"Matt Drudge's role in the Monica Lewinski scandal] strikes me as a new and graphic power of the Internet to influence mainstream journalism. And I suspect that over the next couple of years that impact will grow to the point where it will damage journalism's ability to do its job professionally, to check out information before publication, to be mindful of the necessity to publish and broadcast reliable, substantiated information." -- Marvin Kalb in 1998
Scott Beauchamp was the last straw. I realized that I need a scorecard to keep track of all the fallen journalists, journalistic mistakes and major and minor screw-ups in the media. I couldn't find one already made, although Wikipedia came close, so I started my own. I apologize if there is a good list already out there, but I looked and could not find.
Offenses include lying and fabricating, doctoring photos, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, falling for hoaxes, and overt bias. Some are hilarious, such as an action figure doll being mistaken for a real soldier. Some are silly, such as reporting on a baseball game watched on TV. Some are more serious.
I leave it to you to judge whether the internet damaged "journalism's ability to do its job professionally", as Marvin Kalb accuses, or if the internet has in fact helped expose an already damaged "profession".
I doubt if my list is comprehensive, but I think it's a good start. So that I'm not accused of plagiarism myself, I would like to give credit to Wikipedia for many of the entries on this list. And all the information below can be found with a little internet searching; I just could not find it all in one place. I do give at least one source for each item, embedded in the text. 62 in the list at the site. He concludes:
I conclude with a few observations.
* These offenses have been going on for years, long before the internet. But there does seems to be a rise in the number of reported offenses in recent years. Did the number of offenses go up, or did the fraction of discovered offenses go up?
* In a good number of these cases, the errors were caught by non-journalists, sometimes communicating over the internet.
* If it is "too good to be true", or just too politically correct to be true, take it with a grain of salt - several grains, apparently, if from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The New Republic, CNN or Reuters.
* The Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize just ain't all they're cracked up to be.
* If this is the visible part of the iceberg, just how big is the iceberg?
If I missed any, or if there is a better list out there, let me know.
A good smackdown of the fundamentalist "global warming" devotees by Cal Thomas. Funny thing is, the title of his column in my local paper is "Shiny, happy climatologists love fantasy," lol!
In every child's life there comes a time when childhood fantasies are shattered and he or she is forced to accept reality - there is no Santa Claus or tooth fairy; parents don't always mean it when they promise to stay married until parted by death.
Grown-up scientists, theologians, historians, archaeologists and others who pursue facts and objective truths are rooted in reality and constantly adjusting their conclusions, theories and hypotheses when new information comes to light. Those who ignore facts and cling to outdated information, or outright falsehoods, can quickly embrace fanaticism. Good description of both the enviro fanatics and the jihadis (that "enemies, foreign and domestic" thingy).
So it is with "global warming," the secular religion of our day that even has a good number of adherents among people of faith. Having decided to focus less on the eternal and whether anyone dwells there, global warming fundamentalists are pushing planet worship on us in a manner that would make a jihadist proud. See? He got the comparison I did, too!
There are at least two characteristics all fundamentalists share. One is the exclusion and sometimes suppression of any and all information that challenges or contradicts the belief one wishes to impose on all. The other is the use of the state in pursuit of their objectives, overriding the majority's will. Bingo! Outta the park! More at linky.
Posted by: BA ||
08/16/2007 08:13 ||
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#2
A "Global Scam" directly implies a GLOBAL MAFIA STATE agenda, which few iff any dedicated Mafiosi = Mafiacrats, or even Wafflecrats, etc. would willingly admit to iff they can help it. Lest we fergit, CLINTONISM = "MONICA DEFENSE" > Personages really Really REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y REEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYY, D *** You, TOLD THE TRUTH WHEN THEY KNOWINGLY, WILFULLY, andor ADMITTEDLY ETC. LIED, MISLED, CHEATED, AND DECEIVED OTHERS, ETC. You know, anti-Anarchy/Legal Chaos Anarchy + Legal Chaos. HUMAN BEINGS CAN'T TRUST OTHERS OR THEMSELVES TO BE HONEST AND "DO THE RIGHT THING", IN ANYTHING, AGZ ANY EACH AND ALL SIDES INCLUDING THEIR OWN.
#3
The Stellar explosion seen from Guam in July 2007 > means God is giving mankind chances, opportunity(s) for peace and to be better than ourselves. The next one seen from Guam > SIGN TO THE FAITHFUL MANKIND-WORLD HAS BLOWN IT.
