Sunday, June 29, 2008

Off the Rails

Reading the news in Britain today reveals something fundamentally wrong with the nation.

Item 1 - American counter-terrorism chiefs are demanding a full explanation from Britain of how radical cleric Abu Hamza was able to smuggle murderous messages from his UK prison cell to Al Qaeda's deputy leader.

Item 2 - A senior MP has received a warning from Downing Street after MI5 discovered that he was holding meetings with a suspected Russian spy....Undeterred, Mr MacKinlay continued to meet Mr Polyakov at locations around London and put down a series of parliamentary questions on Russian matters.

Item 3 - The body of murdered London schoolgirl Arsema Dawit was taken back to her African family last week and buried in a heartbreaking ceremony on an ancient hillside where thousands came to weep and pray...Police had been told she was being stalked by a man obsessed with her, but had taken no action.

Item 4 - Pot-holed roads, crumbling schools, litter-strewn streets – there’s no shortage of problem areas crying out for their attention. But councils believe they have found a better use for their money: reducing the number of holes in chip shop salt shakers.

Great Britain- terrorism, treason and murder seem to be beyond us, but too much salt on your chips is a problem worth facing. On days like this it feels like I'm living in some kind of surreal black comedy.

Brit TV Funds Terrorism

It seems that British TV station, Channel 4, has paid the ransom of a reporter taken hostage in Afghanistan. And never mind the consequences for the terrorists' next target.

Sean Langan, 43, was held by criminals linked to the Taliban at a terrorist training camp in a lawless border region of Pakistan.

His kidnappers threatened to shoot the journalist and his interpreter if a ransom was not paid.

The two men, who were working for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, were released after an Afghan go-between hired by the broadcaster delivered a briefcase full of cash to their kidnappers.

The Foreign Office warned Channel 4 that caving to the terrorist's demands would only serve to encourage them to do the same thing again. And get this he "was was held hostage for three months after trying to make contact with Al-Qaeda’s second in command."

Channel 4 was trying to make contact with terrorists we're currently at war with. And then comes this-

British intelligence was immediately called in to investigate, but sources claim that Channel 4 executives were loath to cooperate with the Foreign Office because they feared the government would try to stop them paying a ransom.

At one point MI6 officers – acting on the orders of Cobra, the top-level government security committee – raided the hotel room in Kabul where Langan stayed before the fateful assignment. They were searching for clues that they suspected Channel 4 was refusing to share.

Incredible- not only trying to make contact with Al Qaeda to publicise their propaganda but refusing to co-operate with the security services, who might have been able to stop these scum-bags from kidnapping or murdering anyone else.

And some people wonder why we question what side the media's on...

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Running Free

After the disastrous Boumediene decision it looks like the US will soon be producing stories like this one.

A terrorist suspect on bail for charges linked to an alleged major suicide plot involving mass casualties has gone on the run, Scotland Yard has disclosed.

As part of his bail conditions he was allowed to attend mosque- and it was while there that he fled after leaving a suicide note at home.

Scotland Yard has launched a massive manhunt, amid fears for the man's welfare. Detectives are playing down the suggestion the note implied he was on a suicide mission to target others.

Well, of course- he was only linked to a suicide plot himself. Why would police think that he would try to carry it out now after going on the run from the authorities? And get this- he cannot be named for legal reasons.

Some manhunt, eh?

Lyng Through His Teeth

A Democrat, William Delahunt, made the following comments-

Delahunt asked repeatedly whether the topic of waterboarding, a controversial interrogation technique that simulates drowning, ever came up.

Addington replied that he could not discuss that because “al Qaeda may watch C-SPAN.”

“Right,” Delahunt responded. “Well, I’m sure they are watching, and I’m glad they finally have the chance to see you, Mr. Addington.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re pleased,” Addington shot back.

On the Mark Levin show he tried to weasel out of the situation by claiming that he meant to say that he was glad to see Mr Addington, not that Al Qaeda could see him.

Lamest. Excuse. Ever.

I find it hard to believe that an elected member of Congress has publicly stated that he's glad that Al Qaeda, an organisation America is at war with, are able to identify the Vice-President's chief of staff. It's disgusting and a disgrace.

I don't know what's worse- that he said it or that it will most likely be condoned by those with the power to discipline him over these malicious words.

Dan Wesson Valor

Announced at the SHOT Show, the newest Dan Wesson 1911 model is the black Valor. The website has remained stubbornly unchanged so here's an image from the excellent 1911 Forum. The grips are VZ's ultra-slim green micarta.

Who We Fight

The enemy we face.

Muslim militants terrorists are crucifying children to terrorize their Christian parents into fleeing Iraq, a parliamentary committee studying the persecution of religious minorities heard yesterday.

Since the war began in 2003, about 12 children, many as young as 10, have been kidnapped and killed, then nailed to makeshift crosses near their homes to terrify and torment their parents.

One infant was snatched, decapitated, burned and left on his mother's doorstep, the committee was told.

So, what's Barack Obama's plan to prevent this ethnic cleansing after he withdraws US combat troops from Iraq in 16 months- or is he completely unaware that this kind of thing is even happening?

Filham Isaac, speaking for the Nineveh Advocacy Committee, told the human rights committee that Iraqi Christian churches were bombed, clergy murdered and unveiled Iraqi women raped or scarred with acid.

If this is what's happening now, just imagine the horrors that might be unleashed if Iraq is handed over to these barbarians.

Hollywood Helping

Angie and Brad do their bit for the troops.

In another generous act of philanthropy, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt donated $1 million to both U.S. and Iraqi children who have been affected by the Iraqi war.

I wonder if she was influenced to help the kids of US service personnel after her visit to Iraq?

"These educational support programs for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal," said Angelina. Half a million will go to the Armed Service YMCA Operation Hero program, which helps educate and emotionally support children who have parents serving in Iraq (or who've lost parents.)

The other half million will go to helping children in Iraq. Not often you hear about Hollywood celebrities doing good deeds to support the US military and their families.

On a related note I've just been to see Wanted. It's an outlandishly over-the-top film. Just throw your disbelief out the window and sit back and enjoy the awesome spectacle. Very well directed, brilliant action scenes and James McAvoy was superb as he moved from loser to super-assassin.

Heller

I've not had time to read through the decision completely yet but a couple of things need to be commented on.

