what's that smell? HT to BOTW Taranto by Otto Riech
This time the rumors are real: Castro is dying of stomach cancer. He may have already died, even before the funeral preparations were finished, so the news is not out. Confirmation of the terminal illness comes from the usual sources but in a non-conventional manner. The Cuban government has been summoning to Havana representatives of the major international media to negotiate the best seats, camera angles, and interviews with the despots political survivors, and to inform them of the ground rules for coverage of the state funeral.
The foreign media are being told that the model for Castros funeral is that of Pope John Paul II a year ago. The Cubans actually believe or pretend that the death of a tyrant deserves the same attention as that of the worlds great men of peace.
This is one of Castros lasting legacies to his countrymen: moral disorientation. The Cuban ruling class has been so isolated from reality for so long by fear and Castros airtight press control that they equate the burial of a mass murderer with that of a prince of the Church. No doubt there will be dignitaries at the funeral: fellow revolutionary leaders from the last repressive regimes on Earth: Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan, for example; and leaders of failed states like Zimbabwe and Bolivia; and representatives of the worlds resentful Left and the Hollywood Left (pardon the redundancy).
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2006 00:00 ||
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Otto is the guy that Sen Chris Dodd, D-LiberalAsshole, has had a personal vendetta against since he worked against Dodd's beloved Sandanistas during the Reagan years
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2006 9:09 Comments ||
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#3
This just in
"The streets of Cuba's largest city are draped with bunting to celebrate Castro's funeral, Today in Miami the city is also preparing for a huge boatlift to take celebrants home from......
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/28/2006 11:10 Comments ||
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#4
I'm dying to see how this will play out in the MSM in the US.
#1
Tahnks once again A5089 for the info. What a travesty. Interesting that the pattern in Sweden is identical to France. It enrages me that this goes on. However, the idiot Swedes bring this directly on themselves for letting this high number of Muslim scum to come into their very peaceful country. This is no accident . The pattern will happen anywhere when Muzzies achieve 8-10% total population. Americans sit on their smug asses and say it COULDN"T happen here. It will,if we continue to allow the scum to come in. Halting of Muslim immigration should be a high priority. Halting all immigration, legal or illegal must be stopped until we can deal with the horde.
#3
Born Ralf Wadman, El-Swede changed his name to Abdu Raouf when he converted to Islam during his first prison term in 1998, following a history of petty crime and involvement in neo-Nazi groups. After the release, he moved to Morocco, where he married his first wife. Upon returning to Sweden, he divorced and became involved in narcotics. In 2003 he was arrested while smuggling the African drug khat from Denmark to Sweden. Before he could serve his sentence, he was arrested again for threatening a policeman. During the second prison term, he reassumed his Swedish last name (Metro, 31 May 2006).
According to Aftonbladet, El-Swede is a prolific contributor to Muslim chatrooms, where he has urged readers to destroy Islams enemies and put fear into the hearts of the scum. He has also issued threats against a Swedish evangelist preacher who last year called Muhammad a pedophile The same paper reported that in 2004 El-Swede maintained contact with a well-known neo-Nazi via one of his websites, and that the two discussed taking up arms and storming the Swedish Prime Ministers office...
Muslims like Abu Usama El-Swede are particularly attractive as recruits to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups for infiltration into the United States. Have El-Swede shave off his beard and put on normal Western clothes, get him a fake passport with a Swedish name, and he could easily pass for any other Swedish tourist.
Worth keeping in mind when people suggest profiling based on country of origin. The terror nets have been recruiting scum like him for just this purpose.
#4
Worth keeping in mind when people suggest profiling based on country of origin.
It in no way changes the fact that 99.9999% of terrorists still originate from MME (Muslim Middle East) countries or frequently travel there. Profiling individuals by country of origin, appearance and behavior all promise to help in the identification of potential terrorist offenders more than doing none of the above.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2006 16:59 Comments ||
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#7
Goteborg is absolutely spectacular-skerries make every photo a beaut. What a shame that Islamists are taking over. And with all those skerries, it must be difficult to keep an eye on the runamoks.
#9
:) Sorry about that, tw-I am in a strange mood today.
The coastline around Goteborg and the general Bohuslan area of Sweden is filled with tons of little islands and inlets. It is beautiful but also presents a myriad of opportunities for hiding. Yes, unfamiliar features and hue of strangers might stand out, but how important is that in Sweden today, when so few are willing to raise a red flag or question the out of ordinary?
