they never fought, in a battle they never won and in which they made no real sacrifices... So hurray, we have won. Israel is defeated. Strangely, their defeat will move them forward. As for our "divine victory", well, it will keep us where we are, which is at the bottom of the lowest circles of hell.

Lebanon II was bungled not because the IDF lost but because the IDF did not win fast enough. Fast enough by the standards of the international community, which demands that Israel win wars instantly. Wars fought against enemies that hide in civilian areas don't work that way. Had the IDF been allowed to go after Hezbollah's infrastructure for another month - or if they had been allowed to leverage the IAF's air superiority and to hell with Hezbollah's use of civilian areas as military staging grounds - does anyone have the slightest doubt what the result would have been? For Hezbollah to claim victory because they spent a month hiding figuratively behind the skirts of UN officials and literally behind the skirts of Lebanese women - well, it just seems a like they're trying just a bit too hard. A 10 to 1 kill ratio - to say nothing of the 1000 to 1 infrastructure ratio - does not a glorious victory make.

[Read an extended version of this post at Mere Rhetoric]

NEW STUDY SAYS IAF COULD DESTROY IRANIAN NUKE FACILITIES

This Defense Tech post is one of the most heartening things we've read in a while. And it's about the inevitable eruption of war in the Middle East might not be all that bad. Thus does Middle East blogging proceed:

Some of the good folks at MIT have just figured how many bombs it would take for the Israeli Air Force to blow up Iran's entire nuclear weapons infrastructure. Apparently, it isn't so hard after all... But, according to the MIT report, there is one major catch: the air strike on Natanz could fail if Iran's air defenses succeed in downing only two of the IAF's strike package of 24 F-15Is if each is loaded with a single BLU-113. MIT concludes, however:... the IAF, after years of modernization, now possesses the capability to destroy even well-hardened targets in Iran with some degree of confidence.

The entire study is here (PDF warning). We haven't read over the whole thing, so we're not sure if it addresses the IFF issue. We also don't know if they assume that an Israeli strike might involve cruise missiles as well as air assets. If fighters get downed before they can drop their payload, one certainly assumes that Israel would launch cruise missiles to finish the job - it's try or die at that point. Here's what we don't get: if Israel can do it, then the US can certainly do it. And a US strike would have a higher probability of success (closer target, better tech, less logistical problems, etc). And it's not like Iranian nukes won't find their way into the heart of a US city eventually - the US doesn't have existential stakes in play, but they've certainly got a lot to lose. It just sounds like the US is hanging Israel out to dry because Iran has promised to nuke Israel first.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

THE FIRST REPUBLICAN DEBATE

My thoughts on the Republican Debate:

1) MSNBC is the most biased network I have ever seen in my life. I can't believe the Dems whining and refusing to be on Fox. Fox never would've phrased the questions the way Chris Matthews did. It was ridiculous. Hugh Hewitt had this to say:

"...the partisan and sometimes ludicrously absurd questions from Chris Matthews."

Although he went on to say that this is good because this is what the Republican candidates should expect from the Drive By Media.

Sister Toldjah says he was the worst moderator ever!!

2) Almost everyone on that stage came across as a wimp!! My two favorites, Rudy and Duncan Hunter did better but everyone else hedged and hawed. I know thats part of playing the political game but give me a break, this is to cater to Republicans. Stand strong on something and give a straight answer.

3) Ron Paul confirmed for me that I really don't like him! He is as traitorous as Chuck Hagel. I knew he hadn't been good on the war but some of his comments were just unbelievable.

4) I literally yelled at John McCain after his answer about what Bush has done wrong. He said, "He wouldn't have mismanaged the war." I said several times, "YOU DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT!!" I couldn't believe it. Would Harry Truman have said that about FDR because of the numerous mistakes that were made in World War II? How about leaving 11,000+ U.S. soldiers in the Philippines to die? No, Truman would never have said things could've been handled better because he was aware that miscalculations and mistakes are always made in war. There is no perfect war.

It was the HEIGHT OF ARROGANCE for McCain to say that he wouldn't have mismanaged the war. He has no way of knowing that.

Republicans, this man can't be our nominee for President!!

5) Chris Matthews kept saying Tancredo's name wrong. This annoyed the heck out of me.

