GAZANS FLEE TO SAFETY - TO ISRAEL!

YAHOO/AP - (VIA ACE & LGF):

Palestinians run as they try to cross to the Israel side at the Erez Crossing, in the northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, June 16, 2007. Dozens of Palestinians converged on the Erez crossing with Israel on Saturday, trying to leave the Gaza Strip following Hamas' takeover.

At the same time, hundreds of people looted police positions on the Palestinian side of Erez, and at one point Israeli troops fired in the air to keep the crowd at bay. The looters walked off with furniture and scrap metal. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

IF THEY REALLY WANT TO FIND PEACE, THEY SHOULDN'T MERELY LEAVE GAZA; THEY SHOULD LEAVE ISLAM.

DON'T LET BRITISH LAW OVERRULE AMERICAN LAW AND THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH

Rachel Ehrenfeld may be reaching a victory in one of the most important free speech cases in the past three decades. WorldNetDaily has the latest on what Ehrenfeld's been dealing with:

In 2003, she documented and wrote, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It," that alleged Saudi Arabian billionaire Khalid Salim A. Bin Mahfouz helped in that pipeline of financing.

Mahfouz formerly was president of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia and Forbes estimates his personal wealth at more than $3 billion. He says he condemns terrorism and never has assisted Osama Bin Laden or others.

Several of those books were purchased via the Internet by British buyers, and a short time later Mahfouz filed a libel action against Ehrenfeld within Great Britain, where antiquated libel laws put the burden of proof on the defendant.

She didn't respond, and later was ordered by a British High Court judge to pay about $120,000 in a down payment on damages as well as destroy copies of her book, which had been published by Bonus Books.

However, she's battling back, claiming what was described as "libel tourism" is impeding her "ability to research and write freely about international terrorism" and is seeking through the U.S. courts to have that ruling nullified.

She recently moved a step toward victory when the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked the New York State Supreme Court for a clarification on a state law that appears to give U.S. courts jurisdiction on the issue.

Judge Wilfred Feinburg, at the Court of Appeals, concluded, "The question is important to authors, publishers and those, like Mahfouz, who are the subject of books and articles. The issue may implicate the First Amendment rights of many New Yorkers, and thus concerns important public policy of the state.

"Because the case may lead to personal jurisdiction over many defendants who successfully pursue a suit abroad against a New York citizen, the question before us is also likely to be repeated," he continued.

Circuit Judges Pierre N. Leval and Jose A. Cabranes joined Judge Feinberg in the ruling.

Read the whole article to learn more. England's ludicrous stone-age laws shouldn't be allowed to prevent other countries from being able to search for the truth in serious subjects. Not to mention that Mahfouz is a coward if he's going to exploit the laws in Britain to have his way instead of going to the US and file suit there.

IS BUSH APPEASING THE ENEMY BY ALIGNING WITH FATAH?

YES.

AGENT OF PAKISTAN'S ISI ARRESTED FOR JIHADIST ACTIVITY IN INDIA

TIMES OF INDIA:

An alleged operative of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI has been arrested in Hyderabad by the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) which is assisting CBI in its probe into Mecca Masjid bomb blast, police sources said on Saturday.

Mohammed Abdul Sattar, a 27-year-old airconditioner mechanic, was picked up on Friday from near Secunderabad railway station while moving under suspicious circumstances with a travelling bag, sources in Police Commissioner's office said.

He allegedly confessed that he had received arms training in Pakistan in 2004 along with other ISI activists under the leadership of Shaheed, a key suspect in the May 18 Masjid blast that left eleven persons dead, they said.

However, it was not clear if Sattar had any role in the blast. The police seized provocative literature and VCDs on jehadi activities, the sources said.

Sattar reportedly informed the police that he had crossed the Bangladesh border twice and he was trained in handling weapons and preparing explosives.

He also said that he was assigned the task of recruiting youths for training in Pakistan and to motivate them for jehadi activities.

ALONG WITH IRAN AND THE HOUSE OF SAUD, PAKISTAN REMAINS A MAJOR SOURCE OF GLOBAL JIHAD.

THEY MIGHT BECOME OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM IN THE POST-MUSHARRAF ERA - WHICH MIGHT BEGIN SOONER THAN YOU THINK...

REMEMBER: THEY HAVE NUKES.

WHICH IS THE REAL REASON WHY NEGROPONTE AND FALLON JUST PAID MUSHARRAF A VISIT:

Senior U.S. officials held talks with President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, after stressing Washington's desire to see him guide Pakistan to free and fair elections, and eventually quit his post as army chief.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher met Musharraf against the backdrop of a brewing political crisis over the president's move to sack the country's top judge.

Admiral William J. Fallon, chief of the U.S. Central Command, later met General Musharraf, who gained power in a coup eight years ago and became a crucial ally in the fight against al Qaeda and a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

REAL STORY: A WARNING WAS SENT:

IF PAKISTAN SLIPS INTO POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND CHAOS - OR IS TAKEN OVER BY A REGIME WHICH ACTIVELY SUPPORTS GLOBAL JIHAD, THEN WE WILL DO WHAT WE ALLEGEDLY THREATENED TO DO IN SEPTEMBER 2001.

HARE-BRAINED "PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER" WANTS TO DESTROY THE DRUG INDUSTRY

We read:

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wants to reduce the cost of U.S. health care by removing patents for breakthrough drugs and requiring health insurance companies to spend at least 85 percent of their premiums on patient care.The former North Carolina senator was expected to discuss details of a universal health care proposal he released in February during an appearance Thursday at the Riverside Health Center. Edwards’ plan would remove long-term patents for companies that develop breakthrough drugs and then reap large profits because of the monopolies those patents provide, according to a statement by Edwards obtained Wednesday evening. Edwards said offering cash incentives instead would allow multiple companies to produce those drugs and drive down prices.

More here

So where are the companies going to get the half-a billion dollars it costs to get a new drug approved? And where are they going to get the millions that lawyers regularly squezze out of them when a new drug is found to have side-effects (as all drugs do)? I guess the government will become the chief drug innovator! Heaven help us if that happens! The U.S. government can't even keep equipment up to its soldiers in Iraq and that is a task way simpler than deciding on the healing prospects of a molecule. How many of the drugs we use today were discovered and developed in Soviet Russia?

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

THREE VIEWS ON THE EVENTS IN GAZA

Arabs massacre Arabs -- so you knew it had to be the fault of the Jews!

Post lifted from Taranto. See the original for links

The Boston Globe editorial board looks at the Gaza civil war, and finds it's the fault of the Jews:

The people of Gaza are the true victims of the civil war most of all because the fighting is destroying their future. With the military wing of Hamas poised to seize complete control of Gaza in what Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rightly called a "coup attempt," Gaza's residents stand to lose whatever hope remained of achieving independence and a decent life in a viable Palestinian state.

The Hamas campaign to eradicate Fatah from Gaza is certainly not the sole cause of Gazans' misery. They long suffered from Israel's suffocating occupation, and then from Ariel Sharon's foolishly unilateral withdrawal in 2005, a move that allowed Hamas to bid for power with the misleading claim that its rockets and suicide bombings had driven Israeli soldiers and settlers out of Gaza.

According to the Globe, Israel is to blame both for its "occupation" and for having ended it--the latter of which "allowed Hamas to bid for power." But "the people of Gaza" are innocent victims.