#10
After a couple of generations, having been weened off of Mothers Milk with the Socialist Kool-Aid, these people will go to their deaths in wide eyed wonder.
They be very puzzled as to why their little brown friends from the South hate them, when they've been SO nice.
And, the stage is being set for it to happen here. Our schools (public) are cesspools of socialism. There's lots of talk here about killing the muzzies, and I am guilty as well. However, if we really want to survive, we'll have to kill the liberals first, or, do 'em both at the same time.
What you see happenng in Europe is just the prelude for what Islam intends to do the world over. We'll dither until it is too late, my only solace is that we'll probably trash the planet in out death throes and even the muzzies will die off.
Lovely, huh?
Islam has to go, one way or another. So does liberalism.
#11
If the trailing daughters are anything to go by, No Beards, the upcoming generation will be mostly conservative. Not just because of the Roe Effect that Mr. Taranto (of Best of the Web/OpinionJournal.com) fame has been touting for some years, but because, as td#1 explained back when she was 14, the Democrats/Progressives are stupidly blind to all the important things like 9/11 and the mind-stultifyingly counterproductivity of Political Correctness... and totally reactionary (yes, she was at the Big Word stage. It was awfully cute). If we can hold the line for a few years, I think the younger generation may take care of our little Left Wing problem for us. :-)
One of the best political articles you'll ever read; here's a taste:
[Pat Langley] is a Democratic party activist in [Arlington, VA,] this most liberal of suburbs in this most conservative of states. She'd invited friends, fellow activists, and neighbors over for punch and coffee and finger food. She wanted them to watch a campaign video and listen to a conference call over a speaker phone, and then give as much money as they could to her favorite candidate, James Webb.
That's the same James Webb--the staunch defender of the right to bear arms who's warned his countrymen about collectivist taming by the Left, its war on salt-of-the-earth "Joe Sixpack" through such programs as affirmative action, also known (to Webb, among others) as "state-sponsored racism." The same Jim Webb whose war novels bristle with contempt for the professional liberals, mollycoddlers, and antimilitary cultural Marxists who constitute society's decadent elite and who have made their home in the Democratic party ever since their treacherous betrayal of our fighting men in Vietnam.
Something's not right with this picture, obviously, but then so many pictures seem out of whack this election year, and nowhere more so than in Virginia. Here George Allen--former governor, favorite of the conservative movement, and one-term Republican senator of no particular distinction--is being challenged by the most sophisticated right-wing reactionary to run on a Democratic ticket since Grover Cleveland.
It turned out that not many people at Mrs. Langley's knew much about Webb. As committed activists, they were just happy he's a Democrat who's been running even in the polls with Allen and has a fair chance at an upset. And they know he's a Vietnam veteran whose two Purple Hearts, Silver Star, and Navy Cross testify to unimpeachable heroism. Other things they think they know about him, however, aren't quite so.
"He's a war hero, but you know he's refusing to let the campaign reference his war experience," one of Mrs. Langley's neighbors told me. "He refuses to exploit it. That tells you something right there about the kind of man he is." The neighbor didn't flinch when Mrs. Langley played the campaign video, which offered a parade of old combat pictures of Webb and a series of testimonials from his war buddies. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
10/28/2006 15:46 ||
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sorry to keep quoting LGF - but I just finished reading in there. Those of you who may be inclined to think Webb may not be such a bad choice cause Allen's campaign was so mean and nasty about his poetic literary skills might want to consider this: Dems have the Miracle Cure
"Go ahead. Pull the other leg. Webb: Democrats will provide Iraq remedy.
Its to laugh. Read the whole article to find out what this magical remedy is, and youll discover ... nothing. This is as specific as Webb gets:
It pains me as an American that our casualties are again escalating while this president and his followers are still incapable of bringing forward an intelligent, commonsense approach to ending our involvement there.
How is this not a cut-and-run policy? (Its actually a non-policy, with a strong odor of cut-and-run.)
Notice also that the Iraqi mujahideen have stated quite clearly that they are stepping up attacks and media efforts, specifically to evoke this kind of response from US politicians. The term useful idiot seems applicable here."