6) Duncan Hunter was the only one who gave a good answer to the Terri Schiavo question. He quoted Ronald Reagan in saying that "we should always err on the side of life". I was so irritated with how everyone else danced around the question. Dean Barnett also liked him the best after Romney.

7) Rudy was the only one who gave a good answer to the Bush question. He reminded everyone that if it weren't for Bush and his response to 9/11 we would've had another terrorist attack on U.S. soil by now.

8) Sam Brownback just doesn't do anything for me. People like me should be his biggest supporter but there are so many things about him that just don't work for me. Brownback was on Hannity's show the other day and I don't even like the sound of his voice, very un-inspirational.

9) Mike Huckabee doesn't do anything for me either. His support for tax hikes concerns me and then his answer about Rumsfeld during the debate really didn't set well with me at all. Dean Barnett had this to say about him:

"Mike Huckabee – I look at this guy and wonder where he ever got the notion that he should be president. Even more than the Cranks (see below), his presence on the stage bothered me. Does this guy have anything interesting or original to say? Has he ever?"

10) Romney annoyed me with his comparisons to Reagan. I'm sorry, but no one on that stage last night even comes close to Ronald Reagan. I also didn't like the way he used the phrase "separation of church and state".

11) Its a shame that Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich weren't on that stage last night.

Message to Fred and Newt: Get in now!!

DID SEGOLENE CHEAT DURING THE DEBATE? WAS SHE WIRED?

SOME THINK SO.

HERE'S A LINK TO A VIDEO OF HER CONCLUDING STATEMENT.

IT SURE LOOKS LIKE SHE HAS A WIRE COMING FROM HER EAR.

WAS SHE BEING FED INFO DURING THE DEBATE?



I THINK SO.

CHEATER. LEFTIST. THEY GO HAND-IN-HAND.

OUR CURRENT ENEMY - RADICAL MUSLIMS - ARE THE WORST OF ALL TIME

DISCERNING TEXAN ( via DOUG ROSS):

When in the history of mankind have warriors (or "freedom fighters" if you are a Sean Penn fan...) systematically murdered their own people in order to try and win a war? Ever.

Did the Nazi's do it?

The Romans? Attila the Hun? The Kamikaze Japanese?

Think about it: History had to wait at least 8000 years for mankind to come to the point where people murdered their own women and children--not as collateral damage, but rather as an example of how barbaric or inhuman they can continue to be if we try to impose... PEACE.

THERE'S MORE. RTWT.

BRITISH GENERAL SUPPORTS AL QAEDA & AL SADR, AND ATTACKS THE COALITION AND THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT - a royal fisking!

BBC:

Gen Sir Michael Rose also told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the US and the UK must "admit defeat" and stop fighting "a hopeless war" in Iraq.

WRONG: It is FAR from hopeless. The surge is already working - and all the force elements haven't even arrived yet. And the Iraqi Army is still improving every month. Giving up now is RIDICULOUS.

Iraqi insurgents would not give in, he said. "I don't excuse them for some of the terrible things they do, but I do understand why they are resisting."

WRONG: The insurgency is NOT A RESISTANCE to occupation; it is an attempt to OVERTHROW the LEGITIMATE, CONSTITUTIONAL, ELECTED government of a UN member state which has REQUESTED WE HELP THEM.

Repeat: The insurgency is NOT A RESISTANCE to occupation; it is an attempt to OVERTHROW the LEGITIMATE, CONSTITUTIONAL, ELECTED government of a UN member state which has REQUESTED WE HELP THEM.

Leaving them in the lurch would be COWARDLY, TREACHEROUS, and only strengthen their enemies - WHO AREE ALSO OURS!

The total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq stands at 147.

147. IN FOUR YEARS?!? IS THIS COWARDLY BRITISH T*RD TELLING ME THAT THE UK CANNOT ABSORB THAT KIND OF MINUSCULE NATIONAL LOSS!?!?! If he is then he is also telling the enemy that they can attack them anywhere/anytime and EASILY WIN.

[ASIDE: The personal loss for each family is HUGE, and I send them each my condolences and thanks for their grief and noble sacrifice.]

'Admit defeat'

Sir Michael has written a book drawing similarities between the tactics of insurgents and George Washington's men in America's War of Independence.