*FREEREPUBLIC Poster > PLEISTOCENE ERA COMET DISASTER > GENETIC EVIDENCE > perhaps 5-10,000 human beings in entire world survived 100,000 years ago.
Contrary to what Americans hear constantly from the media, Venezuelans have a poor opinion of their president, Hugo Chavez, and a positive opinion of Americans and the United States.
As a senior Venezuelan currently living in the U.S. while keeping up-to-date with Venezuelan affairs (I am also a former member of the Venezuelan congress), I have come to accept that Venezuela generally merits little attention from U.S. society, except in three or four areas: baseball players, beautiful women, oil and the antics of Hugo Chavez.
Hugo Chavez September 2006 UN speech in which he called President Bush a devil and spoke aggressively against the United States, helped to push Chavez and Venezuela, even if negatively, onto the American consciousness. Due to this speech, millions of U.S. citizens felt curious enough to do some research on Chavez and learned, for example, that Citgo, the chain of corner gas stations, is really a major oil company owned by the Venezuelan government and being used by Chavez to make inroads into American domestic politics. Americans also learned that Chavez loved Saddam Hussein and now calls Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe "brothers." However, few still know that his buddies in the U.S. include:
actor Danny Glover, who received $18 million from Chavez to make a movie. Glover has been known to compare Chavez to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Joseph Kennedy Jr., who runs Citgo's distribution of cheap Venezuelan fuel oil for Chavez in the northeast;
Jesse Jackson, who was decorated by Chavez in Venezuela;
Ramsey Clark, a famous anti-war activist from the Vietnam era and one of the lawyers who defended Saddam Hussein;
Don King, the boxing promoter;
Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist; and
Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt.
The intense propaganda machine installed by Chavez in the U.S. (that costs the Venezuelan Embassy well over a million dollars per year) is trying to sell U.S. public opinion on the idea that Hugo Chavez is universally loved by Venezuelans while the United States is bitterly hated.
In fact, neither of these two claims is correct, judging by all credible polls, both in Venezuela and outside the country. In Venezuela the most professional and respected polling company, Hinterlaces, produced its poll for the month of June, with a 95% reliability. Some of the results are quite interesting:
Hugo Chavez is rejected by 43% of those polled and approved of by 39%;
Attacks against the U.S. by Chavez are rejected by 75% of participants and approved of by 14%;
To give money away to other countries, as Chavez is doing from the Venezuelan oil largess, received the support of only 9% of those polled, while 87% rejected it;
The pretense of Chavez to re-elect himself indefinitely by modifying the existing constitution is rejected by 63% of those asked and approved of by 19%.
81% of Venezuelans would generally like to see new political leadership in the country.
According to the survey by Hinterlaces, the political style of Hugo Chavez is starting to rub Venezuelans the wrong way, since he is increasingly being perceived as a dictator. A poll conducted by a reputed Chilean company, Latinobarometro, in January 2007, indicated that Venezuelans clearly prefer democracy to any other political system. This poll also revealed that Hugo Chavez had a very low approval rating in Latin America, only better than Cuba's Fidel Castro and Peru's Alan Garcia. The highest ranked Latin American leader in this poll was Brazil's Lula da Silva, followed by Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Colombia's Alvaro Uribe and Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, while Hugo Chavez, Alan Garcia and Fidel Castro were at the very bottom of the ladder.
Pew Global Attitudes Poll, issued in June 2007, surveyed the views on the U.S. in 47 countries, including Venezuela. While it is true that the U.S. image in Latin America has deteriorated, the clear majority of respondents in countries such as Mexico, Peru and, yes, Venezuela, expressed a positive opinion about their northern neighbor. In fact, it might come as a surprise to many Americans that more Venezuelans (56%) thought favorably about the U.S. than did the British (52%), the Swedes (46%) and the French (39%). While 71% of Venezuelans enjoyed U.S. music and movies, only 63% of the British shared their enthusiasm. At the same time, 76% of Venezuelans professed admiration for U.S. science and education, while 74% of the British did. Venezuelan opinion of the U.S. was much more favorable than that of most European countries.
The picture Venezuelans have formed of Hugo Chavez and of the U.S, according to these polls, is not the picture Hugo Chavez's propaganda machine in Washington is trying to sell to American public opinion. The positive sentiment that Venezuelans have about the United States appears to be culturally driven, not political. Not since the times of Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt and President Kennedy, a team that made possible the end of dictatorships in the Western Hemisphere and the success of the Alliance for Progress, have there been warm relations between the political leadership of both countries.
