THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE ABOUT DEMOGRAPHICS

Israel HaYom interviewed David Goldman, columnist and author of How Civilizations Die (and why Islam is dying too). He told them the following:

You surprised me in all that regards Islam. It has been known for some time that Europe is sinking demographically, but that this should be extended to the Muslims, too?

Indeed, Muslim birthrates are falling even in Europe. The single factor that best explains fertility across the whole Muslim world is literacy. Just on a purely statistical basis one can explain 60 percent of the variations of fertility on the base of literacy. And where you have detailed data, for example in Iran or Turkey, you can show a very strong differential in fertility between women with an elementary school education, a high school education and a college education. This is also exactly what is happening in Israel, and in Judea and Samaria. I am aware that convergence of fertility is an enormously controversial issue. Yet it is clear that there has been a convergence.

What about Iran?

In the case of Iran, we have something that has literally never been seen in all of world history, astounding demographers. The average Iranian comes from a family of seven children. For the average Iranian today, if you exclude some of the minorities, fertility is 1.6 to 1.7.

The Iranian leadership speaks about this issue publically and warns against a demographic catastrophe. Now, the west has a demographic problem too, but for a rich country and a poor country this is somewhat different. On current trends, by 2040 Iran will have an elderly-dependent ratio of 30%. And this is in a country with a personal income of merely a tenth of the United States! Going from 8% of elderly dependence in 2005 to 30% in 2040 -- this is a catastrophe. No poor country in the world can deal with that kind of problem. So at this point it becomes a major strategic factor. From the grim viewpoint of the current Iranian leadership, this encourages adventurism.

I do not view demographics as destiny, but I do think that it is an important factor in Iranian calculations. They are at the peak of their power; they have a big young generation; they feel they have the historic opportunity to establish Shiite dominance in the Middle East. If they lose this opportunity now, they may never have another. So their willingness to take risks, including risks related to developing weapons, supporting terrorism, intervening in Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan and elsewhere, is all the greater.

The problem with Iran's dictatorship is that they're willing to commit forms of suicide like shahidism in order to destroy Israel and the west. It may be good news that their birthrate is plummeting, but for now, they're still very extremely dangerous.

ATTEMPTED UNIVERSITY BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL FAILS

The National Post wrote about the boycott the American Studies Association tried - and failed - to lead against Israel, and they note that:

Knocking Israel is nothing new in academia, of course. On certain campuses, moaning on about Zionist racism, imperialism, colonialism, hegemony, settlerism etc. is, for many students, a more enthusiastically pursued activity than getting an actual degree.

This makes me wonder what the real success rate is for students at universities today. Are they really studying in whatever fields they supposedly learn? If this is all they care about, then they don't even qualify for real careers.

The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, of which this latest boycott attempt is offspring, has been around since 2005. Its popularity with the hard left coincides with the rise of Israeli Apartheid Week activities on North American campuses. But something has happened in recent years: I notice that the response to the latest urging from the claque of self-styled anti-Zionists is not being received with nearly the same respect as previous iterations. The ASA has been taking withering fire from all quarters. Over 100 American universities already have come forward to say that they want nothing to do with any such boycott.

I certainly hope it's losing support. The colleges are supposed to be teaching subjects, not encouraging political activity. The ASA should apologize for their vulgar behavior and not engage in such repellent shows ever again.

BABALU'S SUCCINCT SUMMARY OF UPSIDE-DOWN LIBERAL MORALITY

Babalú Blog: 

Che Guevara: “idealist,” “symbol of liberation.” Phil Robertson “Liar!” “Hater!”

ISAIAH 5:20:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

PAIN, LOVE, SEX, AND DYSTOPIA

RS McCain has this great post linking to this radical feminist.

I have a few thoughts:

She argues that sexual intercourse is evil, bad and wrong because the first experience is almost always painful for the female and because it can result in an unwanted pregnancy which - if allowed to go to term - will also be painful.

Pain somehow proves to her twisted postmodern satisfaction that the act is intrinsically bad, evil, wrong.

Sexual intercourse is PIV to her: penis in vagina - and it is ALWAYS rape.

Hmmm...

What about love itself? It is almost always entwined with pain as we are almost always disappointed or hurt by those we love. Should we therefore avoid love, call love evil, bad, wrong? When someone we love dies, it is painful. When they are hurting, we suffer. Should therefore we avoid love?

When we struggle to improve our bodies or our minds, we often feel pain - muscle pain, eye strain, headaches. Should we therefore call all exertion evil and wrong and bad?