Mrs. Bobby sez most of the reviews were good, and the NYT is quoted as saying something like, "one of the year's best films." Just because the Times sort of likes it doesn't make it bad.
One reviewer didn't like it; he's an idiot.
I haven't choked up in a movie in a long time.
Go see it.
Sit all the way to the end of the credits. I did, and when I got up, many others were still sitting there.
Having read the book, I knew the medal the son found after Doc Bradley died was the Navy Cross. He never told anyone, and the movie does not reveal its' significance, just that the son didn't know Dad had been awarded it.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/28/2006 14:51 ||
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An ex-Navy Captain I know saw it, he liked it. He was expecting it to another "futility of war" flick but said it was a good story and they seemed to leave politics out.
Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, strongly criticized CNN Friday for its "Broken Government" series of specials in the run-up to the November mid-term elections and for its airing of tapes of snipers shooting American soldiers in Iraq.
In an interview with Situation Room anchor Wolf Blitzer, Cheney said the network's Vote 2006 specials contained "terrible distortions of the president's and vice president's positions on many issues."
She suggested CNN was working from Democratic talking points, and took issue with the negative tone of the title "Broken Government," suggesting it betrayed CNN's bias and countering that the administration had inherited a recession, been through some tough times like 9/11 and Katrina, but that the economy was healthy. "That's not broken, " she said, "this government has acted very well... I shouldn't let media bias surprise me, but I worked for CNN once [with Crossfire, according to Blitzer], and I was troubled.
Blitzer said the series was "probably" meant to be provocative, "to get people to think, to get people to discuss these issues."
Cheney turned the tables on Blitzer, becoming the questioner: "what is CNN doing running tapes of terrorists shooting Americans," she asked more than once, repeating a question CNN had been asked: "Do you want us to win?"
"The answer is, of course, we want the United States to win," said Blitzer. "We are Americans." Blitzer said airing the footage was not terrorist propaganda but "reporting the news. This is what we do... We make no apologies for showing it."
Later in the newscast, Lou Dobbs defended the "Broken Borders" series, saying that with all due respect, the government was broken in many respects and that he had been critical of Republicans and Democrats. He called Cheney's criticisms "power bridling at truth."
Cheney also complained that she wanted to talk about her children's book, Our 50 States, but had spent about 10 of the 15 alloted minutes for the interview responding to questions about her husband's comments about tactics used to question detainees and the citing of some passages of a book she wrote by Democratic Virginia Senate candidate Jim Webb in defending some racy passages in his books. She said Webb was "full of baloney."
One of the great divides in our country, and in the West in general, is between those people who believe that as bad as Islamic terrorism can be on a local scale, there is no way it can threaten our civilization, versus those who believe that our civilization is actually more fragile than people realize and that it could indeed be changed in irreversible and unfortunate ways; in other words, we could in fact lose this Long War.
Europe may well be lost in the next 5-10-20 years, but ultimately, if the Islamic world refuses to join the Core and insists on maintaining their failed culture, we can just wall them off, develop new modes of energy production and basically ignore them. I suspect most Americans would be just fine with such a prescription. However, there is a catch. Actually there are two catches. One would be the failure of the West to stand up for itself and for America to go the way of Europe and submit. This failure from within is addressed by Dr. Sanity in ALICE IN WONDERLAND or DEMOCRATS IN DENIAL (the references are to Victor Davis Hanson, whose grasp of history can be challenged only by those too ignorant to know what they don't know, and Jonah Goldberg):
As Hanson and Goldberg both clearly state, the all-encompassing hatred of the West that lies at the core of the Islamic totalitarian ideology is what we are fighting against; and one of the crucial fronts in this war is in Iraq.
But, Iraq is also a key front on a philosophical war with today's postmodern political left, who seem to share with the Islamists that same all-encompassing hatred of the West and its values. Indeed, they share it with anyone who hates freedom and democracy (check out their attitudes toward Hugo, Fidel or Kim for validation of this, if you like).
For both of those reasons, we must develop a strategy that will "finish the job and not leave a mess"--in other words, to defeat both the barbarians from without who violently threaten Western Civilization and seek a physical return to the Dark Ages; as well as the barbarians from within who seek to undermine and destroy Western Civilization with their smarmy politically correct ideology, whose words and dogmatically righteous platitudes effectively enable and encourage the evil that threatens us.
