"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Saturday, September 22, 2007

AS DEMS FIGHT TO RETREAT, THE UN VOLUNTEERS TO DO MORE... FINALLY!

BBC:
UN vows to broaden role on Iraq The UN has had a reduced presence in Iraq since a 2003 bombing.

The UN is ready to broaden its activity in support of Iraq, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.
Mr Ban said at a key meeting in New York the time for determined action on Iraq had come, but that a greater UN presence would need better security.

The UN withdrew most of its staff in 2003 after a bomb killed its top envoy and 21 others but Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki says he can now guarantee UN security.


Iraq, its neighbours and major donor nations are attending the meeting.
  • IT'S ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME!
  • NO IS NOT THE TIME FOR THE USA TO BE BUGGIN' PUT - OR EVEN TO BE SENDING THAT KIND OF SIGNAL.
  • IT'S TIME FOR THE DEFEATIST DEMS TO STFU - UNLESS THE DEMS WANNA BE SEEN AS EVEN MORE WIMPY THAN THE UN!

WEEKEND ART: Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs

There's more to life than war, taxes and politics - and a lot of it's more fun, too!

Besides, the arts - ALL ARTS, not just fine arts - are a big part of what our liberty is for, and what we're fighting to defend!

That's why every WEEKEND we post on some of the cultural things we're into, things we think you might also find entertaining, enriching, and stimulating. And who knows: We just might turn you on to something cool. This weekend, I give you the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully. (I discovered this tune in the GREAT movie TOUS LES MATINS DU MONDE. )



IMPALED WITH AN RPG IN AFGHANISTAN: The incredible saga of Specialist Channing Moss

ACE/PURPLE AVENGER:
The incredible saga of Specialist Channing Mossand how he came to remain among the living is one you won't soon forget. "Protocol" would have had him being left for dead.
Spc. Channing Moss should be dead by all accounts. And those who saved his life did so knowing they might have died with him...
WATCH THE ENTIRE GRIPPING 7 MINUTE VIDEO - WARNING: IT SHOWS THE SURGERY.

(FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, HERE'S A LINK TO AN ARTICLE.)

(MOSS AND THE SURGEON AND THE ORDINANCE OFFICER ARE ALL INTERVIEWED.)

AS PURPLE AVENGER WROTE: AWESOME!

POPE DEFENDS CHRISTENDOM AND ATTACKS JIHADISM

When the Pope defends Christendom it shouldn't be news. But - alas, alack - in the crazy PC/multiculti world in which we live.... IT IS! ATLAS HAS THE STORY. EXCERPT:
The fact that the Pope made these remarks during the Jewish New Year, erev Yom Kippur is not lost on me.
[DAILY MAIL:] The Pope has again risked provoking the wrath of the Islamic world, by criticising its treatment of Christians.
It's about time.
Benedict XVI attacked Muslim nations where Christians are either persecuted or given the status of second-class citizens under the Shariah Islamic law. He also defended the rights of Muslims to convert to Christianity, an act which warrants the death penalty in many Islamic countries.

His comments came almost exactly a year after he provoked a wave of anger among Muslims by quoting a Byzantine emperor who linked Islam to violence.
Atlas has all the links - including to last year's speech and its violent aftermath.

Reliapundit:
Folks, ya gotta also remember this: all of North Africa and the Holy Land and Turkey and the Middle East were PREDOMINANTLY Christian before jihad. The Crusades were DEFENSIVE wars in which Christendom tried to re-take what was theirs. SO, when Atlas says, "It's about time..." she means... (IMHO)... it's a thousand years overdue!

PUTIN'S TYRANNY REACHES ORWELLIAN HEIGHTS: INDICTS CHEHCEN FOR MURDERING JOURNALIST WHO WAS INVESTIGATING PUTIN'S WAR CRIMES

BBC:
Prosecutors in Russia have charged a former Chechen politician with being an accomplice in the 2006 murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Lawyers for Shamil Burayev, who ran unsuccessfully for the Chechen presidency, say he will fight to clear his name.

In August 10 suspects in the case were arrested but two were later released.

Ms Politkovskaya won fame by exposing atrocities against Chechen civilians by Russian-backed security forces.

THIS IS SO UPSIDE-DOWN THAT IT'S INSANE.

PUTIN IS ACTING LIKE ASSAD AND AHMADINEJAD: LIKE HE FEELS LIKE NO ONE CAN TOUCH HIM.

WE OUGHT TO CORRECT THIS MIS-PERCEPTION. KINETICALLY.

Gabrielli


ART. Because not everything is science, war, or politics. Here is a short piece (about 40 seconds) of some Gabrielli. I was not able to track down which of the Gabriellis wrote this (Som Metal - is the name of the ensemble) so if any one has a clue leave a comment. Was it Giovanni Gabrielli (the most likely choice)? Domenico Gabrielli? Or one of the other members of that illustrious family?

From the comments at Classical Values Eric Blair says that Som Metal is the name of the ensemble. George-NJ says it is Giovanni Gabrielli and beginning of "O Magnum Mysterium" - a Christmas piece. Thanks.

THE MASS MURDER LECTURE CIRCUIT




ROTC: not welcome. Mass murderers: Let's Party! (image FROM DOUG ROSS, via Gateway Pundit--click to enlarge)

UPDATE: Ahmedinejad gets send-off parade with 'Death to America' and Death to Israel' signs.

Did I get sucked into a wormhole and no one told me? Am I in some kind of parallel universe where up is down?

I am not believing what is happening to my country. For over two hundred years, brave men and women have been giving their lives for this noble experiment--and we have let it come to this??

Our external enemies cannot defeat us without the help of our internal enemies. The Left is the internal enemy; it always has been. The sooner we wake up to this fact and take this fight to our enemies within as well as without, the sooner we can go about getting our country back.

AHMEDINEJAD SHOULD BE ARRESTED IF HE ENTERS THE US

The JTA reports that calls have been made for the arrest of Ahmedinejad, something I said two days ago should be done:
Israel and its allies say they want Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrested when he arrives next week in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

On Monday, a team of lawyers and diplomats who want Ahmadinejad tried for inciting genocide will call on the U.S. Department of Justice to arrest the Iranian president when he lands on American soil. The call comes as Jewish groups are preparing for a full-court press on the Iran issue in meetings planned with world leaders gathered for the yearly assembly. Also on Monday, a protest rally is planned across from U.N. Headquarters.

"He is an international war criminal," said Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz. "He has repeatedly violated the anti-genocide convention. He is as guilty as the Rwandans who are convicted and sentenced to years in prison for inciting genocide."

In recent days, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Dan Gillerman, has also called for Ahmadinejad to be arrested and put on trial for incitement to genocide.

