BRAND STRATEGY AND PARTISAN POLITICS

Johnson at THE AMERICAN THINKER:

The GOP, it appears, has spoiled its reputation, or as it’s known in business, their “franchise” or “brand.” The little “R” after candidates’ names is today seen as a net negative by many voters who just two years ago saw it as a mild indicator of quality. This is the worst possible turn of events a party can face – and one that could do damage for years to come.

Although elections are often portrayed as contests of ideas, or battles between individual candidates, these simplifications are only partially true. There are a lot of candidates, and a lot of claims, and too many offices and issues for most people to follow closely. So many voters do what consumers everywhere do: when in doubt, they go with the brand they trust most. Features and price (or ideas and candidates) have to compete against that prejudice.

... So what harmed the GOP brand? A deadly cocktail of stupid, atypical decisions. It was everything that the GOP did that surprised voters negatively – and sustained that ill surprise long enough to overcome the inertia of the old (good) brand reputation.

And it must be noted that you can only ruin a brand’s reputation with those who believe in it to some degree. Those who already hate your brand are not going to punish you for changing. So the GOP’s woes can be traced entirely to how the image of the brand has been changed for those who were previously somewhat loyal to the brand (independents and moderates) or very loyal to the brand (conservatives).

He analyzes why the GOP brand has diminished value in the marketplace, and offers a clear remedy. RTWT.

THE SO CALLED REALISTS ARE WRONG ABOUT IRAQ, SYRIA AND IRAN

NRO/THE CORNER:

Realist Utopianism [Michael Rubin]

Do all of Iraq’s neighbors seek a stable, peaceful Iraq? Many realists, from Kofi Annan to James Baker to Barack Obama, seem to think so. Says Annan, “An Iraq at peace is in the interest of all countries in the region, including Iran and Syria.” And Obama, “Neither Iran nor Syria want to see a security vacuum in Iraq filled with chaos, terrorism, refugees and violence….” Where does this assumption, upon which all the calls for engagement derive, come from? The ether? Neither the actions of Tehran nor Damascus provide any evidence that Iraqi security or stability has been their goal.

REALISTICALLY: If we want peace in the Middle East we must neutralize Iran. Iran fuels the strife in Iraq, and Lebanon, and supports Assad's Baathist regime, Nasrallah's Hizballah, and Hamas. Iran deso this because it wants to expand islamofascist hegemony and to keep the West distracted as it tries to become a nuclear power.

The assassination of Christian Lebanese politician Pierre Gemayel leads me to ask the most basic question: QUI BONO? Who benefits - from this assassination and all those which preceded it - and the rest of the mayhem in the region? ONLY Iran and the islamofascist hegemonists benefit. Appeasing them will only encourage them to attack us more. THAT WE MUST NEUTRALIZE IRAN TO ACHIEVE PEACE AND STABILITY IS TRUE REALISM. (More here on the Gemayel assassination. And a complete round up at MEMEORANDUM, as always.)

ROBERT REDEKER GETS RALLY IN HIS SUPPORT

CFP:

“What should the free world do while facing Islamist intimidation?” – wrote Robert Redeker, a French philosophy teacher and writer. His op-ed article, published by Le Figaro in Paris on September 19, 2006 resulted in many death-threats, directed at its author for his alleged “defamation of Islam and of Prophet Mohammed”. These threats must have been serious, because two months after the publishing Redeker is still hiding in his own country, under the protection of security services.

Now, hopefully, he will be able to come out of hiding safely. As told in this entry sent to Atlas Shrugs by Nidra Poller:

Good news: the intellectuals have mobilized in support of Robert Redeker. They held a big all star rally in Toulouse last night, another one in Paris tonight. He is going to come out of hiding. Chalk one up for free speech. And bless the angels that will watch over him.

I also wish him and his family a safe return to regular life, and am glad that he got some much needed support.

MORE LEFTIST INSANITY - THIS TIME FROM MEXICO

BBC:

The defeated left-wing candidate in Mexico's presidential election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has held an unofficial swearing-in ceremony. During his "inauguration" in Mexico City, Mr Lopez Obrador said he was launching a "parallel government". He claims he was the victim of fraud in July's election - a view shared by millions of Mexicans. But some of his supporters think his alternative inauguration is ill-advised and politically irresponsible.