My position is unequivocally that both ideologies must be defeated by the forces of good in Iraq and everywhere they have taken root.
The second caveat is, if anything, more difficult to quantify and, at the same time, more troubling. Raymond S. Kraft offers a chilling "future history" of DECEMBER 7, 2008 in which our enemies are able to detonate a relatively small number of nuclear weapons over a small number of crucial nodes and essentially destroy America as we know it. [HT: Lt Col P at OpFor] His final comment:
The failure of many Americans, including many of the leading Democrats in Congress, and some Republicans, to fully appreciate the persistent, long-term threat posed to America's liberties and survival, and to the future of Liberal Democracies everywhere, by an Islamic Resistance Movement that envisions a world dominated and defined by an Islamic Caliphate of religious totalitarianism, and which will fight any war, make any sacrifice, suffer any hardship, and pay any price to achieve it, may prove to be the kind of blunder upon which the fate of America turns, and falls.
#1
in other words, to defeat both the barbarians from without who violently threaten Western Civilization and seek a physical return to the Dark Ages; as well as the barbarians from within who seek to undermine and destroy Western Civilization with their smarmy politically correct ideology, whose words and dogmatically righteous platitudes effectively enable and encourage the evil that threatens us.
I hope we can do it. Sometimes I think those of us fighting to win western civilization are like the democrats fighting for this years congress. We have only a negative platform - rid ourselves of these negative, self-destructive ideologies. Ok, but replace them with what? Much as we'd like to believe it, we aren't united on exactly what it is that we are working towards.
#2
I think anon has an excellent point. I am often struck listening to Mark Steyn that his diagnosis of the West's loss of faith - and the consequences of that loss for the war - are essentially correct. But what I do not hear is a prescription for addressing the situation. (Not that it is Steyn's job to have all the answers...) Are we meant to somehow engage in a great Christian revival in Europe (Pope Benedict's long-term goal) or must we, as I would prefer, revive our commitment to the Enlightenment? That latter task will be difficult given the abandonment of Truth, science, technological progress, economic growth by academia and with it generations of students who have been taught a curriculum of nothing.
#3
I think we need a sensible middle ground (which is not the same thing as PC wishy-washy crap).
a) Restore critical thinking skills to our culture. Teach science, math, facts from history.
Acknowledge the role of interpretation in establishing and choosing salient facts - i.e. a spectrum. At one end is consensus reality, my 17 thermometers register the same temperature reading to 3 decimal places. At the other end is political interpretation of social trends etc.
2. Restore sanity re: church vs. state. Congress shall establish no religion, but neither shall it be hostile to it. Let local communities decide whether they want to display menorahs, creche scenes, build mosques etc.
Let idiots rant and rave from mimbahs and pulpits. Publicize their crap to all and sundry. Prosecute the first idiot that tries to act on their hatefilled ideas. And the second, and the third and anyone else stupid enough to buy in. Deport hate preachers who are not citizens. Revoke the citizenship of any naturalized citizens who incite to violence and civil disorder.
Off the top of my head. Critiques welcome, as I've been intending to refine this thought for some time.
#4
An alternative to the present system of schooling needs to be developed, from top to bottom. Every child should learn a foreign language starting in 1st grade. Most children (especially girls) should learn a martial art. These suggestions just for starters. I don't know how to teach people to love the place & culture they inhabit & benefit from, this was just drummed in to me so thoroughly from day 1.
#6
Let idiots rant and rave from mimbahs and pulpits. Publicize their crap to all and sundry. Prosecute the first idiot that tries to act on their hatefilled ideas. And the second, and the third and anyone else stupid enough to buy in.
Sounds good but I take it you wouldn't be interested in applying this equally to all? Because I foresee one tiny little problem...
#8
People like me...you would throw me out of my country because you don't approve of my hate toward mother Islam. What you may be overlooking is that even the US will not take the right action unless and until a leader emerges with a hate filled attack line similar to Hitler, but aimed at Islam.
And, why one foreign language ?
We are all human, why not all speak the same language, especially in times of instant communications ?
#9
Read what I wrote, wxjames. I did not advocate deporting a native born citizen for speaking hate, atlhough I think we are justified in doing this with someone who is naturalized.