The U.S. should consider taking the initiative to work with the Venezuelan people, through organizations of civil society, to promote the conversion of more Venezuelans into productive citizens. The Venezuelan population is highly dependent on a paternalistic, authoritarian state and cannot prosper without a critical mass of self-starting citizens. Such an initiative could create new good will for the U.S. in my country.
Gustavo Coronel is a petroleum geologist, author and public policy expert, who was elected to the Venezuelan Congress in 1998 before it was dissolved in 1999 following the election of Hugo Chavez as president. Coronel is currently designated as an "enemy" of the Chavez regime.
#3
IIRC, Jimmuh had a lot to do with the last time, Glaque.
Wonder what size "donation" appeared at his "library"?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/16/2007 19:16 Comments ||
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#4
Because the 10th Congressional District has been Gerrymandered (Gerry Studds, Elbridge Gerry). The South Shore and Cape vote Red, purple at worst. They have been blended with the welfare districts of Quincy, New Bedford, Fall River. Delacunt wins because of public sectah union votahs in Quincy, and technically ineligible voters on the South Coast. He is a disgrace and NEVER shows his face in the red communities. William Delacunt, D - Hedonism II.
#5
Contrary to what Americans hear constantly from the media, Venezuelans have a poor opinion of their president, Hugo Chavez, and a positive opinion of Americans and the United States.
Hey, just like all the informed citizens of the world, AMERICANS ARE OK, REMEMBER..... they're far more altruistic than anyone else on the planet, even after hearing all the stories, once they meet some, they are in awe of Americans, we're just like that.... They marvel at the fact that we're such independent thinkers, and christians, even if we dont think we are, we are CHRISTIAN, through and through, no getting away from it, it's ingrained in us and makes us a likable bunch on the whole.
Though coming from a White Devil like Chris Matthews, I have my doubts.
Via one of Fred's BlogAds.
What's in a name? For Chris Matthews, a lot.
Discussing foreign policy on this afternoon's "Hardball," host Matthews advanced this astonishing theory.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Do you have a sense, though, well certainly I have it, that just by his name, Barack, ah, Barack Hussein Obama, by his background, having grown up in Indonesia which is a largely Muslim country, that he would have a feel perhaps other presidential candidates don't have of how to connect with that part of the world, the billion people, that we seem to have such a problem connecting with and avoiding war with.
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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I saw something the other day that really caught my eye. Buraq is the name of the horse that transported BigMo from the distant mosque (al-Quds, known to us as Jerusalem) to his just rewards.
The name Barrack is a bit too similar for comfort.
#2
You are a fool, matthews, just like that other idiot(s) on CNN. You are talking heads, not foreign affairs analysts. Act like it or be broke. And I mean bankrupt.
Just the other day, I heard a FOOL on CNN talking about how government should handle everything.
'FOOLS, all of you.
#7
If the eponymous connotations of a candidate's name are worthy of consideration, Obama should have been toast the instant his hat landed in the ring. We'll please ignore everything he's done since then to disqualify himself permanently even further.
#8
Matthew, I prefer a name like Richard the Lionheart (of Crusade fame), as someone who could deal with Muslims more effectively.
Of course I am biased on the side of the Crusaders over the Muslim hoards so what do I know.
Posted by: Push over pushes back ||
08/16/2007 3:41 Comments ||
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Uh, Chris, the rest of us got over this stupid notion in the 1960 election (JFK being Catholic, taking direction from the Pope...). But perhaps you were too busy babbling to notice.
Posted by: sofia ||
08/16/2007 9:23 Comments ||
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Uh, Chris, the rest of us got over this stupid notion in the 1960 election (JFK being Catholic, taking direction from the Pope...). But perhaps you were too busy babbling to notice.
Uh, Sofia, I don't know about that....there's still a large group saying "But, he's a Mormon" about Romney. While I disagree with Mormonism wholesale and even some of his stances, I personally would still wholly endorse Romney over those other "Christians" like Hillary, Obama et. al.
Posted by: BA ||
08/16/2007 9:34 Comments ||
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#13
I guess Chris could never support a Hispanic candidate named 'Jesus' for the same reason.
Posted by: Total War ||
08/16/2007 10:42 Comments ||
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Well, to give him credit, Obama did mention bombing certain parts of Pakistan. Of course, that's not the type "dealing with" that Matthews meant.
Posted by: BA ||
08/16/2007 10:52 Comments ||
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The leadership of the Democratic Party has, by its public words this spring, disgraced themselves for a generation. Republicans have the right -- and the duty -- to engrave in the public mind the springtime Democratic perfidy and cowardice in the face of the enemy.