Ahmadenijad's visit has been roiling New York for days. A scheduled appearance at Columbia University has prompted calls for the school to rescind the invitation. Columbia refused, invoking the principle of free speech. And an uproar over the Iranian president's request to visit Ground Zero caused a swift reaction from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which condemned reports that the New York City Police Department intended to provide him with an honor escort. Within hours, the department clarified that it had denied the request, an announcement duly welcomed by Jewish leaders.
Nobody with common sense should give donations to Columbia U. for as long as shady people like Lee Bollinger are going to run it. If they go through with their invitation to this monster, that's exactly why any and all who disapprove should have nothing to do with them. All that talk of "free speech" is decidedly a weak excuse.

By arresting Ahmedinejad, the west could score a victory in the war on terror by weakening Iran significantly, as their horrible head of horror would be "cut off". The US would be strongly advised to take action to cuff him upon arrival and try him for war crimes, planned and current, and imprison him in a dungeon, and not to let any ditherings of anti-war activists and corrupt UN officials perturb them. Then, a takeover of Iran could possibly be easier, as well as establishing a more reasonable government there.

More Evidence of North Korean Treachery

Other that what was reported on Special Report with Brit Hume on Friday, I have not heard or seen anything else anywhere about the renewal of US sanctions on North Korea. In fact this silence is positively eerie in light of that (premature?) announcement on Fox. Still, today it did come out that North Korea is training Syrian missile engineers. Great.

This is similar to the "missile technology" that was cited as the reason for new sanctions on Special Report last night; stay tuned...

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more details about the Syrian connection. Something is definitely up here...

JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

READ THIS INTERESTING POST FROM PASTORIUS AT HIS OTHER BLOG. EXCERPT:
Having studied Judaism and Christianity, and having come to comprehend the Bible as the love story between God and man, and of man's coming to understand God's love for him, I am struck by the almost-polar-dialectic which exists between Judeo-Christianity and Islam.

The ideas of Islam constitute a philosophy of power.

The ideas of Judeo-Christianity constitute a philosophy which is a gradual clarification of the Law of Justice perfected in the Law of Love.
RTWT, AND THEN, LISTEN TO THIS AUDIO.

AND THEN DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES.

(VIA PASTORIUS AND THE INFIDEL BLOGGERS ALLIANCE).

SOROS AND THE ANTI-AMERICAN LEFT

EXCERPT:
... pick any cause that seeks to weaken the U.S. and it's hard not to find Soros' name on its list of financial backers.
RTWT.

MORE FACTS HERE.

CAN NO ONE RID AMERICAN POLITICS OF THIS MAN AND HIS MONEY?

MORE HERE.

Michael Totten On The Anbar Awakening

Michael Totten visited Ramadi in Anbar and reports.
“It was nothing we did,” said Marine Lieutenant Colonel Drew Crane who was visiting for the day from Fallujah. “The people here just couldn’t take it anymore.”

What he said next surprised me even more than what I was seeing.

“You know what I like most about this place?” he said.

“What’s that?” I said.

“We don’t need to wear body armor or helmets,” he said.

I was poleaxed. Without even realizing it, I had taken off my body armor and helmet. I took my gear off as casually as I do when I take it off after returning to the safety of the base after patrolling. We were not in the safety of the base and the wire. We were safe because we were in Ramadi.
It is quite long. You should read the whole thing. Lots of pictures. Happy smiling faces.

What happened? It seems like living under Islamic fascism is not as popular in practice as it is in theory.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

USA AND FRANCE AGREE ON NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

CBC:
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner spoke Friday of a common front against Iran's nuclear program that included support for new sanctions against Tehran.

During a joint press conference with Kouchner in Washington, Rice said the United States and France agree on how to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

"I think that there's, essentially, no difference in the way that we see the situation in Iran and what the international community must do," Rice told reporters.

The two countries were doing groundwork for a new UN Security Council resolution at a meeting in Washington on Friday of political directors from six major nations that have been trying to negotiate with Iran — Russia, China, Britain and Germany, as well as France and the United States.

The French government under President Nicholas Sarkozy has shifted the country's policies more in line with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, who had a frosty relationship with Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, highlighted by France's vocal criticism of the Iraq war.
THIS IS THE FINAL STEP BEFORE GOING KINETIC.

(SOMEONE AT COLUMBIA U. BETTER ASK AHMADINEJAD WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT THIS.)

SPITZER WEAKENS NATIONAL SECURITY



Now he's made it easier for illegals to get valid state-sponsored photo ID.

This makes the NYS driver's license a gateway ID for criminals and terrorists.

This must be stopped.

HOW DO WE IMPEACH THIS GUY?

UPDATE: MORE HERE. EXCERPT:

Naughty Cartoon in Bangladesh


With thanks to Jihad Watch, LGF etc.
(Click to enlarge.)

Translation of the dialogue:

* Boy, what is your name?
- My name is Babu.
* It is customary to mention Muhammed before the name.
* What is your father's name?
- Muhammed Abu
* What's this in your lap?
- Muhammed cat


We read:

"Bangladeshi authorities Tuesday arrested a cartoonist after drawings that Muslims said insulted their religion were published in a national newspaper, police and the government said. A Home Ministry statement said Arifur Rahman's sketches - titled "Name" - that came out Monday in a weekly supplement of the Prothom Alo - "hurt the religious sentiments of the people."

Police detectives picked up Rahman from his house in the capital, Dhaka, after the home ministry ordered his arrest, Janey Alam, a police officer at Tejgaon police station said. Rahman was yet to be formally charged, Alam said, adding that he was arrested under a stringent law that allows detention without any specific charges. Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, has no specific blasphemy laws. But offenders can be prosecuted for hurting religious or public sentiments....

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.)

Both Leftism and Islamism are outlets for rage

Excerpt:

Young people who are enraged tend to be drawn into delinquency, drug and alcohol use, and criminality, all as ways to manage and discharge their intolerable internal states. Imagine how awful it is to feel that everyone has disappointed and failed you; imagine the rage of children who feel betrayed and let down over and over again. Such young people are also drawn to ideologies which explicitly support their need to externalize:

I am enraged; it is intolerable to know that my rage stems from my own failures and the failures of those people who have formed the nidus of my internal object world [usually parents]; my failures must be caused by someone else and their behavior [Jews, Americans] justifies this rage I cannot get rid of; now I have a place to discharge and rid myself of this rage.

In reality, since the primary source of the rage is internal, such discharge only works temporarily, necessitating new situations in which to justify and discharge the renewed built-up rage.

Both Marxism and Islamism, with their emphasis on Utopian goals which promise to end disappointment and deprivation while directing condoned rage against the external world of oppressors, share this structure. They facilitate defensive externalization, allow for the free expression of primitive rage, and promise a Utopian consummation, either in an earthly paradise where all desires, material and sexual, can be achieved, or in the heavenly Paradise where the 72 virgins await. This is the attraction of Islam and Marxism to so many disaffected young people.

