Monday, December 31, 2007

Moral Equivalence Depravity

The following is a remark from Iraq the Model's comment's section by longtime commenter and fellow Canuck, Brian H. It's too perfect to paraphrase, so I'm quoting it in full:

About equivalence:

"For those who are OK with simple math, please excuse the extra sentence or two in the following for those who are not:

If you (as a card-carrying progressive) want to make the argument that all cultural standards and values are the same, and that no one is qualified to judge one good and the other evil, then (whichever is actually good and the other evil) you are assigning both the same (average) amount of respect and support. It is necessarily true that this will be a lower level than the good (whichever it is, even if unknown) deserves, and more than the evil does. That's how averages work: they are lower than the upper bounds and higher than the lower ones.

The inevitable result of this is to debase the good and exalt the evil.

Since you deny all opinions any claim to validity, no one is permitted to have any. Assuming we consent to this, there is one condition: apply it to yourself first. This invalidates the opinion that choices cannot be made, and removes you from the discussion.

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Al Qaeda's Losing Strategy

UPDATE 2: Winston, at The Spirit of Man is reporting ongoing news from Iran. It seems that student and worker protests continue. This movement is not dead yet, by any means. If the Mad Mullah's regime is toppled, watch for a flowering of the great Persian heritage. I can feel it. It is so close, I'm almost tempted to hold my breath.

UPDATE: Speaking of Islamists, this one seems quite happy with Bhutto's assassination, but we've seen him before, haven't we. I especially like that last one, where he's begging to be allowed back into England. I am so glad that even in the free world, there is a limit to free speech.
==============================

Salah al-Din Awakening Council calls on Bin Laden to stop “targeting Iraqis”

Osama Baby's last best hope in Iraq has dried up. Where should he concentrate his efforts now? Pakistan?

Since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto a couple of days ago there has been much speculation about the role of al Qaeda or al Qaeda affiliated groups in pulling off the dirty deed. There were reports that al Qaeda claimed responsibility. There were denials almost immediately thereafter. Was this a strategy designed to confuse? Or was it, perhaps, a sign of dissention and splintering in the ranks? Or maybe al Qaeda had nothing to do with it at all.

One thing is certain, though, and hopefully more of our friends on the lunatic fringes of the left are beginning to comprehend this: al Qaeda's ideology is a movement that involves far more than one man and a handful of his followers hiding in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bin Laden may be one of its pre-eminent leaders, but it is ludicrous to think that capturing him would be all that is necessary to confront and defeat this movement. After all, Islamism is an idea, not a man, and it holds a lot of currency in many parts of the Islamic world.

What will happen in Pakistan now is anyone's guess, but God willing, there are many countries that will not just sit around and let Pakistan sink into an ungovernable hotbed of Islamofascism. For one, the world's largest democracy, which is also a nuclear power, is right next door and has vital strategic interests in a stable Pakistan.

Not too far away is another (still very fragile) democracy - Iraq, which, as the article at the top clearly illustrates, has had it with al Qaeda's strategy. The Sunni faction in the Western regions of that country, which at one time did everything it could to thwart the nascent democracy in Iraq, would rather work together with their Shiia brethern than side with the organzation that has wantonly slaughtered so many thousands of their fellow Sunnis, including innocent women and children.

A lot of Western pundits working in main stream media have been focusing on where this development leaves the United States. (Yes, I actually forced myself to listen to Michael Enright on CBC's Sunday Edition this morning.) Well guess what fellas, the US is not the only power with interests and strategies in place. This event is not going to be the end of the world. I would expect India and Afghanistan will start receiving a lot more attention from a lot more countries real soon.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Pakistan's Orphaned Daughter

UPDATE: Scroll down and read the part under the heading Muslim Pressure. This is what I mean when I say we are afraid to stare the enemy squarely in the face. Political correctness be damned! Now take out your wallet and buy a subscription to MacLean's.
=========================================
Benazir Bhutto, 1953 - 2007

The orphaned daughter of democratic Pakistan will not be its mother. Moments before she was assassinated, Bhutto was speaking with great emotion to a large crowd about the "need to fight terrorism" and the "need to fight al Qaeda".

I don't consider Bhutto's legacy to be exceptionally notable, but I do consider the cause for which she fought to be the singular mission of our times. Ridding the world of dictatorships and ideological zealotry is a cause we must all engage. There is no hiding from it, even if it is a dream that will never be fully realized. To turn away is to allow it to grow.

When I heard the news of Bhutto's assassination, feelings welled up inside me that I have only felt once or twice before in my 58 years on this planet. And that was during the tumultuous 1960s and the assassinations of three good men in the United States. Readers of my vintage may remember this:
"You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea."
Let's hope Medgar Evers was right.

This spring, my first grandchild will be born. What sort of world will she inherit? Will this fight be won? What will it cost? Most importantly, will wimpish Canadians wake up in time to make the world safer for her? The Civil Rights movement in the United States brought about great changes in American society and was led by great men and women. Will such leaders arise among the Islamic world? Will the Western world slough off political correctness in time to allow us to look the enemy squarely in the face and not back down?

Friday, December 21, 2007

Yup!!

As SDA would say, so much for settled science.