First of all 4 of the 9 justices failed to recognise the fact that the right of the people to keep and bear arms means that people can keep and bear arms. I am at a loss that a supposedly educated and intelligent person can read the Second Amendment and then conclude that it does not mean that the people's right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

How the hell do you go about firing these traitors incompetents who have, I would presume, taken an oath to uphold the Constitution? Anyone? Note too that of the four dissenters two of them were nominated by Republican presidents.

Next of all note how the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed has somehow mutated in the Court to mean this-

Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home.

So, what part of "shall not be infringed" means you need to have a government approved licence to keep a firearm in your own home?

Friday, June 27, 2008

Israel

A short essay about a recent visit to Israel. These two passages stood out for me. First this one-

At one point we come over a hill, and there are two towns ahead. The one on the left is an Israeli “settlement”—to use the popular phrase in the western press today—and on the right is an Arab town. To the left is a sea of trees among the buildings, and to the right, none. What the press and politicians in America call “illegal settlements” are Israeli towns, with factories, high-tech industries, and homes—built on hills where there was previously nothing but sand—bringing economic life and civilization to the desert.

And this one-

Until the motivations for jihad against Israel are admitted, confronted, and repudiated, the causes of war will remain in place, festering in the minds of each new generation of children. All else—the “settlements,” the check-points that prevent non-Israelis from freely partaking of the Israeli economy, the claims to economic devastation, the “historic connection” to a soil that the Palestinians never planted—is pretense. To see this, all one need ask is why Israel’s return to the 1967 borders would remove a cause of war, given that Israel was attacked when she held those borders. And, of course, for Israel to retreat to those borders now would leave foreign enemies a few miles from Tel Aviv. This would be national suicide for Israel, a new holiday for Hamas, and the end of civilization in the Middle East.

Read it all.

Obama Pushes Scarlett

Obama really has stolen the mantle of Flip-flopper from John Kerry. NAFTA, Iran, FISA, Public Financing, Rev. Wright, his church, Jim Johnson, Jerusalem- the list goes on. Whenever the political winds blow in the opposite direction, Obama throws previously held positions under the bus.

Now, to add to it all, there's Scarlett Johansson. Once upon a time the pair shared emails but now Barack's cruelly thrown her under the bus too- claiming that the pair didn't correspond at all but that she was only in contact with one of his staff. Yeah, right, Michelle might buy that, but we know better. I wondered why after all this time Ms. Johansson deserved the bus-treatment and I think I've discovered the reason- Barack's heard her single and realised that he has to put as much distance between himself and her as possible. Fast.

I hesitate to inflict this on you but here is the evidence in question- her "song" (I use the term loosely) Falling Down.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Getting It Wrong

There's something rotten about the way Britain works today.

On the one hand we havoce a Gurkha, Mr Tul Bahadur Pun, who fought for this nation and in the process earned our highest award for bravery, the Victoria Cross.

A London hospital refused to treat him for his heart condition, claiming he owed thousands of pounds in unpaid medical bills.

He was told he had no right to free care by a revenue enforcer at West Middlesex University Hospital.

Mr Pun, one of just 10 living VC holders in the UK, was close to tears and forced to leave after being told he also owed thousands of pounds because he had 'misled' the hospital over his immigration status.

The Gurkha, who lives on just £135 a week, was ejected this week on the anniversary of winning his VC in Burma on June 23 1944.

He had attended the Isleworth hospital's cardiology department for an urgent follow-up appointment and has been on lifesaving heart drugs for 10 months.

Now, compare his treatment with that of a radical cleric who has been described as Bin Laden's right hand man in Europe.

Abu Qatada is to receive almost £8,000 a year in benefits because he has a bad back.

The fanatical cleric, said to be Osama Bin Laden’s ambassador in Europe, will get £150 a week of taxpayer’s cash after being released from jail last week.

He is now living in an £800,000 four-bedroom Edwardian semi in a tree-lined street in West London.

His incapacity allowance will push the family’s total annual handouts to more than £50,000.

His wife has been claiming £45,000 a year in child benefit, income support, housing benefit and council tax credit for the past four years.

And while the heroic Gurkha is denied free medical treatment because of the type of visa he was given, Qatada is receiving his benefits despite the way he came here-

He arrived in Britain 14 years ago on a forged passport and was granted asylum the following year.

While Qatada entered the country illegally, Mr. Pun was granted a settlement visa last year after a long fight with the British government. Here legally and denied medical care- and yet the illegally settled Qatada is raking in £50,000 in benefits. So, there we have it- a heroic Gurkha who won the VC serving Britain is treated worse than a convicted terrorist intent on destroying Britain.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Divorced From Reality

The wishful thinking that grips many Western politicians when they hear the word "Palestinian" continues unabated.

International donors committed 242 million dollars Tuesday to bolster the Palestinian police and justice system to help pave the way to a viable state, Germany's foreign minister said.

Because all those other millions of dollars given to them has been so successful!

The money will be passed to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over the next three years for measures such as putting more police on the beat, rebuilding destroyed courthouses and training judges, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

He said the funds would also go towards an expansion of the European Union Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS), set up in 2005 to train the Palestinian police force.

It is hoped that through such measures Palestinians will turn their backs on violence and put more trust in the rule of law so that an eventual Palestinian state will be able to stand on its own two feet.

Marvellous! What a noble effort. And even though the past millions of dollars haven't worked this next batch will certainly change the way things work. Soon, we shall no longer have things like this happen-

The Palestinian Authority has in recent days released at least three Hamas prisoners, as part of an agreement between Fatah and its rival faction to reconcile after a year of fighting.

The decision was made despite the Palestinian Authority's promise to Israel.

Isn't it great the way that free money sent with no strings modifies behaviour?

The cash comes out of 7.4 billion dollars already pledged by donors in Paris in December, a month after peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians were relaunched in Annapolis in the United States.

Billions of dollars. At this rate the Palestinian Authority will soon be a peacenik paradise of love and goodwill to all men. Right? It must be so, because even Condi Rice says so.

"Every link in what we call the chain of security must be intact and unbreakable. To ... feel invested in a future state the Palestinians must have confidence that their police, courts, penal system are dedicated to upholding the rule of law and respecting human rights," Rice said.

We've already seen how much respect Palestinians have for the human rights of Israeli men, women and children, haven't we? And it's funny that at the same time as Rice is calling on the Palestinians to have better security, she is in favour of Israel reducing its own.

"We have not made the progress that we would like to in terms of movement and access, removal of barriers," Rice said on Sunday at a press conference with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Funny how the state that needs to protect its own innocent civilians from psychopaths intent on indiscriminate mass murder is the one that's supposed to reduce its security efforts- and the one providing the terrorist murderers is being given massive influxes of foreign aid to improve theirs.