In college, I dabbled in radical politics. I went to many anti-war demonstrations as a teenager. I enjoyed the frisson of rebellion that the Psychedelic 60s was shrouded within, yet a single incident awoke me to the reality that I would never be a good Marxist. I had been intrigued by Trotsky, the idea of constant revolution was fascinating to someone who wished to resist falling into the predicted and predictable path I feared I was on. On campus was a well established group of young Trotskyites, the Young Socialist Alliance. They were involved in various protests, which were always enjoyable, not least for the presence of many nubile, young radical women who approved of radical young men. One fateful day I stopped by the YSA table to find out more about them. I made a joking reference to the previous weekend's demonstration and discovered that the leader of the group was a young man who was incredibly humorless. He proceeded to lecture me (hectored me, perhaps) with a diatribe on how much commitment was necessary for the revolution to succeed and how there was no room for humor in the revolution; this was deadly serious business fighting the oppressors and jokes had no place in it.

I thought he was a complete jerk; I also thought he was a very dangerous jerk. This was the kind of person who would have no trouble condemning someone for thought crimes. If that was the kind of person who was attracted to Marxism, perhaps I wasn't as much of a radical as I fancied.

Years later I can still recall him, with a Che Guevara beard, intense eyes, and a complete lack of humor or humanity. Any revolution that condemned humor was not a revolution for me.

Rage at a cruel and withholding universe (often a derivative of infantile frustration) is difficult to tolerate. Most of us, with good-enough parenting, come to temper our infantile frustrations (which have roots in our infantile grandiosity which is so painful to give up) by using our loving ties to our parents to metabolize the rage which would otherwise be so destructive. Those unfortunates who cannot do so via love are left enraged and searching for ways to offload the rage to an external victim. Ideologies that enable such offloading attract the angry and the failed and it is through this pathway that Marx (the angry, anti-Semitic hater of religion) and the Islamists (descended from Qutb, the angry, anti-Semitic hater of secularism) find their true identity.

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.)

JASON MATTERA CONFRONTS MURTHA WITH THE TRUTH


Murtha can't handle the truth!!! The above video is a MUST SEE!! Kudos to Jason Mattera of Young America's Foundation for having the guts to stand up to Murtha!! As some of you know Robin has done a great job of detailing the Haditha Marine injustice from the very beginning. It is despicable what Murtha said about these Marines before knowing the facts. What he has done to them is so dishonorable that he needed to resign, yesterday!!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Fred Hochberg and Norman Hsu - Joined At Birth?

Gateway Pundit has an explosive bit of news on the Hsu scandal.
Ever since Hsu became a major fundraiser, there have been notable similarities between his and Hochberg/Lillian Vernon's contributions that strain the limits of coincidence. Not only is there significant overlap among several far-flung candidates who wouldn't typically be of much interest to New York businessmen, but the size and timing of many of the transactions further suggest the efforts are coordinated...
Yes, Fred Hochberg, a dean at the school where Hsu served as a trustee, one of Hsu's fellow HillRaisers, CEO of the company that officially bundled at least one of Hsu's direct contributions as recently as this summer, and the apparent architect of Hsu's favored candidate slate, was installed as one of the country's senior-most federal policymakers by Bill Clinton.
Fred Hochberg and his life partner Tom Healy hosted a fundraising event at their home in New York with Hillary for Minnesota senatorial candidate Amy Klobuchar in 2006.
A culture of corruption?

If this sinks Hillary who else do the Dems have besides Nation of Islam friendly Obama?

Who is Fred Hochberg?
From 1998 through 2000, he served as deputy then acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), an agency elevated to cabinet rank by President Bill Clinton, with more than 4,000 employees and 100 offices across the country.
So you can buy a cabinet seat with enough money? Evidently.

Update: See Suitably Flip who has done the heavy lifting.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

UPDATE - FROM RELIAPUNDIT : DOUG ROSS SAYS HILLARY IS IN DEEP HSIT.

CLEANSING NORTH AFRICA OF INFIDELS: AL QA'EDA

Al ZawahiriIt seems that Islamists do not believe in multiculturalism. Is North Africa about to become a bloodbath? Al Qa'eda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahri has issued a directive for Northern Africa to be 'cleansed' of French and Spanish ex-patriots.
"O our Muslim nation in the Maghreb .... restoring al-Andalus is a trust on the shoulders of the nation in general and on your shoulders in particular, and you will not be able to do that without first cleansing the Muslim Maghreb of the children of France and Spain

THE LOWER DOLLAR IS NOT BAD FOR THE USA

NYTIMES:
In Europe, there was at least one call for a Continentwide effort to reverse the course of the euro, which is used as the official currency in 13 countries. “Let’s say that it’s a change in level that concerns all of us Europeans, and it’s clearly a point we must address together among Europeans,” the French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, said during a trip to China, according to Reuters.

Evidence is starting to emerge that the euro’s strength is chipping away at sales.

... In the American Midwest, manufacturers say they are seeing more business, in part, because the weaker dollar has made them more competitive on the world market.

Kendig Kneen, chief executive of Al-Jon Manufacturing in Ottumwa, Iowa, said his scrap recycling and waste management equipment business had been growing up to 30 percent annually and that he had expanded his payroll to 150 from 100 workers a year ago. He estimates that about half the growth is a result of the weaker dollar, with the rest coming from stronger global demand for scrap recycling.
  • THEY WILL SELL LESS; WE WILL SELL MORE.
  • THAT'S GOOD FOR US.
  • US COMPANIES WILL AGGRESSIVELY EXPLOIT THIS TEMPORARY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
  • BEST BUSINESSES ARE NOT BUILT ON CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES, BUT THEY CAN EXPLOIT IT, AND OURS WILL.
BTW: DESPITE THE LEFT'S ATTEMPT TO PORTRAY THE US ECONOMY AS LOUSY, THE STOCK MARKET IS NEARING IT'S ALL-TIME HIGH.

Update: BBC: Jobs fears as euro gets stronger
Money changer exchanges euros for dollars More cuts may have to be made at Airbus if the euro continues to remain strong against the dollar, an executive at the European planemaker has warned.

Chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier told French radio station BFM a further 1bn euros may need to be added to a savings plan based on a $1.35 euro.

On Friday the euro hit a fresh record high against the dollar of $1.4120.

Airbus may also have to buy more goods in the dollar zone - where it currently buys about half its supplies, he added.

Buying more goods in the dollar zone would help lower costs as it would mean cheaper prices.

"If the euro remains durably at $1.45, that would mean we had to find one billion euros in additional savings under Power 8 [restructuring plan]," he told the French station.

"Our reply to a strong euro is, first to be more competitive, second to buy more in the dollar zone," he added.
The weak dollar is good for USA exporters and hurts USA importers.

IS CHINA ALREADY IN THE DRIVERS SEAT?

