It's Open Season on van Goghs

In November, 2004 Theo van Gogh, great-grandson of the brother of Vincent van Gogh, was murdered in broad daylight and used as a human sticky-note in exceedingly gruesome fashion,

"I cannot feel for you ... because I believe you are an infidel."

and now his 14-year old son, Lieuwe, gets to be repeatedly beaten up and taunted in Holland's tolerant public schools.

There is no justice.

Vincent van Gogh, arguably the greatest artist who ever lived, died in 1890 two days after shooting himself in the chest. His last words according to his brother and closest friend, Theo, were: "La tristesse durera toujours." This is French for: "The sadness will last forever."

Very Interesting

"Turns out - in the only case in U.S. history of a person successfully prosecuted for leaking classified information to the press - Hillary's husband pardoned the guilty party."

Oriana Fallaci

If you want to truly understand this little war we're engaged in, the stakes, the strategy of the enemy, our strengths and weaknesses, then heed Oriana Fallaci. She is a voice in the wilderness. She has been screaming, "Wake up!" ever since 9-11. For expressing her opinions she is being prosecuted in Europe. Those tolerant Europeans are trying to put an old woman with cancer in jail for the rest of her life for having the temerity to tell the unadulterated truth.

UPDATE: Part III, Part IV.

Carnival of Carnivals

Yippee!

Carnival of Revolutions
"There is no other place I want to be.
Right here, right now.
Watching the world wake up from history."
- Jesus Jones - 1991

Carnival of Comedy
"I wish my pants would get back from the cleaners. I forgot to wear underwear today."

Carnival of the Capitalists
"This week's edition of the Carnival of the Capitalists is presented using dynamic tables. You may click upon any of the column headings below to sort this week's contributions according to blog name, post title, category and description. If you're using a modern web browser, the table will automatically rearrange itself according to the heading you selected!"

Carnival of Liberty
"Stating one's opinion is, or should be, protected under the First Amendment (or at least it was until McCain-Feingold)"

Carnival of Recipes
"Some of the best recipes are born from desperation"

Carnival of Personal Finance
"The next black Tuesday will happen, just like the next earthquake, the question is when. It's worth it every once and a while to pretend it is tomorrow and see what kind of shape you'd be in."

Carnival of Cars
"Trying to explain blogging to my non-blogger friends is hard; trying to explain blogging the Carnival of Cars is nigh on impossible. That said, who cares if they don't get it? We do, and since we're the ones reading and writing its substance, that's all that matters."

Carnival of Stories
"The Americans had bombed a university building in Tehran. It was quite unexpected. It was later announced by the U.S. Secretary of State that the Pentagon had intelligence showing the facility was being used to conduct secret nuclear development which was about to give Iran their first nuclear weapon. Certainly, the fact that much of downtown Tehran was now polluted with a fine layer of dust that made Geiger counters squeal excitedly seemed to bear out the American line. Others had their doubts. Al Jazeera showed much of the Middle East erupting in riots. The Arab Street was said to believe that the US had nuked Iran. The Ayatollahs raged against the Great Satan."

Carnival of Tiny Stories
"Anitra searched for an immortal man who shared her ability to transform into a beast. News reports about brutal Portland murders attracted her and, disguised as a private eye, she interviewed the suspect. But he was a poser, lying for attention. The lies hurt more than loneliness, and Anitra ripped his heart out in frustration. - the end"

Carnival of Tomorrow
"Of course, a system that's easy on mutations across the board may allow many more bad mutations into the genome than good ones. Could we be looking at the beginning of de-evolution?"

Famous quotes in history

Baath Party writer Naeem Abd Muhalhal predicted that bin Laden would attack the U.S. "with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House." -- On July 21, 2001 Iraqi newspaper Al-Nasiriya

[In same regime controlled newspaper article] "will strike America on the arm that is already hurting," and that the U.S. "will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs" - an apparent reference to the Sinatra classic "New York, New York." (Two 9/11 families were awarded over $100 million last May by U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer based on this and other evidence that Iraq was involved in 9/11.)