It somehow escapes the Globe's notice that Hamas came to power because Palestinians voted for it. The Globe denies that Palestinians are responsible for their own actions, and thereby dehumanizes them under a pretense of compassion.

*************************

Lessons from Gaza: "Wonder what Iraq would look like if we left to morrow?

Take a look at Gaza today.

Then imagine a situation a thousand times worse.

We need to stop making politically correct excuses.

Arab civilization is in collapse.

Extremes dominate, either through dictatorship or anarchy. Thanks to their dysfunctional values and antique social structures, Arab states can't govern themselves decently.

We gave them a chance in Iraq. Israel "gave back" the Gaza Strip to let the Palestinians build a model state.

Arabs seized those opportunities to butcher each other.

The barbarity in Gaza has become so grotesque that not even the media's apologists for terror can ignore it (especially since Islamist fanatics began to target journalists)....

Educated Palestinians flee, if they can. Civilians cower, wondering where the next rocket-propelled grenade will hit. And, amid the carnage, students risk death to take their final exams so they can qualify to study abroad - and get out.

The indiscriminate violence is the Palestinian version of democracy: Every citizen gets a chance to be killed. And there's humor in Hell: The Islamist madmen behind Hamas call Fatah fighters "the American Jew Army."

... Meanwhile, back home, the get-out-now crowd pretends that, if only we pull out our troops, Iraqis will magically settle their internal grievances (presumably, the way the Palestinians have). The left doesn't care how many Iraqis die, as long as President Bush can be humiliated."

*************************

Two, Three, Many Palestines:

"I've got to say that I don't share the concern over Hamas' takeover of Gaza. First, it was a foregone conclusion once Israel scraped Gaza off its boots; I'm only suprised it took so long.

The consequence is, as Martin Indyk put it today:

"Whatever transpires, Gaza has become Hamas's problem. It's a safe bet that the real attitude of Abbas and Fatah is: Let Hamas try to rule Gaza, and good luck."

As I wrote several years ago, worse is better - the Islamist nuts need to be allowed to take power because the only way that Islamic society will ever evolve in a constructive, pro-modern direction is to allow the only remaining alternative, theocracy, to prove its complete inability to cope with reality.

Iran is well on the way to that end, with the Islamic faith itself becoming increasingly discredited there. It's a risky strategy, but it actually has a chance of working, unlike the nation-building mirage we've been chasing for several years now."

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

TWO OF MY FAVORITE MEN--FRED THOMPSON & PETER ROBINSON

This past week was the 20th anniversary of Reagan's awe-inspiring "Tear Down This Wall" speech. Mike and others posted the video of the speech. I was reminded of the person who wrote that speech, Peter Robinson. Peter Robinson wrote my 2nd favorite book on Reagan after Peggy Noonan's, entitled, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life.

So, when I saw this interview of Fred Thompson by Peter Robinson at Patrick's blog I was just ecstatic. What an awesome find! The interview is long but take the time to watch it. I have to admit the more I see of Fred Thompson the more I like him. At first I wasn't sure how much I liked him or how viable he was going to be. Both factors have changed for me. When you see Mary Matalin and Liz Cheney signing on as advisers I think the viability question is going by the wayside.

Also, Christian conservatives like myself are just waiting for him to declare, so they can throw their support behind him. I had a politically-connected friend who said at one time that she thought Fred didn't have a prayer at getting the nomination. I haven't heard her say otherwise but I would bet that she's changed her mind.

CUT THE ARAB OIL TRADE: DEVELOP ALTERNATIVES

It's time to cut the money supply to the middle east, let see them buy missiles and guns from China and Russia with sand.

We are in an energy dilemma...or are we? A bit of online research uncovered, in just a few minutes, what appears to be several potential breakthrough technologies that if produced en masse would cut the American consumption of oil at least in half, perhaps more.

I have always suspected the technology was there but not harnessed. Speculation has long abounded that technology was being purchased by Arab oil states in order to perpetuate world dependence on oil.

IS ISLAM A RELIGION?

SOME CALL IT A RELIGION OF PEACE.

WE KNOW THEY ARE FULL OF SHIT.

BUT, IS IT EVEN REALLY A RELIGION AT ALL?

HERE'S A GOOD ANSWER - FROM A COMMENTER NAMED MORTON DOODSLAG:

The truth is this: Islam is a war doctrine.

The practice of this so-called "religion" is very little different from engaging in sedition -- as Islam in all its manifestations believes in supplanting governments with Islam -- and replacing the laws of man with the laws of Allah and his heinous prophet.

Once we resolve that Islam is a war doctrine, and that the practice of Islam ultimately leads to the subversion of all non-Muslim societies -- the world should act to outlaw it.

I THINK THIS MIGHT VERY WELL BE CORRECT. AND IT LEADS TO CERTAIN POLICIES... RTWT.

FRED THOMPSON: THE OUTSIDERS' INSIDER

Fred is one of us.

He talks like us.

He feels like we do.

But unlike most of us, he's been in and around politics - and DC - for most of adult life. As key Senate staff, as a prosecutor, as a lobbyist, and as a Senator, (one who would have been easily re-elected, but chose to walk away).

While Senator, he chaired the Government Affairs Committee.

And all the time he remained who he always was - one of us.

Even in Hollywood he remained who he always was, and never kowtowed to the entertainment industry's liberal elite or towed their leftist line.

I think that says a lot about the man.
I think he knows his way around politics, and DC - and he knows who he is.

And what America is, too.

That's why I dub him The Outsiders' Insider.

And that's why he's my man.

YUP: I'm with Fred!

HAMAS RUNS VIDEO OF KILLING ON THEIR OWN TV NETWORK

This video was aired on Hamas-owned Al-Aqsa TV. I guess we can only conclude that that means they are actually proud of their behavior, and that they want the whole world to know about it.

WHY WOULD PRINCE CHARLES COMMISSION JOHN TAVERNER TO COMPOSE A WORK ON THE "BEAUTIFUL NAMES" OF ALLAH?

Is Prince Charles a Muslim?

One day, this man will be the head of the Church of England:

The premiere of a work by the leading composer Sir John Taverner in Westminster Cathedral next week has provoked discord because it glorifies the Muslim deity Allah.

Traditionalist Roman Catholics are planning to converge on the cathedral on Tuesday evening to protest over the work, which includes the singing of the 99 names of Allah.

Sir John’s music featured in the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and his new work, The Beautiful Names, was commissioned by his friend the Prince of Wales.

Daniel Pipes says it is possible that Prince Charles is, indeed, a Muslim convert.

In a 1997 Middle East Quarterly article titled "Prince Charles of Arabia," Ronni L. Gordon and David M. Stillman looked at evidence that Britain's Prince Charles might be a secret convert to Islam. They shifted through his public statements (defending Islamic law, praising the status of Muslim women, seeing in Islam a solution for Britain's ailments) and actions (setting up a panel of twelve "wise men" to advise him on Islamic religion and culture), then concluded that, "should Charles persist in his admiration of Islam and defamation of his own culture," his accession to the throne will indeed usher in a "different kind of monarchy."