Over 400 Scientists Dispute Man-Made Global Warming Claims
"These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC"


Follow the links from the Gateway Pundit and read the commentary by many of the 400 scientists. You'll see very clearly that scientific skeptism and openness to evidence has been completely abandoned by the Global Warming Gestapo. Sorry state of affairs, that.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Dummest Comments Thread

There was a really, really stupid discussion going on over at this blog yesterday. If you can stomach stupid discussions from the lunatic left, go read it, cause it will give you a good laugh. It epitomizes a rapid decent into madness that is so typical of the unthinking masses on the left. But what really gets me laughing is the comment by a guy calling himself (herself?) Running. After I posted a drive by comment, this little puppy decides to try and insult me. In the process, he spells my name wrong not once, not twice but four times.

Visit his website and see where he's coming from. His editorial comment on the Turkish assault on the PKK in Northern Iraq, for instance, is the usual vapid "Because things are going so well in Iraq". I happen to agree that crushing that terrorist organzation IS a good thing for Iraq. I haven't read too much in the way of vehement protest from Baghdad either. In fact, it's rather wimpish, and the article he links to, seems to suggest Iraq is quietly supporting the Turkish action.

But the really hilarious part is found in the About Us part of his blog. Every lunacy known to mankind is listed in "their" mission statement. Did you know that 9/11 is a lie, for example? The guy is a 9/11 truther!! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And this:

"Protesting is a temporary solution,what is needed is fundamental
reassessment of life and creation of a global movement that will free
the soul and humanity. We need a movement of truth."


The "truth" of the matter is, these poor little souls are hurting badly and yearning for a perfect world where their hurt will go away and they won't have to endure the pain of growing up.

About the only sane commenter on the thread was a woman named Suzanne, who, of course, is accused of being "extreme right wing". The laughs continue....

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Last Desperate Strategy..

..of a bunch of losers.

Media Quagmire Continues... 7 Bogus Slaughter Stories in 7 Weeks!

NO ONE BELIEVES THEM ANYMORE!!!!

Gotta wonder how many of those nightly news stories about the carnage in Iraq were actually true and how many were Islamists using the Western media to spread disinformation. This war really has been about media complicity.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Global Warming Proven

Winter storm wallops Ontario

Hmmmmm! I wonder if Stephen Harper regrets his decision in Bali?

And this is so funny.

Answer to hot air was in fact a chilling blunder

"AMID talk of offsetting the hefty carbon footprint of the United Nations climate conference in Bali, organisers missed a large elephant in the room.

The air-conditioning system installed to keep more than 10,000 delegates cool used highly damaging refrigerant gases - as lethal to the atmosphere as 48,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and nearly the equivalent of the emissions of all aircraft used to fly delegates to Indonesia.....In addition, the refrigerant is a potent greenhouse gas, with each kilogram at least as damaging as 1.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide."


Hope this proves true:

Climate alarmism hits a brick wall
"The success of the major Anglosphere nations at last week's United Nations climate conference in Bali marks the beginning of the end of the age of climate hysteria. It also symbolizes a significant shift of political leadership in international climate diplomacy from the once-dominating European continent to North America and its Western allies."

Holey Smoley!!!

Saudi King Pardons Famous Gang Rape Victim

"Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has pardoned a female rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes for being alone with a man at the time of the attack who was not related to her, a Saudi newspaper reported Monday.

The case had sparked international outcry. In a rare criticism of its Mideast ally, the White House had expressed its “astonishment” over the woman’s sentence. Canada called it barbaric."

Okay. So what's so different about this instance? Why did the Saudi King cave to international pressure when they never have before? If we keep the pressure on, will there come a day when the rapist is punished and the woman isn't charged with anything. I'm not holding my breath.

Oh. And I note that Harper's Conservatives are at it again. Just doing what the American President wants them to. /sarcasm

And another Holey Smoley!!! of note is this:

Saddam's Secret Terror Documents

I don't mind saying that I never for a moment doubted that Saddam Hussein could sidle up to Islamist groups in the interests of doing any sort of dirty work he felt he could do with them. But this confirms it.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

What did I tell ya?

Ahmadinejad: “U.S. Has Surrendered To Iran”

It ain't over yet. The US may have become wobbly for a while, but Europe now has a spine. And the US won't stay wobbly forever.

Sweet Little Puppy

Billy at Trees for Our Children is at it again. I can't believe how naive this little puppy is. Change the world. Ya, right!!

I'd rather see what Billy's professors and his little group of romantic idealists have to say in response to the letter these scientists addressed to the Bali conference. After all the esteemed group of political appointees attending the conference has flat out refused to engage in any sort of debate with a growing list of very well qualified academics who obviously know their stuff. And as I told Paul at Celestial Junk earlier today, I've got eight more names to add to the list.

From the Daily Tech article:
The letter reads in part, "In stark contrast to the often repeated assertion that the science of climate change is 'settled,' significant new peer-reviewed research has cast even more doubt on the hypothesis of dangerous human-caused global warming."

That's something Billy needs to learn. No science is ever - ever - completely settled. As he grows older, he will have to face that reality.

I place as much faith in a United Nations conference on the environment to be open to the truth as I did in the 2001 World Conference on Racism. Billy must have been out of his diapers by then, but I wonder if he remembers the high quality of racist, anti-White bickering that conference became famous for. It was the final straw, for me. Since then I have had absolutely zero respect for that organization and it was on pretty thin ice even then. Revelations since then, such as the oil-for-food scandal, have only confirmed what I already believed. Its foundational ideals have been completely and utterly compromised.