"Does the United States realize the meaning of every Iraqi becoming a missile that can cross countries and cities?" -- Uday Hussein

"a cable to Saddam from the chief of Iraqi intelligence was transmitted by Baghdad Radio. The message read, 'We will chase [Americans] to every corner at all times. No high tower of steel will protect them against the fire of truth.'" -- UPI

"America is reaping the thorns planted by its rulers in the world." ... "There is hardly a place [in the world] that does not have a memorial symbolizing the criminal actions committed by America against its natives," ... "[He] who does not want to reap evil must not sow it, and [he] who considers the lives of his people precious must remember that the lives of the people in the world are precious also." ... "The American peoples should remember that no one ever crossed the Atlantic carrying weapons to be used against them. They are the ones who crossed the Atlantic carrying death, destruction and ugly exploitation to the whole world." -- Saddam after 911

"These were courageous operations carried out by young Arabs and Muslims," -- Uday Hussein after 911

And in case you forgot, according to ABC News (vintage 1999), Usama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein had been collaborating for some time.

Neato

Gizmodo Japan: Automatic Human Washing Machine.

Michael Jackson's Chocolate Factory

He he. (Flash video)

Here it is, your moment of Zen

From Ben Stein:

"Loneliness hurts like the cut of a knife. Mine is only the smallest pinprick. I'll see my wife again soon, if all's well. But what about the Army and Marine wives who go to sleep in their king-sized beds alone for a year? What about the Navy Seal's wife who just heard that her husband will not be coming home from Afghanistan? Or the man who never learned to make a bed and now his wife is gone forever and he's eating out of a can watching a TV show he can't even hear? Or the child whose father will never teach him how to bat a ball or parallel park because he's in a military cemetery?

Our lives are measured by what we do for others, not by how much money we make. Spending time with lonely people, military families, widows, widowers, this is a pretty easy way to make a huge difference in a suffering human life. So when you think of your uncle who just lost his aunt, when you think of the woman down the street whose husband was just called up by the Guard and sent to Iraq, don't just think about them: ask them out to dinner. Invite them to a barbecue. Just call them up to gossip.

People are always asking me for stock tips because they think I know something about the market. Usually, I don't. But I do know this. Sharing company with a lonely man or woman or child is about as good an investment in your own net worth as a human being as you can make."

Ace asks a quesiton

"Why does the left insist on believing that actual diagnosable psychopaths -- and I am NOT using that term hyperbolically; Islamofascists are true psychopathic murderers -- are somehow "reasonable" and if we just give them a little they'll be satisfied with that?"

Inquiring minds want to know.

What he said

Glenn Reynolds says:

"The preening, point-scoring irresponsibility of the press ... is one of the most striking things about this war, and it will be decades before it recovers. If it does."

Eww Gross

Greenpeace has put out this tv ad. It is R-rated and hasn't run in the US, yet, though apparently it is just fine for European tv. These people are sick. Greenpeace needs to be shut down. Sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sickos.

Didn't see this one coming

China has just delinked its currency from the dollar. I wonder why this hasn't been noticed by the 24/7 news outlets yet.

"Screw Abstinence!"

Liberal Larry has really outdone himself with this post. How can something so disturbing be so funny? All together now (singing): "It's a lousy world after all. It's a lousy world after all. It's a lousy world after all..."

Required Reading for Today

From Jeff Jarvis (I know - two days in a row. What can I say - Jeff is good.) It's a post titled, "Tolerating intolerance," which is basically about our evolving sense of political correctness and multiculturalism. Pamela Bone has similar thoughts: Perhaps it is time to set some limits.