This spring and early summer: Sen. Harry Reid said the war is lost; Gov. Bill Richardson said that on his first day in the Oval Office he would order our troops to leave Iraq immediately (even if it meant throwing down their weapons on the way out); Hillary bragged that if Mr. Bush doesn't end the war, she would do so immediately upon her arriving in the Oval Office (God preserve us); and Mr. Obama took pride of place in his adamant opposition to, and call for immediate departure from, the Iraq war.
Gen. Patton also observed that "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser." That is as true today as it was six decades ago. (This is the great misreading of the American public by the current Democratic Party. We Americans are only sentimental about dogs -- we have three in our family -- not about human losers. We love kick-ass football players -- unless they hurt a dog, and then we righteously send them to hell, where they belong).
The public must not be permitted to forget these cowardly public statements by the Democrats. It is the job of the Republicans this fall and winter to remorselessly and repeatedly remind the public of what the Democrats were saying this spring. In that disgrace lies the potential for a well-deserved Democratic Party defeat in November 2008.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
And it is also a responsible position to condemn your party for acting so unruly during the time they had power. Republicans squandered the largest shift in American politics in less than 4 years. That is pathetic. I will not excuse it becaue I watched those pork projects fly by like b52's on CSPAN. Smaller government is what they voted for, largest government is what they got. All of newt's ideas were slaughtered in the first year. I did not keep tabs because I AM at war currently but that corruption and stench can be seen from miles offshore.
Democrats are rats nonetheless. It is a joke of a party started for self punishment. But the republicans should HAVE KNOWN that if I gave them a straight ticket, that meant STRAIGHT TICKET.
What a bunch of clowns.
I saw better professionalism but really, if Washington DC is that corrupt, how can you save it with a political party?
Put your platform out there if you think anyone will bite but from what I see, Americans are pissed.
I expect the lowest common denominator and unions to be the rube and the spittle of discontent, but never the party that was formed to maintain this country to become so.
Although the Democratic party had broken apart in 1860, during the secession crisis Democrats in the North were generally more conciliatory toward the South than were Republicans. They called themselves Peace Democrats; their opponents called them Copperheads because some wore copper pennies as identifying badges.
A majority of Peace Democrats supported war to save the Union, but a strong and active minority asserted that the Republicans had provoked the South into secession; that the Republicans were waging the war in order to establish their own domination, suppress civil and states rights, and impose "racial equality"; and that military means had failed and would never restore the Union.
Peace Democrats were most numerous in the Midwest, a region that had traditionally distrusted the Northeast, where the Republican party was strongest, and that had economic and cultural ties with the South. The Lincoln administration's arbitrary treatment of dissenters caused great bitterness there. Above all, anti-abolitionist Midwesterners feared that emancipation would result in a great migration of blacks into their states.
As was true of the Democratic party as a whole, the influence of Peace Democrats varied with the fortunes of war. When things were going badly for the Union on the battlefield, larger numbers of people were willing to entertain the notion of making peace with the Confederacy. When things were going well, Peace Democrats could more easily be dismissed as defeatists. But no matter how the war progressed, Peace Democrats constantly had to defend themselves against charges of disloyalty. Revelations that a few had ties with secret organizations such as the Knights of the Golden Circle helped smear the rest.
The most prominent Copperhead leader was Clement L. Valladigham of Ohio, who headed the secret antiwar organization known as the Sons of Liberty. At the Democratic convention of 1864, where the influence of Peace Democrats reached its high point, Vallandigham persuaded the party to adopt a platform branding the war a failure, and some extreme Copperheads plotted armed uprisings. However, the Democratic presidential candidate, George B. McClellan, repudiated the Vallandigham platform, victories by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Phillip H. Sheridan assured Lincoln's reelection, and the plots came to nothing.
With the conclusion of the war in 1865 the Peace Democrats were thoroughly discredited. Most Northerners believed, not without reason, that Peace Democrats had prolonged war by encouraging the South to continue fighting in the hope that the North would abandon the struggle.
Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" Edited by Patricia L. Faust
Summary: The next U.S. president will face three key foreign policy challenges: setting a course for victory in the terrorists' war on global order, strengthening the international system the terrorists seek to destroy, and extending the system's benefits. With a stronger defense, a determined diplomacy, and greater U.S. economic and cultural influence, the next president can start to build a lasting, realistic peace.
#1
More core/periphery thinking... good as far as it goes but insufficient to the problem when the core is busy financing the enemy through the purchase of oil, heroin and manufactured goods from Guangdong.