Aside: You will notice in the sidebar of Billy's blog that he mentions his affinity for a drink called of Yerba Matte. This is a drink made with leaves of a South American plant. I wonder if Billy ever questions how the mate he drinks actually gets to Canada? Ya' think?? I'm betting a bit of fossil fuel is burned - and the dreaded CO2 emitted - by the vehicles that get this drink from Paraguay, or wherever, to the trendy little cafes in Regina where he can drink it and feel so at one with the world. If he wants to change the world, maybe he should reconsider how much this imported beverage adds to his ecological footprint.

Masters Lapdogs of War

How may times have we heard stories like these? And isn't it just such a strange coincidence that we have to go to blogs to find them. NOT!!! Apologies to Bob Dylan's Masters of War, but "like Judas of old, you lie and deceive".

Media Death Watch in action on purported kidnapped Canadian soldier
"The [Canadian] reporters are restricted to maintaining a presence at the airbase to report on potential deaths or wounding of Canadian soldiers. The soldiers resent the media for this, and the reporters do not like manning the Death Watch as well. They are at the mercy of the news bureaus, who crave the sensational stories."

Iraqi Journalist's Family Not Dead
"The international media is quick to jump at claims such as this, without providing a critical eye on the sources. The media should have looked at who was behind this."

20 beheaded bodies a bogus story.
"TIME Magazine needs to choose whether they are going to believe the Multi-National Force Iraq, the Iraqi government, the Iraqi media and the BBC?...Or, is TIME going to believe some discredited radical who is feeding them lies?"

Hey, Time Magazine, remember Newsweek's flushing a Koran down the toilet story and the rioting throughout the world that resulted? They retracted their story! Trouble is, retractions and corrections aren't given the same blaring across the headline or top of the hour treatment as the lies that are their subjects.

The enemies of Iraq and Afghanistan have been feeding the media bogus stories all thoughout the war and the media has lapped it up simply because it suits their purpose. The CBC is one of the worst. But we're on to you, folks. That is why your viewership is way down and that is why your bottom lines are bleeding red.

Kinda makes you wonder why people hold fast to the Lancet "studies" too, doesn't it. When Iraq Body Count and iCasualties report a total of 85,675 and 46,219 Iraqi deaths, current to November of this year, respectively, and they are basing their counts on what must surely include some bogus reporting, how is it that the esteemed Lancet can find enough "peers" to review and verify a study that claims there were 98,000 excess deaths as early as October, 2004 and 654,965 by October, 2006, both of which, by the way, were released to the media on the eve of critical US elections. No coincidence there, of course. Surely to God, no one can be accused of deliberate, agenda driven bias, can they! /sarcasm

One of the reasons I don't have television is because I have been on to the game the media plays for a very, very long time. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq was simply the last straw. Sound bites based on misinformation do not inform. They manipulate and indoctrinate. Anyone who thinks they don't should ask themselves why, in dictatorships, the media is controlled by the governments.

If the MSM wants to survive they have to quit treating us as if we are mindless automatons and start offering up thoughtful, well researched substantive pieces that truly educate and enlighten by presenting a full panoply of views. Perhaps this means that several of the leading media giants will have to bleed to death. Decades ago, when television was new, many saw its potential to be a force for enlightenment and education, but rather than developing along those lines, they have chosen to follow the endless quest for ratings by offering up greater and ever more sickening pap and distortion. Like the reporters at the Kandahar airfield, I'll stand over their grave, 'til I am sure they are dead.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

The RIGHT ON!!! Department

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

This sign says it all. Cold Hard Bitch

Hope this comes to a stage new you!! Spamalot! Click on one of the "Listen Now" options and have a good chuckle.

George Carlin hammers the eco-fascists. Pretty much sums up my take on humanity and our impact on the planet, too.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Good News in Iraq Round-Up

Iraqi Economy Continues to Surge
"Iraq's premier has formed a council of Sunni tribesmen from the town of Samarra to provide security so that the damaged Shiite shrine there can be rebuilt."


Safe Falluja…sounds of reconstruction instead of bullets whizzing
"People are no longer scared and they tell us how comfortable they feel because of our presence. Police forces now protect mosques, reconstruction projects, and residential areas."


Jihadi Shortage Leads Al Qaeda To Swell Ranks With Local Children
"Fewer of them are making it into the country, he said, and the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq is having a difficult time recruiting adults locally. Thus, it has turned to children.

To accommodate the influx of boys, and to break the hold of the militants, a new education facility opened here Aug. 13.

The students, a quarter of whom are illiterate, study basic Arabic, English, math, geography and science in air-conditioned tent classrooms. Dubbed the House of Wisdom, the classrooms are surrounded by concrete walls topped with razor wire.

In daily civics lessons, the boys study Iraqi history and new government institutions. A team of psychiatrists will provide regular counseling. A large library will hold 4,000 volumes and already has English textbooks, computer manuals and a set of Harry Potter books translated into Arabic.

“We have quickly realized,” Stone said during an interview at the new site, “that most of these young men are victims not only of Al Qaeda [in Iraq], but also of their own illiteracy. Because they couldn’t read or write, they also couldn’t work, and unemployed young men are also angry young men, susceptible to the cunning arguments of extremists.”

Iraqi oil exceeds pre-war output
"In its latest monthly Oil Market Report, the IEA puts the Iraqi increase in production down to improved security on the main oil pipeline from Iraq's northern oilfields to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey.

In recent years this pipeline has been out of action for long periods due to sabotage attacks.

Since the summer there has been a marked downturn in all forms of violence in Iraq.