Mattel issued an apology to China and accepted the burden of blame for massive recalls of toys manufactured in China. Something is fishy here. Are we to believe that an experienced company like Mattel actually designed these toys to be dangerous? Did their specs call for the use of lead paint? Seems to me the massive recalls shamed the chinese, and perhaps someone pressured Mattel to shoulder the blame. Or maybe Mattel understands the situation better than we do.

WHAT EXPLAINS THE PAKISTAN-INDIA DIVERGENCE?

BBC:
The Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, has made a series of top-level military appointments.

They come days after he promised to step down as army chief if he was re-elected as president.

Nadeem Taj, who has close personal ties to the president, has been promoted to lieutenant-general and appointed head of the influential security service.

Lt Gen Mohsin Kamal has been made commander of the army's most important garrison, in Rawalpindi near Islamabad.

Weakest phases

Correspondents say that reshuffles in the army are always closely scrutinised in Pakistan, because the military has ruled the country for more than half the country's 60-year history.
REPEAT: "... the military has ruled the country for more than half the country's 60-year history."

India has never been ruled by a military junta.

They are by-and-large ethnically the same South Asian people with the same colonial heritage.

So... er um... why the HUGE difference on this count?

Could it be ISLAM, and the fact than Islam dominates Pakistan?

I think it is.

I think it's the only thing which separates the people of these two states.

Comparing Pakistan to India is as revealing as comparing North Korea to South Korea.

North Koreans are EXACTLY the same people as the South Koreans - all that makes one people poor and isolated and backward and the other people free and prosperous is the fact that the North is SOCIALIST and the South capitalist and democratic.

All that separates Pakistanis from Indians is the Islamism of the Pakistanis.

The last decade has brought India economic reform, and as a result India is recovering from decades of socialism. It is becoming more prosperous.

Can Pakistan reform or shed its islamism - AS TURKEY ONCE DID - and rejoin the modern world, WITHOUT a military junta?

Maybe not. Maybe a different kind if military junta is EXACTLY what's needed: PAKISTAN NEEDS AN ATTATURK.

I think Musharraf missed his chance. And so has Pakistan.

I think that the USA and the West and Musharraf and Bhutto are hoping they can achieve with elections and democracy what Attaturk achieved in Turkey with a junta.

I think this might be wishful thinking. I think it might lead to a "Pakistani Hamas" winning even MORE power electorally.

I hope not.

We shall soon see. Stay tuned...

What climate change and fusion tell us about orthodoxies versus dissent in sceince and religion

Over at Climate Audit they are discussing “Miscalculation, poor study design or self-serving data analysis”.

Let me relate this to my current field of study - Nuclear Fusion.

The big money is going into projects like ITER (the US is spending something like $200 to $400 mil a year on this project). All the scientists involved say we are at least 30 years away from a net power reactor delivering watts to the grid. When that net power device is built it will be too big 17GW (most power plants built today are under 100MW and the largest are in the 1 GW range), too expensive (at 20X to 30X the current cost of electricity), and too late. All this is inherent in trying to get fusion by heating things up. And yet funding rolls on. Grant money is relatively easy if there is an ITER angle.

Contrast this with IEC fusion. In the US there are 5 to 10 projects going on at a funding rate that is probably on the order of $20 million or less total. The thing about IEC Fusion is that instead of heating up a mass of gas to get fusion in the high energy tail, particles are accelerated directly to fusion speeds. This makes the devices much smaller, less costly, and quicker to develop. So who is doing IEC Fusion? Basically a bunch of old cranks who see ITER and the Tokamaks as useless except as science fair projects. Let me quote Plasma Physicist Dr. Nicholas Krall who said, "We spent $15 billion dollars studying tokamaks and what we learned about them is that they are no damn good."

And yet the money rolls on.

If I was in charge of science I would see that in any discipline 70% went to mainstream and 30% to dissenters. That would tend to keep everyone honest. Does it mean some money would go for stupidity? Sure. As Murray Gell-Mann says - there is a reason most new stuff ought not get funded, most of it is flat wrong. However, if we do not encourage dissent from orthodoxy we will never learn anything new.

Our current ratios are out of balance.

Let me add that a significant part of the 30% should go towards replication by dissenters.

If we are really going to do good science we must encourage a climate of dissent and replication.

Let me add that we see this in Cold Fusion. The mainstream derided it because at first replication was difficult. Now at least the laboratory aspects are better under control and replication is the norm. We still do not understand what is happening or why. However, finally progress is being made. So far it seems to be a low energy process. Heat is created. Just not enough to even boil the water (actually D2O) in the experimental apparatus. It is being researched. We will find out why. We lost 10 years of useful work because of clinging to orthodoxy.

In many ways the institutional science world is like the institutional religious world: Woe be unto him who strays from the canon.

Interestingly enough the US Navy is funding IEC Fusion and Cold Fusion. Why? They don't look at it from a right/wrong basis. It is all about risk vs reward. They are not crazy. They do require at least a minimum of results before funding. They come at it from: "we don't know everything" and "mathematics can be helpful but is not definitive. Only real world results count".

Why not more dependence on math? Because with math - if you pick the right assumptions - you can prove anything.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

Fox Attacked for not Allowing Bad Language

We read:
"At last weekend's Emmy Awards, Fox broke away from dramatic-actress winner Sally Field as she made an antiwar statement punctuated with "goddamn"-which started the blogosphere humming with outrage. For many in the liberal camp, the incident confirmed their suspicions about Fox, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

"It's time for Fox to hear it for their blatant Bush cronyism," wrote a poster on Daily Kos, one of many similar comments, the LA Times reports.

"Some language during the live broadcast may have been considered inappropriate by some viewers," the network said in a statement. "As a result, Fox's broadcast standards executives determined it appropriate to drop sound (and picture) during those portions of the show."

Source
A case of damned if you do and damned if you don't, I think. Since Fox is the only major channel that consistently gives both Leftist and conservative viewpoints an airing, nothing they do will ever be right for the Left. The Left NEED censorship of opposing views and Fox has upset that applecart.

(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.)

The Leftist false gospel of self-esteem

"Blessed are the meek" certainly does not get a mention. Excerpt:

One of the big pieces of the psychobabble industry is the promotion of "self esteem" at the expense of self control and personal responsibility. But, contrary to popular myth, self esteem is not the holy grail of psychological health. In fact, it is not necessarily even good for you, and most bullies, tyrants and other dysfunctional people fairly ooze self esteem.

Most people confuse "self-esteem" with a "sense of self". It is the latter--not the former, that is so often screwed up in the angry, violent, grandiose, and generally narcissistic people in the world. If you have a healthy "sense of self", you are likely to have a healthy self-esteem; and a healthy self-esteem is not the same at all as a high self-esteem.