In the presidential election, Mr Lopez Obrador was defeated by less than a percentage point by Felipe Calderon of the governing National Action Party (PAN). Mr Lopez Obrador was "sworn in" by Senator Rosario Ibarra, a human rights activist and member of his party, who placed a red, green and white presidential sash across his shoulders. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at his "inauguration" "I pledge to serve loyally and patriotically as legitimate president of Mexico," Mr Lopez Obrador said before an estimated 100,000 supporters in the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square.

Denial of reality seems to be the hallark of the Left these days - ALL OVER THE WORLD. They deny when they lose; they deny the global jihadist threat; they deny that global warming is natural; they deny that socialized medicine in the EU and Canada is a failure which is bankrupting them; they deny that free markets, low taxes and industrialism reduces poverty better than socialism; they deny that appeasement is a policy which has always failed; they deny that gun control doesn't reduce crime and that self-defense is a basic human right; they deny that the volunteer military is working; they deny that life begins at conception. And so on.

Because the Left is in total denial, they are Fifth Column - sometimes aiding the enemy - as when they leak classified information, and sometimes just by creating poliitcal drag or interference, and generally by lowering morale and our resolve. I wish we had a sensible and truly loyal opposition. The world would be a better pace if we did.

(SOME) EUROPEANS HAVE HAD ENOUGH

National Public Radio's Sylvia Poggioli is broadcasting a series of reports on "Europe's Tilt to the Right," detailing growing concern about Muslim immigration and un-assimiliated non-Europeans.

The first story described Danish concerns, and profiled a young Danish sculptor living in the libertarian enclave of Christiania who discovered that Muslim violence during the Mo'toons crisis "undermined many of her convictions."

The report also highlighted the courageous stance of a Danish legislator, Naser Khader:

One of parliament's most vocal opponents of Islamic radicals is Syrian-born Naser Khader, who says the integration debate is roiling among Muslims themselves.

Khader says many Muslims in Europe want to break their ties with their land of origin and declare their loyalty to their new Western homelands. "But the Islamists don't like this," he says. "They want the mullahs and imams in Muslim countries [to] decide what the Muslims in Europe should do."

Khader insists that Islam and the West are not grappling with a clash of civilizations. "It is clash between ideologies, democracy and not democracy," he says. "Between those who want democracy, modernity, respect for human rights, equality between gender, and the others who want the opposite."

The next story described Belgium's nationalist Flemish party, the Vlaams Belang:

In the Vlaams Belang's stronghold of Hoboken, on the outskirts of Antwerp, the party soared in local elections last month. It won 41 percent of the vote, far ahead of all other parties.

The program it espouses is not Belgian nationalism, but Flemish nationalism:

"We are not in favor of the famous multicultural society," says Filip Dewinter, the party's leader. "We do not have a problem with legal immigrants if they are willing to assimilate to our culture, our way of life, our values...." he says. "But we can't allow that they come to our country, that they come to Europe, and they keep their own culture, their own religion -- Islamic religion -- which is not always compatible with our way of life, our culture."

When Dewinter speaks of culture, he means Flemish -- not Belgian. In fact, the party's other big issue is a demand for separation from the poorer, less-productive French-speaking part of Belgium, which is seen as more laissez-faire toward the influx of Muslim immigrants.

There will be at least one more story in the series, on France. Read or Listen To The Whole Thing.

FALLUJAH PACIFIED

FALLUJAH THEN (left); FALLUJAH NOW (below).

More news that suggests the situation in Iraq is not as dire as Carl Levin and Charlie Rangel seem to think:

The Iraqi city of Fallujah, which two years ago was the site of one of the fiercest battles between insurgents and Americans, has become a stabilized safe haven. In fact, the city, termed “a gated community” by one of the Marine commanders responsible for it, is receiving as many as 150 people per day seeking to escape the ongoing violence in Baghdad.

This news was reported by the Marine Corps Times. Why not the New York Times? Because it doesn't fit the New York Times' support for the "insurgency." (Hat tip: AJ Strata.)