Posted by: kelly ||
08/16/2007 16:37 Comments ||
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Russia in the ARCTIC, Radical Islamists fighting for East-South Asian "Land Bridges" into the Pacific, Muslims in India desiring autonomy = sovereignty, and China wanting 1/2 of the Pacific + 1/2 of CONUS-NORAM. ABOVE ALL, US POLITICOS ARGUING THAT POST 9-11 AMER CAN WAR FOR GLOBAL EMPIRE AS LONG AS AMER GIVES UP/LOSES ITS EMPIRE IN TH END, VOLUNTARILY = FORCIBLY.
#1
The sad part is that much of the letter is probably true. Maybe john frum can critique it for us. I was involved in designing a high vacuum pumping station for evacuating electronic tubes to be used in music amplifiers. It's destination was the Shimla district in India. The rules and regulations related to importation of capital equipment were utterly draconian. Our Indian counterparts explained that the import laws were designed to force new business startups to bring in only new equipment so that they either bought used Indian gear or went through so much financial stress that they would go out of business and leave behind all of their new equipment to be siezed by the bankruptcy courts.
Pakistan's 60th birthday has not brought with it the most encouraging of omens. The recent furore over a possible emergency, the question of what kind of deal has been reached with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the general air of uncertainty and dissatisfaction set the stage for a less than perfect celebration. Still more disturbing is the fact that even while there is talk of election, and the unprincipled process of jumping from one political camp to another is very much underway, people on the whole seem generally disinterested with the prospect of a poll or its preparations, and in casual conversations many say they have no idea who they would wish to vote for when the day comes.
But this year round, there is also a new sense of fear in the air. Newspaper reports have for several days been stating that suicide attacks are possible in Lahore, and other cities -- and indeed even the names and descriptions of the suicide bombers apparently assigned to strike key targets have been provided. Senior police officials concede they have been warned about such strikes, and are searching for those who could carry them out.
The warnings, along with rain in Lahore, put a dampner on the celebrations. Worse still, the security alert in the city remains high, and is to stay so for more days to come. There is reason to believe that the accounts of possible dangers are not based on speculation alone.
A short while ago, almost immediately after the operation at the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, a small army of white-clad 'madressah' students, all of them under 14 years of age, were playing at a park in Model Town. Most were engaged in a game of makeshift cricket, discarded slippers substituting for a wicket. But another group was engaged in a far more sinister game, apparently running towards a target and hurling themselves at it while their peers clapped and cheered.
On closer scrutiny, it transpired that the children were not practicing rugby -- but pretending to be suicide bombers, with the explosives clutched to their chests. They seemed unclear about the targets they were striking in their game of make belief, which continued until the evening prayer rang out from a nearby mosque.
But it is not just 'madressah' educated children who are involved in such games. Parents of pupils attending elite, private schools report obsessions with terrorist strikes, bombings or 'jihad' that verge on obsession. SMS messages are circulated between young people extolling the virtues of extremism, and at some of the more elite city schools, the number of young men with flowing beards or young women with 'hijab' wrapped around their faces, has quite notably increased. This has in many cases happened with no evident encouragement from teachers or parents.
Whereas naturally, the right to belief applies equally to everyone, and gunning down people at Lal Masjid or anywhere else is as reprehensible as massacres of those holding different ideological beliefs, there is a need too to address the new fear that is now a part of society. On August 14th, terrorist warnings meant many people opted to stay indoors and avoided crowded public places in particular.
No society can flourish in the presence of such fears; a country where small children aspire to be suicide bombers has quite obviously gone astray. The question then is how this state of affairs is to change. A future in which fears of bombings keep people indoors on national holidays can hardly be one to look forward to.
The problem must be handled at several different levels. Simply trying to annihilate extremists through military operations can never work. Indeed, such efforts make matters worse by intensifying feelings of hatred while a US strike within the country, were it ever to occur, would quickly propel matters out of control perhaps making it impossible to rein back the situation. Whereas rhetoric from Washington on its own means little, a direct attack is not inconceivable given the possibility of an exchange of fire across the Pakistan-Afghan frontier, and the potential this carries for injury or death, prompting angry retaliation.
Similarly, attempting to police all public places is quite obviously impossible. While dozens of policemen have lost their lives in recent months alone while on duty, their efforts to safeguard security is simply unrealistic given the presence of a band of people, many of them young, apparently willing to give up their lives for a cause they have come to believe in.