Another must read is the London Times profile of Irshad Manji. A sample:

Doesn’t the violent Muslim minority show Islam is flawed? “I ask myself the same question,” she grimaces. Far from regarding Muslims as oppressed they have a “supremacy complex — and that’s dangerous”. This, she contends, is true even among moderates. “Literalists” who consider the Koran the “perfect manifesto of God” have taken over the mainstream; and far from misreading Islam, as Tony Blair and the Muslim Council of Britain insist, terrorists can find encouragement for murder in the Koran.

The underlying problem with Islam, observes Manji, is that far from spiritualising Arabia, it has been infected with the reactionary prejudices of the Middle East: “Colonialism is not the preserve of people with pink skin. What about Islamic imperialism? Eighty per cent of Muslims live outside the Arab world yet all Muslims must bow to Mecca.”

Definately worth reading.

And then there is the classic Mark Steyn:

"The only distraction here is the pitiful parochialism of our political culture."

Amen, brother. I just hope they don't get us all killed.

Whoa

It's a Thai talent show, I think, but you have to see it to believe it.

More Funzies

A neat way to waste time if you like brain-teasers.

Dissent within the rank: Mark Yost vs. Steve Lovelady

(Via Jeff Jarvis) Touchy, touchy, touchy! It seems members of the press are not allowed to discuss the press' coverage of Iraq. "Don't question my authority!" Question the party line and you get attacked from all sides (and yes, I would say the established press qualifies as a political party). Any dissent within the ranks is met with personal attacks and pressure for dismissal (kinda like academe). It's wild how these highly paid professionals act like schoolyard bullies, complete with name calling and threats to one's livelihood. They can dish out a whole lot of criticism but they sure can’t take it, can they?

My money's on Yost in this one (gotta go for the underdog). Lovelace is just another left-wing shill who belittles and betrays the thousands of soldiers who go into harm's way every day.

UPDATE: Greyhawk thinks the mainstream media needs to seriously start asking themselves why most Americans hate them so much.
More here and here.

Uh oh. More dissent or is reality finally settling in?

More Proof that the MSM is the Enemy

Just click it and listen. It will only take a minute. Not only is it proof that the mainstream media is dishonest and actively burying information that is of vital importance, but it also proves that the democrats in Washington have been lying to us for years, sacrificing national security for political gain. (Via Roger L. Simon.)

UPDATE: Here's the original ABC News video of interest.

Must Read of the Day

Perhaps there is still hope for the Brits. Could 7/7 have been a turning point?

"...we must begin now with what I call in this morning's Spectator the re-Britannification of Britain. That means insisting, in a way that is cheery and polite, on certain values that we identify as British. If that means the end of spouting hate in mosques, and treating women as second-class citizens, then so be it. We need to acculturate the second-generation Muslim communities to our way of life, and end the obvious alienation that they feel. That means the imams will have to change their tune, and it is no use the Muslim Council of Great Britain endlessly saying that "the problem is not Islam", when it is blindingly obvious that in far too many mosques you can find sermons of hate, and literature glorifying 9/11 and vilifying Jews. We have reached a turning-point in the relations between the Muslim community and the rest of us, and it is time for the moderates to show real leadership."

Do you think it's contagious?

An interesting phenomenon:

"The Imam of al-Jabiriyah preached against the Americans and the Worshippers shouted 'O' Allah, make America stronger!"

I hope it catches on.

UPDATE: Slowly, yes, the symptoms seem to be spreading.

Just can't not link to this

... though I have no clue what it is. It might be the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

UPDATE: According to Netflix, the short film is called "Rubber Johnny" and was created by U.K. filmmaker Chris Cunningham, known for his work on music videos for Björk, Madonna and Portishead. It is set to a soundtrack by Aphex Twin.