WAFA SULTAN: GWOT IS "A CLASH BETWEEN TWO OPPOSITES"

Doctor of psychiatry Wafa Sultan, named this year as Time Magazine's one of the 100 most influential people of the world in "A Daring Voice Calls For a New Islam," sharply criticized President Bush, according to the November 18, 2006 WorldNetDaily article "Bush empowering terrorists, charges vocal Islam critic":

President Bush is undermining criticism vital to the survival of Western civilization and empowering terrorist leaders by proclaiming Islam a "religion of peace," says one of the most outspoken critics to emerge from the Muslim world in recent years [umph added]. ... She understands Bush's position as president and believes he is only trying to be diplomatic, but insists, nevertheless, his words are "empowering" Muslim leaders whose ultimate aim is for Islamic law to govern the world. "I believe he undermines our credibility by saying that," said Sultan....

[She] told WND she would urge Bush to take a closer look at Islamic culture and its general embrace of violence as a means of establishment and expansion. "Facts are very stubborn things [umph added]. Facts are facts," she said. "If you are not familiar with Islamic culture, how can you claim Islam is a peaceful religion?"

The White House declined WND's request to respond to Sultan's comments....

Read the entire WND article HERE, and watch the video of Dr. Sultan's February 21, 2006 interview on Al-Jazeera Television. According to the New York Times, this video has already been viewed at least one million times. If you've never seen this clip, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

RAMADI SHEIKH JOINS FIGHT AGAINST AL QAEDA

In keeping with yesterday's observation that Al Qaeda is now re-deploying out of Iraq comes a report in the London Times that the Sunni tribes of Ramadi are turning against the terrorists:

Sheikh Sittar and US commanders believe that the tide is turning in their favour. “Most of the people are now convinced that coalition forces are friends, and that the enemy is al-Qaeda,” the 35-year-old Sheikh claimed in his first face-to-face interview with a Western newspaper.

There is still a long, long way to go before peace comes:

It’s very hostile,” said First Lieutenant Matthew McGraw, the US platoon leader. “We get attacked every day.” But not all the fighting is between al-Qaeda and US or Iraqi troops.

But the tribes are supplying recruits to the re-organized local police, and the police are getting results:

Colonel MacFarland and his officers say that they are already seeing dividends. They claim to have killed 750 terrorists since June, that the number of foreign fighters has fallen from more than 1,000 to the “low hundreds” and that US and Iraqi forces now control 70 per cent of the city. They recently found the graves of 200 foreign fighters in a former park. When they recaptured Ramadi’s general hospital they found it occupied by only four wounded insurgents.

And note that these are American troops in Anbar Province, a sector where Americans represent the Coalition. But you're reading about it in a British newspaper. Why won't the American press cover the story? If you ask me, it's because their underlying ideological sympathies are with the terrorists.

Relipaundit adds: Obviously, WE ARE WINNING the real war and losing the media war. Sadly, the enemy merely has to win the media war to get the Democrat controlled Congress to effectively surrender, (by emasculating our intelligence efforts and by cutting off funding for the war in Iraq, and "redeploying" - 3 things their leadership has sworn to do).

More facts and figures which prove we are winning here from Gateway, who cites comments by General Caldwell - pictured.

A BASIC PRIMER ON ISLAMOFASCIST HEGEMONY SINCE 632 AD

The so-called Middle East is actually the very heart and soul of the West - the rightful indigenous culture there. Many in the West wrongly believe that Judeo-Christian civilization is an invader in the Middle East (because that's the propaganda which the Left-wing post modern academy has been force-feeding them).

Jews have lived throughout the Middle East continuously for 3000 years, and Chistians too - that is until the 20th century.

Please read this short article on the history of Islamic hegemony. It will demonstrate two things: that Islam is hegemonic and that it has always used warfare to expand its realm. EXCERPT:

One of the alleged sins held against the West by Islamic radicalism – which has declared war on us through Osama bin Laden’s fatwa issued in 1998 in London – is imperialism: the imperialism of the Dutch, the British and the French from the 17th to the 20th centuries. (For some reason, Russian imperialism in Central Asia gets a pass – so far.) Israel is allegedly an outpost of European imperialism.

The original western imperial enterprise in the radical Islamic narrative was the Crusades. The First Crusade began in 1095. The Crusades were undertaken to reclaim [umph added] the Holy Land for Christendom. Reclaim it from whom? From the Muslims.