As many security analysts have written at length, preventing suicide bombings, particularly when targets are chosen across a wide area and can vary from senior government officials to unprotected foot constables or citizens, is one of the most demanding of tasks in the spectrum of such duties. Indeed, privately, police officers concede it is next to impossible -- while there are now very real apprehensions that women, who by virtue of custom and culture generally escape security checks -- may soon be utilised as suicide bombers.
The fact that people are so readily willing to give up their lives says something about the quality of life they lead. For many, it seems, the promise of martyrdom offers more than a life of continuous deprivation and the indifference of a society moulded to care only for its more affluent citizens.
But aside from the socio-economic question, there is a need too to ignite somewhere a spark of hope amongst people. This can come most effectively from a political party able to inspire trust amongst people and persuade them of its commitment to change. Sadly, the long process of gamesmanship that has been played out between the PPP, the party that in the last poll still claimed the largest number of votes, and the regime, has only caused further despair and disgruntlement. Erasing these sentiments will require a leader with both good will and sufficient charisma to put it across.
Other, more concrete measures can begin immediately. These include rehabilitating the thousands of young men in society who have over the decades been associated with extremist organisations or engaged in 'jihad'. Rather than being permitted to drift across society, pulling others with them into a pit of intolerance and ignorance, they need to be treated as victims, not criminals, trained and skills that do not use guns and like members of cults, 'deprogrammed' so there have a better hope of resuming a role in mainstream society.
There are other areas too which need work. Thinking among young people needs to be better understood, and schools and parents engage in a united effort to tackle violent ideas. The horrifying DVDs glorifying beheadings or bombings so widely available in markets, and showing 'real life' murders, which have apparently gained a cult status among some groups of young people, must also be targeted.
None of these are easy tasks. Nor can they happen overnight. But the effort must begin now so that in the future, people can jointly celebrate national holidays, and the sense of fear that prevails eradicated step by step.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 09:06 ||
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#1
No society can flourish in the presence of such fears; a country where small children aspire to be suicide bombers has quite obviously gone astray.
Finally realized that, did ya? Isn't it about time you put out a death fatwa on Yusuf Qaradawi for sanctifying murder bombers? If you don't off some of these jihadist imams, they're going to off you.
A future in which fears of bombings keep people indoors on national holidays can hardly be one to look forward to.
Welcome to the future. It's your bed, you made it now lie down and enjoy your handiwork.
Simply trying to annihilate extremists through military operations can never work.
I'm willing to give it a try. Not much recidivism results from those ops.
Indeed, such efforts make matters worse by intensifying feelings of hatred
Let's play, Spot the Meme! It's the old "killing terrorists only creates more terrorists" garbage.
a US strike within the country, were it ever to occur, would quickly propel matters out of control perhaps making it impossible to rein back the situation.
That's a chance I'm willing to take. You yourselves have done nothing save pour gasoline on the fire for decades. It's time for better qualified people to provide their input.
The fact that people are so readily willing to give up their lives says something about the quality of life they lead.
Ooooh, it's timeonce againto play, Spot the Meme. This isn't a socio-economic issue. It's a fundamental problem with Islam and nothing's going to change about it anytime soon. This has been proven over and over again and beating this dead horse isn't going to move the cart.
Few other countries on earth are more deserving than Pakistan when it comes to experiencing a climate of fear. You maggots have manufactured this nightmare and are long overdue to begin sampling your own wares. Sweet dreams!
#3
The fact that people are so readily willing to give up their lives says something about the quality of life they lead.
Yep.. typically with a cook, a maid and a driver...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 12:13 Comments ||
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#4
The kindergarten to class v curriculum adopted by the Pak ministry of education in 1995:
At the completion of Class V the child has to be able to - 1) explain the importance of the work of past heroes of Pakistan. 2) identify the great personalities who contributed to the making of Pakistan. 3) demonstrate an appreciation for the work of Muslim heroes. 4) demonstrate respect and reverence for the founder of Pakistan. 5) demonstrate respect for the leaders of Pakistan.
Amongst the objectives to be achieved is the ability to - 1) understand the Hindu and Muslim differences and the resultant need for Pakistan; 2) know all about India's evil designs against Pakistan; 3) acknowledge and identify forces that may be working against Pakistan; 4) demonstrate by actions a belief in the fear of Allah; 5) demonstrate the desire to preserve the ideology, integrity and security of Pakistan; 6) make speeches on jihad and shahadat; 7) guard against rumor mongers who spread false news and to stage dramas signifying the evils of rumors; 8) understand the Kashmir problem; 9) collect pictures of policemen, soldiers and National Guards.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/16/2007 12:22 Comments ||
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#5
Islam including Radic Islam has been belabeled as an Ideo-Faith of War + Base/Human Survival in what is normally un-survivable = very difficult. As wid COMMUNISM, gener failed to evolve unto its own higher-order premises or presumptions.