I did advocate coming down hard on anyone who commits violence based on that hate or who foments such violence. Yup, I did.
even the US will not take the right action unless and until a leader emerges with a hate filled attack line similar to Hitler, but aimed at Islam.
Raise up a new Fuhrer and I will be one of the armed American citizens who will fight your and your jackbooted friends. I'll be damned if I'll let the far right hijack this country without a fight any more than I'll let the the far left do that.
And I have a whole lot of friends, some still active duty, some retired, who I suspect will be fighting right alongside me.
#11
So open speech can be inconvenient? Yes. It can.
But neo-Nazis, Islamofascists and others of their ilk can be exposed to daylight and ridiculed when speech is free.
Others can see them for what they are spit and respond. For instance, with the above wxjames exposes something that has been lurking just beneath the surface of a lot of his comments. Now that it's out there, the rest of the readers here can keep that in mind re: other comments he makes.
Under political correctness, some group gets to decide what everyone else is allowed to say. No thanks!
Note again, that's free speech. Actions are quite a different matter. The state quite appropriately acts to prevent and/or punish actions.
#12
lotp, I like people and I get along with everyone fine. However, I have no tolerance for Islam attacking and beheading innocent people, be it here, Iraq, Nigeria, India, Thailand, or Somalia. The left here and in Europe do not see a problem.
It's been with us for centuries, and it will continue until we are overrun and forced into dhimmitude. Not because we want it. Europe doesn't want dhimmitude, but there will be nothing but old people to fight against it, and they will fail. So too will the US fail, because we can't beat them 'legally'. We can't beat them until we adopt their tactics.
What we must do is force Islam to change by tossing out all of their violence. Is it by chance that not one single leader has spoken such words ? No, nobody in power intends to force Islam to do anything. Especially Olmert. It's catch 22, in order to assume power, one must appear rational, and rational people don't see forcing a quarter of the world's population to make changes as an option, yet it's the best option. Rational people would rather the nuclear option. But, what example does that set for the future ?
Frankly, I'm praying for the bird flu to do the dirty work. I know we won't, and this kind of discussion will stay at Rantburg unless and until a right wing nut grabs leadership and forces Islam to change.
"Islam doesn't attack and kill innocent people, some Muslims attack and kill innocent people."
So too will the US fail, because we can't beat them 'legally'. We can't beat them until we adopt their tactics.
I disagree that we need to adopt their tactics, although I agree that the violence must be opposed, with violence as need be, where it can be effective.
As a practical matter, we are going to see soon, I fear, that Islam is only one of many sources of terror attacks. The MS-13 network is ruthless and has targeted US police for assasinations in a number of countries, as an example. Our boy Hugo is itching for similar effect on the US, but every time he gets close to fomenting something we send a warship cruising through the southern Carribean. His connections with FARC, who learned their explosives from the IRA, don't bode well for us, however, any more than the fact that he is sucking up to Ahmadinajad.
#14
But neo-Nazis, Islamofascists and others of their ilk can be exposed to daylight and ridiculed when speech is free.
I'm no longer sure how I feel about this. I would have completely agreed with you a year ago. And I want to believe it now. But when you have someone preaching to a cheering audience of 5,000 about uncovered meat and a coinciding problem of increased rapes I have to really wonder if we are not stuck in a mindset that is badly in need of a rethink - like the British walking down the lanes in red coats.
A greatest strenth is always a greatest weakness. We can't afford to lose this war.
#15
on more thought on the nazi's - it took a war to rid us of them. I don't know the history of the KKK well enough to argue - but I'm guessing they never had 5,000 in one spot and most of them were ashamed enough of their views to hide their face.
As you mention - we are headed to all out war. At what point do quit calling enemy funded propaganda "free speech" and reign it in so that we can win the war?
#16
wxjames, Hitlers never, ever stop with their first target group. Adolph went after not only the Jews, the homosexuals, and the handicapped, but Christians, artists, teachers, Slavs, Gypsies, the... Over 11 million people died in Nazi concentration camps, and only about half of them were Jews.
Hitler was elected because people like you saw him as the answer to the threat of the Communists. But they were wrong: the answer to the violence of the Left is not the violence of the Right (although really Hitler's National Socialists were just as far to the left as Stalin's International Socialists). The real answer to the violence of the Right/Left is the united sense of the Reasonable Middle, standing up to defend civilization against totalitarianism. This is the mistake Europe has made over and over again the past two centuries, and looks likely to make again, damn them!