... And now we find ourselves confronted by a third Muslim attack on the West – a third “invasion of Europe” (if “Europe” is expanded to mean culture as well as geography, and includes North America) by an expansionary Muslim philosophy – by Islamic radicalism. The first Muslim attack was from the West in the 700’s; the second was from the East in the 1400’s – 1600’s; the third began with the defeat of the Soviet Union in 1988 in Afghanistan and its subsequent collapse and is in the form of mass immigration.

RTWT.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER - PART 26 (really!): MUGABE AND AHMADINEJAD

SOCIALIST TYRANTS WHO COMMIT GENOCIDE JUST LOVE EACH OTHER, I GUESS:

IRNA :

President Ahmadinejad here Monday officially welcomed his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, at the Presidential Office.

At the ceremony, after the national anthems of both countries were played, the two presidents reviewed the guard of honor.

Several memoranda of understanding are expected to be mutually signed at the end of the visit of the Zimbabwe's delegation.

More on Mugabe's cruel, corrupt SOCIALIST dictatorship HERE and HERE and HERE.

KRAMER'S RACIAL TIRADE: A QUESTION

Terrible news about the incident involving Michard Richard's a.k.a. "Cosmo Kramer." I don't agree with his antics and use of the racial epithets, but it's his right to say them...and suffer the consequences in the public marketplace for doing so. That's what free speech is all about. (Dixie Chicks, take a lesson). But at the risk of seeming insensitive to the issue at hand, racism, I have a few questions:

Do you think anyone will ask: "What are the social roots his racism?"

Do you think anyone will ask: "Could the incident be the fault of black hecklers in the crowd?"

Do you think anyone will ask: "Are black people creating racism?"

You probably would answer no, no one would ask such questions for there is no excuse for what Richards did. Comedian Paul Rodriquez said of the incident:

"We do not condone, accept or will have him repeat that onstage," Rodriguez said. "He has always done cutting-edge stuff, and I was sitting in the back waiting for a punchline or something, but there was nothing. The African-Americans in the audience were rightly offended."

Fair enough. Now let me ask this question: If his behavior is unacceptable and no one would think of asking questions like "Are black people creating racism by fighting racism?" then why do we ask questions like these whenever we're attacked by terrorists?

SCHOOLBOOK: ALL TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIM

The newest religion textbook for Danish 5th graders, entitled Christianity and Us, implies that all terrorists are muslim by equating terrorism with Islam. More developments later... UPDATE: Publisher retracts textbook after widespread criticism.

UPDATE II: "Its worse than the muhammed charicatures" - islamic orgasnistion threatens publisher with civil suit.

Reliapundit adds:

BBC: German officials say they have uncovered a terrorist plot to blow up a passenger plane in Germany. Several suspects allegedly approached a contact in the summer who had special access to a restricted airport zone. The plan was to plant explosives in a piece of luggage, investigators said, without giving further details. One of those arrested on Friday remains in custody in connection with another investigation, the officials said.

Er um... do you think there's a chance that these terrorists are Muslim? And why Germany!? They have NO troops in Iraq and perped the Holocaust - should get them a pass from Muslim fanatics, no!? SURE: Unless global jihad is NOT a reaction to Iraq or Jews but a proactive plan to reinstate a global Caliphate under sharia - a sort of hegemonic islamofascism. GEE: Ya think?! And do these horrifying photos of Muslims in INDONESIA proudly displaying the heads from freshly decapitated Christians have nothing to do with Islam!? Is being Christian a crime worthy of decapitation without a trial and with no appeals?! Sheesh. Denial comes in many flavors. Denying that Islam has ALWAYS bred terror and spread terror - and is doing so now, GLOBALLY, at an unprecendented level - is among the most tasteless. ALl it does it make it more likely the islamofanatics will win, by reducing our fortitude and focus.

EVEN MORE PROOF THAT SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE SUCKS BIGTIME: HANDICAPPED KIDS IN THE UK GET BUPKUS

BBC: Disabled children 'short-changed' -

The charity says 250,000 children are waiting for equipment -

Disabled and terminally-ill children are going without vital equipment as the NHS and councils are not providing enough funding, research shows. BDF Newlife, formerly the Birth Defects Foundation, found the bodies spent just £60 a year per child - leaving 250,000 children waiting for equipment. The charity said children under two need £7,000 of specialist equipment, including beds and wheelchairs.