Analysts point to a number of reasons for this, ranging from the big increase or "surge" in American troop numbers in Baghdad, to Sunni militant groups turning against former al-Qaeda allies"

International Soccer "Team of the Year Award" Goes to Iraq!
"Iraq’s extraordinary journey from war-torn also-rans to continental champions with victory at the Asian Cup earned them the team award, the first time it has gone to an Asian side."

US on Track For Lowest Monthly Fatality Rate Since War Began


Getting Closer To Political Unity In Iraq

This war is over, folks. Sorry lefties, you lost.

Where will the freedom train show up next? Here? Here? Perhaps here? Or Here?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

NIE Report = Every Ready Bunny

This report has been treated to a thorough round of disbelief in the international community and in the blogosphere. As always, one of the most interesting discussions takes place on Soldier's Dad's blog in the comments section. Soldier's Dad viewed the release of the report as an opportunity for Iran to come in from the cold:
"The NIE lays out the excuse the US is prepared to accept. Whether Iran ended it's nuclear program yesterday, or tomorrow morning at nine is irrelevant. (Once we saw Saddam had no nuclear weapons...we decided we didn't need them is as good an excuse as any). Whats needed is verification."

That makes perfect sense to me as well.

Maury, a longtime commenter on Iraqi blogs sums it up:
"It means Bush killed three birds with one stone SD. He took out Saddam AND killed WMD programs run by two nasty regimes. We'll never know how many lives were saved as a result. Maybe millions."

However, numerous others in the know have not been so optimistic. (This is only a smattering of the skeptical pieces written about the report in the days since its release.) Perhaps the regime's response gives the skeptics reason not to believe that the issue is closed. I have a feeling the pressure will continue for some time to come. Perhaps only when the people of Iran themselves manage to topple the regime, will this threat truly come to an end.

Goodbye MSM!!!

UPDATE: Good lord. This, you stupid dingbats, is what is turning people off. Perhaps NBC needs to have a little talk with their news staff.
----------------------------------
ORIGINAL POST:
It's news like this that warms the cockles of a cold blooded bitch like me. NBC refunds advertisers as ratings plunge. During the one of the coldest and earliest winters in recent memory, that's some feat.

Fourth-ranked broadcaster NBC has quietly begun reimbursing advertisers an average of $500,000 each for failing to reach guaranteed ratings levels, the first time a network has taken such a step in years, media buyers said.....Networks usually offer make-goods -- free advertising slots -- in the event of such shortfalls....CBS, ABC and Fox also are doling out make-goods, primarily for the first quarter.

I don't know what combination of factors have caused the major television networks to loose a large segment of their viewers. There are probably many, including, most certainly, that the net and blogs offer information that is far superior to the mindless pap, hyper-sexualize so-called comedy and sensationalized and voyeuristic gossip that passes for programming. Too many of them have also been caught telling lies and not doing the proper fact checking.

But whatever the cause, the results are very gratifying, because the Main Stream Media throughout the world has bent over backwards to prevent Iraqi's from succeeding. I can hardly wait for CBC to go bankrupt. Oh yeah, I forgot. They aren't accountable to viewers. They just steal our taxes and offer up garbage that offends me and destroys the things I most passionately support, and that includes my country. Are you listening Ottawa? Privatize the DAMNED CBC!!! Make them accountable!!!!!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Troubled with Islam?

I generally don't go here. I was married to a Muslim, a half-assed one, mind you, for fourteen years. I have two children whose blood is 50% Iraqi-Arab. But sometimes the news just becomes too overt to ignore. What a monumental task the moderate Muslims of the world have ahead of them! Are they even working on it? Would anybody notice if they are? Sure occasionally you hear of some brave soul, like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, but then we have assholes like Avi Lewis completely denying her her voice.

Look at this. On International Human Rights Day! Iran Arrests 20 Student Leaders Behind Sunday's Protest

And this: Dad charged after daughter killed in clash over hijab

I wonder, would stoning be an appropriate punishment in Canada for a father who does this to his poor sweet girl? God rest her soul. At least Canadian Muslim groups have spoken out against what this man did.

Anyway. One more little treat on International Human Rights Day. A round up of news brought to you by the Religion of Peace.

Good Things Still Happen in This World

Hugo Chávez tried to overturn the results of Venezuela's recent vote but was rebuffed by the military

But, but....I thought Chavez was such a virtuous and committed democrat??

Anglican archbishop cuts up his collar to protest Mugabe

Funny. I thought Christians were as dangerous as Islamists. Maybe the good Archbishop's scissors were dull and he actually meant to cut his own throat.

This one is good in so many ways. Afghan poll opened eyes

Seems Afghans appreciate Canadian troops and don't want them to leave until the job is done. Of course CBC doesn't quite know how to handle this news. I wonder if Taliban Jack and Taliban Alexa are looking for some sand to poke their heads into. Maybe a snow drift will have to do.

But, alas, there are still the airheads among us, too:

Dingbat Wolf

Don't you think they so deserve one another.

And, of course, Billy at Trees for our Children can always be counted upon. Shouldn't there be some sort of accountability for professors who indoctrinate, rather than educate, these poor little souls. Billy should be demanding his money back. Instead he's managed to work up an image of himself as some courageous hero, Captain Environmental Warrior, saving the planet from those evil corporations.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Massive Student Rally in Tehran

Pictures and commentary here.