The psychological defect that leads to so many problems for people in their lives is a defective or distorted sense of one's SELF. The excessive self-esteem you see in a bully comes from a distortion of reality that person develops with regard to their self. It used to be widely believed that low self-esteem was a cause of violence, but in reality, violent individuals, groups and nations happen to think very well of themselves. Do you really suppose that individuals like Ahmadinejad or the Iranian mullahs suffer from poor self-esteem? Do you think bullies like Saddam or thugs like Zawahiri had "fragile" egos as they made their way through life? And that they were simply misunderstood or had unhappy childhoods and that is what made them so bad? If only social conditions be improved and poverty eliminated then the world would not see the development of such people--or so goes the thinking, anyway.

I'm afraid not. The reality is that human nature is what it is whether you are rich or poor; or what color your skin happens to be; and without regard for the particular political structure you live in. Exaggerated self-esteem that is not based on personal achievement or responsibility is one of the hallmarks of a pathological narcissist or psychopath.

The pop-psychology that promulgated the widespread belief that if you nurture kid's self-esteem neglected to mention that if the sense of self was already damaged, all the social engineers would manage to do was to create a narcissistic monster. That is why our society is filled with the pursuit of unhealthy narcissistic gratification. In this new century, that narcissism seems to be morphing into an even more malignant sociopathy that pervades society and impacts almost all our social, political, and educational institutions.

Our cultural focus on enhancing "self-esteem" has resulted in the near-worship of emotions and feelings at the expense of reason and thought; on emphasizing "root causes" and victimhood, instead of demanding that behavior be civilized and that individuals exert self-discipline and self-control--no matter what they are "feeling".

Source. See also here. The Christian teaching is here: Matthew 5:3-5; 18:4; 23:8-12.

(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.)

SISTANI AIDES ASSASSINATED

BBC:
Two aides of Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have been shot dead in separate incidents in southern Iraq.

The ayatollah's office said one of the men, Amjad al-Janabi, had been attacked after leaving a mosque near Basra on Thursday evening.

The other Ahmad al-Barqawi was shot as he drove home to the city of Diwaniya

The killings mean at least five aides of Ayatollah Sistani have been killed since June.

There has been no word on who might be behind the attacks, but correspondents say it could be related to a power struggle among Shia groups in southern Iraq.

In protest at the assassinations, Friday prayers were cancelled at mosques in southern Iraq controlled by Ayatollah Sistani, a representative of the cleric told AFP.

Ayatollah Sistani is a moderate and widely respected figure in Iraq.
  • WE SHOULD HAVE ASSASSINATED SADR IN 2003, IN NAJAF.
  • NOW, WE MUSTN'T LET THIS GO UNANSWERED; WE SHOULD RESPOND IN KIND - IN SHIA IRAQ AND/OR SHIA PERSIA.

MASSIVE FUNERAL FOR ASSASSINATED LEBANESE CHRISTIAN MP

BBC:
Thousands of Lebanese have turned out for the funeral in Beirut of anti-Syrian MP, Antoine Ghanim, who was assassinated on Wednesday.

The Lebanese government has vowed to press ahead with presidential elections to choose a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud next week.

The assassination of a number of anti-Syrian figures has reduced the pro-Western majority in parliament.

Syria has been blamed for the killings, but denies any involvement.

  • THE UN INVESTIGATION OF THE HARIRI ASSASSINATION WILL START NEXT WEEK.
  • WE MUST USE THAT TO START PRESSURING ASSAD.
  • THEN, HIS BRAZEN ACTS MUST BE ANSWERED IN KIND.
  • THIS IS ALL HIS TYPE UNDERSTAND.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

PERUVIAN METEORITE CAUSED CRATER

AP:
Peruvian astronomers said Thursday that evidence shows a meteorite crashed near Lake Titicaca over the weekend, leaving an elliptical crater and magnetic rock fragments in an impact powerful enough to register on seismic charts.

As other astronomers learned more details, they too said it appears likely that a legitimate meteorite hit Earth on Saturday - an rare occurence. ... Other details don't add up, they said - such as witness accounts of water in the muddy crater boiling for 10 minutes from the heat. Meteorites are actually cold when they hit Earth, astronomists say, since their outer layers burn up and fall away before impact.

Experts also puzzled over claims that 200 local residents were sickened by fumes from the crater. Doctors who examined them found no evidence of illness related to the meteorite, and one suggested a psychosomatic reaction to the sight and sound of the plunging meteor.
... Doctors told an Associated Press Television News cameraman at the site that they had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby. But they said they had taken samples of blood, urine and hair to analyze.

Peasants living near the crater said they had smelled a sulfurous odor for at least an hour after the meteorite struck and that it had provoked upset stomachs and headaches. But Ishitsuka said he doubts reports of a sulfurous smell.

Meteor expert Ursula Marvin said that if people were sickened, "it wouldn't be the meteorite itself, but the dust it raises."

HUGE US AND INTERNATIONAL TERROR-FINANCING BUST

HITTING THE JIHADISTS IN THEIR WALLETS; COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG:
Terror Finance Case: "Operation Cash-Out"
By Jeffrey Imm

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced today that a federal grand jury indicted 39 defendants and one business in an international money laundering case that includes one person accused of concealing terrorist financing. The terror finance case, "Operation Cash-Out", had an international scope with defendants in United States, Spain, Canada and Belgium, with the use of hawala money-transmitting businesses to launder millions of dollars.

Substantive news reports on this came out today from: U.S. Attorney's Office press release, Baltimore Sun, ABC, and NBC, with a potentially related story in Spain reported by AP.
RTWT. MORE HERE.

WE NEED TO BE DOING MORE OF THIS - HERE AND IN ARABIA.

THE "ANTI-WAR" LEFT SHOWS US THEIR TRUE COLORS

They meant everything they said about "General Betray us". This is who. they. are.

I already knew this: Daily Kos headline: “I Don’t Support the Troops … oops, there, I said it

Honey, I already knew that. They never did. All that garbage about wanting to end the war to spare the lives of troops was a lie to many on the left.

Kos was a PFC in field artillery. He thinks this makes him an expert on the military. I flew in a plane once so I suppose this makes me as expert on aeronautics as the CEO of Boeing.

The post itself is by “lurxst” but it represents Kos now. It’s his site, his post. Until he takes the damned post down (and check for an update if that happens) Kos endorses this idea. He set it up so that others speak for him. You want to brag about how you are changing politics, enjoy the results.

Read the rest.

At least in Kossak-land they admit their true sentiments. But what of all those Democrats who parade to the Kos Konvention to Kiss the hand of the Grand Dragon himself? Surely not them, too?

Yeah, right.

INSTAPUNDIT VERSUS THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

HERE ARE THREE POSTS FROM EVIL GLENN:

THE DAM BURSTS at the Al Dura trial.

posted at 07:20 PM by Glenn Reynolds

WE HAD THIS AT 4PM.