All this comes to mind on reading an article titled "Charles Breaks Fast with the Faithful in Muscat" in today's Dubai-based Gulf News, which reports on some of Charles' activities during his current five-day visit to Oman:

He toured the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque for almost two hours and "took keen interest in studying various sections at the mosque, including the main prayer hall." As his spokesman put it, "The Prince was particularly keen to come to the mosque today to see the fantastic building and remarkable architecture which Prince was fascinated with. The Prince has a great love for Islamic architecture and I can't think of finer example than this mosque."

He "spent a considerable time at an exhibition of Islamic calligraphy and held meetings with Sheikha Aisha Al Siaby, Head of Public Authority for Craft Industries and Taha Al Kisri, the Head of Omani Society for Fine Arts to discuss various aspects of Islamic art."

He "broke fast with a large congregation of people from different nationalities as he sat with folded legs on the floor in the open. He ate date and drank juice at the call of Iftar."

There's much more. Go read the whole thing.

AP: SPORADIC VIOLENCE PERSISTS IN GAZA

SPORADIC VIOLENCE PERSISTS IN GAZA:

Sporadic? When has Gaza not been violent?

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - On Hamas' first day of full rule in Gaza, crowds looted strongholds of the rival Fatah on Friday — stripping the home of one of the party's strongmen down to the flower pots — and militants sent a man plunging to his death from a rooftop.

But the violence was sporadic and Gaza's streets, deserted in the past week of fighting, were crowded with cars, pedestrians and triumphant fighters with the Islamic militant group.

At Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' captured seaside office in Gaza City, a gunman sat down at the Fatah leader's desk, picked up the phone and pretended to be calling Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "Hello, Rice?" the gunman said. "Here we are in Abu Mazen's office. Say hello to Abu Mazen for me." Other gunmen rifled through Abbas' belongings in a bedroom behind the office, lifting up a mattress and searching through drawers.

Hamas' military takeover of Gaza, after five days of battle, formalized the separation between Gaza and the West Bank, which lie on either side of Israel.
The moderate government Abbas plans to appoint will have no say in Gaza, but
stands a stronger chance than the Hamas-Fatah coalition it replaces of restoring
foreign aid to the West Bank.

A resident of a Hamas-dominated neighborhood, identifying himself only as Yousef for fear of reprisal by his neighbors, said Gazans would always back the winner, regardless of ideology.

"Today everybody is with Hamas because Hamas won the battle. If Fatah had won the battle they'd be with Fatah. We are a hungry people, we are with whoever gives us a bag of flour and a food coupon," said Yousef, 30. "Me, I'm with God and a bag of flour."

Palestinians in the West Bank viewed the Hamas takeover of Gaza with a mixture of fear and hope — realizing that it could bring needed foreign aid while dealing a major blow to dreams of Palestinian statehood.

Ahmed al-Aziz, a 53-year-old merchant in Ramallah, said the fenced-in Gazans have little to lose. "Everybody here is worried about his interests or his business. In Gaza, people are poor. They don't have work," he said.

Fleeing aboard a fishing boat on the Mediterranean, 97 senior members of Fatah's security and administrative apparatus arrived in Egypt hours after Hamas fighters took control of Gaza, an Egyptian security official in the port city of El-Arish said. Israel's Channel Two TV said Israel was briefly opening the Erez crossing into Israel to enable other Fatah leaders to escape.

Gazans awoke to the new reality of Hamas control, fraught with uncertainty and fear that they'll become even poorer and more isolated. Gaza's crossings with Egypt and Israel — lifelines for the fenced-in territory — have been closed this week, and it was not clear if they would reopen. Extended closure could quickly lead to a humanitarian crisis.

A Hamas spokesman said Palestinian police, now under Hamas command, would take up positions at the crossings, but it's unlikely Israel would agree: Hamas militants frequently attacked the passages in the past.

The house of former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a longtime nemesis of Hamas, was overrun, and looters stripped it of everything from windows and doors to flowerpots.

"This was the house of the murderer Dahlan that was cleansed by the holy Warriors," read graffiti sprayed on the wall. Donkey carts outside the house waited to take on more loot.

More than 90 people were killed in five days of fighting, and dozens wounded.

The morgue at Gaza City's main Shifa Hospital was overflowing, with bodies lined up on the floor; some of the wounded were sleeping on cardboard on the floor.

Hamas said a Fatah man was thrown off a rooftop, to his death, in a family revenge slaying. In southern Gaza, a Fatah fighter was shot and killed by
Hamas gunmen.

Fiendish Jews turn dew into clean water

In between eating juicy Muslim babies, of course

A low-tech way to turn dew into fresh, usable water has been developed by two architects at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Inspired by the dew-collecting properties of leaves, the invention can extract a minimum of 48 liters of fresh water from the air each day. Depending on the number of collectors used, an unlimited daily supply of water could be produced even in remote and polluted places. Their invention recently won an international competition seeking to make clean, safe water available to millions around the world.

The brainchild of Technion Architecture and Building Planning grad student Joseph Cory and his colleague Eyal Malka, "WatAir" is an inverted pyramid array of panels that collects dew from the air and turns it into fresh water in almost any climate. According to Cory, WatAir can be easily incorporated into both rural and urban landscapes because it has a relatively small base. Its vertical and diagonal design utilizes gravity to increase the collection areas. The panels are flexible and easy to collapse when not in use, and provide shelter from rain and heat and play areas for children.

The project was selected from 100 entries from North America, Europe, Africa and Asia as the winner of the "drawing water challenge" sponsored by Arup - a global firm of designers, engineers, planners and business consultants specializing in innovative and sustainable design. "WatAir is a wonderfully simple concept which draws its inspiration from nature," said competition judge Jo da Silva. "This is a simple and effective idea using tried and tested technology."

Source

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

BBC: Must not Say Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel

I guess 3,000 years of history do not count to the BBC:

"The BBC apologized this week for referring to Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and promised not to repeat "the mistake," following a complaint by four British organizations.

Arab Media Watch, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Friends of Al-Aksa and the Institute of Islamic Political Thought sent a joint complaint to the BBC after a presenter on its Football Focus program on March 24 mentioned that Jerusalem was Israel's capital and "historic soul."

In a letter to the complaining NGOs, Fraser Steel, head of editorial complaints at the BBC, said: "We of course accept that the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and that the BBC should not describe it as such..... "Senior managers will try to ensure, as you suggest, that the mistake is not repeated.....

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in response: "Jerusalem is Israel's capital. It is the right of every sovereign state to determine which city will be its capital. If this is not accepted by everyone today, I am confident it will be in the future."

Source

And of course who cares that the Knesset (Israeli legislature) is in Jerusalem and that the Israeli seat of government is in Jerusalem?

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

IRAN, GAZA, LEBANON AND IRAQ

ALL THE WORST HOTSPOTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ARE THE RESULT OF IRAN'S MEDDLING.

SOLUTION:

A PREEMPTIVE ATTACK ON IRAN'S NUKE ASSETS AND MILITARY ASSETS - COINCIDING WITH A COORDINATED IDF, EGYPTIAN AND LEBANESE ATTACKS ON ISLAMO-FASCISTS ASSETS IN GAZA AND LEBANON,

AND AN ATTACK ON THE SADRISTS IN IRAQ - ESPECIALLY BAGHDAD AND BASRA.