NY Slimes

Does anyone honestly believe that the New York Times would insist that its reporter, Judith Miller, rot in jail to protect her source who leaked the name of Valerie Plame if that source were actually Karl Rove? Couldn't the Times release Miller's notes just as easily as they did Cooper's? Of course they could. Why would the NYT go to such lengths to protect Mr. Rove on the one hand while attacking him, calling for his dismissal on their front page, on the other hand? They are practically screaming for this man's head on a stick on today's NYT front page. They insult our intelligence. They must think we're morons! The only people engaging in a cover-up are the New York Times! This little "mystery" can be solved right now if they would just cooperate with Fitzgerald and the ongoing federal investigation and REVEAL THEIR SOURCE. But no, they can’t do that, for the same reason Jayson Blair couldn’t reveal his sources. The NYT is a fraud and they fabricated this story from beginning to end all in yet another attempt to bring down a presidency. They chose to take the word of a pathological liar as gospel (as did ABC, NBC, CBS & CNN) as they created this "scandal" one year ago. Their source is none other than Joe Wilson himself, and revealing that would make the NY Slimes an accessory. You reap what you sow.

UPDATE: John at Powerline nails it. And to quote Danegerus:

"The NYTimes is condemning Rove for telling the truth while their own NYTimes reporter is in jail for NOT telling the truth."

"As NYTimes reporter Judith Miller is in jail for NOT revealing her source then it can't be Karl Rove."

As I said, the NYT must think we're morons. Most likely, Judtih Miller is in jail because her testimony would exonerate the Bush Administration and ruin the New York Times.
Give them enough rope...
All we need now is a tree.

UPDATE II: Looks like the NY Times is already backpedaling:

"...it looks as if this scandal is about a spy who was not endangered, a whistle-blower who did not blow the whistle and was not smeared, and a White House official who has not been fired for a felony that he did not commit. And so far the only victim is a reporter who did not write a story about it."

This after calling for Rove's head on a platter from their front page just four days ago. 'Nadagate' indeed. If only it were all about nothing. It's not. It's about manufacturing "news" and telling us morons what to think. It is certainly not about protecting national security, as the NY Times has demonstrated many times in the past how eager they are to out CIA operatives whenever they get the chance.

Give me Liberty or Give me Death

I've noticed an interesting characteristic shared by many criminals, terrorists, and liberals. These people believe that if they do something bad, or good for that matter, it is not their fault. It is society's fault that the pedophile raped that little girl and her brother and killed her entire family. It is America's fault that islamofascist hijackers flew planes into skyscrapers and killed 3000 people. They had grievances. It wasn't their fault, it was the world they live in. To a liberal, it’s never the case that the criminal should “take responsibility” for his crime, but rather, “What made him do what he did?” It is as if liberals do not believe that human beings are in control of their own lives. They must think that we are preprogrammed. If you are successful, then they want to take your wealth and give it to those “less fortunate,” as if success is all about luck. This lack of belief in self-determination would also explain why liberals fight any notion of there being a moral right and wrong on any given issue. Of course, when one follows their arguments to their logical conclusions, you find a contradiction every time. For example, if you insist that having moral convictions about what is right and what is wrong is itself wrong, you are displaying a moral conviction. If you assert that people are not in control of their own lives, then what would be the point in arguing about it? For that matter, why not just slit your wrists right now? Without self-determination, what would be the point in trying to achieve a better life? You can't!

Rage

For four years the MSM have done nothing but attack President Bush, and the democrats in congress have gone against him at every turn even on things like CAFTA which they know is a win-win deal. NAFTA was fine and dandy, but free-trade is too good for the poor people of Costa Rica and Honduras. Hypocrites. They, the democrats, will not allow any kind of victory for Bush no matter what. That is why they undermine the war effort and compare our military to Nazis. They have become the party of NO. Do you think for a second that the democrats would be demanding an exit strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan if AlGore or JFKerry were in office? How about an exit strategy for Kosovo already? It's a freakin' quagmire! And why did we bomb Kosovo, anyway? What did it have to do with national security? Not a thing, but so long as a democrat is president, whether it's Kosovo or Somalia or Vietnam or Hiroshima, it's all good. The second we have a Republican president, it's an unethical war and extremist judges and class warfare, elitist media squawks about "courage" and "speaking truth to power," and everybody's rights are being trampled, etc.