NHS bosses said attempts were being made to improve the issue.

It gets worse: The NHS which can't give handicapped kids what they need due to money shortages, is "stealing" funds from the education of doctors! HERE:

Medical education and training in England are increasingly coming under threat from financial instability in the NHS, with possible consequences for patient care, the BMA has warned. ...Targets for the cuts include funding for junior doctors' study leave which allows them to attend courses required for their training, and academic posts in medical schools, which could result in doctors being made redundant.

In a letter to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, published recently, the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee calls on funding for study leave to be restored, warning that patients will receive a lower standard of care if doctors do not have access to the training that the budget funds.

And Hillary and Pelosi want YOU to have this kind of care! They say, "for the COMMON GOOD," of course - and add crap like "healthcare that benefits the patients and not the pharmaceuticals" - which is all a bunch of socialist code-words and Democrat demagoguery. IOW: Leftist BS! Don't believe them! What they simply stand for is socialism at home and appeasement abroad. And that's simply recipe for disaster on all fronts.

BRITISH MUSLIM ACTIVIST SENT FUNDS TO BRITISH HOLOCAUST DENIER

Bigots, as this Observer article indicates, can get support from other bigots as well, and it's disturbing as can be:

One of Britain's most prominent speakers on Muslim issues is today exposed as a supporter of David Irving, the controversial historian who for years denied the Holocaust took place. Asghar Bukhari, a founder member of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC), which describes itself as Britain's largest Muslim civil rights group, sent money to Irving and urged Islamic websites to ask visitors to make donations to his fighting fund.

Bukhari contacted the discredited historian, sentenced this year to three years in an Austrian prison for Holocaust denial, after reading his website. He headed his mail to Irving with a quotation attributed to the philosopher John Locke: 'All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to stand idle.'

In one email Bukhari tells Irving: 'You may feel like you are on your own but rest assured many people are with you in your fight for the Truth.' Bukhari pledges to make a donation of £60 to Irving's fighting fund and says that he has asked 'a few of my colleagues to send some in too'. He also offers to send Irving a book, They Dare to Speak Out, by Paul Findley, a former US Senator, who has attacked his country's close relationship with Israel. Bukhari says Findley 'has suffered like you in trying to expose certain falsehoods perpetrated by the Jews'.

In a follow-up letter, Bukhari writes: 'Here is the cheque I promised. Good luck, if there is any other way I can help please don't hestitate to call me. I have also asked many Muslim websites to create links to your own and ask for donations.'

Bukhari confirmed sending the letters in 2000. 'I had a lot of sympathy for anyone who opposed Israel,' Bukhari told The Observer said. 'I wrote letters to anyone who was tough against the Israelis - David Irving, Paul Findley, the PLO. I don't feel I have done anything wrong, to be honest. At the time I was of the belief he [Irving] was anti-Zionist, being smeared for nothing more then being anti-Zionist.

'The pro-Israeli lobby often accused people of anti-Semitism and smear tactics against groups and individuals is well known. I condemn anti-Semitism as strongly as I condemn Zionism (in my opinion they are both racist ideologies). I also believe that anyone who denies the Holocaust is wrong (I don't think they should be put behind bars for it though).'

One has to wonder how many more bigots will be dishing out support for other bigots as well. The one spoken about above is certainly one real cretin. Read the above and the article in full and you'll notice that Bukhari is trying to weasel out of the blame in classic taqqiya fashion. This is one truly disgusting man.

RANGEL WILL SEEK TO RE-INSTATE THE MILITARY DRAFT

The Left will try to undercut our counter-attack against global jihad ANYWAY THEY CAN. Kucinich and others have said they will seek to cut-off financing of the war in Iraq, and now Rangel - one of the most powerful Dems in the House - has reiterated his goal of reinstating the draft. (More here.)

He wants to do this in the hope that if all young people were subject to miltary service that more would oppose any military response anywhere, anytime. IOW: he's doing this as a way to emasculate the military, and to make it more difficult to summon the political will and public support to use the military. He's doing this despite the fact that the Pentagon continues to meet all of its recruiting goals and has no need for draftees, nor does it have any desire tobe forced to train hundreds of thousands of folks who're only in uniform under duress, and who most certainly would not seek to serve more than merely 2 years!