AND IT ENDS WITH

REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN,

US PUBLIC DIPLOMACY NEWS CHIEF QUITS OVER AL-HURRA'S STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO AL-JAZEERA

Earlier this week Al-Hurra news chief Larry Register turned in his letter of resignation, largely over his division's seeming inability to tell "news" from "Islamist propaganda". Al-Hurra's less than critical coverage of Iran's anti-Holocaust Conference came in for a lot ofa attention and criticism. But their almost fawning deference to Hezbollah probably didn't help.

This is an issue at the end of the week because it very neatly intersects with the insanity that's been going on in Gaza. There's a degree to which Register was in an impossible situation. In order to be credible, any US public diplomacy effort has to - in a crude sense - speak the same language as the Muslim world. This doesn't mean that they have to always tell Muslims what they want to hear - not even Al Jazeera does that. But they have to more or less play in the same reality as the Muslim world, reporting and explaining events within the same basic worldview. But that worldview is pathologically anti-Semitic, wallowing in a morass of insane conspiracy theories, seething resentment, and vicious hatred.

We're talking about societies in which huge - huge - swaths of people believe that either Israel or Bush or both were responsible for 9/11 - and now witness Hamas insisting that Fatah is a secular force trying to destroy Islam. How you even begin talking to such societies without embracing some pretty odious neuroses is a difficult - we would argue structurally impossible - challenge. Which isn't to say that the US should defer to those neuroses, which would gain it nothing.

What it does mean is that the US should examine again whether military and diplomatic sacrifices should be made in the hopes of "finding common ground" on such terms.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

UNCIVIL WAR...IS THE WEST BANK NEXT?

Hamas has assumed full control of Gaza.
Hizb'allah is re-entrenched in Southern Lebanon.

These groups, who act in their own self interest, and as proxies for Syria and Iran, are doing their best to destabilise the region and create a viable threat to the survival of the state of Israel, and to the interests of the United States.

As the UN and the USA increase pressure upon the Iranian nuclear program in the coming months we may see the emergence of battles in the West Bank, and an effort to destabilize Jordan.

Let us not deceive ourselves in the belief that more than a few nations, other than Israel and the United States, are willing to face the threat of Islamofacism.

Hopefully those who are responsible for being prepared for the next showdown are prepared to do what is necessary.

OF COURSE CUTTING-EDGE MILITARY TECH ENDED UP IN HAMAS HANDS

Weapons given to Fatah end up in terrorist hands. This has been a demonstrably true statement for the better part of a decade. Either the Fatah people become terrorists, or they give the weapons to terrorists, or the terrorists hijack the weapons en route after fortuitously guessing the time and place of the delivery. And now this:

Hamas gunmen completed the conquest of the main building of the headquarters of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service, long associated with Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan, as additional bastions of Fatah support fell to the Islamist forces. Hamas seized the vehicles and weapons in the compound, wrapping up a broad sweep which has almost completely vanquished the forces of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Don't give invaluable resources to people who are likely to be overthrown by radical forces. This is not a radical proposition. The post-Sinai weapons transfers to Egypt were a mistake because Egypt is one disgruntled general away from being the most dangerous country in the Middle East - don't compound the error by giving them nuclear technology. This is not an isolated example - experiences with Syria and Lebanon - to say nothing of pre-Islamist Iran - are almost entirely one-sided on this issue. The fantasy of "bolstering moderate forces" by giving them arms and concessions has never worked. At best it just paints them as Western stooges. Far more often it provides bait for their overthrow.

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

BIG RED BROTHER TELLS GEORGE BUSH TO SHUT UP

China is hopping mad at the nerve of George Bush.

Unaccustomed as they are to criticism, they didn't like GWB's remarks that the 100 million plus total of those killed by Communist regimes around the world was 'staggering'.

They sermonized him to 'give up Cold War thinking' and of seeking to 'provoke conflicts between different ideologies and social systems'; and that the thinking runs 'counter to the trend of the times and is unpopular'.

OK, let's back up a bit here. Communist China alone has killed over 70 million people since its inception but doesn't want these annoying little trivialities pointed out. The government which brutally pushes down dissent in its own people thinks it can bully the rest of the world into silence as well. Silence debate? Doesn't want the facts to get in the way of an ideological government? Sounds to me like the Left in general.

Cross posted at The Midnight Sun

ANGELINA JOLIE AND MICHAEL MOORE

What do Angelina Jolie and Michael Moore have in common? Outwardly, absolutely nothing, but they are both in the news right now and irritating the hell out of me.

I still remember the first time I got a glimpse of Michael Moore. He was on Judith Regan's late night show on Fox where she would interview authors about their new books. I looked at him and thought this guy is a slob. He totally looked like he had slept in his clothes, rolled out of bed, didn't brush his hair and just put on a baseball cap. Michael Moore's new movie Sicko is making me sick just having to hear about it. The only way it would be fitting is if it were a movie on his life. His movies are 100% propaganda and it irritates me that so many people are duped by his lies. I hope Sgt. Peter Damon is successful in his totally justified lawsuit against Moore.

As for Angelina Jolie, I'm sure most men drool over her but I have NEVER liked her. There is something about her that I have always disliked, I literally have never had a desire to see any of her movies and I'm a big movie chick!! True or not I view her as the vixen that broke up a seemingly happy marriage. I also want to gag every time I hear about her humanitarian UN work. If you really want to do good invest your money in an organization that isn't thoroughly corrupt.

I saw the preview for the Daniel Pearl movie yesterday and I was all excited to see it until I saw that she starred in it. Talk about my hopes being dashed. Then, to top it off she tried to ban Fox News "from covering the "Mighty Heart" premiere on the red carpet. It was only with the intervention of mortified Paramount staff that an FNC camera crew was allowed to be present." She also appears to be an elitist snob because she had her lawyer come up with a ridiculous agreement that she wanted all reporters to sign before interviewing her. She is totally confirming why I dislike her.

Lung Cancer Stopper

Well what do you know? Marijuana can stop lung cancer.

The administration of THC significantly reduces lung tumor size and lesions, according to preclinical data presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Los Angeles.

Investigators at Harvard University's Division of Experimental Medicine reported that THC inhibited the growth and spread of cells in vitro from two different lung cancer cell lines and from patient lung tumors. They also reported that THC administration reduced the growth of lung tumors in mice by more than 50 percent compared to untreated controls over a three-week period.

Researchers noted that THC appeared to block a specific cancer-causing protein in a manner similar to the pharmaceutical anti-cancer drugs Erbitux (Cetuximab) and Vectibix (Panitumumab).

Results of a large-scale, case-controlled population study published last year found that smoking cannabis, even long-term, is not positively associated with increased incidence of lung-cancer. Investigators in that study noted that one subset of moderate lifetime users had an inverse association between cannabis use and lung cancer, leading them to speculate that cannabinoids may possess certain protective properties against the development of lung cancer in humans.

So what do you think a plant extract might do to the market for anti-cancer drugs like Erbitux (Cetuximab) and Vectibix (Panitumumab)?

I will let you draw your own conclusions about why the pharmaceutical companies are the biggest supporters of the Drug Free America Campaign.

Special to Astute Bloggers' readers:

For over thirty years the Drug War has suppressed research into the beneficial uses of banned drugs. Fortunately, thanks to efforts of researchers like Israel's Dr. Raphael Mechoulam and America's Rick Doblin those embargoes are being broken.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

THE MESSAGE IN THE NEWS

MARK LEVIN:

The Palestinians are slaughtering each other in Gaza.