UPDATE: The news just keeps getting better and better - Paper Hints at Ahmadinejad Prosecution

Please, God, let Iran's 28 year-long nightmare soon be over. I cannot imagine the magnificent flowering that will occur in the Middle East if both Iraq and Iran rise again. Mesopotamia and Persia in the cradle of civilization!

RELATED: Go, Canucks!! Don't forget to tell them Taleban Jack wants to talk with them.

While you're in the neighbourhood, Jack, here's some briefing notes for you, should you wish to visit Iran and talk to IamaMadJerk:

Crimes of Iran's Mullahs

A Hard Act to Follow, but we know you can do it, Jack.

The Door Slams Shut.

Soldier's Dad is a blog by an American, a former military man.

Soldier's Dad has been providing a running account of what's happening in Iraq for what must be close to three years. He seems to have studied war as he knows a lot about the history of war, military history, as well as military strategy. He often sees what's behind the scenes and demonstrates an uncanny knack (at least for this clueless civilian) for correctly calling the various maneuvers by the Jihadists and ex-Baathists. He's up on troop maneuvers and rotations and sometimes lapses into incomprehensible military-speak, which, unlike me, many of the posters in his comments box understand. He has also demonstrated on several occasions how the media, which by and large knows sweet tweet about military strategies or anything else military, very nearly always gets their reportage about Iraq all wrong.

In a comment on this blog the other day, I posted about Soldier's Dad's take on the recent NIE report. He believed that the NIE report provides Ahmadinejad and the Mad Mullahs with a face saving opportunity. Today, he posts this: Iran: U.S. Spied to Get Nuke Info. Iran joins a long line of history's blustering, braggadocios who never missed an opportunity to miss and opportunity. Soldier's Dad seems to think that many stateside observers will take note of the regime's incapacity for prescient judgments and act accordingly. But frankly, as long as the Democrats continue to cater to Moveon.org and the likes, I won't be holding my breath.

Bali & Global Warming

Two things. I agree with this article. In my view, all hysteria aside, the jury is still out on whether or not global warming is even occuring, let alone caused by human activity. Rather than sending innumerable emissaries via fossil fuel burning jumbo-jets half way around the world to participate in this silliness, what I would far rather see is a concerted effort made to plan for the inevitable day when we run out of oil.

I happened upon this website when googling the term "oil by-products". I'd been searching the net for information that would give readers a grasp of the magnitude of our economic dependence on oil in areas that have nothing to do with energy, and bingo, this one came up. I have no idea if the data here is accurate, but common sense suggests that it is a reasonable portrayal of the number of oil dependent industries and, therefore jobs, that exist in the Western world. The collapse of the oil industry, either through running out of oil or global warming zealots run amok, would have catastrophic effects on the global economy on a scale at least as draconian as global warming. And there is NO debate about the fact that we will run out of oil. The only question is when.

If Western civilization, or, for that matter, humanity itself, since we are all interconnected, is to survive, we have to start thinking about far more than hypothetical anthropogenic causes of global warming. We are like the Plains Indians and oil is our buffalo. When it disappears, it will be game over.

More on Iran's Nuclear Intentions

Here's a good article that summarizes why the recent NIE report should be kept wide open to debate and at the top of the news.

Despite report, Iran still a threat

Recalling that the report suggests Iran abandoned development of their weapons program in 2003, we all know what happened in 2003, don't we. But one of the most intriguing arguments in this article, which is probably correct, relates to the impact of the NIE report, or rather the hyped up cherry picked parts of it, on the attempt to bring about a peace settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Relevant passages that would support both Bush's assessment and that of the neighbouring countries follow:
....
"That year marked the high tide of Bush's policies. Those were the days when Libya abandoned its nuclear program and Pakistan dismantled the atomic weapon network of A.Q. Khan. The year before the president had branded Iran part of an "axis of evil" and in late 2001 American forces had toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, like Iraq a country sharing a border with Iran. The president assembled multinational coalitions for Afghanistan and Iraq. That adds up to a lot of 'international scrutiny and pressure.'"

....
"Much of official Washington seems to run away from recognizing any success from Iraq....The White House seems more worried about the implications of its success than claiming credit for it. With good reason. Support for stringent sanctions to stop Iran from enriching uranium is collapsing."

....
"In this country [USA], with the exception of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidates promised Neville Chamberlain-like "engagement" as the best strategy for Iran."

....
"All this debate of course begs the question of the reliability of the NIE report, which after all is an estimate, and NIEs have been wrong in the past, most notoriously about Iraq's WMD program. Many conservatives don't believe the latest one and even the International Atomic Energy Commission, responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear program, is described as skeptical of the NIE's conclusion." (Emphasis mine.)

....
"Fear of a nuclear-armed Iran with hegemonic aspirations was seen as the prime reason Arab nations turned out in Annapolis last month in a show of support for Bush's efforts to jump-start a new round of Israel-Palestinian talks. With Washington's spy agencies concluding that Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program years ago, that motivation could fade. The good news is the Los Angeles Times reports the Arab world is not persuaded by the NIE and is worried that it will gut Bush's policies and embolden Iran's regional ambitions."

....
"And we shouldn't forget things the NIE said that have been overshadowed by its "high confidence" conclusion about Iran suspending its program in 2003. It said that Iran is keeping open the nuclear arms option and that it had only "moderate confidence" that Tehran has not restarted the weapons program."