The wonderful world of modern politics.

When Words Have No Meaning

As with all of the other so-called ceasefires and truces between Palestinians and Israel, the latest one has just been broken. Islamic Jihad fired two rockets from Gaza at Sderot. Luckily, no one was injured.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel agreed to suspend military operations in Gaza. The West Bank, however, was not part of the deal. Islamic Jihad are nevertheless trying to use an Israeli operation there as an excuse for their own blood-thirsty actions.

And as always happens when these attacks on innocent civilians by murderous terrorists occur, the media leaps into the fray with claims that the ceasefire has not been broken but has instead been "shaken", "threatened", or as The Times puts it "cracks have appeared". Some are even worse than that though-

Two rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip slammed into southern Israel on Tuesday as an Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and the Islamist movement entered its sixth day.

A rocket attack and the ceasefire is carrying on as of nothing happened?

Once upon a time a ceasefire meant an actual cessation of hostilities. Then the Palestinians appeared and, voilà, they can strike with impunity and ceasefires magically continue in spite of their barbarous acts.

Neo-Nazi Guilty

A British neo-nazi has been found guilty on terrorism charges.

"Unless we the British right stop talking of racial war and take steps to make it happen, we will never get back that which has been stolen from us.

"I'm so sick and tired of hearing Nationalists talk of killing Muslims, of blowing up mosques, of fighting back. Only to see these acts of resistance fail to appear. The time has come to stop the talk and start to act."

Police found four improvised explosive devices which he had hidden under the bed of his five year old son. Note too that he didn't just have a problem with Muslims-

Officers also found anti-Semitic literature and photographs showing his admiration for Hitler and the Nazi cause.

How someone can describe themselves as a British nationalist and admire a character like Hitler is beyond me. Note this too-

Mr Edis described one document that Gilleard had written saying that it was time to start acting, there is too much bar stool nationalism and not enough courageous action to save the country from the multi-racial peril he believes it is in.

The "three-sevens" flag shown in the picture is a symbol closely associated with white supremacist group Blood and Honour. He could be facing a life sentence- but what that actually means in the UK now is anyone's guess.

Obama's Buddy

I was reading through NRO's 10 Concerns About Obama- RTWT of course- when I came across the section about Obama's buddy Bill Ayers. He is the unrepentant terrorist who, of all the scandals that have plagued Obama, he still hasn't thrown under the bus. A radical preacher is too much for Barack to deal with but an actual terrorist? Him he doesn't have a problem with.

Anyway, Ayers famously announced that he doesn't regret the bombs he set and that he feels he "didn't do enough" but one other thing he said which I'd heretofore missed was this-

"..would Mr. Ayers do it all again, he is asked? ''I don't want to discount the possibility,'' he said.

Unrepentent and apparently willing to again engage in terrorism to advance his own political agenda. And Barack Obama defends his ties to him?

Note too this other choice quote from Obama's friend and collegaue-

Mr. Ayers, who in 1970 was said to have summed up the Weatherman philosophy as: ''Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that's where it's really at.''

Nice company you keep Barack.

Obama's Lobbyists

The Great New Hope turns out to be just another politician. Tell me again what else qualified him to be a Presidential candidate apart from his hopey, changey, not like the others vibe?

Mr. Obama is running as a reformer who is seeking to reduce the influence of special interests. But like any other politician, he has powerful constituencies that help shape his views. And when it comes to domestic ethanol, almost all of which is made from corn, he also has advisers and prominent supporters with close ties to the industry at a time when energy policy is a point of sharp contrast between the parties and their presidential candidates.

Looks like the inexperienced Obama learns to do things the Washington way pretty quick to me.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Republican Betrayal

So, I popped over to War on Guns this morning and came across this post about Republican Mark Kirk and his desire to subvert the Constitution "reinstate the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act".

As if HR1022 wasn't bad enough there's now this.

Anyway, even as the press touts the success of the gun rights movement in protecting their inalienable rights, the hoplophobic gun grabbers continue to try and deprive free men and women of their right to keep and bear arms. WoG also linked to a blog called Team America's 10th District, a Republican willing to throw the Constitution under the bus so that Kirk can keep his job. I left a comment there in the hope that he might be convinced of the wrongness of his actions. It made me think though about how few gun owners in the States are willing to actually do anything about protecting their rights.

I'm sure that if asked about 99.999% of gun owners would declare themselves patriots and would also declare their desire to protect the rights enshrined in the Constitution. The problem is, though, that far too many of them won't do anything about the constant assaults on their liberty. In this case we have an attack on "assault weapons", and blogger Team America thinks it's fine because his Beretta won't be affected. And anyway, he doesn't see a need for a magazine which holds more than 10 rounds. In the not too distant future though, Barack Obama might be doing a fair bit more damage to the Second Amendment. If you own any kind of gun or know anyone who supports Obama because he would only support "reasonable gun control", you need to head on over here and read this and this and then tell your friends about it. Seriously. The only reason he hasn't acting on his desire to ban guns thus far is that he's a political animal and he knows it would have hurt his chances of winning the election. Get him in the White House and with a Democrat controlled Congress and it will be a different matter.

Now, gun owners who won't do anything to fight the attacks on their rights- what's up with that? Mark Kirk wants to ban certain types of firearms- he's clearly infringing the rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. Some, like this Team America blogger, seem to think that the only option is to continue to support him so that his opponent, who might be even worse, don't get into office. And while I can see their point they seem to believe that they have no influence on what Kirk does. Have they forgotten that he's supposed to represent them? How long do you think Kirk would continue this un-Constitutional nonsense if every gun owner in the district picked up the phone and called to protest? Or how about Republicans across the nation calling the GOP to express their fury with this attack on their inalienable rights and betrayal of gun owners? How long would it take to phone, fax or email his office- probably less time than it takes to clean one of your guns. And yet gun owners will do that in order to keep their weapons in working order, but they won't make a simple phone call to protect their right to own those same weapons?

It doesn't make any sense to me. Great successes have been won in defending the Second Amendment recently but the fight isn't over. Obama and the Democrats might be in power soon- and Republicans Kirk and his Republican co-sponsors Castle, Ferguson and Shays have put forward anti-gun legislation. It beggars belief. If any of these people are your representatives and you value the Constitution and the rights enshrined therein, you need to call them and let them know that you will not stand for this. Trust me- the UK has not only banned most guns but they've completely killed the legal gun culture here. Fight your battles now before it's too late.