The Arabs are slaughtering each other in Lebanon.

The Arabs are slaughtering each other in Iraq.

What does this tell us?

IT SAYS IT ALL.

Statement by Haniyeh of Hamas is FREAKING INSANE

Haaretz:

Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said early Friday that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' decision to fire him and his government over Gaza violence was hasty, pledging to maintain the unity coalition.

REPEAT: "... pledging to maintain the unity coalition."

REPEAT: "... pledging to maintain the unity coalition."

HE SAID THIS AFTER HAVING HAD HIS ISLAMO-THUGS MURDER FATAH'S THUGS BY THE SCORE!

LOOKIT FOLKS: THIS HAS GOTTA PROVE ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME THAT THESE ISLAMOFASCIST TYPE THUGS ARE THE WORST SCUM IN ALL HUMAN HISTORY.

AND TOTALLY FREAKIN' INSANE.

MULLAHMANIACAL ISLAMO-XENOPHOBIA ERUPTS IN TEHRAN: CROWDS THROW EGGS AT BRITISH EMBASSY

BBC:

Demonstrators have thrown paint and eggs at the UK embassy in Tehran to try to prevent an annual party in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.

They said any Iranian guests who tried to attend the party were dirty traitors willing to sell out their country.

The protesters also called for the expulsion of the ambassador and relations to be cut off.

Police beat back demonstrators as they tried to block the mission's side entrance to stop guests from entering.

This is the first time protesters have tried to sabotage an embassy reception like this, and it stems from a desire to stop Iranians having contacts with foreigners."

"The British embassy should be shut down" and "Death to England, down with the den of spies," the demonstrators shouted.

Riot police clash with the protesters near the British embassy in Tehran

All this as 1,500 guests were invited for the biggest diplomatic reception of the year at the embassy.

CAN IT GET ANY SICKER OVER THERE!?

THEY'RE FREAKIN' NUTS!

IMAGINE WHAT THEY'D DO WITH A NUKE!?!?!?

IF WE LET THEM GET EVEN JUST ONE, THEN WE DESERVE WHATEVER THEY DO WITH IT.

Malkin And Ingraham On Bush's Treason, Er, I Mean Immigration Bill

Go listen, please.

Perhaps I ought to explain why I consider the bill to be a kind of treasonous act.

Here's why: The bill is not serious. It does not provide money for the enforcement of the very actions it calls for. For instance, it calls for all illegal immigrants to register with the government within a certain short span of time after the law takes effect. However, there is no provision for funding offices or staff to regiser these illegal immigrants.

In other words, this bill is about amnesty not border protection.

As Michelle says in the audio clip linked above, perhaps President Bush needs to be introduced to Article Four, Section Four of the United States Constitution:

"It's the Federal government's responsibility to protect the states against invasion."

MO IMMIGRATION WITHOUT ASSIMILATION - AND LOYALTY, ALLEGIANCE

VIA HYSCIENCE:

CAPTION:

"I want to be an American."

Yeah sure.

That's why you came here ILLEGALLY.

ON unCIVIL WAR...

Now that it is clear that Hamas is out to take absolute control of Gaza, and whatever else they could get their guns on, lets return to the question: Is this "civil" war? In comparison, the situation in Iraq involves conflicts between religious and ethnic groups...and time will tell if the Iraqi national identity is robust enough to survive. But who is at war in the Palestinian territories? Are Hamas and Fatah unique ethnic or religious groups vying for power? I don't believe so. What we see is a power struggle between two terror organisations with different degrees of religious fanaticism, and a shared enemy - Israel. This internecine battle reveals that the Palestinians have no specific and unique national nor cultural identity - they define themselves through their murderous acts.

Female Chauvinist Sows Lose Out

We read:

"The 19th floor of a new, $100 million hotel will not be restricted to female guests, after all. A spokesperson for the JW Marriott luxury hotel said Monday both men and women will be allowed to rent rooms on what originally was planned as a women-only floor in the 340-room hotel slated to open in September.

The floor's lounge that was to be only for women also will be open to male guests, said the spokesperson, who asked not to be identified because the plans have not been finalized.

Both the rooms and the lounge still will feature amenities designed to appeal particularly to female business travelers, such as chenille throw blankets, ionic hair dryers, jewelry holders and special bath products.

Source

I personally think "women only" restrictions are fine -- as long as "men only" restrictions are fine too.


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

Florida county may cancel deal with radio station because it airs Rush Limbaugh

We read:

"Rush Limbaugh has long been a thorn in the side of liberals, but now, because of him, some Democratic politicians don't even want to join with a local radio station to broadcast hurricane information.

Radio station WIOD, AM 610, has been the official channel for emergency information from Broward County government for the past year. The County Commission, all Democrats, balked at renewing the deal Tuesday, unable to stomach the station also being home to Limbaugh's talk show.....

Ken Charles, WIOD's director of AM programming, said Tuesday the station's talk show lineup has no relationship with its news coverage and that the county should focus on the benefits of teaming with the station. "It's a shame that people would let politics get in the way of saving lives in a hurricane," Charles said.

Source

Leftists desperately NEED political censorship


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

CUBAN SOCCER PLAYERS DEFECT

IN NEW JERSEY. (VIA THE CORNER.)

ER UM... I'M CONFUSED: WHY'D THEY GIVE UP ON CASTRO'S WONDERFUL HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION SYSTEMS!?

I'M SURE MICHAEL MOORE WILL EXPLAIN THIS TO US, SOON.

GAZA: "THE ERA OF ISLAMIC RULE HAS ARRIVED"

BREITBART/AP (VIA DRUDGE):

A witness, Jihad Abu Ayad, said the men were being killed in front of their wives and children.

"They are executing them one by one," Abu Ayad said. "They are carrying one of them on their shoulders, putting him on a sand dune, turning him around and shooting."

Some of the Hamas fighters kneeled down outside the building, touching their foreheads to the ground in prayer. Others led Fatah fighters out of the building, some of them shirtless or in their underwear, holding their arms in the air. Several of the Fatah men flinched as the crack of gunfire split the air.

"We are telling our people that the past era has ended and will not return, " Islam Shahawan, a spokesman for Hamas' militia, told Hamas radio. "The era of justice and Islamic rule have arrived."

FAMILY FRIENDLY EXECUTIONS - COURTESY OF THE RELIGION OF PEACE. HOW LOVELY.

IS HAMAS TAKING OVER THE GAZA STRIP?

It sure does look that way now. I dislike how the AP starts off here:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas fighters launched a fierce offensive on Gaza City Wednesday, firing mortars and rockets at Fatah's main security bases and the president's compound as the Islamic group appeared close to taking control of the entire Gaza Strip.

This reeks of sensationalism, and only does more to imply that the AP is on the terrorists' side.

THE INFIDEL BLOGGERS ALLIANCE RADIO SHOW

Forgive me for the shamelessness of the plug, but I think tonight's show was the most important we have ever done.

Why?

Well, the discussion with Baron and Dymphna, of Gates of Vienna, was riveting. We discussed the best course of action to save Europe. These are things most people are afraid to discuss. Go listen, please.