Well, they've thrown everything in their arsenal at this President yet the established media and the DNC, the legions of the left including ABCNBCCBSCNNMSNBCNYTLATPBSBBCNPR, and let's not forget Hollywood which has produced nothing but anti-conservative propaganda (with the notable exceptions of the Passion, the Incredibles, and maybe Team America) since 9-11, have all failed. Their ratings are down, their readership diminishing, revenue plummeting but they are a stubborn lot. In entertainment/media circles, and academe as well, open hatred for Bush is a prerequisite for promotion and has become so transparent as to be implicit in nearly everything we see in the newspaper, on tv, and not just the news shows, on the big screen, and in the classroom. If you cannot see this then you are blind, and don't even tell me they did it to Clinton too because that's bull; they defended Clinton to the hilt and demonized special prosecutor Ken Star. Mark Felt, who was violating the the contractual constructs of his lofty position in the FBI and was most definately breaking the law, is celebrated as a hero in the liberal press. Linda Tripp, who broke no laws, is vilified and was called fat and ugly on national tv a thousand times.

Bush has not broken any law. Even if "there were no WMDs," saying something that isn't true but that you believe to be true is not lying, otherwise we would all be liars. Bush did not lie, and you cannot point to a case where he did lie. It's all huff and puff. Like Jayson Blair, established professionals in the media, journalists, politicians have and continue to make stuff up in the hopes that something, anything, will stick. They all have fallen for fictional reports backed by anonymous sources. They bought into lie after lie after lie after lie, willingly, eagerly, hungrily. They need to believe those lies. They need to believe that Bush is evil to support their world view, because to believe otherwise would mean that they are insane and/or stupid.

Fury

"How in the world can the dangerous turns of a convicted child molester cross your desk—high risk mind you—and yet you find more benevolence toward the violator than you do towards the violated? He's now killed a little boy that he molested, all in the wake of your legal blessing—in retroactive thanksgiving towards you and your judicial liberalism, Judge. And for good measure, he beat the rest of that little boy's family to death, and abused his sister just for kicks. All because you let him go—judge."

Read it all. Our "judges" must STOP putting the rights of pedophiles above those of our children.

The situation with many of our judges is bad, but not only due to their negligence in protecting our children. I can't help but notice the similarity in how the rights of terrorists are protected by judges both here and in Europe, even as the blood of their victims is splashed on the walls of our cities. And unless the attack is of the scale of 9-11, our governments refuse to punish those states which actively support terrorism. Now everyone has their own theory as to why people want to blow us up.

"We know very well what the "grievances" of the jihadists are.
The grievance of seeing unveiled women. The grievance of the existence, not of the State of Israel, but of the Jewish people. The grievance of the heresy of democracy, which impedes the imposition of sharia law. The grievance of a work of fiction written by an Indian living in London. The grievance of the existence of black African Muslim farmers, who won't abandon lands in Darfur. The grievance of the existence of homosexuals. The grievance of music, and of most representational art. The grievance of the existence of Hinduism."

I had, in an earlier post, suggested half jokingly that the reason for Islamic terrorism has to do with impotence. I am more inclined to believe, seriously, that their religion is indeed a death cult - they worship death. (To be honest, I don't care why they want to kill us. Trying to reason with your own executioner is an act of insanity if you ask me.) Our enemies are not afraid of death. Therefore, we must determine what it is that they are afraid of and use that to our advantage. Giving captured terrorists blood transfusions of pig's blood might help... kinda twisted though.

Also, and this is essential, we must hold someone responsible for these acts of terrorism. Iran is only the most likely candidate/target. Syria is also a sponsor of terrorism. But would invading Iran or Syria actually make a difference? Could it actually make things worse? I'm just asking? Eventually, things may become more urgent. An example may need to be made. If it comes down to it, if we have to decide between freedom and survival, the enemy needs to understand that the U.S. is not Europe. I think that nuking Mecca and Medina would very much be considered a rational response in this country, and would be demanded if, say for example, the water supply near Lodi, California were poisoned causing mass death (millions).