#18
This is the mistake Europe has made over and over again the past two centuries
And there is no reason to believe they will not make it again as they have learned nothing. Europe does not even consider the alternative of classical liberalism. They are congenital sheeple.
Europe going muzzie will not constitute a loss to the US. In fact, it will allow us to redirect our attention to the Pacific where it properly and productively belongs. The Euros should be welcomed as immigrants and refugees if they wish to become Americans. Otherwise they should be forgotten. We wouldn't be here had they not come before, but the same may be said for the Sumerians. Life goes on without their civilization also.
#19
I'll keep the "Hitler" suggestion in mind the next time I want to see my country divided in two for fifty years and one-third of it handed over to people like the goddamn Soviet Union.
(And if we ever fight an enemy as humanistic as the United States. I don't see one.)
In the meantime, take your suggestions that we adopt the strategies of one of the big miserable fucking stupid failures of human history inside your own goddamn head. We aren't fighting the French, and we aren't gonna be able to kill a couple million Jewish civilians and pretend that makes us victorious while the army's being turned into dogfood on the eastern front.
#23
Look, there are four ways that civilizations can interact following contact, as I'm sure you know:
o Amalgamation: 1st step to assimilation
o Assimilation: immigrants to US
o Accomodation: a temporary situation, but separation will either lead to assimilation (blacks in US) or extermination (Jews in Europe)
o Extermination
It is quite possible that we will be forced to exterminate Islam. But let's not jump straight there. We erased national socialism as a serious alternative by defeating in World War II the nations using it as an operating principle; we erased international socialism as a serious alternative by defeating the nations using it as an operating principle in the 30-year Cold War (Red China is, after all, de facto totalitarian capitalist, fwiw). The nations/societies using Islam, especially Jihadi Islam, as an operating principle are considerably more fragile than those operating under national and international socialism. Even as there are those in the West seduced by Islam, enough Muslims are either converting to Christianity or just quietly leaving the faith of their fathers to make the religious leaders feel seriously threatened... and if they are feeling seriously threatened, I suspect the numbers are seriously weighted in our direction, not theirs.
We have been in the fight since 9/12/01. Everywhere we actually fight, we are beating them badly. We haven't won yet. But we haven't demonstrated that total extermination is our only option. And we certainly haven't demonstrated that only a Totalitarian Strongman can do what needs to be done.
#26
I was not referring to a Hitler that was pushing His agenda forward, I was referring to a bastard who would use inhuman force to defend civilization against Islamic lunacy.
I was referring to Hitler the speaker, the crowd inciter, the leader by speech. Hitler was, after all, the second best speaker known to man. He never managed to walk on water during one of his speeches. Civilization needs a man capable of inciting the masses into action, not half of the masses, while the other half shits on him in tomorrow's papers. When the man is so powerful that the presses are burned down the next day, then we will know him.
Today, we still debate, have elections, and play with ourselves. Civilization's serious meter is at about 9.
Indeed. And not just from without, it would appear from your comments.
Posted by: just askin ||
10/28/2006 17:16 Comments ||
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#29
Don't just throw mud at the wall, be specific.
If I wasn't serious about today's world, I'd hang out at some silly jokester site, poking fun at everything. Pretending to be above it all. Like your comment, just askin.
#31
It's good to see that the defense of what keeps America special is still so spirited. Agree that we cannot jump directly to extermination, but once Islamist nukes begin to explode, Islam will become forfeit.
People on this site are serious, if not, they would be Kosturbating at DU and INDY Media.
The MSM and the cultural Marxists are also serious and want to see the destruction of America. That is an issue that will have to be settled, one way or the other.
The Gateway Pundit, a must-read for me, provides a translation of a headline and article that appeared on October 27, 2006 in Sot Al-Iraq. It's a tough and courageous letter that was read in a number of mosques at the Friday prayers. Gateway also provides commentary from Haider Ajina. Worth the read.
Sermon after Friday prayers in Nejaf (Najaf) By Khuther Elias
After Friday prayers in the Fatima Mosque in Nejaf, Imam Sadir Aldien Alqabanchi delivered a sermon titled "Iraq is a piece of the Arabic fabric".