As I've said before, it doesn't matter if the ban directly affects you or not. The fact is that if one kind of firearm is banned now it only serves to make it easier to ban another type later on. Banning so-called assault rifles now won't affect crime so maybe the next time (and there's always a next time) the gun grabbers will come after something you do own. Just look at the UK- a series of ever more draconian gun laws and now semi-auto rifles and all handguns are banned. Bear this is mind-chipping away at the Second Amendment doesn't make it stronger. Maybe you don't see the "need" for someone to own a semi-auto AR. The gun grabbers, on the other hand, don't see the need for you to own a handgun, or a semi-auto shotgun, or a semi-auto rifle either. Not even one of those sniper hunting rifles which could penetrate police body armour. Why would you need one of those? An attack on one gun owner is an attack on all. Sooner or later they will come after whatever firearm you do own. What's better: stop them now or wait until various classes of other firearm are already banned- and a precedent set in the public forum- and then wait to defend your rights?

Local voters should be attacking Kirk (and Castle, Ferguson and Shays) and telling him that they won't stand for his un-Constitutional acts- and nationally Republicans should be letting the GOP know in no uncertain terms that this won't wash. Especially not in an election year.

In my lifetime, the UK has moved from a strict licensing system to an outright ban on everything but manually-operated rifles. And unless there's a seismic shift in public opinion that will never be undone. Don't let the same thing happen to you.

Get Over It Sweetie

The more you learn about him, the less there is to like.

Sources at the meeting said that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, a Clinton supporter, expressed the desire that Obama and his campaign would reach out the millions of women still aggrieved about what happened in the campaign and still disappointed that Clinton lost.

Obama agreed that a lot of work needs to be done to heal the Democratic Party, and that he hoped the Clinton supporters in the room would help as much as possible.

There is a slight catch though, to all the healing that needs to be done. Sweetie, he's got more important things to do than win over a vast slice of the Democrat demographic.

According to Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Obama then said, “However, I need to make a decision in the next few months as to how I manage that since I’m running against John McCain, which takes a lot of time. If women take a moment to realize that on every issue important to women, John McCain is not in their corner, that would help them get over it.”

The Lightworker really knows how to respect the millions of women who invested so much in Hillary's campaign- he's too busy to do anything about it, they just need to get over their crushed hopes of the first female President.

As Ed points out, they have nowhere else to go now. You can thank Big Media with their fawning adoration and complete lack of vetting of Obama for that.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Friday Music

This is off an album called Illinois by a chap called Sufjan Stevens. It was in my Amazon recommended list and I took a chance and got it. I'm glad I did because it's a superb album. This track is called Decatur.

Iraq Oil Negotiations

Note that the title of this post includes the word negotiations. The democratically elected Iraqi government is talking with American oil firms about giving them access to that country's oil. Strangely, given what a number of liberals have been wailing and gnashing their teeth about for several years now, there's no mention at all of US firms simply taking whatever oil they want.

In what should come as a final nail into the coffin of the canard that the USA went to war in Iraq to steal its oil, a number of companies are about to be awarded contracts to work the oil-fields there.

Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Either someone high up has completely misunderstood the concept of invading a country and stealing its oil or *gasp* it's not true at all!

The whole world could benefit from the contracts as there is hope that Iraq's oil output can be raised from its current ceiling of 2.5 million barrels a day to 3 million in about six months time and, in a few years, to 4 million barrels a day. When Iraq's new oil fields are tapped production could increase to 6 million barrels a day.

Imagine the effect on oil prices of that combined with new wells being opened up in the US now. Ten years on, no doubt with oil under even more demand, fresh supplies could be coming online.

Brainstorming

Just how much money did this nonsense waste cost?

A COUNCIL has banned the term “brainstorming” – and replaced it with “THOUGHT SHOWERS”.

Bosses fear the phrase to describe idea sessions may offend epileptics or the mentally ill.

Oh, really- and how many complaints have they had about it? Fact is, The Sun contacted spokesmen for a metal health and an epileptic group and both thought the idea was stupid too.

Staff have been sent memos about the change – and even sent on training courses.

Astounding. Looks like someone is either trying very hard to justify their salary or they are far too enamoured of 1984 for their own good.

A spokesman said: “We take diversity awareness very seriously.

“The majority of staff have taken part in training and been asked to use the term ‘thought showers’.”

I hope that staff told them what to do with their suggestions.

Double Barelled Pump Action

Good grief! Years and years ago I wrote a little sci-fi story and armed the bad guys with double-barrelled pump action shotguns. I thought it would look pretty cool in a movie to see such armaments in action. Now, technology has finally caught up and some genius has actually made one! Bravo, sir, bravo.

Obama Lies Again

By now it would seem clear that Barack Obama is hardly an honest politician.

Barack Obama has decided to break his promise to use the federal public financing if John McCain did the same thing.

Hot Air has some QOTD which sum up his actions nicely. Here's my favourite-

Barack Obama chose winning over his word

“And with that, the first-term Illinois senator tarnished his carefully honed image as a different kind of politician — one who means what he says and says what he means — while undercutting his call for ‘a new kind of politics.’…

The irony of it all, of course, is that his reasons for abandoning public financing don't even hold water. He's out and out lying to the American people again.

It was the question of third-party spending that offered Obama his final pretext for pulling out of the public system. On June 12, McCain said he couldn't act as "referee" of independent groups, a stance Obama complained of in his web video Thursday morning announcing his decision to withdraw from the system.

Ironically, there are no major Republican independent efforts attacking Obama, though the left-leaning MoveOn.org has put more than $500,000 behind an advertisement showing a mother telling McCain that he can't take her infant son to war.

And thanks to the media's absenteeism during Primary season Democrat voters don't have a choice any more.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Freudian Slip?

Heh. I couldn't resist.

The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has insisted that she did not call him "pathetic" in a live television interview.

No, of course not. Slip of the tongue and all that.

Appearing on The View, a leading US morning talk show, Michelle Obama was asked by Barbara Walters whether she wanted her husband to be president.

Mrs Obama said "no", and was then heard to say: "He was sweet and pathetic."

Oops! Whoopie quickly had to step in and correct her, pointing out that Barack's not pathetic but empathetic.

Right, of course he is.

Firefox 3

So I upgraded to Firefox 3 and it seems pretty good. Looks nice, seems to run okay but I have two quibbles, one minor, one a little bigger.