Baron and Dymphna are prescient geniuses. Their work is historic in nature.

The show begins with an interview with Ayisha, Mohammed's nine-year old child bride. That, of course, is comedy. And, it's blasphemous in a way you only get with the IBA Radio Show.

But, if you want to skip ahead and listen to the interview with Baron and Dymphna, then go to about the 19th minute of the show.

Click here to listen.

WOW: NYTIMES COVERS OBAMAGATE!

NYTIMES:

As Mr. Obama built a career that carried him to the Senate in 2004, Mr. Rezko was there with him, holding fund-raisers and rallying support.

Now, as Mr. Obama runs for president, the once-beneficial relationship with his old friend and patron has become problematic.

Last fall, Mr. Rezko was indicted on federal charges of business fraud and influence peddling involving the administration of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, whose picture was also on Mr. Rezko’s wall. Since then, Mr. Obama, a Democrat, has had to answer questions about a land deal with Mr. Rezko’s wife, Rita, and about other ties to him.

Since early June, Mr. Obama has given to charity more than $21,000 in donations that his Senate campaign had received from Rezko associates now linked to the federal inquiries. He gave away $11,500 from Mr. Rezko himself last fall.

Mr. Obama says he never did any favors for Mr. Rezko, who raised about $150,000 for his campaigns over the years and was once one of the most powerful men in Illinois. There is no sign that Mr. Obama, who declined to be interviewed for this article, did anything improper.

... Mr. Obama turned to Mr. Rezko for help at several important junctures. Records show that when Mr. Obama needed cash in the waning days of his losing 2000 Congressional campaign, Mr. Rezko rounded up thousands of dollars from business contacts. In 2003, Mr. Rezko helped Mr. Obama expand his fund-raising for the Senate primary by being host of a dinner at his Mediterranean-style home for 150 people, including some whose names have since come up in the influence scandal.

And when Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, bought a house in 2005, Mr. Rezko helped smooth the transaction. Even though his finances were deteriorating, Mr. Rezko arranged for his wife to buy an adjacent lot, and she later sold the Obamas a 10-foot-wide strip of land that expanded their yard.

The land sale occurred after it had been reported that Mr. Rezko was under federal investigation. That awkward fact prompted Mr. Obama, who has cast himself as largely free from the normal influences of politics, to express regret over what he called his own bad judgment. ...

In addition to enlisting his huge circle of donors, Mr. Rezko and Mr. Obama talked frequently about campaign developments during the Senate race, Mr. Rezko’s associates said. ... Several other Rezko associates who contributed to the Senate campaign were appointed to the state boards that Mr. Rezko is accused of influencing. Mr. Obama has not returned those donations ...

After The Chicago Tribune reported the transactions last November, Mr. Obama said he had acted ethically, though it had been a mistake to let Mr. Rezko do anything that could be seen as a favor.

The disclosure came four days before Michelle Obama was to appear as a special guest at a charity fashion show organized by Mrs. Rezko. Mrs. Obama attended, though others there said it seemed a bit awkward.

OBAMA IS SCUM. MORE PROOF HERE. And HERE and HERE.

NHS TO BRITS: GO BLIND IN ONE EYE BEFORE WE GIVE YOU ANTI-BLINDNESS DRUG

AND THE BRITS ARE RIGHTLY OUTRAGED AT THE "National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence" ["NICE"]:

BBC:

Steve Winyard, of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said he was "outraged" by the guidance.

"It ignores the overwhelming body of evidence that these new treatments are cost-effective and have the potential to halve the number of people going blind each year," he said.

"It is simply unacceptable that only a small minority of patients within England and Wales will have access to these ground-breaking drugs.

"NICE must re-consider and show that it makes its decisions based on cost-effectiveness rather than simply cost containment."

Tom Bremridge, chief executive of the Macular Disease Society, said: "Limiting the treatment options to 20% of patients who would benefit is unjustifiable, and allowing one eye to go blind before treating the second eye is cruel and totally unacceptable."

TIMES UK:

Thousands of people face severe loss of sight after a decision by the health watchdog to deny two leading treatments to NHS patients.

The drugs Lucentis and Macugen have been shown to be the most effective means of halting the onset of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the only treatable form of the most common cause of blindness in Britain.

The condition affects about 250,000 people and claims 26,000 new sufferers each year. It damages the central part of the retina called the macula and leaves one in ten sufferers blind.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been under intense pressure to approve the drugs. Its draft guidance recommends that Macugen should not be used at all on the NHS in England and Wales, while Lucentis is recommended only for a small group of patients who have already gone blind in one eye and whose disease is progressing in their second.

UK GUARDIAN:

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists said that the draft ruling, from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), was "completely unacceptable". It meant that only patients already in effect blind in one eye because of the condition wet age-related macular degeneration would be able to get the newest and most effective drug, Lucentis.

Only 20% of those people whom the drug could help, those with the fastest progressing form of the disease, would get it at all via the NHS. Yet, doctors warned, half of the remainder of patients would reach the same stage of the condition within a year. Critics were also unhappy that a second drug, Macugen, was ruled out for use in the NHS.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind accused Nice of allowing 20,000 people in the UK, the number diagnosed with the condition each year, to go blind.

THIS PROVES - ONCE AGAIN - THAT SO-CALLED "UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE" FUNDED BY TAXPAYERS AND ADMINISTERED BY THE GOVERNMENT IS A DISASTER EVERYWHERE.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE GOVERNMENT GETS TO DECIDE WHAT'S COST EFFECTIVE FOR EVERYONE.

IT IS INSANE TO DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT HERE IN THE USA.

YET THAT'S WHAT THE DEMS WANT TO DO. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENCY.

DON'T FALL FOR IT.

HARRY REID AKA MR. DEFEATIST STRIKES AGAIN

Dennis Miller couldn't describe Harry Reid any better. Especially, after hearing the latest from Mr. Defeatist himself. He has already sunk to a 19% approval rating. Keep it up Harry, and you are going to be in the single digits. I never thought I could dislike someone more than Tom Daschle but Harry Reid is proving me wrong. Maybe Harry should've taken notes on what led to Daschle's demise, because he seems to be following down the same, miserable path that led to Daschle's defeat.

Reliapundit adds: Reid strikes again: he and Pelosi announce that the surge has failed. It ain't at full strength yet, Petraeus won't report until September, but Harry and Nancy ALREADY KNOW. And their opinion just happens to be the same as Zawahiri and Ahmadinejad. And what do they accomplish by announcing this opinion of theirs now!?!? It makes no sense. If they were politically shrewd, then they'd give Bush whatever he wants and then in 2008 wither share the credit or BLAME THE GOP. They are idiots. And their idiocies hurts us and our allies. Which makes them scum.

NAVY TO THE RESCUE

Excerpt:

ABOARD THE USS NIMITZ IN THE GULF - A secret aircraft that debuted in Vietnam and usually protects U.S. fighter jets is getting a new type of task over Iraq - trying to stop the scourge of roadside bombs by jamming ground signals from mobile phones and garage door openers. The EA-6B Prowler is thought to be one of the most effective U.S. weapons against the bombs, the biggest killer of American service members in Iraq. But no one can be sure: Even supporters say its effectiveness is hard to measure.