We now learn that the biggest emissions-cutting projects instituted under the Kyoto Protocol have contributed greatly to destroying our ozone layer. Oh great ... here we go with that ozone layer stuff again. This report, by the way, from the U.N.
The emissions projects directly increased production of gases, which destroy the ozone layer. The report also says that with these projects developing countries deliberately raised their emissions of greenhouse gases just to give them some greenhouse gasses to destroy. Why? So they could claim more carbon offset credits, and get paid big bucks from rich nations.
The plan, under Kyoto, is called the Clean Development Mechanism. Basically what happens is that rich countries pay poor countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions on their behalf. This little scheme is worth over $5 billion a year.
The most popular Clean Development project is to destroy a potent greenhouse gas called HFC 23 ... a hydrofluotocarbon. This HFC 23 is a waste product of the manufacturing of refrigerant gas (HCFC 22), which damages the ozone as well. In India and China, chemical plants have used to money they get from offsetting the HFC 23 to ramp up production, therefore increasing the level of HCFC 22 produced.
These projects to destroy HFC 23 bring in the big bucks because it is 12,000 times more potent than CO2.
Even worse, the chemical plants in China have deliberately set their factories to produce more "waste" (HFC 23) in order to make more money from rich nations.
Those participating in the Clean Development Mechanism produce twice as much HFC 23 then the actual end product the refrigerant fluid, which also destroys the ozone. Countries not participating in the project produce an equal proportion of waste to fluid.
We're being scammed ... in the name of global warming.
We deserve it for signing on to that absurd cultist mania.
#1
Looks like Bush was smarter than we thought when he shot down the Kyoto treaty for the US. (Well, actually he didn't, because it was Bill Clinton who never bothered to send it to the Senate for ratification because they had already voted something like 99-0 to reject any treaty that exempted countries like India and China)
Background: MindaNews is sympathetic to if not the mouthpiece of Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, so put on your Salafi-colored glasses while reading this report...
Long before the coming of the Spaniards, Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu were known by their ethnic names Magindanaw, Maranao, Tausug, etc., interestingly, even in their indigenous or generic terms. The Spaniards called them all Moro. After the expulsion of the Spaniards almost 50 years under America and a quarter of a century of the Second Philippine Republic they were Muslim Filipino. In the 1970s emerged the Bangsamoro. This is the metamorphosis of Bangsamoro. Each period of transformation was an interesting era. The metamorphosis is the transformation of a people seeking their rightful place in the present and the future anchored in Islam and the past they ever hold as glorious.
Every period was a struggle. The Moro, deemed contemptuous in the past, transformed into an identity, the byword of an aspiration, hence Bangsamoro; then Muslim Filipino became disfavored even despised. The metamorphosis is a story of generations.
In the first period, generations built proud and prosperous sultanates; in the second, they fought the Spaniards who despised them as Moro, reminiscent of the Moors who had occupied Spain for more than 700 years; in the third, ambivalent, they tried reconciling the Muslim and the Filipino; in the fourth, they asserted their aspirations -- to regain their homeland and identity.
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#1
Reminds me of an article vv a Radical Mullah here on RANTBURG > on how THE MUSLIM/ISLAMIST MAHDI-HIDDEN IMMAM DOES NOT KNOW = MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT HE IS THE CHOSEN ONE OF ALLAH. In any case, men dedicated to peace + honor, however imperfect, should be respected.
I'm hoping Peters knows what he's talking about with this -- declaring the Revolutionary Guard terrorists wasn't a small thing that popped up yesterday -- and it was pretty much ignored. I wondered about that.
August 16, 2007 -- THE media missed a big one yesterday.
They ran with the story that the Bush administration will soon designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps - a major troublemaker in Iraq - as a terrorist organization. But they didn't look past the public-consumption explanation that the move lets our government go after the Revolutionary Guards' finances and the international companies that cut deals with Tehran's thugs.
The real reason for the move is to set up a legal basis for airstrikes or special operations raids on the Guard's bases in Iran.
Our policy is that we reserve the right to whack terrorists anywhere in the world. Now we have newly designated terrorists. And we know exactly where they are.
This doesn't mean we won't go after their money, too. The Revolutionary Guards have built up a financial empire - they're religious fanatics, but, in their version of Islam, "greed is good." Hurting Iran's assassins in the pocketbook reduces their ability to export terror.