Creating a world without pain - sexual pain or love pain - might seem to misguided postmodernists like the radical feminist to lead to a utopia, to heaven in earth, but it would only lead to a dystopia, which makes it very much like the other misguided utopianist dreams of the left, dreams of eliminating poverty by having the state enforcing equal outcomes and setting prices, dreams of stabilizing the climate - (as if it was ever stable! as if the climate circa 1992, for example, was "perfect" and any weather which deviates from that is evil, bad , wrong), dreams of having an egalitarian international order in which all nations and cultures have n equal say - (except for Israel of course!).

Each of the "dreams" are as fantasistical as the radical feminist's sexual dream of a world with just women and no "PIV". (Postmodern leftism is a fantasist ideology - like islamism.)

A world built on any of these "dreams" will inevitably be a dystopian nightmare. Though capitalism and the freemarket may seem to the postmodern leftist to be merely a chaotic mess driven by selfishness and greed, it remains - nevertheless - the system which has improved the lives of more people more quickly than anything else in all human history. Economic outcomes will always vary and there will always be some losers and some losses and some relative poverty - but the lives that the bottom 15% live now is infinitely better than the lives of the bottom 15% a century ago. And of course, climate change is natural.

It would be silly except for the fact that the most important acculturating institutions in our civilization - the academy and the mass media - are dominated by postmodern leftists who basically subscribe to the dystopianistic "dreams" and a brainwashing millions of people to believe in the utopias they promise.

Even to the extent that they call islamo-terrorists "freedom fighters", blame the fact that a ship got stuck in the summer ice of Antarctica on global warming, desire a single-payer healthcare system in the USA despite the fact that such systems in Europe get worse results and are unaffordable.

And so on.

What is so effing sad is that because they now dominate the political scene, they're able to inflict their dystopias on us all -and we are all suffering mire as a result.

We can halt this slide into dystopia in November of 2014.

In fact, it's November or never.

THE EUROPEAN DEBT CRISIS IS FAR FROM OVER - IN FACT, THINGS ARE QUIETLY GETTING WORSE

The debt continues to rise in the debt-ridden countries, and the crisis can flare up again, economists warn. Slowly, the massive problems of sovereign debt in particular southern European countries slipped into the background. 

Paradoxically - the debt continues to grow across the board, and only the European Central Bank (ECB) promise of a giant safety net, investors still. 

The crisis is not resolved

The question is whether it is sufficient to keep the crisis at the door in 2014. "The European debt crisis has slipped into the background in relation to the financial markets awareness. This is not to say that the debt crisis is resolved," says principal analyst at BRF Kredit Mikkel Hoegh. 

A post too early 

The same rating gets in chief economist Jacob Graven at Sydbank. 

"It's a record too early to declare the crisis over. Looking at the underlying issues, they are still there. Has continued deficit in the public sector of all heavily indebted countries. Debt grows and is greater than at any other time, "he says.

I expect the ess to hit the fan before April 1st.

PLO ENVOY IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA KEPT UNLICENSED WEAPONS

A PLO envoy working in Czechoslovakia (naturally, they should be throughly ashamed of themselves for allowing this), was killed in an explosion recently. Now, the authorities have found a cache of weapons stored in his residence (Hat tip: Jihad Watch):

PRAGUE/GAZA (Reuters) - The Palestinian envoy to Prague was 'deliberately killed', his daughter alleged on Thursday, a day after he died in a mysterious explosion after opening a safe in his residence.

Czech police said the blast that killed ambassador Jamal al-Jamal might have been caused by mishandling an explosive securing the safe. They said they were not treating it as an attack or a terrorist incident.

In a further twist, investigators found unlicensed weapons at the Palestinian diplomatic mission, and the Czech foreign ministry said it would demand an explanation.

Jamal suffered lethal injuries to his head, chest and abdomen in the explosion on New Year's Day. His daughter Rana al-Jamal, 30, told Reuters: "We believe my father was killed and that his death was something arranged and not an accident. How? We do not know and that is what we want to know."

Jamal had been in Prague only since October but had previously served at the mission for two decades from the mid-1980s, the daughter said. He had used the safe during that period and it remained in Prague when he left, she added by telephone from Ramallah in the West Bank.

The Palestinian mission is in the process of moving into a new embassy and residence, which share the same compound. Jamal was killed at the new residence.

"The safe was emptied and moved to the house. My father had been putting documents inside it and it was open," Rana al-Jamal said. "The explosion took place while he used it."

She said her mother, who was there at the time, had told her the safe had not been badly damaged.

Nabil el-Fahel, a spokesman for the Palestinian mission, said the safe was being used on a daily basis to store cash.