He told Newsnight: "As Lord Chatham said, when he was speaking on the British presence in North America, he said 'if I was an American, as I am an Englishman, as long as one Englishman remained on American native soil, I would never, never, never lay down my arms'.

AGAIN: AL QAEDA AND THE BAATHISTS ARE NOT FIGHTING AN EXTERNAL EMPIRE; THEY ARE FIGHTING A CONSTITUTIONAL ELECTED GOVERNMENT IF IRAQ.

"It is the soldiers who have been telling me from the frontline that the war they have been fighting is a hopeless war" - Gen Sir Michael Rose

I THINK HE IS LYING. THE BRITS ARE ALREADY LEAVING. THEY HAD IT EASY IN THE SOUTH - WHERE THINGS WERE FAR FAR FAR BETTER THAN IN ANBAR OR BAGHDAD. I ASSERT AGAIN: THIS TRAITOROUS COWARD IS LYING.

He said it was time to bring troops home.

THIS IS IDIOTIC: THE UK HAS ALREADY ANNOUNCED THIS!

This meant the UK government would have to admit defeat, he added.

IF THE UK ADMITS THAT AL QAEDA HAS DEFEATED THEM, THEN THEY ARE ONLY ASKING FOR MORE OF THE SAME - NEXT TIME IN THE UK.

"The British admitted defeat in North America and the catastrophes that were predicted at the time never happened," the ex-Bosnia UN chief said.

IT WAS BAD FOR THE BRITISH EMPIRE. JUST ASK FRANCE.

"The catastrophes that were predicted after Vietnam never happened.

THIS IS THE MOST SHOCKING AND HORRIFIC AND IDIOTIC AND MISINFORMED FALSEHOOD IN THE ARTICLE!

FACT: NEARLY 4 MILLION SOUTH EAST ASIANS DIED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE USA PULLING THE PLUG ON THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT IN 1975 - WHICH WAS A FULL TWO YEARS AFTER THE VERY LAST US COMBAT TROOP LEFT VIETNAM. THERE WAS A BLOODBATH.

(And making it all so much more sad & pitiful is the fact that NOW the Vietnamese want US investment. Investment they could have had WITHOUT A WAR, since 1965. Had they gone that route in 1965, then they'd be as well off as South Korea, instead of being a basket-case with more in common with NORTH Korea!) [More on Vietnam, HERE.]

"The same thing will occur after we leave Iraq."

What an ignorant as*h*le!

ACCORDING THE THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT - AND EVEN CNN CORRESPONDENTS STATIONED THERE IN IRAQ - THE BLOODBATH WILL BE WORSE THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN SOUTH EAST ASIA! AL QAEDA AND IRAN AND THE SECTARIAN RADICALS WILL UNLEASH A TORRENT OF VIOLENCE WHICH WILL MAKE DARFUR AND RWANDA LOOK LIKE PICNICS IN KENSINGTON PARK. (More HERE.)

WHAT MAKES THIS ALL WORSE: (1) This idiot is not alone, and (2) his falsehoods went unchallenged. Not surprising; it was - after all - on the BBC.

Shameless. Shameless, traitorous, cowardly scum.

2007 NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men… And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? I therefore beg leave to move--that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business…”--Benjamin Franklin

Today is the National Day of Prayer!! Obviously, God wants us to pray all the time and every day but every year I think its a great idea to be reminded of the importance of prayer. Most of our Presidents and founding fathers (even the ones who weren't as "religious") understood the significance and importance of prayer.

If you have never checked out The Presidential Prayer Team website you need to today. It is a gold mine of good stuff. It gives you lots of good info on how to pray for the President, our nation and all of our elected officials. It also has lots of quotes from past Presidents and our founding fathers. Check it out!!

Pastor Charles Swindoll, Honorary Chairman of this year’s National Day of Prayer, prayed this prayer for our nation:

2007 Prayer for the Nation
by Charles Swindoll

Almighty God, we pause to reflect on Your character as we seek wisdom for such a time as this. In these unsafe days, You remain all-powerful and able to protect; in these uncertain times, You remain all-knowing, leading us aright; in the unprecedented events we're facing, You remain absolutely sovereign. Our times are in Your hands.