But watch that space: We've long delayed taking action against the Iranians who provide Iraq's Shia extremists with the sophisticated IEDs that kill and maim our troops. We fell into the Vietnam-era trap of allowing the enemy a sanctuary - this time, in Iran. The Revolutionary Guards' al-Quds subsidiary helped butcher hundreds of our troops - and got away with it virtually scot-free.
Posted by: Infidel Bob ||
08/16/2007 20:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
FREEREPUBLIC/KOMMERSANT > RUSSIA, CHINA, IRAN WARN USA AT [SCO] SUMMIT. Vow and dedicate themselves to an anti-US, stable Central Asia.
KOMMERSANT > IVANOV < SCO needs to emplace COMMON AUTOMATED CONTROL SYSTEMS among member nations, for intra-SCO Military, Terror, andor other Emergency quick response needs. RUSSIA > ROUTINE = REGULARLY SCHEDULED ANTI-TERROR, MILITARY-CENTRIC DRILLS PROPOSED FOR SCO. *RIAN > WHY RUSSIA MUST SELL WEAPONS TO SYRIA AND IRAN.
OTOH, FREEREPUBLIC Netter > "USA is only there [US GMD in Eastern Euro] until Russia recovers". HIDDEN US-RUSS AGENDA???
I know it shouldn't continue to surprise me, but I just can't believe these guys really believe what they say... but they do, and that's the frighting thing. "And they have a plan"
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- An Iranian lawmaker viewed Hezbollah's 33-day defense against Israeli invasion as among the most exceptional wars in recent decades, saying that Lebanese resistance brought the Untied States' Greater Middle-East plan to mere failure.
Speaking to FNA here on Wednesday, representative of Tabriz at the Islamic Consultative Assembly Mohammad Reza Mir Tajoddini said Hezbollah's exceptional resistance has had many different achievements not only for Lebanon but also for the entire world of Islam.
"Zionists always were the victorious party in their wars against Arabs and Islamic countries and this very 33-day war was the only case where they could not attain their premeditated goals," he said.
Viewing Israel's 33-day attack on Lebanon as an all-out war, the MP said, "Despite the fact that the Israeli army was fully equipped and targeted the Lebanese Hezbollah from air, land and sea, they lost the war to a group which was not equipped with advanced weapons and was resisting the Zionists' invasion only on land."
Mir Tajoddini said that the achievements of Hezbollah's resistance could be observed in the relations of the United States and West with the Muslim world during the last year.
"Americans sought to launch their plots for the Middle-East in Lebanon and through the Israeli invasion, but all their plots fell flat and they couldn't obtain any of their goals and objectives," he said.
The legislator also mentioned high morale and birth of the spirit of resistance against occupation, aggression and threats of the Israeli regime as among the other achievements of the 33-day war.
He said Hezbollah's 33-day resistance and its eventual victory caused a revival of hope and Islamic movement and resistance among Muslim nations and increased solidarity among Islamic countries and nations, specially the younger generation, teaching them that one can stand against the toughest enemies through reliance on the power of faith and the spirit of Jihad (holy defense), resistance and martyrdom-seeking.
"And these lessons set a paradigm in the world of Islam and Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of this party (Hezbollah), became the most popular figure in the Muslim world," the Iranian legislator added.
"This spirit and victory as well as the symbol established in the name of Hezbollah have formed a strong dam against the expansionism of the world arrogance and the United States," he concluded.
#3
WORLDTRIBUNE > MOUD - ISLAM MUST RULE THE WORLD. Becuz it is the only hope for the salvation of mankind. HINDUSTANTIMES Poster > Can NEVER be peace with the West. Islam MUST RULE THE WORLD, or be DESTROYED. ONLY BY SUCH FAILURE CAN ISLAM + MOHAMMED BE DISPROVEN.
#4
OTOH, ASIA TIMES/WORLDNEWS > CHINA > CHRISTIANITY ON THE RISE/FINDS NEW STRENGTH IN CHINA. 00,000's are converting to Xtianity - Christianized Chinese will one day may up the largest single pan-CHristian ethnic group in the region and world. Christianity's future is stoppable only by the LACK OF WILL OF ITS PROSELTYZERS/
EVANGELISTS.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
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.
The leadership of the Democratic Party has, by its public words this spring, disgraced themselves for a generation. Republicans have the right -- and the duty -- to engrave in the public mind the springtime Democratic perfidy and cowardice in the face of the enemy.