It is true, we are not afraid, but could you imagine what it would be like if we as a nation really were afraid?

Ray Guns

Just had to link to this. "Set phasers to stun, gentlemen."

Miscellaneous Linkage

If the talking heads on tv could just get off their DNC talking points for five minutes and start looking at reality we'd all be a lot safer, and better off in general, but 99% of the time it has to be us vs. them, and modern liberals don't let silly things like facts get in their way. So it's interesting to see the reaction when one of their own dares to bring facts into a tv newsroom, in an interview about the US invasion of Iraq no less. This was supposed to be a friendly interview. Christopher Hitchens is a liberal (socialist) but apparently didn't drink enough cool-aid to roll over for the loony left-wingers on the boob-tube; apparently he has had enough and is, finally, standing up and throwing the truth back in the faces of some tv libs. In this interview he exposes Ron Reagan for the idiot tool that he is. (The only reason Ron is even on tv is so the man recently voted Greatest American in History can be dragged through the mud.) More of Christopher Hitchens being interviewed by liberals here. I feel sorry for people like Hitchens. Their party has been hijacked and is being driven straight into the ground.

Here's an amusing item: U.N. Condemns London Terror Strikes. What's the UN gonna do? Rien. Nichts. Niente. Nada. The UN has become a joke.

I don't like it when one group of people in this country claims to have rights, protections and freedoms that other groups of individuals do not have. It is particularly annoying when those in the press assert that they can, in effect, abet criminals with impunity in the name of "freedom of the press." Furthermore, I am sick and tired of these so-called "journalists" like Jayson Blair and Dan Rather making up stories and attributing them to "anonymous sources."In a free society, the press is not above the law.

Other good reads:

INFORMATION WARFARE: Selling Appeasement to Europeans
Another Episode in the War between Christiandom and Islam
Fixed Bayonets
Whenever an American Soldier Loses His Life a Liberal Gets His Wings
Mercenaries, Not Musicians, for Africa
Unocal 101
In My World: Supreme Anger

UPDATE: I've been corrected. Christopher Hitchens is not a Democrat since he's not a US Citizen but he used to be a Communist. He seems to have recovered nicely. I guess the least I could do is link to a most excellent Christopher Hitchens piece. Here's another neat thing to read if you like 007, and don't miss Where is the Gandhi of Islam?

Speak Up, Muslims

We need more Muslims like this man to speak up. Islamic people should rise up and speak with one voice damning the terrorists to hell and they should act as one to hunt them down. If they cannot do this, then they should collectively hang their heads in shame, shut their mouths and get out of our way.

For our part, we need to stop being nice to terrorists. When captured, terrorists should get blood transfusions rather than Korans - replace their blood with pig's blood. Film the process and send it to al Jizzeera. It has been made clear that Zarqawi, bin Laden and the rest of these retards watch the media as it has become their primary weapon. Why not fight fire with fire - use the media to scare the living shit out of them. Or we could just go on al Jizzeera and say Usama has a tiny penis, and al Qaeda is impotent, get our journalists to start making fun of them instead of respecting them - that would make a difference. What's that you say? It'll never happen because the mainstream media is on the side of the enemy? Ack. You're right. And Chris Mathews isn't afraid of pig's blood - he only fears 95-pound Filipino women.

UPDATE: This is a good thing (regarding how an Afghan village, of Muslims, saved a U.S. SEAL from the Taliban recently):

That night the [Taliban] fighters sent a message to the villagers: "We want this infidel." A firm reply from the village chief, Shinah, shot back. "The American is our guest, and we won't give him up as long as there's a man or a woman left alive in our village."