Minor one first- the "view history in sidebar" option is gone. And I quite liked that. Handier than the "Library" window which opens now.

Secondly, Adblock isn't working just yet- and it's pretty shocking for me to see just how many ads are on websites that I visit regularly. Most of them running resource-consuming Flash animations. Trust me, whenever they get it working try it out for a while and block ads left, right and centre. After a while you'll end up seeing hardly any on pages you visit daily and not only will they load faster but they'll be more uncluttered.

Come on, Adblock- get updated!

Obama on Jerusalem

Good grief- Obama doesn't know that saying Jerusalem should be "undivided" is a controversial topic?

Daniel Kurtzer, who advises Obama on the Middle East, said Tuesday at the Israel Policy Forum that Obama's comment stemmed from "a picture in his mind of Jerusalem before 1967 with barbed wires and minefields and demilitarized zones."

"So he used a word to represent what he did not want to see again, and then realized afterwards that that word is a code word in the Middle East," Kurtzer said.

So, let me recap- Obama's ignorant of one of the major bones of contention in the Middle East and he's unable to express himself accurately.

Hope! Change! I guess that means Obama hopes that people change the subject quickly from this distraction about the Jerusalem he didn't know and which certainly isn't helping his children.

That seems to sum up a remarkable amount of his current campaign, doesn't it? Saying one thing, changing his mind a day or so later and then creating a lot of excuses for why he said what he did in the first place.

Rumsfeld Takes The High Road

There should be no surprise at all that Donald Rumsfeld refuses to endorse John McCain. Not after this- McCain went from saying that Rummy deserved respect and gratitude for his service to his nation, to offering him neither by calling him one of the worst Defence Secretaries in history.

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently declined to answer whether he will support Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president.

Asked whether that meant he wasn’t going to support McCain, Rumsfeld answered: “I have not been involved at all.”

Unlike McCain he is at least trying to maintain a little decorum by refusing to comment.

Obama Lacks Self-Control

Another example of Obama's exceedingly bad judgement and inexperience- if he gets "overheated" delivering prepared lines on the campaign trail, just how is how going to fare in high-intensity talks with foreign leaders with potentially devastating consequences?

In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine’s upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn’t want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA.

“Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,” he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA “devastating” and “a big mistake,” despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.

Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? “Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don’t exempt myself,” he answered.

Translation- I lied and got caught out but I still got the nomination- now I don't need to lie any more, those poor Dem voters don't have any other choice but me now.

And Ed Morrissey definitely deserves a quote on this-

It’s great that Obama doesn’t exempt himself from being a politician, but wasn’t that the entire point of the Obama campaign — that he wasn’t just another politician? Now the harbinger of New Politics, the man who would clean up DC, shrugs off an outright lie by calling it “overheated rhetoric”.

If we want just another politician, can we get one with some executive experience, military experience, and/or a legislative track record that exceeds what can be counted on the thumbs of one hand?

Precisely- but since the media was absent during the Primaries in regard to vetting Obama, Democrat voters are left with an inexperienced, duplicitous Chicago politician who becomes less and less deisreable with each passing day. Care to bet that we'd have a Hillary-McCain line up now if the press weren't so in the tank for Obama for the past year when they gave Americans a lot of messiah-superstar nonsense and ingored this joker's blank CV and his ability to bend like a reed in the political winds of change?

Creeping Communism

On the one hand the White House blasts foreign attempts to nationalise an industry, but on the other two members of Congress call for just that and...silence. I should think that Bush would be more worried about plans like that in his own country.

The White House on Tuesday criticized Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's planned nationalization of utilities and telecommunications companies and said any U.S. firms affected by it must be compensated.

"We've seen the results of nationalization in other places, and in general these types of actions do not produce economic benefits as expected," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council. "If any U.S. companies are affected, we would expect them to be promptly and fairly compensated."

But there's not a peep out of the White House or even John McCain about government wanting to seize what's essentially private property right there in he USA.

This makes two congressional Democrats on record within the past month as supporting an overtly socialist “solution” to gas prices.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

You Can't Have It

A witty response to MoveOn's moronic ad.

Condi's Failure

Whatever happened to Condi Rice?

She slams Israel's building of new homes in its own capital city, decrying the effect it has on the peace talks, but has not a word to say about continued rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

Maybe she thinks that a home is more dangerous than an unguided rocket carrying an explosive warhead aimed at civilian areas?

Obama and Zebari

So, what is it this time? Not enough sleep, rookie in-experience shining through, some darn staffer writing the wrong thing for him to say, or is Barack Obama simply lying to the American people again?

Compare this-

The foreign minister said “my message” to Mr. Obama “was very clear. . . . Really, we are making progress. I hope any actions you will take will not endanger this progress.” He said he was reassured by the candidate’s response, which caused him to think that Mr. Obama might not differ all that much from Mr. McCain. Mr. Zebari said that in addition to promising a visit, Mr. Obama said that “if there would be a Democratic administration, it will not take any irresponsible, reckless, sudden decisions or action to endanger your gains, your achievements, your stability or security. Whatever decision he will reach will be made through close consultation with the Iraqi government and U.S. military commanders in the field.”

With this-

ABC's Charles Gibson: "And, Senator Obama, your campaign manager, David Plouffe, said, 'When he is' — this is talking about you - 'When he is elected president, we will be out of Iraq in 16 months at the most. There should be no confusion about that.' So you'd give the same rock-hard pledge, that no matter what the military commanders said, you would give the order to bring them home?"

Obama: "Because the commander-in-chief sets the mission, Charlie. That's not the role of the generals. And one of the things that's been interesting a out the president's approach lately has been to say, 'Well, I'm just taking cues from General Petraeus.' Well, the president sets the mission. The general and our troops carry out that mission."

As with the whole NAFTA affair we're left wondering- who's he lying to? The American people or foreign governments- or does he really just say whatever is most advantageous at the time?

The Riot Rule

It must be opposite day or something because this makes no sense to me.

A mob of nearly 7000 Muslims attacked a group of Hindu pilgrims in West Bengal, a state in Eastern India that borders Bangladesh on the west. According to a Hindu blog, a sacred Hindu site frequented by Hindu pilgrims, including women and children, has experienced a sustained attack since Thursday evening. Muslims have thrown gas cylinders and Molotov cocktails at the pilgrims, burning down the camp building and trapping 180 men, women and children, along with fifteen police officers, within the confines of the compound.

And the result?