He said in his sermon, "since the dictatorship was brought down in Iraq, some have said Iraq has left the Arabic fabric because of the following reasons:
1- A free political and governmental system. Which is quite different from the rest of the Arab world, thus they consider it different from the Arabic fabric.
2- The Shiite majority forming a unity government and attaining their proportional rights through elections. They said this is a second reason.
3- Minorities in Iraq have their rights protected. The Kurdish minority have finally received their deserved rights under the unity government. They said this is was the third reason.
The imam then added, "Today the Arab world has been influenced by these statements and there are forces at work to return Iraq to the Arab fabric by destabilizing or annulling the current government and maybe even bringing Saddam back. These reasons are why the Arab world has turned its back on Iraq and created false rumors of division and suspicion of what they call the Shiite crescent etc.
Iraqis reaffirmed that Iraq is a piece of the Arab fabric and will not leave it. No Iraqi wants to leave the Arab world, we want Iraq to be an effective member of the Arab world. Iraqis did this by their free vote for the constitution which affirmed this.
He added, "We must have a policy of mutual openness between us and the other Arabic countries. Iraqis chose the road of freedom from dictatorship and other Arabs thought that to be a step backward, they are wrong. Yes we have our problems but we have the resolve to cure the problems with patience, wisdom and courage. Talk about dividing Iraq is false and no one in Iraq wishes to divide the country.
The USA under the leadership of James Baker is studying choices and options about the Iraqi situation. We Iraqis have three immovable matters:
1- No to the return of the Baathists or dictatorship.
2- No to violence or terrorism.
3- No to foreign interference in Iraqi leadership.
Other than these three immovable points they (the Baker commission) can study any other options they wish.
Alqabanchi then called on the government to take responsibility towards the residence of Balad and save them form the terrorists. He added, "We believe that all of Iraqs provinces must move towards rebuilding and development and avoid internal strife. We hope that the provinces experiencing turmoil will resolve their problems fairly and in a brotherly spirit."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2006 22:25 ||
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Condi needs to quit the State Dept Arabist line and face reality
In a keynote speech earlier this month to the American Task Force on Palestine, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sounded very unlike President Bush on the Middle East, lavishing praise on Palestinians and implicitly attacking Israel.
While the words she chose have invited criticism, much more concerning is that the top U.S. diplomat has the same fundamental misunderstanding of the Middle East that most do, namely that Palestinians are ready to coexist peacefully next to a Jewish state. This conventional diplomatic wisdom, however, ignores the history of the region since the Oslo accords in 1993: The once largely secular Palestinian society has become increasingly Islamic-and deeply radicalized.
Comparing the Palestinian cause to her own civil rights struggle growing up in "segregated Birmingham, Alabama," Miss Rice reminded the activist audience that if she could overcome such tremendous odds to become Secretary of State, Palestinians could achieve their dream of statehood. She based this belief on "the commitment of the Palestinian people to a better future."
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2006 11:02 ||
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#1
Apologies, Frank - I'm in a rambling / actionable mood today... an odd mix of speculative weirdness coupled with the desire, as the bored vulture said, "Fuck this waiting shit, I'm gonna go kill something..."
There's a timeless quality to the humiliation thingy.
I'm beginning to suspect that one of nature's most ingenious neural devices, habituation, has somehow been erased from the genetic code of certain populations. Recall the Princess and the Pea? Well, in reality as most intelligent people know it, repeated exposure to a stimulus tends to reduce the response, over time. It's commonly referred to as habituation - and is one of those thematic thingys which fascinates me.
Perhaps, the loss of this biological necessity, buried somewhere in the genome, causes some of that "junk" DNA to activate - rendering the individual suddenly immune to logic. In parallel, perhaps it also renders the individual susceptible to Islam.
Goshdarnit, there is nothing that Bush or Condi or even the Great Master, Rummy, can do about it.
#2
She could quit excusing their disgusting death cult and quit treating them as equals to the Joooos. They aren't and won't be for generations, if ever. Cut off all aid and let them stew in their shithole
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2006 14:16 Comments ||
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#3
That's her gig.
In this case, you should definitely blame Bush. It is his chess strategy which is pissing you off and firing boggle photons at your serenity.
My favorite part is about arab babies in the morgue spontaneously bursting into flames.