Winston Churchill

July 14, 1941
'We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if tonight our people were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, "No, we will mete out to them the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us." The people with one voice would say: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best." Perhaps it may be our turn soon; perhaps it may be our turn now. We live in a terrible epoch of the human story, but we believe there is a broad and sure justice running through its theme. It is time that the enemy should be made to suffer in their own homelands something of the torment they have let loose upon their neighbours and upon the world. We believe it to be in our power to keep this process going, on a steadily rising tide, month after month, year after year, until they are either extirpated by us or, better still, torn to pieces by their own people.'

A Measured Response

I propose we respond to this latest atrocity, this attack on our staunchest ally, with overwhelming force. My proposal has the advantage of giving the Demonrats and the Chinese what they have been clamoring for - a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. There is only one thing the terrorists and those who support them understand, and I suggest we give it to them. We will not cower from cowards. What am I talking about? A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words:

Why

As usual, the blogs seem to contain a whole lot more information about the bombing in London today than the mainstream media - those TV people must get tired of saying the same things over and over again. Lots of pix and first-hand accounts from Londoners who were actually there. These bombing have certainly gotten everyone's attention, which of course is exactly what its perpetrators intended. If you're looking for choice information, look here. (Though you could pretty much look at any of the blogs listed under the "Links" column to the right and find solid info and commentary.)

While I would agree with the Mayor of London that those behind the London bombings are nothing but mass-murderers, and that indiscriminate killing is not an ideology or even a perverted religion (though I suppose you could call it a death-cult), I disagree with the politicians and pundits as to the supposed motivation behind the bombings. I don't think these scumbags care about "dividing London" or hating "freedom and democracy" or even their stated cause of driving Britain out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I think these shit-eating camel-fuckers are screaming to the world, "We are not impotent!" Well, they are. They can blow up a train but they can't build a toaster. Even a monkey can kill.

Smells like Teen Tao Jam

Go to this site and click on "Dokaka." Then, if your head hasn't exploded, click on "Scala."

Ow. Too funny.

Zarqawi takes offense to being compared to American liberals (via Iowahawk):

"Cripes, you should have seen the collection of numbnuts and droolers on the short bus from Saudi yesterday. Good Allah, I swear the only way we’re ever gonna turn these morons into martyrs is to plant detonation buttons inside their nostrils."

Advice for the raving moonbats at Kos: Just keep doing what you're doing. You're cracking me up.

Memories....

It's hard to believe it's been almost four years since 9-11. Some people have apparently forgotten all about it.

How could more than half a Trillion dollars in Aid make Africa Worse-off?

Despite having more natural resources than the rest of the world put together: Corruption.

"The failure of democracy and economic development in Africa are due to a large part to the scramble for wealth by predator elites who have dominated African politics..."

It seems to me that the question here is not how to provide more aid to poor nations, but rather how can we make it easier for poor people to climb out of poverty? Would any amount of financial aid actually eliminate poverty permanently? Haven’t we learned yet that just throwing money at a problem doesn’t make it go away? Aid can feed the starving for a period of time, but the problem will return unless people are able and willing to support themselves. Moreover, providing aid to poor nations frequently causes dependencies to develop, causing increasing demand for handouts. Free trade agreements worked extremely well in reducing poverty by more than 50% in places like Chile, while fifty years and half a trillion dollars of aid has done nothing for Africa but add to their misery. They say that a sign of insanity is when people keep doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result. Well, we as a global community must be completely out of our collective gourd then. What makes the whole poverty issue seem truly evil to me is the fact that we already know what works, yet the politicians insist on rejecting win-win deals like CAFTA and just keep on doing the same thing, fostering dependencies, killing off any hope for self-sufficiency for the African farmer by dumping food through their corrupt governments, and on top of that giving billions of dollars to corrupt thug-politicians like Mugabe thereby aiding and abetting genocide. Whoever wrote up Live 8's web page (which I will not link to) is a disingenuous communist and needs to be straightened out. And before you America-bashers start lecturing us Americans about how we're not paying our fair share in aid, try adding in the private donations and you'll find that we give more than any European country per capita. According to the Scotsman, US donations to Africa outstrip Europe by 15 to 1. These are the facts, people. No matter how you cut it, the United States is by far the world’s largest source of humanitarian aid. I am sick and tired of being lectured to by millionaire movie stars and rock stars about not being generous enough.