Of course; he's not saying these are his reasons. Rangel claims to want the draft so the USA can have more troops to fight Iran and North Korea. BULLSH*T. If he merely wanted more troops, then he'd merely propose to increase the recruiting goals of the Pentagon!

This is a dastardly and dangerous attack on our nation's ability to mount a credible national defense. Rangel might as well propose we surrender to China and North Korea and Iran and Binladen. Doing this proves that Rangel is pure Leftist, dove scum, a traitorous and disgusting piece of appeasing pacifist sh*t. And a freakin' LIAR. (Gateway has more - he always does!) MORE HERE, TOO.

CHURCHILL ADVOCATED WAR ON LENIN IN 1917; MURAVCHIK SAYS "BOMB IRAN" NOW

In the Los Angeles Times today, Joshua Muravchik has an op-ed calling for a military strike on the Iranian nuclear program:

The reality is that we cannot live safely with a nuclear-armed Iran. One reason is terrorism, of which Iran has long been the world's premier state sponsor, through groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Now, according to a report last week in London's Daily Telegraph, Iran is trying to take over Al Qaeda by positioning its own man, Saif Adel, to become the successor to the ailing Osama bin Laden. How could we possibly trust Iran not to slip nuclear material to terrorists?

Muravchik points out What Winston Would Have Done:

After the Bolshevik takeover of Russia in 1917, a single member of Britain's Cabinet, Winston Churchill, appealed for robust military intervention to crush the new regime. His colleagues weighed the costs — the loss of soldiers, international derision, revenge by Lenin — and rejected the idea.

The costs were avoided, and instead the world was subjected to the greatest man-made calamities ever. Communism itself was to claim perhaps 100 million lives, and it also gave rise to fascism and Nazism, leading to World War II. Ahmadinejad wants to be the new Lenin. Force is the only thing that can stop him.

Hat tip Glenn. UPDATE: Reliapundit adds: Proposals like this are why Winston was decried as a warmonger, and also why years later - after Hitler had already gobbled up half of Europe - Churchill was brought back into power. The entire world would've lost a thousand times fewer lives if his "warmongering" policies had been followed EARLIER. Ditto now. The choice is clear: We can attack and fight Iran now, or we can wait and have a nuclear war with them later. YOUR PICK!

OMAR BAKRI & AL-QAEDA TARGETED DUBLIN

Lest you think that the Emerald Isle is not in Al Qaeda's crosshairs, that well-known neo-con house organ, the Guardian, reports that AL Qaeda bomb expert Abbas Boutrab was preparing to attack the Dublin Airport.

Last Tuesday the expelled Islamist cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed was seen exhorting young British Muslims in an online broadcast from Beirut to target Dublin because he incorrectly believed US troops used the airport as a transit centre on the way to Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it has emerged that key al-Qaeda bomb-making expert Abbas Boutrab visited both Dublin and Knock airports. Information on the airports was found at his north Belfast flat three years ago, according to evidence at his trial in Belfast Crown Court last November.

Note the congruence between Bakri and Boutrab. Seems like they're right on the same page, doesn't it? Is Bakri part and parcel of Al Qaeda, or do evil & puny minds just think alike?

The origins of Boutrab have yet to be established, though it was discovered that his first trace in Europe was in 1992 when fingerprints matching his were found in Holland belonging to a man travelling under the alias Maured Benali. When he was arrested in Belfast three years ago he was found to have nine separate sets of identity papers.

Interesting. Could he be an Iraqi intelligence agent? With identity papers taken from the records room in Kuwait City?

Al-Qaeda's presence in Ireland became apparent last August when the Garda seized a DVD with lectures on how to construct detonators and bombs while it was on its way to Britain. One senior officer in the Garda Siochana described the content of the training DVD as 'brilliant and terrifying'.

And there are more like him on the way (see post below).