The aircraft debuted at the tail end of Vietnam and was used in Kosovo and the 1991 Gulf War, escorting U.S. attack jets while jamming hostile radars, air defense batteries and military radios aimed at them. These days the Prowler focuses its jammers on smaller signals: those of mobile phones and garage door openers that are used to trigger roadside bombs in Iraq, said U.S. Navy Capt. David Woods, 49, of Ogden, Utah.

Often, it's hard to prove that a roadside bomb failed to explode because of Prowler jamming signals, Woods said. Still, he's confident the plane is making a difference against the bombs, which the military calls improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. "When it's flying we have greater success and fewer IEDs going off," Woods said. "It's kind of an insurance policy."

Woods, the commander of Carrier Air Wing Eleven and one of the Navy's most experienced Prowler pilots, says few people understand the EA-6B's mission, which is to control the electromagnetic spectrum so allies can use it - but not enemies. The Prowler and its electronic warfare system is so valuable it has never been exported - even to close allies. Details about the training of crew members are secret.

The Prowler is a homely plane, hung with torpedo-shaped pods and covered in tumor-like bumps packed with a bewildering array of computers, transmitters, antennae and receivers that can analyze and block ground transmissions. A sinister-looking prong protruding from its nose is a refueling nozzle. The EA-6B's bulbous nose cradles a crew of four: a pilot and three electronic countermeasures officers who operate the jamming gear. Outside experts say the Prowler remains the world's most effective electronic warfare aircraft, but the aging U.S. fleet of about 120 aircraft is overworked.

Still, the Pentagon considers the Prowler critical enough to ensure no U.S. aircraft carrier heads to battle without four or five. There are two squadrons now at sea in Mideast waters: one aboard the carrier USS John C. Stennis, the other aboard the Nimitz. Another two land-based Prowler squadrons are in Iraq, Woods said.

According to outside experts, receivers inside the Prowler's tail collect radio signals from the ground, which are analyzed by an on-board computer. As threats are identified, the plane's crew floods the area with electromagnetic energy that blocks the signal.....

More here

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

Yet Again a Leftist Equates Disagreement with "Gagging"

It happens in Australia too. Leftists are such emotionally fragile creatures that they just cannot cope with contrary arguments -- understandable, given how shallow their own arguments are. The editorial from "The Australian" below is a tad sarcastic:

"There is no better way to start the day than with a good chuckle. Happily, there was Robert Manne in the letters pages of The Australian yesterday to give us one. Manne was all upset about Monday's editorial: "Reality bites the psychotic Left." He objected to the idea that the Left is obsessed with issues of the 1970s. He is also interested in Iraq, and climate change, he sniffed. That's quite right: in The Age in 2003, Manne wrote about Iraq, saying suicide bombers were "brave" and could not plausibly be described as "terrorists" because they were not "wantonly" taking the lives of innocent civilians. No? Not even those who later took the lives of children and UN staff? ....

Manne's most astonishing claim is that the Left has been silenced by the Howard Government. In the foreword to a new book, Silencing Dissent, he laments the "absence of powerful scrutiny" of the current government. Is Manne unaware of the relentless coverage of the AWB scandal, to use but one example? Could there have been any more written in the nation's media, in particular this newspaper, about the Tampa, or the children overboard affair? Does he know that 120,000 new blogs are started every day?

[sarcasm on] Manne says debate is "presently under threat", which would be why people were too terrified to march in their hundreds of thousands against the war in Iraq. You hardly ever hear a word against the Government's Work Choices legislation either, do you? David Marr can never get a word in. And, if the polls are any guide, Labor is really struggling to be heard. It is way ahead in most Australian states only because . . . well, who knows? Perhaps Robert Manne can tell us. Pity we won't be able to hear through the mouth gag he is forced to wear, both hands tied behind his back to prevent him from writing books, essays, columns and, now, letters to The Australian. [end sarcasm]

Source

There is a more extended comment on this nonsense here

Nearly as amusing as the comments by Robert Manne referred to above are some comments from an Australian Leftist blogger who attracts a huge volume of comments to his posts -- the no-longer-anonymous Jeremy Sear. The Searing one also objects to the editorial that Manne objected to.

But the Searing one's main objection is that the editorial sets up a "straw man" version (false picture) of what Leftists are. So how does he deal with that? By setting up his own straw man version of what what conservatives say Leftists are! In good Leftist style he projects his own straw-man style of argument on to his opponents.

He claims that conservatives say Leftists are "baby-eating progress-denying decadent "elites" who hate "ordinary people" and love it when their homes burn down".

One can only pity such a weak mind.

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

UNCIVIL WAR!!!

Events in Gaza and in Samarra, Iraq lead me to ponder the debates that rage regarding how we characterize the murderous behaviour of these terrorist groups. Some believe that if we can label a conflict as a Civil War then we can disengage...be neutral...at least until the dust settles.

I believe neutrality and disengagement is morally wrong in Gaza, Iraq or Darfur.

Fusion News: Chris Wants Some Help

Chris wants some help:

American Express is having a contest to fund one idea to "make the world a better place". They have received several thousand ideas, and will pick the top 50 (in their opinion), and then let people vote to pick the best. The top idea will be funded for between $1M and $5M, depending on how many people sign up to vote.

The amount of response that each idea receives before the selection of the first 50 has some bearing on which ideas are selected.

Because of the rules of the contest, you can not ask for a specific entry to be funded, or even mention trademarkes like Polywell. So, there is a very generic entry for P-B11 fusion at:

American Express Fusion funding.

If you are so inclined, you can rate it and add comments to try to get some more attention for the idea.

If it makes it to the top, then some form of P-B11 fusion will be funded. I know it's a long shot, but at the very least, it will raise awareness.

The deadline is June 17th, so spreading the word as soon and as much as possible would be great.

Thanks,

Chris

=========

More about Bussard Fusion Reactors here:

Bussard Fusion Reactor
Easy Low Cost No Radiation Fusion
IEC Fusion Newsgroup
IEC Fusion Technology

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

MORE ON THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE

The nice thing about going out on a limb on an issue is you find more people think like you than you realize. I found this to be true when I wrote my post, The Bloody Immigration Debate. I braced myself for a lot of vitriol from my own side but instead I found a lot of people who felt the same way.

Sister Toldjah wrote a wonderful post entitled, The immigration debate: The good, the bad, and the ugly - and suggestions. Here is an excerpt:

I don’t question the president’s good intentions on wanting to pass ‘comprehensive immigration reform.’ He came into the WH after being a two-term governor of the border state of Texas, and it wasn’t exactly a secret that he was in favor of naturalization then, so the positions he’s taken on the issue of illegal immigration have not been a shock to me, nor should they have been to anyone else. To accuse the President of ‘betrayal’ on this issue when his position should have been well-known from the getgo is baffling to me.

Robin wrote an excellent post yesterday entitled, About BDS, BBS (Bush Betrayal Syndrome) and IDS (Immigration Derangement Syndrome). Here is her conclusion:

Then step back and take a deep breath. Think about all the times we've mocked the Left for their outrageous comments. Think about all the times we've almost blown a gasket when Conyers, Sheehan, etc ridiculed and denigrated our President. The IDS/BBS crowd has bellied up to the "Eat Your Own Buffet" with KOS and the DUmpers as honored guests. This is one dinner party that I will NOT be a part of.