The police have issued an arrest warrant against the Hindu leader, Sri Tapan Kumar Ghosh, and 15 other Hindus. They are charged with "Incitement and Instigation for Rioting" and "Disruption of Communal Harmony."

No arrest warrants have been issued against Muslims.

Yes, a tiny minority of seven thousand Muslims attack innocent Hindu men, women and children, not to mention police officers, and instead of being arrested the Hindus are targeted.

So, you peacefully go about your business but because the local Muslims don't like it you are accused of inciting them to riot? Oh, wait, now I see- it's cartoon rage logic all over again. A tiny minority of Muslims are so incapable of controlling their psychotic tendencies that anything they don't like is considered to be an affront to their delicate sensibilities. And, as it's easier to confront the benign sources of this bloodthirsty rage, rather than the lunatics trying to kill women and children, the authorities turn their attention on that rather than the people rioting, etc.

Amazing the mental twists that human minds can go through- peaceful Hindus visiting a religious site are guilty of disrupting social harmony because they were attacked by madmen exploding gas cylinders!

Connecting The Dots

A Democrat, no less, refused to endorse Barack Obama recently because "He’s got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell."

Cue outrage from other Democrats and a subsequent apology from the man in question, Fred Hobbes-

“I was not as well prepared as I should have been when speaking with reporters, and I should have taken more time to research Senator Obama’s positions."

He also tried to blame it all on Fox News. As AllahPundit helpfully points out though, Barack Obama is connected to terrorists. Their names are William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn and they were members of a terrorist organisation which not only declared war on the United States but planned to murder American soldiers in a bomb attack on a Fort Dix NCOs dance. This is how they described the event-

What we wanted to do here was deliver the most horrific hit that the United States government had ever suffered on its territory. We wanted to light it up. Our slogan was bring the war home, and we really wanted to give the United States and the rest of the world a sense that this country was going to be completely unlivable if the United States continued in Vietnam, and that was the goal of this group.

Only a work accident (the bomb detonated prematurely at a safe house) prevented the mass murder from being committed.

So, yes, Fred Hobbes, you were right- Barack Obama does indeed have ties to terrorists: Bill Ayers who said, "I don’t regret setting bombs," and "I feel we didn’t do enough." And also Bernardine Dohrn who once praised Charles Manson as a symbol for her troops, "Dig It. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim’s stomach! Wild!"

Note that when called on the unsavoury connection Obama didn't throw Ayers under the bus, he defended him. And he thinks he has the judgement to be President of the United States of America?

Kuwati Women's Rights

If, as Western Muslim spokesmen tell us is true, women in Islam are treated so well (ask Tony Blair if you don't believe me) can someone explain to me why CAIR and their ilk aren't rushing over to Kuwait to re-educate these misunderstanders of Islam?

A draft law prepared by prominent Islamist clerics is to be submitted by Kuwaiti Salafist MPs to Kuwait's National Assembly, a source close to the Islamic Salafist Alliance said.

The law will include enforcing the veil, Islamic dress for women, and restrictions on women's travel without approval from father or husband.

A special committee will be formed to examine whether women need to travel at all.

Progressive, eh?

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Police Treason

Once upon a time an action like this would, I assume, have been treated as treason. The US is, after all, at war.

And yet when a cop tips off a terrorism suspect of an impending FBI raid, giving him time to destroy evidence, he isn't actually hanged. Nope, in our enlightened times he's allowed to remain on the force- and get paid no less- while Internal Affairs conduct an investigation. An investigation into matters which he has already admitted to and been found guilty of.

Note too that his character witness so to speak was none other than unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial, CAIR.

Rasool acted as CAIR's representative on the police force, and even worked with the group to kill a successful counter terror-training program within the department.

And despite his admission of guilt the court which did try him and found him guilty only gave him two years probation and a fine.*

Sgt. Muhammad Weiss Rasool, a Muslim cop in the nation's capital who tipped off the target of an FBI terrorism investigation into a pro-Taliban mosque.

Rasool's actions "damaged the integrity of the NCIC system and jeopardized at least one federal investigation," U.S. prosecutors said in court papers filed last month. "The defendant's actions could have placed federal agents in danger."

Rasool finally pleaded guilty to illegally searching a federal database.

He actually accessed it 15 times to check the names of family members and friends to see if they were on terrorist watch lists.

Despite his subsequent conviction, however, Fairfax County has left him on the force, pending the outcome of an internal investigation. The leniency afforded Rasool is unprecedented, given how he copped to the crime – and not just any crime, but one that betrayed his fellow officers and country.

Care to bet that a mere non-Only One would get away with betraying his country like this?

*There's something else which needs to be said here and it comes in two parts. First of all is this-

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Well, bingo- Rasool admitted his crimes which aided a pro-Taliban group. Here comes part two-

Therefore the United States Code at 18 U.S.C. § 2381 states "whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

So can someone tell me why he isn't serving at least a minimum of five years and why he still holds office as a police officer?

Uh Barack uh Speaks uh So uh Eloquently

Barack uh can't seem to uh get uh a sentence out uh in one uh go. By comparison George Bush is one of the world's best public speakers.

Quick, someone fetch Obama a teleprompter!

Please note too that he refers to the US troops fighting terrorists and who have liberated Iraq from a genocidal, psychopathic, torturing dictator as an "occupation". On more than one occasion. He also claims that Iraq is worried about its sovereignty as if America is governing the country.

Obama's CV

Obama's "community organiser" experience which apparently qualifies him to lead the most powerful nation in the world-

But when it comes to lasting accomplishments, Obama's list isn't very long. His greatest hits seem to have been a successful effort to convince the city of Chicago to locate a jobs placement office on the far South Side and his part in a drive to push the city to clean asbestos out of a housing project in the same area.

He held this job for three years and accomplished remarkably little- and yet under his control the group increased from 1 to 13 staff and its budget from $70,000 to $400,000.

That's some return of investment, eh?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

UK Cops Tackle Crime

Life in modern Britain.

A one-legged Royal Navy veteran was arrested after he rescued his neighbour from being harassed by two men.

Mr Beerling said the drama began at 2.30am on March 19 when he was woken by screams from his next door neighbour and her baby, and the sound of men shouting.


He heard his female neighbour and her baby screaming so he dialled 999, strapped on his false leg, grabbed an extending truncheon which he put in his pocket and went to her aid. He was able to ensure her safety without even removing the truncheon from his pocket.

Mr Beerling, a Liberal Democrat councillor, was arrested, locked up for 12 hours and charged with possessing an offensive weapon.