There's a chance he might've been preparing for jihad in the Czech country, or storing the weapons for other minions to use. However, I'm skeptical the Czech government will follow through with their demand for explanations from these awful pseudo-diplomats.

IF COLORADO CAN HAVE LEGAL POT, CAN THE REST OF US AT LEAST GET THIS?

PREDICTION: ON THE WAY BACK FROM HAWAII, AIR FORCE ONE WILL "REFUEL" IN DENVER

JUST PREDICTING.....

ON ACCOUNT OF THIS - (AMONG OTHER THINGS, LIKE HIS AWDUL MEMORY):

In his 1995 memoir “Dreams from My Father,” Obama writes about smoking pot almost like Dr. Seuss wrote about eating green eggs and ham. As a high school kid, Obama wrote, he would smoke “in a white classmate’s sparkling new van,” he would smoke “in the dorm room of some brother” and he would smoke “on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids.”He would smoke it here and there. He would smoke it anywhere.Now a soon-to-be published biography by David Maraniss entitled “Barack Obama: The Story” gives more detail on Obama’s pot-smoking days, complete with testimonials from young Barry Obama’s high school buddies, a group that went by the name “the Choom Gang.” Choom was slang for smoking marijuana.Maraniss portrays the teenage Obama as not just a pot smoker, but a pot-smoking innovator.“As a member of the Choom Gang,” Maraniss writes, “Barry Obama was known for starting a few pot-smoking trends.”The first Obama-inspired trend: “Total Absorption” or “TA”.“TA was the opposite of Bill Clinton’s claim that as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford he smoked dope but never inhaled,” explains Maraniss. Here’s how it worked: If you exhaled prematurely when you were with the Choom Gang, “you were assessed a penalty and your turn was skipped the next time the joint came around.”As one of Obama’s old high school buddies tells Maraniss: “Wasting good bud smoke was not tolerated.”Another Obama innovation: “Roof Hits.”“When they were chooming in a car all the windows had to be rolled up so no smoke blew out and went to waste; when the pot was gone, they tilted their heads back and sucked in the last bit of smoke from the ceiling.”Maraniss also says Obama was known for his “Interceptions”: “When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way in, out of turn, shouted ‘Intercepted!,’ and took an extra hit.”

OBAMA HAS BAD MEMORY.

AND THAT MIGHT BE BECAUSE HE WAS/IS A POTHEAD.

POT RUINS MEMORY.

JUST SAYING...

LEFTIST LAWYER WHO ASSISTED TERRORISTS RELEASED EARLY FROM PRISON BY OBAMA AND HOLDER

LYNN STEWART WAS A BIGGIE AT THE NLG AND CCR.

SHE AIDED AND ABETTED ISLAMO-TERRORISTS AND THEM LIED UNDER OATH ABOUT IT.

SPECIFICALLY SHE AIDED THE BLIND SHEIKH WHO ATTACKED THE WTC IN 1993.

IN SEPTEMBER OF 2012 THE TERRORISTS IN EGYPT WHO WERE DEMONSTRATING AND RIOTING AGAINST THE US EMBASSY IN CAIRO WERE DEMANDING HIS  RELEASE.

SOME ANALYSTS THINK THE TERRORISTS IN BENGHAZI ATTACKED THE BUILDING CHRIS STEVENS WAS IN IN ORDER TO KIDNAP HIM AND HOLD HIM HOSTAGE AND TRADE HIM FOR THE BLIND SHEIKH.

STEWART WAS CONVICTED FOR AIDING AND ABETTING THE BLIND SHEIKH AND SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO STAY IN PRISON UNTIL 2018, BUT OBAMA AND HOLDER LET HER OUT EARLY.

MEANWHILE THEY PROSECUTE MARINES WHO KILL THE ENEMY IN THE BATTLEFIELD.

WATCH DEBRA BURLINGAME DEMOLISH THE RELEASE IN AN APPEARANCE ON THE MEGYN KELLY SHOW:

OBAMA AND HOLDER ARE NOT FOR PEACE AND NOT FOR JUSTICE; THEY ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE - AS LYNN STEWART WAS. 

THEY ARE MORE COMMITTED TO THE VICTORY OF THE LEFT OVER THE UNITED STATES THAN TO ANYTHING ELSE, AND THEY SEE THE ISLAMO-TERRORISTS AS ALLIES, NOT FOES.

WE CAN'T REALLY FIX THIS UNTIL NOVEMBER.

IN FACT, IT'S NOVEMBER OR NEVER.

THE FED AND OBAMA HAVE MADE THE RICH RICHER. A BUSH-STYLE ACROSS-THE-BOARD TAX CUT WOULD MAKE THE REST OF US RICHER

JUST SAYING.