PROOF WE ARE WINNING IN IRAQ: AL QAEDA IS RE-DEPLOYING

"Jilted Jack" Murtha uses the euphemism of "redeployment" when he demands that the United States admit defeat, pull up tents & stakes, and cut& run from Iraq. But Al Qaeda is already redeploying from the Iraq battlefield. According to MI5, the British intelligence service, as reported in the Sunday Telegraph, Al Qaeda is moving its personnel assets out of Iraq -- to the British Isles:

MI5 agents believe that young Asian men, who have been trained to take part in the so-called "global jihad" in al-Qaeda camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, are now regarded as too valuable an asset to be used fighting British and American troops.

MI5 and MI6 are working on the assumption that they are being ordered to return to their communities in Britain with instructions to establish secret, autonomous cells and to conduct independent terrorists operations without any direct input from al-Qaeda's high command.

This is bad news for the British, but it is certainly one indication that the battle for Iraq is no longer seen as a vital opportunity by the Al Qaeda leadership. As President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have emphasized, it would be much better to engage and kill these fanatical terrorists in Iraq, rather than in London or Chicago.

And weakening the intelligence and surveillance programs - (Reliapundit adds: PART OF THE DEMOCRAT PLAN FOR ACTION IN THE NEW CONGRESS) - that have succeeded in stopping many potentially devastating attacks would be unwise.

THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS WEEKLY R&R REVIEW - #7

BUMPED UP:

There's more to life than war, taxes and politics - and a lot of it's more fun, too! That's why every WEEKEND, here at THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, we post our opinions on some of the cultural things we're into, things we think you might also find entertaining, enriching, and stimulating. Good for "Rest & Relaxation" - "R&R".

Please check it out every week - and tell your friends. We just might turn you on to something cool. After all, 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!

ALWAYS ON WATCH: ARCHITECTURE

On Friday, when I went to visit my ninety-year-old aunt in Inova Fairfax Hospital, I didn't expect to feel as if I were walking through an art museum. On my way to the main tower of the facility, I stopped to take in the beauty as I walked through the halls of the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute. Take the virtual tour by clicking on the photo on the right of your screen to see what I mean. Despite all the parking hassles, I left the hospital in better spirits than when I arrived because I had stumbled upon the work of a brilliant architect who understood the needs of the human spirit.

RELIAPUNDIT: ITALY RULES!

I had a Polish friend who used to love to watch National Geographic documentaries of exotic animals hanGing out at watering-holes in Africa. She called watching them "taking a Polish vacation." (This is sort of like me calling the white T-shirt showing above my shirt collar a Polish Ascot!) Anyhow, last week I took a Polish Vacation - TO ITALY, by watching several great clips at YOU TUBE. (BTW: If folks who watch too much TV are called "couch potatoes," then are people who watch too much YOU TUBE properly called u-tubers!? GET IT?! TUBERS = POTATOES! Astute, huh!). Anyhow here's some of what I watched and really liked: San Remo 95, 1st place song; San Remo 95 2nd place song; the climax of Cinema Paradiso; Dalla, Morandi, Ramazotti; Puccini's La Boheme; Amarcord; the Sistine Chapel; the WORLD CUP '06! ; Monica (careful... nsfw).

PASTORIUS: stay tuned...

POPINJAY: OLD MOVIES

The Empire Strikes Back: This month, Cinemax is showing the original 3 Star Wars movies. I was able to catch Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back the other night. After George Lucas nearly ruined a film dynasty with 3 ridiculous prequels, it's good to watch a masterpiece like ESB. The acting is great, there's drama from the get-go and it ends with a perfect cliffhanger. It just goes to show you, when you hit it big, quit while you're ahead.

PUNDITARIAN: stay tuned...

MUSLIM HATE-CRIME PERPS SENTENCED: "THE SAVAGE AND BARBARIC NATURE OF THIS NOTORIOUS CRIME"

On November 8th, in the High Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, Scotland, Lord Uist sentenced Imran Shahid, Mohammad Faisal Mushtaq, and Zeeshan Shahid to life imprisonment for an awful hate crime they had committed in 2004.

"This murder consisted of the premeditated, cold-blooded execution of your victim by stabbing him 13 times and setting him alight with petrol while he was still in life. It truly was an abomination. The savage and barbaric nature of this notorious crime has rightly shocked and appalled the public.Your victim must have been in a state of extreme terror while held by you during a four hour car journey across Central Scotland and back, and the agony which he must have suffered during the period between being stabbed and set alight and his death is just beyond imagining. None of you has shown any remorse for what you have done."