The charges were eventually dropped but he was still put in the cells for the night rather than praised for his intervention. And this despite the fact that the truncheon wasn't used, wasn't brandished and was so old and rusted that it wouldn't even open.

Add in this too for a flavour of how the police treat the citizenry of the UK today-

More than 50 police officers swarmed on a 12-year-old boy accused of stealing a £10 note which was hanging out of a cashpoint.

No, that's not a typo- 50 officers went to a report of a 12 year old who got into an argument with a woman who claimed she owned a £10 note hanging from an ATM.

Pascoe, who stands at just 4ft 7in, said he had been given his mum's bank card to withdraw money when he spotted the note - but the woman who had been nearby claimed it belonged to her.

Pascoe's cousins - two women aged 21 and 28 - stepped in to stand up for him and a large crowd gathered before the trio were arrested on suspicion of theft.

50 cops to arrest two young women and a young boy.

Mrs Petgrave said yesterday: 'He's never been in any trouble before. This was a horrific ordeal for my 12-year-old boy, he was handcuffed and put into a headlock.

Surely because of the huge threat a sub-five foot tall child poses to fifty police officers? This comment says it all really-

'When my house was burgled a year ago I wish they had sent just one of those officers. How did a row over a £10 note hanging out of an ATM machine get to that point?'

I guess the police realise it's easier to make their arrest quotas by harassing law-abiding citizens and young kids rather than do actual police work. Can you imagine 50 cops working together to try and catch a burglar?

Welcome To The Jungle

You know those times when you see a review of a movie and it says something like, "This film is brilliant," so you go see it and then think that the quote was probably originally "This film is utterly terrible not brilliant"?

Well, I suspect that something like that must have happened with the 2007 movie Welcome To The Jungle- not to be confused with The Rock film of the same name. It's a cannibal film and, good grief, it's bad. Not enjoyable B-movie bad but mind-numbingly tedious bad. The problem isn't just that it's a very blatant rip-off of Cannibal Holocaust but that it spends about 90% of its time tracking the not-interesting-at-all exploits of a group of pretty unlikeable characters. They spend far too much time setting up the story before even going to the jungle and then spent an even larger amount of time bickering. And nothing at all of interest happens.

Towards the end of the movie the cannibal tribe shows up and we get no tension or excitement at all. Not even a chase through the jungle just a lot of sitting looking depressed. When the inevitable happens and the cannibals do attack we get some very derivative scenes (including one especially which is a lame take on Deodato's shocking original). And here's where the problem is- the un-originality of the story could be excused if it delivered some thrills, tension, excitement, empathy for the characters or even some gore. And for a cannibal film that's woefully lacking. We get some not very convincing dismembered body parts but no actual scenes of cannibals munching on fresh human flesh. Which would seem rather essential for a cannibal film.

After watching it I was left with a sense of disappointment. It's as if the makers had heard of cannibal films and the traditional elements in them but had never actually seen one. Which brings me back to my opening gambit. The quote on the WTTJ cover says, "Quite possibly the most terrifying film of the last decade." I think what they meant to say was "terrifyingly bad".

Whatever you do, don't waste your time on this.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Welsh Israel Boycott

This is a curious one- Wales' only Muslim AM has set up a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador and he invited his Welsh colleagues to attend too. He said,

"The biggest flashpoint in the world at the moment is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, so we must understand both sides of the facts.

"I know quite a lot from the Palestinian side, but I haven't been able to speak with any Israeli till today, so in my fortunate position I thought this was the best opportunity for me to invite him.

"That was the whole idea, to bring him over, and listen to his views.

"I don't want to put my head in the sand, and I appreciate everybody's feelings, and being Muslim, probably everyone knows my feelings, but I am a human being, and a peaceful human being."

Good for him. However- and this is where it becomes curious- one of his fellow Welsh AMs has decided to boycott the meeting-

"I am unwilling to accept the invitation to meet the ambassador because of my objection to the failure of the state of Israel to meet its international obligations to the Palestinian people of the Holy Lands. I would invite other colleagues to do the same."

He fails to mention any obligation of the Palestinians to stop murdering innocent Israeli citizens of course.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Reality Worse Than Fiction

Smallest Minority posted an article about one of the most shockingly violent and horrendous crimes it's been my misfortune to read. There have been complaints about the horror genre "torture porn" recently (IMHO, nothing compared to some of the things which appeared in late '70s cinema- go watch some of the cannibal films from the period if you don't believe me). Anyway, the crime Kevin reported on is much, much worse than anything Hollywood has ever produced. If you're of a sensitive disposition I'd advise you not to read any further. Seriously.

Over many torturous hours, she had been repeatedly raped, sodomized and forced to perform oral sex, a prosecutor told a jury on Thursday. The accused, Robert A. Williams, 31, had doused the woman’s face and body with boiling water and bleach, forced her to swallow handfuls of pills and to chase them with beer, sealed her mouth with glue, and bound her wrists and legs with shoelaces, cords and duct tape, said the prosecutor, Ann P. Prunty. And now, Ms. Prunty said, he was asking the woman to gouge out her own eyes with a pair of scissors.

And so the woman, sitting on the floor of her studio apartment in Hamilton Heights and holding a pair of scissors between her knees — the blade pointing toward her face — tried to stop the suffering. She lowered her face to the blade, but turned her head at the last moment, trying to stab herself in the neck instead of her eyes.

The scissors slipped from her grasp, the suicide attempt failed, and the woman suffered several more hours of torture, Ms. Prunty said.

Remember this story the next time someone says that you shouldn't want to defend yourself or your family from criminals. "Just give them what they want", they argue. Yeah, well, what if what they want is to torture you so badly that you want to kill yourself to make it all end?

Monsters do exist. Robert Williams is proof of that. The police couldn't prevent this crime- the victim was on her own and helpless to resist. Learn to defend yourself with whatever tools you have available. And if you're so inclined, it wouldn't hurt to say a prayer for his victim.

Forty Second Boyd

Kevin at Smallest Minority pointed out a newish post over at Eject!3 so I dutifully made my way over there for the first time in ages. Bill Whittle has an excellent two-parter there called Forty Second Boyd And The Big Picture. It's a remarkable piece of writing concerning the effort of Boyd to transform USAF doctrine and fighter design back in the days of the Vietnam War. It also concerns how his doctrine has been applied by General Petraeus in the Surge.

As with all of Whittle's work it's not only beautifully written but also incredibly informative. An absolute must read. Part One is here and Part Two here.