VIDEO OF KRAUTHAMMER WEIGHING IN HERE AND GEORGE WILL WEIGHING IN HERE.

THE FED HAS BEEN PUMPING A TRILLION BUCKS A YEAR INTO THE ECONOMY FOR 5 YEARS AND THE ONLY REAL EFFECT IS A DOUBLING OF THE STOCK MARKETS;

(IOW: THEY'VE CREATED A BUBBLE).

TO ADDRESS THE FACT THAT WORKING PEOPLE HAVE NOT SEEN THEIR LOT IMPROVE THE LAST 5 YEARS, OBAMA AND HIS COMRADES ARE NOW AGITATING FOR A RAISE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE.

INSTEAD OF TRYING TO RAISE TAKE HOME PAY AND DISPOSABLE INCOME FOR WORKING PEOPLE BY RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE -

 (AND THEREBY HURTING STRUGGLING BUSINESSES AND CREATING PRESSURES THAT WILL RAISE UNEMPLOYMENT AND RETARD WAGE GROWTH) -

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD JUST CUT EVERYONE'S INCOME TAXES.

AND ALSO HAVE A HIATUS OF THE PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION TO FICA FOR ONE YEAR.

THIS WOULD GIVE EVERYONE AN INSTANT PAY RAISE AND IT WON'T COST BUSINESSES A PENNY.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS RUINING THE MARINES AND MAKING US LESS SAFE

Political correctness has absolutely no place in our armed forces. If women aren’t strong enough to pass a minimum strength test in the Marines then they have no business being in the Marines. Period. 

Unfortunately, that’s not a popular view:

CBS DC – More than half of female Marines in boot camp can’t do three pullups, the minimum standard that was supposed to take effect with the new year, prompting the Marine Corps to delay the requirement, part of the process of equalizing physical standards to integrate women into combat jobs. 

The delay rekindled sharp debate in the military on the question of whether women have the physical strength for some military jobs, as service branches move toward opening thousands of combat roles to them in 2016. 

Although no new timetable has been set on the delayed physical requirement, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos wants training officials to “continue to gather data and ensure that female Marines are provided with the best opportunity to succeed,” Capt. Maureen Krebs, a Marine spokeswoman, said Thursday. 

Starting with the new year, all female Marines were supposed to be able to do at least three pullups on their annual physical fitness test and eight for a perfect score. The requirement was tested in 2013 on female recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., but only 45 percent of women met the minimum, Krebs said. 

The Marines had hoped to institute the pullups on the belief that pullups require the muscular strength necessary to perform common military tasks such as scaling a wall, climbing up a rope or lifting and carrying heavy munitions.

THE LEFT DOESN'T CARE ABOUT COMBAT READINESS AS MUCH AS THEY CARE ABOUT  A FALSE NOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY.

THE GENDERS ARE DIFFERENT.

PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT ARE NOT REALITY-BASED; THEY ARE IDEOLOGICAL.

IT'S LIKE REFUSING TO ACCEPT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS NATURAL.

IT'S INSANE.

AND THIS INSANITY IS MAKING US LESS SAFE.

PC IS ALSO WHY THE NSA HAS TO COLLECT DATA ON EVERYONE INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THE ENEMY.

PC IS MAKING US LESS SAFE AND LESS FREE.

WE CAN CHANGE IT THIS NOVEMBER.

IN FACT, IT'S NOVEMBER OR NEVER.

UH-OH: NYTIMES: SCIENTIFIC STUDY PROVES OBAMACARE WILL INCREASE EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS AND COSTS

NYTIMES: Supporters of President Obama’s health care law had predicted that expanding insurance coverage for the poor would reduce costly emergency room visits as people sought care from primary care doctors. 

But a rigorous new study conducted in Oregon has flipped that assumption on its head, finding that the newly insured actually went to the emergency room more often.

The study, published in the journal Science, compared thousands of low-income people in the Portland area who were randomly selected in a 2008 lottery to get Medicaid coverage with people who entered the lottery but remained uninsured. Those who gained coverage made 40 percent more visits to the emergency room than their uninsured counterparts. The pattern was so strong that it held true across most demographic groups, times of day, and types of visits, including for conditions that were treatable in primary care settings. 

The finding casts doubt on the hope that expanded insurance coverage will help rein in rising emergency room costs just as more than two million people are gaining coverage under the Affordable Care Act. 

Instead, the study suggests that the surge in the numbers of insured people may put even greater pressure on emergency rooms and increase costs. Nearly 30 million uninsured Americans could gain coverage under the law, about half of them through Medicaid. The first policies took effect on Wednesday.