The sad part of this whole affair is that the Democrats are once again ignoring a national security issue and have started a new round of full steam ahead obsessing on the Bush administration's failings. Talk about head in the sand politics. Do they not wonder why their approval rating got to be so dismal? Do they think their approval rating is the only thing that matters to Americans and the rest of the free world? What sick bastards!!

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Doubting Abduls

Intelligence: Iran's nuclear program still is a threat. So says Bush in response to the NIE report released earlier this week. And as the article at the above link explains, the NIE:
"did not in any way suggest that Iran was benign for the future"
and that they:
"continue work on what he called the "most important component" of any future program, a civilian uranium enrichment plant. Both intelligence officials and nuclear weapons experts have said producing fissile material such as highly enriched uranium is the most difficult aspect of creating a nuclear weapon"
and
"to develop a medium ballistic missile, which could be used as the delivery system for nuclear weapons."

It seems the doubting Thomases living in the leader of the Anglosphere have their counterparts in the Arabiansphere, as well. "Kuwaitis are not convinced that Iran wants to develop its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes and are afraid that it could develop a weapon that would damage the whole region" according to a prominent Kuwaiti newspaper editor:
"If we look back over the years, we see a real similarity between Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a level of media control and vanity in the face of Western forces," he said. " It is not about having a battle with the US and the allied forces."
And Bahrain concurs.

Meanwhile, lookie here. Saddam henchman escapes raid by Iraqi forces. They've come close to nabbing this guy several times now. Some day, his luck will run out. But look what they did get: "Al Douri was organizing meetings with the local insurgency, the Malaysia Sun reported. Police found computers and documentation with important information on the insurgency and al Qaeda." Luv to know more about those documents.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Steyn is so Fine

Mark Steyn has written a superb article about the spread of radical Islam and the inability of the West to recognize what's happening. The focus of his article is, of course, Iran, beginning with the Ayatollah Khomeini and his little band of kidnapping hoodlums in the 1979 "revolutionary" seizure of American territory and citizens at their embassy in Tehran. Rather long, but well worth a read for anyone who knows nothing about that watershed event and countless others that have followed: Facing Down Iran.

What do we do about the latest twist in this 28 year old war on the world? Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program? So what!! How much longer do we have to wait?

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Don't You Just Love Polls

They change more often than the winds, that's for sure. War 40, Congress 20
"Under Democratic leadership, the 110th Congress is the least popular Congress since pollsters began measuring this. Various polls peg the disapproval at various numbers at various times. But one thing doesn’t change: Worst Congress ever."

I know. I know. I know. America is a democracy and all that and who they elect is none of my business. But I will never forgive Nazi Pelosi and her gang of defeatists for trying so desperately to abandon Iraq.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

All Jeers and Sneers Gets a Comeuppance

Once again from Iraqi Mojo, some very good news:

Iraqi expats want to stop Al Jazeera broadcasts in Europe

When Arab dictators are overthrown, then and only then, do we hear what the Arab street really thinks. The fact that Iraqis living in Europe are calling for an end to the broadcasting by Arab Nationalist Dictatorships Club's collective mouthpiece is yet another hint that the state controlled presses in that part of the world DO NOT speak for their people. Rest assured that in the bad old days of Saddam Hussein, even Iraqis living in exile were careful how they spoke for fear of reprisals taken against their relatives at home.

I'm sure Al Jazeera has a whole host of Muslim Rage Boys on call. Look for the exaggerated big screaming mouth, the hyperflexed arms waving in the air and the shoulder to shoulder crowd shot a very close range so as to not reveal that there really isn't a big angry crowd. It's a dead give away. It's just a bunch of paid Rage Boys earning a day's pay in front of the camera.

While I'm at it, let me also put in a plug for MEMRI TV. This website, which Iraqi Mojo mentions, makes hundreds of clips from Arab and Muslim world television programs available for all to see. Some of the clips are real eye openers to the naive little puppies of the world who think all the fault for all the world's woes belongs in the West.

You should check out some of the clips to see what sort of diet the citizens of these countries are fed every day, year in, year out. If you want to know why the Middle Eastern political stalemate is so intractable, look no further.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Good News from Iraq Keeps Rolling In

What I see every day in Iraq: locals turning against the insurgents

"In August, I wrote in these pages that it was too soon to judge Gen. David Petraeus' surge of troops in Iraq a success or a failure. It's not too soon anymore.

Baghdad, the most dangerous city in all of Iraq, is only half as violent as it was when I was there during the summer. And the fact that the capital is now the deadliest city is itself evidence of a tectonic shift on the ground...

The Marines and Iraqi police find caches of weapons every day, thanks to tips called in by locals. No insurgent can plant an IED without getting turned in by war-weary civilians. Recently, an Al Qaeda cell from outside of town showed up and tried to distribute propaganda DVDs. They too were turned over to the police...

Fallujah was once the backbone of the insurgency. Today, as First Lt. Barry Edwards put it, "They avoid Fallujah now like it's the plague. ... They're afraid of the Iraqis."

"Security is good now because the coalition, Iraqi Army, and Iraqi police all work together," said an Iraqi fruit stand owner. "One hand does not clap."

Another Iraqi who works as a money changer told me, "They are finished. It will be a shame on all of us if the terrorists ever come back."


U.S.-Iraqi tribal cooperation pays off

The place is named Hit, or Heet, depending on the chosen transliteration between Arabic and English. "The situation now, compared to last year, is night and day," said Lt. Col. J.J. Dill, commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, at Camp Hit. "There have been just two IED [improvised explosive device] explosions since August. Before then, at least one was found or went off every day along roads.