The Offensive Pledge

A Portland school has stopped its students from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at a ceremony.

The pledge was instead replaced with a singing version of the preamble to the Constitution.

Why, you ask? Well, here's an explanation-

KATU tried repeatedly to talk with Principal Pam Wilson but got no results. However, in an e-mail response to Reese's questions, she explained the pledge was removed "out of respect for the diversity of religious faiths."

So a pledge of allegiance to the United States of America is offensive to some religions? One would have thought that "under God" would not be offensive to any monotheistic religion. Here's the full text of her email-

"The Pledge contains the words, 'under God' and we have many Muslim families here. So out of respect for the diversity of religious faiths practiced by our school community (parents and families) we decided that this year the students would memorize and sing the Preamble to the Constitution. At the rehearsal on Friday they did it from memory and to a wonderful song. It was very joyful and unique. I think you, and other parents, will really appreciate the creative and new way to open the program."

Makes you wonder if they had any complaints from the Muslim families or if this was another case of someone taking pre-emptive action because they think the Pledge is somehow offensive themselves?

UPDATE - I rest my case!

Portland school officials say the principal was trying to be sensitive, but some Muslims say the ban caused hurt feelings, and may foster bitterness and division within the community.

Police State UK

Your papers please - or else.

A man was handcuffed, arrested and dragged before a court after falling off the settee with laughter while watching Have I Got News For You.

His downstairs neighbour heard the noise, you see, so she called the police thinking that there was some problem. Why she didn't call the medics when she thought he'd had some kind of seizure is unknown. Anyway, the police turned up at his door-

Prosecutor Alex Mann said the police went to ensure everything was all right and spoke to Cocker who was 'co-operative and relaxed' and he assured the officers everything was fine.

But that wasn't enough for the police- they then demanded his personal details and when he quite rightfully refused and then became "aggressive" this is what happened-

He was eventually disabled with parva spray through the gap and arrested.

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said: 'The officer accepts in his statement that he struck my client and then sprayed him again.

He was handcuffed and unceremoniously thrown into the back of a police van.

And he didn't just end up in a cell-

'I can't believe it - I was thrown in the back of a police van before being stripped naked and put in a cell.

'I was handcuffed behind my back and my ankles bound with plastic ties before six of them carried me to the van.

I guess there's no real violent crime on Britain's streets for the police to concern themselves with.

When he ended up in a police cell he was asking himself how all this had happened.

Because he had the temerity to refuse to act like a cowed sheep before the Only Ones. And the real kicker?

A police spokesman said Cocker became 'aggressive' towards the officers who feared for their own safety.

The spokesman said: 'Parva spray was used to stop any confrontation and was necessary to protect the officers and any members of the public who were around at the time.

'Within the circumstances, we feel we used reasonable force.'

That's odd- it sure doesn't sound reasonable to me.

Amateur Hour

Change you can believe in! From the start people argued that Obama lacked the experience to run for President. Heck, he even said that himself when he went to Congress- and now we're seeing on an almost daily basis how true it is.

Monday, June 09, 2008

McCain's Imprisonment

I can't claim to be much of an admirer of John McCain's politics but I certainly do respect his courage- more so after reading this first-hand account of his lengthy imprisonment during the Vietnam War. It's certainly worth reading to learn more about the terrible treatment he and the other prisoners had to endure.

One thing which particularly struck me was this section-

They left no doubt in my mind that it was not a question of South Vietnam alone. Some people's favorite game is to refute the "domino theory," but the North Vietnamese themselves never tried to refute it. They believe it. Ho Chi Minh said many, many times, "We are proud to be in the front line of armed struggle between the socialist camp and the U. S. imperialist aggressors." Now, this doesn't mean fighting for nationalism. It doesn't mean fighting for an independent South Vietnam. It means what he said. This is what Communism is all about—armed struggle to overthrow capitalist countries.

It seems apt to recall this today when the jihadists continue to tell the West exactly what it is that motivates them and which goals they hope to achieve- and yet some are so blinded by their own imaginary view of how the world works that they continue to either ignore or dismiss these frequent statements of intent and origin.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Friday, June 06, 2008

The New John Kerry

Obama seems to be making up for his incredible lack of experience by following the John Kerry school of politics- tell whatever audience you're talking to what they want to hear.

Obama, during a speech Wednesday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-israel lobbying group, had called for Jerusalem to become the site of the U.S. embassy, a frequent pledge for U.S. presidential candidates.

But of course the so-called Palestinians objected to this and so Obama, man of principle that he is, quickly changed his mind.

Obama quickly backtracked today in an interview with CNN.

"Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations," Obama said when asked whether Palestinians had no future claim to the city.

In short, he either doesn't know what he's talking about or he's simply pandering to whichever potential voting block he happens to be addressing at the time. Hope! Change!

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Obama Saves The World

On a couple of sites I've come across the following quote from Obama-

Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal...

And that's been where it ended each time. However it's not all he said by a long shot- the very next line is as follows-

this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth.

I'm assuming he's speaking about the conflict in Iraq, rather than the war on terrorism. Remember this in the coming months when McCain talks up the astonishing progress made there and the successes the US and its allies have won. Obama doesn't seem to care because the only way he can suddenly end the war in Iraq is by surrendering to the bloodthirsty, mass murdering scum intent on preventing democracy from taking hold there.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Progress Report

Lost a week of kettlebell training when my back pain flared up. Even so I've dropped a waist size. This week I'm not quite past the pain but if I time it right I can put in a little work here and there as the painkillers wear off. Did a day concentrating on lots of snatches interspersed with a few swings and cleans and then ended it up with five minutes of Turkish Get Ups. Great exercise. Yesterday I added in a windmill or two and then tried a few bent presses. When I got my KBs a few years ago I couldn't do them on one side because of my back. Now I can, even though the pain's gotten worse- doesn't make any sense to me. Either it's a sign that my slow but steady KB training is showing some unexpected benefits or it's a temporary glitch. Whatever it is, I'm liking the exercise.

Today I was feeling a bit tired and stiff-backed so I didn't do anything fancy- swings, a few snatches and some clean and jerks. I think I'll try some under the leg passes next session. It's been a while since I've done any of those.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Cavalry Arms

It seems that Cavalry Arms are back in business after being raided by the ATF. And they still don't know why they are being harassed investigated.

If you're interested in an AR or just want to support a firearms manufacturer during what will likely turn out to be a costly legal battle, go ahead and buy from Cavalry Arms.