IOW: EVERYTHING CONSERVATIVES SAID  ABOUT THIS PLAN WAS CORRECT AND EVERYTHING THAT LIBERALS SAID ABOUT IT WAS A LIE.

OBAMACARE IS MAKING THINGS WORSE, NOT BETTER

THANKS TO OBAMA, AL QAEDA ARE RE-TAKING IRAQ

BBC:

Special forces in Iraq are fighting jihadist militants who have reportedly taken over swathes of two cities. The clashes with Sunni fighters from the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) are taking place in Fallujah and Ramadi. Both cities are in the province of Anbar where Sunni militant activity has been on the rise. Meanwhile at least 23 people were reportedly killed in militant attacks elsewhere in Iraq.

THESE ARE THE FRUITS OF APPEASEMENT, UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL ON A PUBLIC TIME-TABLE, AND THE INABILITY AND UNWILLINGNESS OF OBAMA AND HIS COMRADES TO DO ANY HEAVY-LIFTING EITHER DIPLOMATICALLY OR MILITARILY - AND HIS FAILURE TO SECURE A STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT.

IN EFFECT, OBAMA HANDED IRAQ TO IRAN AND AL QAEDA.

THERE IS A WAY TO REESTABLISH SOME POSITIVE ORDER IN THE REGION:

SUPPORT AND INDEPENDENT KURDISTAN AND BREAK-UP SYRIA AND IRAQ AND A PART OF TURKEY AND IRAN TO DO SO.

"JIHAD JANE" COULD STILL BE DANGEROUS

That's why authorities want her to remain in prison:

The Pennsylvania woman who called herself Jihad Jane and a teenage accomplice from Maryland provided "very significant" assistance to U.S. authorities in several terrorism investigations but still remains a threat to the public, prosecutors say in new court filings.

Prosecutors said Colleen LaRose, 50, should be sentenced to "decades behind bars" for her role in a failed 2009 plot to kill Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who offended many Muslims by drawing the Prophet Mohammed on the head of a dog.

After years of delay, the American-born LaRose is expected to be sentenced on Monday in Philadelphia. A similar hearing for Mohammad Hassan Khalid, the youngest person ever charged with terrorism in the United States, is set for Tuesday.

U.S. guidelines call for LaRose to receive a life sentence and for Khalid, who is now 20, to receive 15 years. Given their cooperation, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence LaRose to "decades behind bars" and Khalid to "less than 10 years."

I don't know if LaRose is still worshiping Islam and wearing a burka in prison, but if she's sorry, she'll stop adhering to the Religion of Rape, and so too will her partner in crime.

YOU CAN'T DEVELOP A "RUSSIAN" ISLAM

A political scientist named Eberhard Schneider thinks we can prevent the spread of jihadism by developing a Russian form of Islam! From the interview:

What should Putin do now?

If I were Putin, I would try to develop a Russian Islam - a moderate Islam that's orientated towards Russia. He should do everything he can to stop Wahhabism spreading any further in Russia. At the moment it is increasingly infiltrating the mosques; it's spreading among the imams, especially in Kazakhstan. In the Soviet era, religion was suppressed by the state. After the fall of the Soviet Union the Muslims realized that they didn't have enough imams, so they turned to Islamic countries abroad. And Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism originates, was more than happy to help by sending imams.

Now where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, Nicholas Sarkozy said something like that when he was president in France. All Islam is built upon the same beliefs as found in the Koran, so if he thinks it's that simple, he should get himself a new career. He's not helping anybody harmed by jihad, and his recommendations are thus nothing more than appeasement and limpness coming immediately after the horror that took place this week.

SUICIDE BOMBING IN RUSSIA

There was another jihad attack in Russia that murdered 14 people. Experts fear it may have been planned ahead of the upcoming olympic games to be held there:

Several leading counter-terrorism experts fear that the two terror attacks in Volgograd, Russia that killed at least 34 people on Sunday and Monday --and another suicide bombing in nearby Pyatigorsk that killed three people Friday -- are probes in advance of a larger attack against either the Sochi Olympics or Moscow.

The experts, from the offices of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and Moscow, also say that Russia’s security services are ill-prepared to deal with the kind of small-unit operations that produced the bombings, since they have been trained to prevent massive attacks from larger, well-organized groups. That may make them vulnerable to the new strain of Russian terrorism -- streams of jihadis emerging from training camps in the Dagestan forests who have no leaders and no real organizations and are thus hard to find or stop.