"The market is open, people are returning to their homes after running for safety, they're opening businesses, and children are playing on the streets...

"Hit (pronounced 'Heet') was an intermittent but intense shooting gallery following the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Al-Qaida terrorist and nationalist insurgent groups were entrenched in the city, enforcing their will on its residents and meting out their own brand of bloody, kangaroo court justice when not fighting U.S. forces. Leaders of the area's powerful al-Bu Nibr tribe, which had chosen cooperation with U.S. forces early on in the war - well before the formation of the Anbar "Awakening Council" movement of Sunni Muslim tribes – first fought al-Qaida-Iraq (AQI) with a homegrown militia, but later had to turn to U.S. forces for help. That tentative alliance of necessity has grown into a longer-term, deeper one that has helped bring peace to the tribally mixed city of 60,000, which lies between Ramadi and Haditha...

"Two groups [tribes] in Anbar went to the coalition forces," Sheik Hatem Abdel Razzaq, the leader of al-Bu Nimr tribe, told a reporter. "One was in the west and one in the east of the province. Both were attacked by terrorists and insurgents for it.

"We lost people. We gave blood. But by working with the coalition forces we saw a future … and we agreed to get together, and we've cleaned up the bad areas like Hit.

"We get respect from the coalition forces and they trust us. We have security," he said through an interpreter while sipping tea in the large, tribal meeting house on his compound outside Hit, in Zuwayyah. "They help us to make Iraq better. They make many projects here, and projects mean jobs, many jobs."


100 Iraqi Sheiks Stage Hunger Strike-Demand Al-Qaeda Be Crushed

Violence in the Diala province was lessened by 68 percent since some 300 chieftains signed an agreement to bring about peace in the province. Now the sheiks are demanding that the violence be reduced even further.


The news isn't too shabby on this side of the Atlantic, either. Nazi Pelosi gets her dues.

Public Approval Rating of both Democrats and Congress at All-Time Lows

“A paltry 11 percent rated Congress positively, beating the previous low of 14 percent in July.”


Keep on trucking, Iraq. The dogs are barking, but......

Monday, December 03, 2007

The Meaning of "Occupation"

Iraqi Mojo has an excellent take on the question of foreign occupation, specifically American occupation of Iraq.

ht/Anand, a regular at Soldier's Dad

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Trees for Our Children

Trees for Our Children is the name of a blog owned by a young university student in my home province who appears to believe without question every negative anti-American statement his commie profs pour into his head. "Billy" is anti-corporate anything, but is especially opposed to the uranium industry and has cited some far fetched nonsense about Saskatchewan's uranium mining companies being responsible for the development of leukima in Iraqi children.

For his enlightenment, I thought I would try to describe what life was like for children in Iraq prior to the American led invasion of 2003 and still is for the children of many Islamofascists, the so called "insurgents". The tiny fraction of children who may be dying from leukima in Iraq, no matter what the cause, pales in comparison to the fate of children and their families under the Ba'athist regime. The little boy who writes Trees for Our Children needs to grow up. Child-like innocents are prime targets for the brainwashing hordes who occupy so many of our universities' hallowed halls.

So, Billy, here goes:

The War Crimes of Saddam Hussein

"The Dujail Massacre of 1982: In July of 1982, several Shiite militants attempted to assassinate Saddam Hussein while he was riding through the city. Hussein responded by ordering the slaughter of some 148 residents, including dozens of children.

After Barzani cast his lot with the Iranians in the Iran-Iraq War, Hussein had some 8,000 members of Barzani's clan, including hundreds of women and children, abducted.

The worst human rights abuses of Hussein's tenure took place during the genocidal al-Anfal Campaign (1986-1989), in which Hussein's administration called for the extermination of every living thing--human or animal--in certain regions of the Kurdish north. All told, some 182,000 people--men, women, and children--were slaughtered, many through use of chemical weapons.

Wartime rhetoric regarding Hussein's "rape rooms," death by torture, decisions to slaughter the children of political enemies, and the casual machine-gunning of peaceful protesters accurately reflected the day-to-day policies of Saddam Hussein's regime. Hussein was no misunderstood despotic "madman." He was a monster, a butcher, a brutal tyrant, a genocidal racist--he was all of this, and more."


“The Head of the Snake”

"Next to the anti-aircraft guns is a white sculpture made by a Suleimaniya artist who happened to be on the grounds when I showed up. It memorializes six Kurdish children who were senselessly gunned down in the streets by the Baath."

From the comments at the above link:

"Andrew: Everyone should remember that Saddam was an ally of the USA during this time and the US government knew everything Saddam was doing.

I agree.

Everyone should also remember who got rid of the bastard when most people wanted to leave him in place.

Posted by: Michael J. Totten at March 3, 2006 08:41 AM

Grow Up! American troops may be guilty of 'humiliating' prisoners and, while I do not condone it, I certainly do not equate humiliation with rape, torture, beheading, or the cold blooded murder of innocent children! Maybe I'm in the minority....

Posted by: D Haynes at March 3, 2006 10:37 AM


Saddam Hussein's murderous and genocidal campaigns: Dujail and Afal

The hardest thing to see was the cell used to hold children before they were murdered. My translator Alan read some of the messages carved into the wall.

“I was ten years old. But they changed my age to 18 for execution. Dear Mom and Dad. I am going to be executed by the Baath. I will not see you again.”