September 20, 2007

MEL WEISS INDICTED: "A federal grand jury has indicted Mel Weiss for his involvement in an alleged class-action kickback scheme that has led to the indictment of the firm he co-founded in 1972. If convicted of the four counts in the second superseding indictment, Weiss faces up to 40 years in prison." Indictment and press release at the link.

posted at 08:16 PM by Glenn Reynolds
WE HAD THIS YESTERDAY.

JOE LIEBERMAN SLAMS AHMADINEJAD: Ian Schwartz has the video.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: "NO" TO ROTC; "YES" TO AHMADINEJAD

MALKIN SAID IT AND MORE, WATCH HER HERE.

I'D LIKE TO TELL AHMADINEJAD WHERE HE CAN GO ...

AHMADINEJAD CAN GO TO HELL!

BUT, IF HE WANTS TO LEARN SOMETHING BEFORE THAT INEVITABLE TRIP, THEN INSTEAD OF GROUND ZERO, THE UN AND COLUMBIA...

LET'S SEND HIM TO DACHAU, AUSCHWITZ AND BERLIN'S JEWISH MUSEUM.

RECENT EVENTS IN DENMARK


Just last night a moderate muslim politician, and founder of the New Alliance party, Naser Khader, was accosted while on the way to address a public meeting in Kokkedal, north of Copenhagen.

Khader was the most prominent politician of middle-eastern descent (or was he the only one?) who tried to defend the cartoonists behind the Muhammed Cartoons and defuse the crisis.

Well, Mr. Khader was verbally accosted by a group of young men of "other ethnic origin" who yelled at him in arabic. When they followed him into the room, Khader and his security detail (which he enjoys since the Cartoon Crisis) decided it would be best to cancel the event.
Democracy - 0
Holliganism -1
At the Danish Folkeparty's yearly congress Merethe Egeberg Holm made some remarkable comments.

She said "Europe should expel all the muslims and replace them with Jews".

See her remarks in Danish about 2:00 minutes into this video, and notice the applause after her comments.

The spirit of Ms Holm's comments were not far from the hearts of the rank and file of the party.

In fact, a keynote speaker at the Convention tried to enlighten the audience to the danger of violent jihad inherent to the Koran, and hence all of Islam.

There are reports that her comments were a reaction to a statement by Kasem Ahmad, spokesmen for the Islamic Congregations of Denmark, who recently called for the expulsion of Jews from Israel.

Well, I doubt the Jews of Israel would appreciate Ms. Holm's counter-offer, but the leadership of the Dansk Folkeparty certainly did not appreciate her language - Ms Holm has been excluded from the party.

The party leadership - which defends freedom of speech in principle - in fact reacts swiftly whenever comments may damage the Party's interests.
Freedom of Speech - 0
Maintaining Influence -1

CBS SHOULD FILE A COUNTERSUIT AGAINST DAN RATHER FOR $1BILLION

As I am sure you've heard by now, Rather is suing CBS for $70 MILLION.

I think this is RIDICULOUS: Any injuries Rather suffered were HIS OWN FAULT.

BUT: The very real injuries which CBSNews and CBS have been suffering since MEMOGATE ARE RATHER'S FAULT TOO!

They have probably LOTS of viewers because of the incdient, and might have lost $1 BILLION IN AD REVENUE for CBS and 60Minutes since the incident. Remember: there'd be no Katie Couric ratings disaster if Rather had done his job PROPERLY and not used his position to do PROPAGANDA for Kerry and the Dems.

HEY CBS, DO THE RIGHT THING: COUNTER SUE DAN RATHER!

More HERE - like how many old CBS hands are angrier at Rather than ever.

LIEBERMAN DEFENDS THE TROOPS AND ATTACKS OUR ENEMIES - THE JIHADISTS AND THE DEM LEFT

VIDEO HERE.

IF THE SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT WAS NAMED LAMONT, THEN THE DEMS WOULD BE RIGHT ION KOWTOWING TO THEIR LEFTIST BASE.

SENATOR LIEBERAN PROVES THAT APPEASING THE ENEMY ABROAD WILL NOT NECESSARILY GET YOU ELECTED.

BUSH LETS THE COWARDLY, DEFEATIST TROOP-BASHING DEMS HAVE IT!

VIDEO HERE.

WE NEED MORE OF THIS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.

AN IMPORTANT ORDER JUST MADE IN AL-DURAH CASE

The judge in the al-Durah case has just ordered the release of the tapes that could prove this was all a staging:
The appeals court judge in Paris ordered France 2 TV to show the court about 25 minutes of raw video footage shot on Sept. 30, 2000 at the Netzarim Junction in the Gaza Strip, when the 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed al-Dura apparently was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants.
I hope that the TV station is going to comply cooperatively now!

Update: more from Nidra Poller (via Melanie Phillips).

NOT MOVING ON...

If you want a list of "the worst of the worst" within the Democrat party, here is a list of Democrats who voted against John Cornyn's resolution (which passed, by the way), condemning the allegations by the radicals within MoveOn.Org that General Petraeus was "betraying" his country. The list read's like a Senatorial "who's who" of hard left supporters of the the American Socialist movement in this country (i.e. Communi.... um...I mean the "progressive" wing of the Democrat party....); and it includes Hillary Clinton.

Wake up America; you are being played as imbecilic fools by Marxist demagogues disguised as "having 'compassion' for all Americans." This is right out of Stalin's playbook, and any student of history can see it.

HANDS AROUND GROUND ZERO - KEEP AHMADINEJAD OUT!


This has to be organized.

People who love America must come together to Encircle Ground Zero, and keep Ahmadinejad the "eff" out.

Let's roll!

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AMERICA ABANDONS ITS ALLIES

Finally, the complete story of the Khmer Rouge--murderers of some two million refugees in the Communist post-Vietnam aftermath--will reportedly be told. With similar stakes at play if we were to abandon Iraq, I'd say the timing on this one could not be better.

A MARINE IN SAN FRANCISCO: THE LINE OF DEMARCATION


A great post from the Patriot Warrior blog:



How does this picture make you feel? Do you feel proud or is your blood boiling?
The answer to that question determines if you are an American patriot or an
anti-American leftist-socialist.

This has got to be disruptive to the Left

Bloggers have performed an invaluable function since their emergence in the media world a few years ago. Whether it is uncovering the forgery of the RatherGate documents, the fauxtography that is propaganda in the service of terrorists, revealing and publicizing the odious practice of earmarks, the bias that has corrupted the media-the quest for truth is what has driven the best of the bloggers.

Now the Washington Post joins the campaign: today the paper starts a new feature-The FactChecker, which will be focused on examining the veracity of claims made by politicians. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as the opprobrium formerly heaped on the new media practitioners (clad in pajamas, hairy knuckles, anti-social nerds, zealots-take your pick) is transformed into unintended praise.