No remorse. Just look at their pictures. The face of evil, in three incarnations. 15-year-old Kriss Donald was selected as their victim simply because he was a white Scot. Life imprisonment is not an appropriate response to this crime. (Hat tip: Mesopotamia West.)

Reliapundit adds: These convictions and the statement of this judge are GREAT. But, there are millions, if not tens of millions - or even hundreds of millions - of other fanatical Muslim men who would do exactly what these three have done to ANYONE one of us , OR ALL OF US. And arrests, convictions and strong judicial statements can not adequately address the danger they present us.

LA City Council Votes To Eliminate Palm Trees For Environmental Reasons

Can you imagine Coca Cola, or McDonald's, deciding to just relinquish their corporate logos? You know, no more Golden Arches, no more curli-cue cursive writing laced into the red and white. Well, the city of Los Angeles has volunteered to do so. The City Council has voted to eliminate the famed fanned palm for which it has become known. When people think of Los Angeles, they think of the palm trees lining the streets, right? Well, no more. And, you're not going to believe the wacky reason for this decision:

For more than a hundred years, the graceful, bushy-topped fan palm has been an iconic symbol of L.A.'s balmy, postcard lifestyle. But city leaders now want to put an end to the tree's reign on the grounds it is bad for the environment. City Council members voted this week to halt the placement of fan palms on parkways, median strips and other city-owned property where nearly 75,000 of them now grow. Instead, the city will plant only sycamores, oaks and other leafy native species that will contribute shade, collect rainwater and release oxygen across the Los Angeles Basin.

The fan palm may be an emblematic part of Los Angeles, but its skimpy canopy is cheating city dwellers of the benefit of real trees since palms "are technically a type of grass and not trees," as a unanimously approved council resolution put it. San Pedro-area Councilwoman Janice Hahn's motion, passed Tuesday, limits future use of palms along city streets unless they are needed to be consistent with existing plantings or are specifically requested by a council office or community group.

If new palms are planted, "fan palms should be discouraged" ... The vote comes as many fan palms planted by developers in the late 19th and early 20th century are entering the last phase of their life span. It also comes as the city is embarking on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's ambitious goal to plant 1 million new trees.

Corporations spend billions of dollars to ensure that their logos are recognized on a national and international basis, but the LA City Council has decided that theirs is expendable. There was no public outcry calling for this decision. Clearly, this is just a wacko politician angling for the environmentalist vote. This is among the stupidest decisions in history. Let's see, Pharoah ignores Moses' warnings, France sells the Louisiana territories to America, the Red Sox trade Ruth to the Yankees, Paul McCartney marries Heather Mills, and now this. But, you know what? I am absolutely friggin' ecstatic over this.

The reasoning behind this legislation makes it a damning display of the transcendent stupidity of environmentalist demands in every aspect of life. From "second-hand smoke" to spotted owls, to butterfly wing hurricanes, to global ice age then global warming then global ice age then global warming again, environmentalist philosophy is childish fears and dreams writ large in the adult world. Environmentalists are always positing ecological disasters emanating from the slightest faux pas of mankind, as if when George Bush farts it could cause Hurricane Katrina.

I will enjoy watching the idiots at the LA City Council, as they slowly impale themselves on the spear of this decision. It will take time, but gradually tourism will be affected, revenue will decline and, eventually, business will demand that the palms be reinstated. And then,UCLA students will have another reason to march in the streets against the fascist conservatives who want to wreak havoc on the mother nature by lining the streets of LA with palm trees once again. Yes, I can see it; the New American Revolution will be fought over such issues. "We want alms, not palms. Reinstate the ban on palms that fan."

MORE PROOF "MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING" IS BUNK

READ THIS. Excerpt:

Last year after 28 storms formed in the Atlantic and two of them wreaked devastation on the Gulf states, experts crowed that the increased activity proved the global warming theories that have been floated over the last two decades. ... Experts and partisans insisted that we had turned a dangerous corner, and that we would see a continuing increase in violent weather from the Atlantic, a price for having ignored their warnings about greenhouse-gas emissions.

I guess the sky ain't falling. Bwahahahahaha! GEE: I wonder what bogeyman the Left will next stand up in order to argue for higher taxes and more taxes and more regulations on free markets!?