They have a leader, and it's the Koran. If they don't prevent indoctrination by Islam, this horror will continue. When are they ever going to learn?

ISLAM MAY BECOME IRELAND'S 2ND RELIGION BY 2043

The once proud island country may not be so much anymore if they allow the ummah to take over, as it's been doing there for a while (via WND):

ISLAM will become Ireland’s second religion within the next 30 years because of dramatic population growth and immigration.

The revelation came as construction work is expected to begin next year on Ireland’s largest mosque. [...]

Population statistics compiled by the Central Statistics Office confirmed that Islam is now Ireland’s fastest-growing religion and, at its current rate of expansion, it is set to become the second religion in the State after Catholicism by 2043.

In 1991, Islam accounted for just 0.1pc of the Irish population. That soared to 1.1pc – a 10-fold increase – by 2011, when a total of 49,204 Muslims were resident in Ireland.

Census

While there are indications the growth rate has slowed to 70pc between 2002 and 2006, a strong birth rate and immigration are expected to result in Ireland’s Muslim population exceeding 100,000 by 2020. [...]

The latest Census figures also revealed that 84pc of the Irish population describe themselves as Catholic, down from 91.6pc in the 1991 census.

As Daniel Greenfield says, this is what happens when local birthrates decline along with better religions. What would Michael Collins think if he saw this?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH ZIONISM?

I heard someone who I know supports Israel say something to the effect that they didn't support Zionism.   I wondered how one could support Israel and not accept Zionism.  And I realised this persons distaste for Zionism was a result of her attempt to be politically correct...to have her cake and eat it too..without any critical analysis of her position.  How could we have Israel without Zionism?

How can phalistinians agitate for their right to an independant state without recognizing the right of Jews  to a homeland?

The Arab attack on Zionism is more than hypocrisy...it is part of a concerted, long term effort to delegitimize and eventually destroy Israel.

ARTIFICE WEBSITE CHOOSES EASY TARGET FOR ACCUSATIONS OF POLITICIZATION

The Artifice website wrote about politics in comics. They cite mainly Grant Morrison's take on Animal Man as a great example of the writer putting what may be his personal politics into his comics writing. Yet when it comes to Holy Terror, they seem to have quite the opposite opinion about Frank Miller:

That said, while Morrison may avoid the trap – for the most part – of converting Animal Man into a political diatribe, other authors have been less able to avoid such accusations. Perhaps the most infamous example is Holy Terror, a graphic novel that it’s writer, Frank Miller, expressly admits to being a propagandistic examination of terrorism and Islam in general. It is fair to say that the critics did not like it, and upon reading it, it’s not hard to see why. It’s brutal stuff, and as with any work given the label “propaganda,” it’s message – that Islamic terrorism (and apparently Islam generally, given that the author doesn’t go to any trouble to make a distinction) is a terrible, real threat to the freedom and security of the United States – is about as blunt as you can imagine.

Some leftist still has a problem with a book that's already at least 2 years old? And what a cheap, easy target he's choosing for calling a diatribe. What about all the leftist politics that make their way into comics far more mainstream than Holy Terror ever was? Including - but not limited to - Peter David's insult to opponents of the mosque that could've been built at Ground Zero, Mark Waid's propaganda, Ed Brubaker's attack on the Tea Party, among other lefty stunts of recent? How are those not diatribes? In fact, what if Animal Man is a diatribe and the Artifice writer doesn't have what it takes to admit that?

He also accuses Miller of not making distinctions without even acknowledging the content of the Koran and the verses that condone violence, and calls the book "brutal" without recognizing the subject matter is very serious stuff. I'm not saying Miller doesn't have flaws even on an issue like this, but when a buffoon like the writer for the Artifice fails to critique based on more valid points, it's clear he didn't write this up for sincere reasons. And citing critics as not liking it without being brave enough to admit the majority of detractors were leftists is another minus. I don't think it's fair at all. What he needs to look for is an exact reaction from a lot of the audience. He continues to say:

This isn’t the first time Miller has allowed his political views to enter a story, either; a less recent example would be his work on All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, and his depictions therein of the killings of corrupt cops, the near-veneration of Batman’s violent and morally dubious vigilantism as “justice” and the characterisation of Wonder Woman as a brash, violent, hypocritical straw feminist whose assessment of her own powers and place in the world borders on narcissism – and really, given how unsubtle that last critique is, it’s pretty easy to theorise where Miller stands in regards to feminism, all in all. Miller has, in the past, received his fair share of accolades, but these works brought a lot of criticism, and even the most charitable amongst us would have to call them controversial at best.