The one who really pisses me off the most in all of this is Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd, who recently stated:

"I want to do everything I can to persuade the G8 leaders to make huge commitments to the relief of poverty and increased aid to the Third World. It's crazy that America gives such a paltry percentage of its GNP to the starving nations."

His statement is just plain ignorant for the reasons stated above. Also, this man's view of the role of government is an anathema to me - appealing to half a dozen or so diplomats to take and give more money that isn't theirs to give. Insisting that it is the government's function to fix all the problems in the world, while ignoring all the good that individuals do. Insisting that the capitalist system that made him a gazillionaire is the source of all that is wrong in Africa where most people are not even allowed to own property, legally. But what infuriates me the most is that this is David Gilmour, the soul of Pink Floyd. It hurts me to even say this: I've listened to Pink Floyd since the mid-1970s; I've probably listened to Pink Floyd more than all other music combined over my lifetime. It is probably surprising to people who have known me to look at my 'profile' and see that 'Pink Floyd' is not listed under 'favorite music.' Gilmour's stupidity is why. Turns out David Gilmour is just another useful idiot. All in all he's just another brick in the wall.

UPDATE: This Der Spiegel interview with Kenyan economist James Shikwati is a must read on this issue. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Africa needs trade, not aid.

Required Reading for Today:

Essays:

Neurotic Iraqi Wife
Peggy Noonan
Victor Davis Hanson
Selwyn Duke
Edwin Locke
Bill Whittle
Stephen F. Hayes
Abraham Lincoln (July 10, 1858 - In reference to the Fourth of July, the founding fathers, and the descendents of immigrants, which would be most Americans):

"If they look back through this history to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none, they cannot carry themselves back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel that they are part of us, but when they look through that old Declaration of Independence they find that those old men say that ``We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,'' and then they feel that that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration, and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world."

Comments:

John Derbyshire
ChrisTheProfessor
and from Jake, via Annika regarding comments made by Brian Williams (see previous post):

"Our revolutionary army was fighting the British Army to drive them out. The terrorist's battle is fought against women and children.

The terrorists have no hope of defeating our military. The Iraqis want the terrorists killed so there is no hope there. The rest of the Middle East is horrified by their blowing up women and children.

These bombings exist only because of our MSM and the Democrats. The terrorists, the MSM and the Democrats mistakenly believe that they can convince Americans to give up. That is the terrorists only hope of victory."

You don't suppose "Jake" might be Karl Rove in disguise, do you?

NBC's Brian Williams - MOONBAT

Brian Williams has officially joined the Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, Michael Moore barking moonbat club. Welcome Brian. Have some koolaid.

China and Unocal

Bill Roggio has an interesting discussion going over at the Fourth Rail regarding the Chinese government owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation, CNOOC, tender offer for Unocal, an American oil company based in California. Capitalism works best when there is a level playing field, but to me the playing field looks biased in favor of the company being bankrolled by its government, particularly when you take into account America's reliance on foreign oil and China's threatening posture towards Taiwan, not to mention China's continuing refusal to do squat about North Korean nukes while propping up its bankrupt government.

Here are some questions to consider (via Roggio):

1. What national security interests are at stake?

2. Is the cause of freedom expanded or diminished if the sale goes forward?

3. Is it fair for a state owned company of a Communist country to purchase a US company that trades in oil?

4. If the US denies the sale, what will China's response be towards free markets and capitalism?

5. What are the possible consequences for US-Sino relations if the bid is rejected/accepted?

6. What are the implications for Unocal shareholders who would like the best price for their shares?

I put in my two cents here.