A nod might also go to the Fact Check.Org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, that has focused on reducing the level of deception and confusion in American politics.

Regardless, the new feature by the Washington Post is another example of the old media catching up with the new media. The Post is the finest general interest newspaper in America -- and though it leans liberal, it has not been turned into a propaganda sheet as has the New York Times. Whether the The FactChecker becomes a cudgle against only Republicans remains to be seen, but given the Post's generally good reputation for non-biased twisting of the news, we can look forward to some insightful commentary..


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.)

The political psychopaths of the Left

Shared hates are all that matter to them

Small excerpt:

Iran relies on the denialists and psychopaths in free nations for whom blatant antisemitism, Holocaust denial and promises of `We will finish what Hitler started,' are not enough to disqualify those purveyors of hate and bigotry from being portrayed as `helpless victims,' or `misunderstood.' In fact, all that is necessary for these moral degenerates to remain worthy of leftist love is to adopt an anti American, anti Israel and anti Semitic postures and all will be forgiven. The persecution and oppression of their own populations, the denigrations of women and children and the support of terror can all be overlooked and forgiven as long as the hate is `correctly' focused.

When all is said and done, that is why the left cares little for the Darfurese. As long as the Bashir government and Arab Janjaweed are sufficiently anti American and anti democracy, the butcher, rape and slaughter can continue. The two million dead in Sudan over the last two decades are irrelevant.

When Israel was founded in 1948, that nation was the darling of the left. Many of that country's founders were communists and socialists (that is why the first nation to cast an affirmative ballot in the UN vote for the partition of Palestine was the Soviet Union. They fully expected that Israel would be an important Soviet asset in the Middle East). When the rubber met the road however, the Israelis proved that once given a choice, people will always choose freedom over tyranny. The left was stung and hasn't gotten over their bitter disappointment. Leftist support for Israel eroded and became real hate for the Jewish state that dared embrace real democratic values. This lesson hasn't been lost by the Palestinians. Were they to adopt a truly democratic and pluralistic ideology, the left would drop them in a minute.

Much 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.)

IRANIAN ROCKETS

Those at Camp Victory had a close call in Iraq when they narrowly escaped getting hit by a rocket supplied by Iran.

Cajun Tiger's post on the event brought it home to me how dangerous Iran is and how they are a ticking time bomb that needs to be dealt with soon. Tiger also talks about how even though it is dangerous there he takes comfort in Psalm 91. It is a great reminder of trusting God in the midst of danger.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A LIST OF OUR VICTORIES SINCE 9/11

SEE ATLAS.

SENATE GOP PREVENTS SENATE DEMOCRATS' BID TO GIVE TERRORISTS MORE RIGHTS

NYTIMES:
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked an effort to give terrorism detainees the right to appeal their detention to federal courts, rejecting complaints that a new law denying that option ran against the nation’s principles.
THE DEMS WORK FOR THE ENEMY: THEY WANT THEM TO HAVE MORE RIGHTS; THEY WANT US TO RETREAT; THEY WANT TO REDUCE OUR SURVEILLANCE OF THEM.

THE DEMS WORK FOR THE ENEMY.

TWO OF THE BIGGEST CLASS-ACTION LAWYERS INDICTED

WILL EDWARDS BE NEXT?

(The NYTimes calls them "prominent" lawyers, but I think that's an oxymoron.)

KUCINICH ENCOURAGED THE ASSASSIN

Here's how it works:

1. An idiotic American politician travels to the headquarters of the tyrant:












He praises the dictator, and blasts his own country.

2. Encouraged, the dictator orders another political assassination in the neighboring country he claims should be one of his provinces:













Dennis Kucinich's fawning appeasement of Basher Al Assad gave the Syrian dictator encouragement to continue his murderous campaign against the Lebanon, the Lebanese people, and Lebanese democracy.

If this isn't treason, it is surely a crime against humanity and against reason.

Face it.

Kucinich isn't "for peace." He's for the enemy.

SARKO CONTINUES HIS FIGHT TO REFORM FRANCE - SHOWDOWN LOOMS IN OCTOBER

BBC:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced more than 22,000 job cuts in the civil service in order to reform the country's bulging public sector.

He said thousands of employees retiring next year would not be replaced.

The move comes a day after Mr Sarkozy outlined plans to overhaul the pension benefits of 500,000 mainly public sector workers.

France's transport unions have described the plans as unacceptable, calling for a strike next month.

Attempts to reform pension privileges have brought down previous French governments.

  • THERE WILL BE A SHOWDOWN.
  • I PREDICT THAT SARKOZY WON'T FOLD AS OTHERS HAVE BEFORE HIM.
  • HE'S GOT BALLS AS BIG AS THATCHER!
  • SHE LED A REBIRTH OF THE UK; I PREDICT THAT SARKO WILL WEATHER THE STORM AND SAVE FRANCE.

RICHARDSON - SUPPOSEDLY A MODERATE - BLAMES US TROOPS FOR IRAQI UNREST

NYTIMES:
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson on Wednesday called for the U.S. to end the war in Iraq, arguing that the troops exacerbate the sectarian violence and the billions spent could be used for health care and other needs.
WE EXACERBATE THE VIOLENCE!?!?

Sheesh. This is idiotic. If we leave the violence will be WORSE.

Richardson and his comrades running fore the Dem nomination are so focused on sucking up to the Kossacks, that they are spouting NONSENSE. Dangerous nonsense which aids the enemy.

This MIGHT makes sense if there was a Senator named Lamont, but he lost.

So will ANY Democrat running for POTUS who blames the troops.

God Bless Our Troops.

And God, please knock some sense in to Richardson and his fellow leftist panderers and appeasers.

If Richardson and his comrades running for the Dem nomination had ANY courage, then they'd be willing to take on the Kossacks AND the enemy.

Instead they appease both, and blame the troops.

They are SCUM.

RICE TO EL BARADEI: "BUTT OUT, AND EFF OFF!"

CNN:
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautioned the U.N. nuclear watchdog group Wednesday not to interfere with international diplomacy over Iran's alleged weapons program.

Condoleezza Rice criticized the U.N. nuclear watchdog group Wednesday while en route to the Middle East.

The International Atomic Energy Agency "is not in the business of diplomacy," Rice told reporters traveling with her to the Middle East.

The IAEA's role should be limited to carrying out inspections and offering a "clear declaration and clear reporting on what the Iranians are doing; whether and when and if they are living up to the agreements they have signed," she said.

Rice was referring to recent comments made by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, in which he criticized U.S. rhetoric about Iran.

ElBaradei has called for less emphasis on additional U.N. sanctions against Iran in favor of enhanced cooperation between the IAEA and Tehran. Iran has agreed with IAEA requests to answer unresolved questions about its nuclear program.
  • El Baradei and the IAEA are worse than useless; they are a hindrance to us and actually aid and abet the enemy.
  • Rice is 10000000% correct.