Robin and Sister Toldjah both highlighted The Anchoress's post and I have to say its definitely worth reading. She takes the time to post a list on all the awesome things that Bush has done that so many conservatives have just thrown by the wayside. Here are just a few items she had on the list:

Did he create a workable alternative to Kyoto that other countries have embraced? Yes. Bet you didn’t know that!

Has he lowered the deficit ahead of schedule in time of war? Yes. Even the NYTimes admits it!

Did he cut taxes? Twice? Yes. And yes.

Did he try to get the cuts made permanent? Yes. Congress dropped that ball.

Did he stop government funding of EMBRYONIC stem cell research? Yes.

Did he go after the Taliban and AlQaeda in Afghanistan barely a month after 9/11? Yes.

Has he been unflagging in his efforts to subdue terrorism, worldwide? Yes.

Has be been the consistent voice for human liberty around the globe? Yes.

Has he been a staunch friend to Israel, the only stable democracy in a frantic region? Yes.

Did he end the farce of world-wide Arafat admiration? Yes

Has he figured out that a free and engaged Middle East makes America safer? Yes.

Has he kept you safe since 9/11? So safe that you’ve almost forgotten to fear? Yes.

Did he inspire Libya to surrender it’s WMD without firing a shot? Yes.

Did he appoint excellent SCOTUS and Federal Judges to the bench? Yes.

Did he manage an economy thru recession, terror attack & war w/ consistent gains for over ten quarters? Yes.

Has he kept unemployment between 5.5% and 4.4% for an impressive period? Yes.

Does he say what he means and mean what he says? Yes.

Does he support the second amendment? Yes.

Does he support school vouchers and school choice? Yes.

Did he sign the ban on Partial Birth Abortion? Yes. It went to court, but he signed it.

Did he reverse Clinton’s intent to kill Reagan’s pro-life Mexico policy? Yes.

Did he support the Defense of Marriage Act? Yes. That used to be vitally important to you.

Has he handled himself with enormous courage, dignity and grace in the face of world/media/hate?

Is he a man with a creed before he’s anything else? Yes.

Has he given you most of what you’ve wanted? Actually, looking at the list…yes!

To read the rest of the list, go here.

We can be disappointed in how Bush has dealt with immigration but I just don't get the complete abandonment of him and other Republicans over this one issue. Reagan had a more lax stance on immigration and yet the same people who lavish praise on him want to crucify Bush. It is something to think about.

QUITE A SURPRISE: BARAK WINS

Ehud Barak wins the Labor primary, even if by a narrow margin.

But then, it is possible that the reason Ami Ayalon lost is because he chose to ally himself with Amir Peretz.

Praying For Fusion

I visited the site of the world's first atomic pile CP-1 (which stands for Chicago Pile One) while I was in Chicago for my son Jonathan's graduation from the University of Chicago.

There is a Henry Moore sculpture at the site. I hugged it and climbed in it to commune with the gods of energy. I was praying for success for the Bussard Fusion Reactor.

A really neat interactive picture of the Moore sculpture was done by VictorZaveduk. The orange building in the background is the Max Palevsky Residential Commons a.k.a. dormatories, where Jon lived while he went to U Chicago.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

JIM DEMINT: THE NEW JESSE HELMS

I mean that in a good way. As a libertarian, I disagreed with Helms on almost all of the so-called "social issues," but Helms was also the stalwart of the Senate's true conservatives and saved our country from peril on more than a few occasions. To me, his shining moment came in 1999 when he was able to engineer the defeat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which would have rendered the United States impotent without a reliable nuclear arsenal while the rest of the world (i.e. Russia and China) did whatever the hell they wanted. It occurred to me then that we need guys like Helms in the Senate to stop these once a decade movements of sheer madness.

Turn the clock ahead to the present day and we find a Republican President and a Democrat Congress pushing for immigration reform that essentially rewards criminals and makes sure the Democrats hold a majority in government for generations. Helms is long retired, who's gonna pick up the conservative mantel?

Enter South Carolina Junior Senator Jim DeMint. He is considered the key player in the move that (at least temporarily) killed the amnesty bill (from Right Wing News):

After the cloture vote failure at noon on Thursday, Harry Reid could not get unanimous consent to call up amendments to the bill because Jim DeMint refused to give his consent. This was extremely problematic for Reid because he wanted to get in votes on 6 more amendments before the last try at a cloture vote.

At that point, all the senators who were participants in the "Grand Compromise" AKA the "Masters of the Universe" by the opponents of the bill, leaned on DeMint to try to get him to give consent for the bill to move forward. Unfortunately for them, DeMint wouldn't budge. This essentially killed the entire afternoon that the pro-amnesty side hoped to use to shore up support for the bill.

While DeMint was gumming up the works, the opponents of the bill, including most prominently Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, and Tom Coburn, huddled and came up with a list of conservative amendments they wanted considered.

The proverbial three amigos (pardon the ethnic pun): DeMint, Sessions, Coburn. These guys have stepped up the to plate and are defending our country and its foundation as a nation of laws, not men.

NETHERLANDS SURPRISED THAT ISRAELIS ARE UPSET ABOUT DUTCH ANTI-ISRAEL BASHING, PRO-HAMAS ACTIVISM

Here's how deeply anti-Semitic anti-Zionist ideology has sunk into the pores of European sensibility: they don't even realize why the Jewish State would object to vicious anti-Israel attacks that are devoid of care or context. This isn't entirely their fault - the way Europeans talk about Israel is so surreal that they simply can't see when they're being unreasonable. They don't know when things are things. They're just too far gone, too deafened by their own echo chamber. And so these things happen:

The Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen will visit Israel on Monday, bringing the message to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the Hague wishes to play a more central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even before the minister's visit to the region began... 52 senior Dutch figures demanded on Saturday that their government recognize Hamas and "apply more pressure against Israel, to restore the international community's credibility."... The petition appeared in several daily papers, and featured signatures of many other opinion shapers from across the political board. "The government must help break the impasse. With the Arab League," the petition read. In addition, the document included an implicit demand that Holland recognize Hamas: "The Netherlands must engage in dialogue with all the relevant parties."

From the outside, it looks like the diplomatic equivalent of spitting in someone's face - it would absurd to expect anyone to listen to you after you've attacked them publicly. But to Europeans, this doesn't really seem like an overly vicious attack. Strutting around in righteous anti-Israel indignation is just something people do - a kind of particularly vicious and vindictive fashion statement that makes them one feel better about themselves. And it's not like anyone real gets hurt - it's just the Israelis. So it's totally natural for them not to consider Israelis' sensibilities when coordinating their diplomatic moves.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

FINKELSTEIN LOSES BID FOR TENURE. EH.

We know we really ought to care about this. Academic freedom and what not. But honestly, it couldn't happen to a nicer anti-Semite:

Chicago's DePaul University rejected a Jewish political science professor's tenure request because of the professor's opinions on the Holocaust... Prof. Norman Finkelstein has said that Israel uses the Holocaust as an excuse... [and] called Holocaust survivor and scholar Eli Wiesel a "clown prince."

To be honest, we are kind of torn about this. For someone who's published a fair amount to get rejected because of the content of their work - it goes against deeply, deeply ingrained sensibilities. But we're not free speech absolutists, and that extends to tenure. So on this issue, we'll choose to die on some other hill.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]