Therefore, our dependence on You, is total, not partial. Our need for Your forgiveness is constant, our gratitude for Your grace is profound, our love for You is deep.

We ask that You guard and guide our President and all who serve the people of these United States. May uncompromising integrity mark their lives. We also ask that You unite us as truly "one nation, under God." May genuine humility return to our ranks. And may that blend of integrity and humility heal our land. In our Lord's name we pray, Amen.

IT'S OFFICIAL, LMC IS A RADIO TALK SHOW HOST

This past February I was contacted by someone from Christian Financial Radio Network about hosting a weekly radio show. They were bought by Togi Entertainment so the Executive VP followed up with me. At that time we talked and it looked pretty likely that when they got things running I would be hosting an internet radio show. I sent them my resume and some items from my blog.

Yesterday, I was contacted by Togi Entertainment and they confirmed that I will be hosting my own show starting around the first week of June. To start out I will do a one hour weekly show but as things progress it will probably move to a longer show more times a week. There is also the possibility of me doing a show in the future critiquing TV and movies.

Here is a description of Togi Entertainment:

A multi-media company that focuses on quality entertainment in all areas of publishing, movies, music and broadcasting.

Their corporate motto is:

Politics, Lifestyle and Entertainment for heart, mind and soul.

I'm pretty psyched but would appreciate your prayers and ideas. I have to come up with a name for my show so leave your suggestions in the comments. I will also be having guests and callers so I hope all of you will be eager to participate :-).

I will let you know all the specifics when I have them such as days and times.

MASSIVE RALLY AGAINST OLMERT'S GOVERNMENT TONIGHT IN TEL AVIV

This evening saw the biggest anti-government rally in quite a while. At least 200,000 people attended:

Over 200,000 people have gathered in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Thursday night as a mass rally against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gained momentum.

Bereaved parents were the first to address the crowd.

Asnag Vishneri, the mother of a soldier who was killed in Gaza, said, “We demand a leadership that is not cut off from the nation and that isn’t led by egos and political calculations.

“I call on the government to look into the eyes of the real losers of this failed war, the bereaved families, and ask us for forgiveness.” [...]

The demonstration was organized in the wake of a damning interim report on the handling of last summer's war with Hizbullah.

The Winograd Commission, appointed by Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz last September, censured both leaders for their flawed leadership during the war.

People from all walks of life poured into the square to convey their frustration with the army's poor performance against Hizbullah last summer, calling for Olmert and Peretz to step down immediately.

The people have spoken. Is Olmert listening?

ANOTHER REASON WHY CONDI RICE DOESN'T MAKE A WORTHY CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT

Condi Rice met with Syria's foreign minister in Egypt. But it really doesn't make any difference where she met him, she has made a mockery of the efforts to clamp down on enemy countries that support terrorism.

Military Censorship

The Army is effectively shutting down Army blogs. This is stupid. Sgt Mom says something like: "What did you expect? It is all about Power and Control." (see how easy it is to get a link from me? LOL)

We need more information from the Army, not less. So what do they do? Put a big kink in the hose.

I think this has gone beyond stupid and is now firmly into insane territory.

My guess is that this is a move to cover for the inarticulate Commander in Chief. If he can't adequately express himself no one can. Especially, he doesn't want to be upstaged by some 2nd Lt or a private even. However, that is strictly a guess.

Here is what I think should be done:

It seems to me that the way to handle this is blog teams. Each member of the team is assigned to censor all the others with a person responsible in each team. Self regulation.

Then you have a blog central to pass info and answer questions and handle opsec regulation.

I miss Armorgeddon.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

Censorship in Finland

The authorities in Finland are trying to shut down bloggers who are critical of Islam. Apparently that is "hate speech". As one of the bloggers concerned says:

"The main point that I have been trying to make in my blog is that the Muslims ARE fascists who want to kill Jews, atheists, homosexuals, etc. Trying to prosecute me for saying that Islam is a totalitarian ideology is like trying to sue someone for saying Hitler was a Nazi."

More here, here and here. (Site is a bit slow-loading)

The Finns stood up resolutely to the Soviet beast in WW2 but they now appear to have gone so soft that the Jihadists have got them bluffed. In the postwar era, they did however use a lot of appeasement to survive being right next door to the Russian bear. Hence the word "Finlandization" for fearful co-operation. So I guess that what they are doing now is in character.