ON THE DAY ISRAEL DECLARES GAZA AN "ENEMY ENTITY" THE NYTIMES PUBLISHES AN ARTICLE SYMPATHETIC TO THE GAZAN BOMB-MAKERS AND ARMS SMUGGLERS

BBC:
The Israeli government has declared the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity" in response to the continued rocket attacks by Palestinian militants there.

Israeli officials told the BBC fuel and electricity supplies could be targeted, but not water, food or medicine.

The militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, said such a move would be considered a declaration of war.
SO... how does the NYTIMES feel about Gaza? DOI they see it as a hjotbed or totalitaran islamism and antisemitism? NOPE. They have sympathy for the enemy. YUP: Just as the NYTIMES correspondent MacFarquhar always apologizes for islamists, NYTIMES correspondent Steven Erlanger apologizes for so-called Palestinian Arabs; from today's piece - TITLED, Isolation of Gaza Chokes Off Trade:
One man runs a large clothing business started by his mother. The other runs an illegal smuggling business started by his father. One deals in clothes, the other in weapons and explosives.

Nabil Bowab’s clothing factory had 800 workers before Hamas conquered Gaza. Now it has laid off all but 20 of them.

Different though they may be, both men have been enduring a deep economic depression since Hamas took over Gaza, which has been almost entirely shut off from normal trade and travel with the world. And both men have laid off nearly all their workers.
The false moral equivalency is breath-taking. In the minds of the postmodern leftists who are running the NYTIMES into the ground, we're supposed to feel sympathy for these people - who CHOSE the path they are on. We are supposed to have sympathy for the workers the bomb-makers had to lay off. SHEESH. These lefties are truly warped.

REASON # 1473 WHY NATIONAL HEALTHCARE IS A JOKE: CANADIAN MP HEADS TO U.S. FOR CANCER TREATMENT

And, of course, he's coming here because, spurred on by the free market (which rewards people grandly), our researchers have developed the best cancer treatments in the entire world:
Liberal MP Belinda Stronach, who is battling breast cancer, travelled to California last June for an operation that was recommended as part of her treatment, says a report.

Stronach's spokesman, Greg MacEachern, told the Toronto Star that the MP for Newmarket-Aurora had a "later-stage" operation in the U.S. after a Toronto doctor referred her.

"Belinda had one of her later-stage operations in California, after referral from her personal physicians in Toronto. Prior to this, Belinda had surgery and treatment in Toronto, and continues to receive follow-up treatment there," said MacEachern.

He said speed was not the reason why she went to California. Instead, MacEachern said the decision was made because the U.S. hospital was the best place to have it done due to the type of surgery required.
RELIAPUNDIT ADDS: She's reputedly a close AND I MEAN INTIMATELY CLOSE "friend" of Bill Clinton.

Turkish PM Calls For Bringing Back The Scarf

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has calle for the lifting of a ban on women wearing headscarves at state universities. Mr Erdogan told the UK's Financial Times the ban was depriving some women of the right to higher education.

The PM's Islamist-rooted AK Party began drafting a new constitution after its landslide election victory in July.

The separation of religion and state enshrined in the current constitution is one of the key issues in the debate.

IMPORTANT TRIAL EVIDENCE: MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD'S PLANS TO REPLACE CONSTITUTION WITH SHARI'A

A most interesting development in the Holy Land Foundation trial in Texas has taken place: As the Dallas Morning News reveals, the Muslim Brotherhood's goals in the US included replacing the Constitution with Shari'a law (Hat tip: Hot Air):
Amid the mountain of evidence released in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, the most provocative has turned out to be a handful of previously classified evidence detailing Islamist extremists' ambitious plans for a U.S. takeover.

A knot of terrorism researchers say the memos and audiotapes, many translated from Arabic and containing detailed strategies by the international Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, are proof that extremists have long sought to replace the Constitution with Shariah, or Islamic law.

[...]

The documents – introduced in recent weeks as part of the prosecution's case in the trial of the now defunct Holy Land Foundation and five of its organizers – lay out the Brotherhood's plans in chillingly stark terms.

A 1991 strategy paper for the Brotherhood, often referred to as the Ikhwan in Arabic, found in the Virginia home of an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, describes the group's U.S. goals, referred to as a "civilization-jihadist process."

"The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions," it states. This process requires a "mastery of the art of 'coalitions,' the art of 'absorption' and the principles of 'cooperation.' "

Success in the U.S. "in establishing an observant Islamic base with power and effectiveness will be the best support and aid to the global movement," it states.

A transcript of a Brotherhood orientation meeting recorded in the early 1980s includes discussions of the need for "securing the group" from infiltration by "Zionism, Masonry ... the CIA, FBI, etc. so that we find out if they are monitoring us" and "how can we get rid of them." Discussions later turn to "weapons training at the Ikhwan's camps" in Oklahoma and Missouri.

Closing arguments today

Many similar documents are among several hundred pieces of evidence that are part of the trial of Richardson-based Holy Land and the five defendants. They are accused of illegally raising money for Hamas, which was declared a terrorist group by the U.S. in 1995. The defendants are not accused of violent acts here or abroad.
Perhaps they should be. They certainly raised money for committing acts of violence, didn't they?
"The fundamental thing underlying the Brotherhood ideology is the need to establish the caliphate," or the spread of Islamic law, Mr. Farah said. "That's what the documents show: This was a structured, organized movement here."

The Muslim Brotherhood is the parent organization of Hamas, formed in 1987 in the Palestinian territories to combat Israeli occupation. The Brotherhood remains active in many parts of the world, dedicated to increasing fundamentalist Islamic influence. A key goal is to place nations under Shariah.

Shariah is a Muslim system of rules and laws based on the Quran that govern all aspects of life, including food, dress and religious tithing, or zakat. In nations living under Shariah such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, there is little or no distinction between religion and state. In its most fundamental form, Shariah also mandates harsh criminal punishments, such as stonings and cutting off thieves' hands.
I once had a thought: what if Islam established a presence in 19th century America? Just think how much nightmare and chaos there would've been then. You'd have gangs worse than that of Frank and Jesse James turning up, and it'd take a good portion of the military to deal with them.

And lest we forget: CAIR is one of the unindicted co-conspirators on the list. It's time already to make that indicted and order them to turn up for trial.

Read also this important item at the Jamestown Foundation and another one at The American Thinker.

THE MUFTI, THE NAZIS, AND MODERN ISLAMISM

Bryan at Hot Air points to a video in German that talks about the connections of the Mufti and the Nazis during WW2.

As Bryan says, it's about:
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem before and during the WWII years, Haj Amin El Husseini, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood (founded 1928) aligned with the German Nazis in 1937 and recruited Muslim SS units in Bosnia during the war.
And Yasir Arafat was a relative of Husseini's. This is a very recommended video documentary to see.