Did Israel use a secret new uranium-based weapon in southern Lebanon this summer in the 34-day assault that cost more than 1,300 Lebanese lives, most of them civilians?
We know that the Israelis used American "bunker-buster" bombs on Hizbollah's Beirut headquarters. We know that they drenched southern Lebanon with cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the war, leaving tens of thousands of bomblets which are still killing Lebanese civilians every week. And we now know - after it first categorically denied using such munitions - that the Israeli army also used phosphorous bombs, weapons which are supposed to be restricted under the third protocol of the Geneva Conventions, which neither Israel nor the United States have signed.
But scientific evidence gathered from at least two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri, the scene of fierce fighting between Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops last July and August, suggests that uranium-based munitions may now also be included in Israel's weapons inventory - and were used against targets in Lebanon. According to Dr Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, two soil samples thrown up by Israeli heavy or guided bombs showed "elevated radiation signatures". Both have been forwarded for further examination to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire for mass spectrometry - used by the Ministry of Defence - which has confirmed the concentration of uranium isotopes in the samples.
But scientific evidence gathered from at least two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri, the scene of fierce fighting between Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops last July and August, suggests that uranium-based munitions may now also be included in Israel's weapons inventory - and were used against targets in Lebanon.
Dr Busby's initial report states that there are two possible reasons for the contamination. "The first is that the weapon was some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or other experimental weapon (eg, a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash ... The second is that the weapon was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium." A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium.
Enriched uranium is produced from natural uranium ore and is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. A waste productof the enrichment process is depleted uranium, it is an extremely hard metal used in anti-tank missiles for penetrating armour. Depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium, which is less radioactive than enriched uranium.
#1
Long-winded bastard, isn't he. So what he is saying is that Israel should fight strictly by the rules, but Hizbollah, well , there isn't much critique of Hizbollah here. So Hizbollah can fight out of uniform, use civilians as cover, use mosques and civilian homes as firing positions, and Israel must play it by the book.
#2
*I* especially like the part about taking naturally-radioactive uranium, taking almost all the radioactive stuff out, and what remains is "waste products of the nuclear industry".
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/28/2006 8:29 Comments ||
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#3
If only the Israelis would beat him to a bloody pulp like the Afghanis did, then he'd adore them.
#4
If 'elevated radiation levels' are found at the crater of an Israeli bomb (this war), I would expect it indicates the Israelis blew up a 'dirty bomb' factory.
#5
Robert Fisk. Just the name makes me smile. A man whose name will go down in history as one who wrote such pieces of senseless garbage that it was necessary to deconstruct them line by line.
#6
Useless moron. If Israel wanted to be serious, they would quit using laser guided bombs. Instead, they should take out entire neighborhoods with old style dumb bombs, followed by the very low tech, but very effective, dispersal of napalm to completely burn out the area. Anyone in bunkers would likely either be immediately torched or suffocated. No high tech nonsense needed, just common sense.
#8
Wars are ruthless. If you've been through it, it is without saying. The only question is who inflicts the damage. If you sit on your PC ass, the Muzzies will have no hesitation in destroying you and yours. Mindset is the largest obstacle in waging war, always.
#9
The moral is to the physical as three is to one.
Posted by: Napoleon Buonaparte ||
10/28/2006 12:53 Comments ||
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#10
Just so we are clear, it is not as if the Iranian establishment believes it needs an excuse to develop and deploy nuclear weapons against Israel. But this new lie is exactly the sort of pretext Iran may find useful to further rally support among the idiots. Fisk is doing the mullahs work for them again.
#11
American and British forces used hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) shells in Iraq in 1991 - their hardened penetrator warheads manufactured from the waste products of the nuclear industry - and five years later, a plague of cancers emerged across the south of Iraq.
Seriously, how many hundreds of times has this canard been shot down? What a self-righteous, lying prick this guy is.
#13
This is also part of the grand tranzi project to cripple the militaries of free peoples; use smoke grenades that contain phosphorus? You just committed a war crime!
#17
What horseshit. If Israel was going to use any sort of radioactive weapon, their enemies would never know it because they'd all be dead. This sort of terrorist enabling garbage is worse than shameful, it's sleeping with the enemy. Why doesn't this asshole just fellate all the Arabs he can find. It's the only thing he could do that would improve their morale even more than him writing this shit.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