(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

MORONIC U.S. ARMY BRASS

Army leadership is a byword for stupidity and bungling but this is REAL foot-shooting. As Atlas says: "The military is going to leave all of the war reporting to the jihad-loving mainstream media? We're screwed for sure!"

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.

The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update. "This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."

Source. Some good comments here. And note how the Australian situation differs. The Australian army chief gave the censors a good kick. He WANTED to hear what his troops were saying.


(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

WHY WW4 WILL BE THE TOUGHEST TO WIN

Dr. Santy:

"This time around we are not deality with a simple megalomaniac like a Hitler or a Saddam; we are dealing with a megalomaniacal religion ... "

RTWT.

GLOBAL JIHAD HAS BEEN WAGED AGAINST INFIDELS FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.

ON 9/11, IT ENTERED ITS MOST VICIOUS STAGE - AND IF THERE IS A NEXT STAGE, IT WILL BE FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE WEST. BETTER WE DEFEAT THEM NOW - BEFORE THEY HAVE NUKES AND A STRANGLEHOLD ON OUR ENERGY. IT'S US OR THEM.

THIS IS WHY PUBLIC DIPLOMACY WILL FAIL - 9/11 CONSPIRACY THEORY EDITION

We're not even talking about the same reality:

An in-depth poll of major Muslim countries has found that in all of them large majorities believe that undermining Islam is a key goal of US foreign policy... there is also uncertainty about whether Al Qaeda actually conducts such attacks. Only 3 percent of Pakistanis think Al Qaeda conducted the September 11 attacks. There is strong support for enhancing the role of Islam in all of the countries polled, through such measures as the imposition of Sharia. This does not mean that they want to isolate their societies from outside influences: Most view globalisation positively and favour democracy and freedom of religion.

If someones doesn't already believe that AQ was behind 9/11, it's not because of a lack of evidence. Among other things, AQ very publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. So it's not a matter of evidence - it's a matter of how that evidence is put together. These nuts put together tangled webs of conspiracy theories, all to hold on to their absurd belief. So the question then becomes: what's driving this willful ignorance? What's going on in the background that causes people to ignore all the obvious evidence and search for disconnected suggestions of facts to weave together? There's a basic underlying drive to hold on to pathological beliefs. They don't hate the US because they believe that AQ is innocent. They believe AQ is innocent because they hate the US.

Read an extended version of this post at Mere Rhetoric...

DEMOCRATS TARGET DAVID BRODER FOR MOMENTARY LAPSE OF LIBERALISM

From the New York Sun Editorial Page:

So the entire Democratic caucus in the United States Senate — 50 senators — has sent a letter to the Washington Post attacking the dean of the Washington press corps, David Broder, for a column in which Mr. Broder dared to criticize their leader for his preemptive surrender to the terrorists in Iraq. "We, the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, contest the attack on Sen. Harry Reid's leadership by David S. Broder in his April 26 column," the letter says. "In contrast to Mr. Broder's insinuations, we believe Mr. Reid is an extraordinary leader who has effectively guided the new Democratic majority through these first few months with skill and aplomb."

Heh! Maybe we need a "Fairness Doctrine" for the Washington Post.

For this Mr. Broder won a rebuke not only from the senators but from the New York Times's Frank Rich, who ridiculed Mr. Broder in his column Sunday and who defended as "obvious" Mr. Reid's assessment that the war is lost. The episode illuminates how thin-skinned and intolerant the left is in this country of a press corps that is anything less than completely pliant. It began with the Democratic presidential candidates refusing to participate in a presidential debate that would be aired on the Fox News Channel, a network so reflexively right-wing that its regular paid contributors include Michael Dukakis's campaign manager Susan Estrich, National Public Radio's Mara Liasson, and the 2006 Democratic candidate for Senate in Tennessee, Harold Ford Jr. First they came for Fox News Channel, then they came for David Broder.

No dissension among the ranks will be tolerated. No second-guessing, no advice, no wavering. You will maintain 100% loyalty to the religion of anti-Americanism or you will be destroyed.

So how important is 2008 looking right about now?