I won't argue about Miller's depiction of WW, as I think it wasn't right to tear down on her under the excuse this was an alternate universe take on a classic heroine. But if he has a problem with that, what does he think of Brad Meltzer after he penned that 2004 atrocity, Identity Crisis, or Geoff Johns for writing up at least a few acts that could be construed as insulting to women, like the nasty treatment of Linda Park West in the Flash at the time Johns came up with a new Reverse-Flash? Why should just Miller be the controversial writer/artist here? Some cheap shots he takes.

Still, it's not like Holy Terror and Miller's opinions on Occupy Wall Street have affected his career much, since he's still in the business, getting another of his Sin City GNs picked for movie adaptations and even a TV series, and even drew a cover for Detective Comics. (Though in all due honesty, I'm not happy he had to do a job for an issue whose story contributors include Meltzer. Ugh.) This probably suggests most leftists have come to terms with how Occupy wasn't worth all the fuss, and see no point in resenting Miller for what he thinks of it anymore.

OMG: TAB WINS A 2013 FAB 50 AWARD!

It's a great honor to be selected as one of the FAB 50 BLOGS by Director Blue - especially to be considered along side the other great bloggers in our category:

The Geert Wilders Award 

for Best Anti-Jihad Blogger:

Atlas Shrugs

Gates of Vienna

JihadWatch

The Astute Blogger

The Jawa Report

Check out all 50 blog winners right now - and everyday!

ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION RE-DISCOVERS MOST POWERFUL WEATHER CATALYST OF ALL-TIME: THE GORE EFFECT

THE NOW FAMOUSLY STUCK EXPEDITION TO THE ANTARCTIC SET OFF TO PROVE MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING WAS MELTING THE ANTARCTIC; INSTEAD THEY REDISCOVERED THE MOST POWERFUL WEATHER CATALYST:

THE GORE EFFECT.

THE GORE EFFECT IS WHEN AN EVENT SPONSORED BY "MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE ALARMISTS" GETS INTERRUPTED BY WEATHER EVENTS WHICH DISPROVE THEIR THESIS.

THIS EXPEDITION IS BEING LED BY AN PSEUDO SCIENTIST AND CARBON-ENTREPRENEUR CHRIS TURNEY. THIS SCUMBAG SHOULD BE RUN OUT OF ACADEMIA SINCE HE OWNS A COMPANY WHICH CAN PROFIT FROM THE FARCICAL FRAUD HE IS TRYING TO PERPETRATE.

THIS EXPEDITION WAS INTENDED TO SHOW HOW MAN-MADE CO2 HAS MADE THE ANTARCTIC LESS COLD THAN 100 YEARS AGO BY TRACING THE 100 YEAR OLD TRAIL OF AN HEROIC EXPLORER WHO PERISHED WHILE EXPLORING.

THE EXPEDITION IS STUCK IN ICE. DURING THE ANTARCTIC SUMMER, NO LESS.

IT WOULD BE IRONICALLY FUNNY IF THE MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX WASN'T HURTING THE PROSPERITY OF THE ENTIRE WORLD AND SPECIFICALLY RETARDING THE INDUSTRIAL GROWTH AND THEREFORE THE QUALITY IF LIFE FOR 2 BILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN THE THIRD WORLD.

THE ONLY THING THAT HAS HURT THE LIVING STANDARDS OF POOR PEOPLE OF THE THIRD WORLD MORE THAN CLIMATE ALARMISM IS SOCIALISM.

AND MOST OF THE POOR PEOPLE OF THE THIRD WORLD ARE NON-WHITES; THEREFORE NOTHING IS EFFECTIVELY MORE GENOCIDALLY RACIST THAN CLIMATE ALARMISM EXCEPT FOR ABORTION.

FUNNY: ALL THREE ARE BASIC TENETS OF THE LEFT.

HMMM...

MORE HERE AT WUWT.

AND MORE HERE, TOO.

INDEPENDENCE DAY WILL GIVE MORE FOCUS ON WOMEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS

For the coming year's Independence Day, more studies will be given about women's contributions for Israel:

Committee chairwoman Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat, who proposed the theme for the 66th Independence Day, saying she thinks it is "appropriate and important and will increase public awareness of women's progress and achievements in recent years, as well as the many challenges we will continue to face until we become a truly egalitarian country."

Many women had a positive influence on Israel's development as a country and society, Livnat added, and the time has come to thank them and give them an official platform.

That's an excellent idea, and does a great service for the country.

MUSLIM MISSIONARIES CONVERTING JEWISH WOMEN TO ISLAM

This isn't something new, but it is cause for concern:

One Jewish woman converted to Islam after immigrating from the Caucasus; the other, from Croatia. Al-Jazeera reports that an organization in the Arab Israeli village of Kafr Qara has been, systematically and slowly, spreading Islam to Jewish women.

The group is called Dar Al-Islam (lit. "house of Islam"), and is located in the village of Kafr Qara, in north-central Israel.

One of the converts has renamed herself Aisha - after the wife of the Muslim prophet Mohammed who married him at age 9. When Aisha was visiting Israel from her native Caucasus, an Arab handed her a pamphlet entitled "The Way to Happiness." Back home, when afflicted with a serious illness, Aisha thumbed through the pamphlet.

The pamphlet gave her comfort - and roped her in to the world of Islam. After she contacted the Dar Al-Islam organization, who had distributed the pamphlet, she studied Islam rigorously for 6 months before going to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to convert. [...]

The tactic of luring women away from modern Western views of women's roles is not new among Islamists. In December, the pan-Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir held an event in Jerusalem, featuring a 13-year-old girl preaching against women's rights.

Naturally, that's exploitation of youngsters for political purposes. As for luring women into Islam, this is something that has to be dealt with.

VENDING MACHINE IDIOCY

THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF NANNYSTATE IDIOCY:

(AP) — Office workers in search of snacks will be counting calories along with their change under new labeling regulations for vending machines included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.  

Requiring calorie information to be displayed on roughly 5 million vending machines nationwide will help consumers make healthier choices, says the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to release final rules early next year. It estimates the cost to the vending machine industry at $25.8 million initially and $24 million per year after that, but says if just .02 percent of obese adults ate 100 fewer calories a week, the savings to the health care system would be at least that great. 

The rules will apply to about 10,800 companies that operate 20 or more machines. 

Nearly three quarters of those companies have three or fewer employees, and their profit margin is extremely low, according to the National Automatic Merchandising Association. An initial investment of $2,400 plus $2,200 in annual costs is a lot of money for a small company that only clears a few thousand dollars a year, said Eric Dell, the group's vice president for government affairs. 

"The money that would be spent to comply with this — there's no return on the investment," he said.

IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WASN'T RUN BY TOTAL EFFING MORONS, AND IF OBAMACARE WASN'T CORRUPTLY PASSED BY THESE TOTAL EFFING MORONS - AND INSTEAD RUN BY PRACTICAL PEOPLE WITH A LITTLE BUSINESS EXPERIENCE, THEN THEY'D MERELY REQUIRE THE VENDOR TO PUT THE VENDED ITEM IN THE SLOT BACKWARDS SO THE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION WAS VISIBLE.

TOTAL COST: ZERO.

REAL SOLUTION: TAKING THE SENATE AWAY FROM REID AND THE DEMS IN 2014.

GOVERNMENT MINISTERS APPROVE BILL TO ANNEX JORDAN VALLEY

A positive step made in effort to prove they're in favor of ensuring control of a vital part of Israel:

The government may be on the way to annexing the Jordan Valley, with the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approving a bill to that effect Sunday.

The proposal by MK Miri Regev (Likud Beytenu) would apply Israeli law to the area, significantly limiting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in peace talks.

If the bill becomes law, Netanyahu would be unable to accept the American offer to put the Jordan Valley and border crossings into Jordan under Palestinian control, with IDF soldiers posted at the border and the US providing additional security.

An offer the public doesn't need, nor does Netanyahu, who shouldn't be making deals with the Obama administration that could hurt Israel.

"The ministerial committee's approval of this bill now, when there are talks with the Palestinians, is a clear statement by the government that the towns in the Jordan Valley are a strategic and security asset of the State of Israel that must stay in our hands," Regev said.

According to Regev, the Jordan Valley is the "safety belt" on the eastern border.

Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar worked to convince the committee to approve the bill, saying "there is no separation between settlement and security, and the Jordan Valley is a consensus among Israeli citizens. There's nothing wrong with everyone knowing that the Jordan Valley will remain Israeli in any final status agreement."

Unfortunately, Yesh Atid is against this bill, along with Tzipi Livni's party and a certain PLO dictator:

Livni, Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Health Minister Yael German said they would submit an appeal of the vote. [...]

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the bill, telling Ma'an the vote in favor of it shows Israel's "indifference" to international law, as well as undermining US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts for peace.

What about his indifference and hatred of us? This is also a reason why, if Yesh Atid loses support in the next election, it won't be such a bad thing.

Update: on a semi-related note, Nadav Shragai tells why it's crucial now to build in Jerusalem.

MUSIC VIDEO: A Day In the Life (under ObamaCare)