Then, during the Anfal campaign from February to September 1988, Iraqi troops swept through the highlands of Iraqi Kurdistan rounding up everyone who remained in government-declared "prohibited zones." Some 100,000 Kurds, mostly men and boys, were trucked to remote sites and executed. Only seven are known to have escaped.

Knowing Saddam Hussein is one of history's most vicious and cruel dictators is one thing. Proving it in a court of law is another.

The grisly task of methodically finding, excavating, and cataloging Saddam Hussein's mass graves goes on. Great stores of horrendous evidence are increasing daily as murdered Kurds, Shiites, and other Saddam victims, continue to be pulled from shallow, bulldozer-dug trenches.

Even hardened invesigators have difficulty with this macabre task. These huge shallow graves are filled with families: fathers, mothers and children wearing all of their clothes on their backs for their "re-location" - with many of the children carrying their toys with them.

A chain of evidence that investigators believe will help convict Saddam Hussein begins at a windswept grave in the desert near Hatra, in northern Iraq.

The burial site - a series of deep trenches that held about 2,500 bodies, many of them women and children - is one of many mass graves that dot the country. But it was the first excavated by an American investigative team working with a special Iraqi tribunal to build cases against Mr. Hussein and others in his government.

According to Gregory W. Kehoe, the American who set up the investigative team, what was found at Hatra shows how the Hussein leadership made a "business of killing people" - the scrape marks from the blade of the bulldozer that shoved victims into the trench, the point-blank shots to the backs of even the babies' heads, the withered body of a 3- or 4-year-old boy, still clutching a red and white ball.

Babies found in Iraqi mass grave

Tiny bones

The victims are believed to be Kurds killed in 1987-88, their bodies bulldozed into the graves after being summarily shot dead.

One trench contains only women and children while another contains only men.

The body of one woman was found still clutching a baby. The infant had been shot in the back of the head and the woman in the face.

"The youngest foetus we have was 18 to 20 foetal weeks," said US investigating anthropologist P Willey.

"Tiny bones, femurs - thighbones the size of a matchstick."


Mr Kehoe investigated mass graves in the Balkans for five years but those burials mainly involved men of fighting age and the Iraqi finds were quite different, he said.

"I've been doing grave sites for a long time, but I've never seen anything like this, women and children executed for no apparent reason" he said.

Mother of All Ironies.

"They half-crushed the toddler's feet. Now, she doesn't walk, she hobbles, and Ali fears that Saddam's men have crippled his daughter for life."
[snip]

"And the faking of the mass baby funerals.

You may have seen them on TV. Small white coffins parading through the streets of Baghdad on the roofs of taxis, an angry crowd of mourners, condemning western sanctions for killing the children of Iraq.

Usefully, the ages of the dead babies - "three days old", "four days old" - are written in English on the coffins. I wonder who did that?

Ali gave us the inside track on the racket. There aren't enough dead babies around. So the regime stores them for a mass funeral.

He said that he was friends with a taxi driver - he gave his name - whose son had a position in the regime.

Ali continued: "He told me he had to go to Najaf" - a town 100 miles from Baghdad - "in order to bring children's bodies from various freezers there, and that the smell was unbearable.

"They used to collect children's bodies and put them in freezers for two, three or even six or seven months - God knows - till the smell gets so unbearable. Then, they arrange the mass funerals."

The logic being, the more dead babies, the better for Saddam. That way, he can weaken public support in the west for sanctions. That means that parents who have lost a baby can't bury it until the regime says so."

"In northern Iraq - the only part of the country where people can speak freely - we met six other witnesses who had direct experience of child torture."
[snip]

"While we were in the north of Iraq, the chairman of the Great Britain Iraq Society, Labour MP George Galloway, was in Baghdad. He popped up on Iraqi TV, saying "When I hear the word Iraq, I hear someone calling my name".

I don't agree.

When I hear the word Iraq, I hear a tortured child, screaming."


Insurgents used kids as cover, then killed them. Just one example of hundreds of such reports.

And I won't even begin to detail the thousands of children killed via the UNs oil-for-food scandal. Of course, Trees for Our Children author, Billy, will understand that all of this is due to American imperialism, because, after all, his professors have helped him learn to think for himself.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

So where is Taleban Jack when you need him?

French Official: Iran Resolution Near

"The French official insisted that the goal was to bring the Iranians to the negotiating table - not lead to a ``global confrontation'' with Iran. But he added, "all the efforts to open negotiations are going nowhere."

The diplomat described Friday's meeting in London between EU envoy Javier Solana and Saeed Jalili, Iran's senior nuclear negotiator, as a ``disaster.''

Of course, if Taleban Jack had anything remotely close to a chance of being in any position of power, we know he would not be counselling negotiations with Islamofacists. Loose lips and silliness are the purview of those who never have to deal with the real world.

Way Too Much Good News!!

So much to choose from. Is there one that stands out above all others as a beacon of hope? Oh dear, where do I begin? Let me count the ways.

Here? Iraq Issues Arrest Warrant For Journalist Who Wrote Fake Massacre Story. It's always good to see modern day journalism taking another direct hit over their sordid performance.

Maybe this? German Muslims Protest Terror- Hold Rally at Saudi Embassy. But wait. There's more. Canadian Muslims enter Sudanese teddy debate. Does this have anything to do with the success in Iraq? Have the moderate voices in Islam been emboldened? Could be!!

Or here, perhaps? Pope agrees to talks with Muslim leaders. A pious Muslim seeks dialog with world's religious leaders and the pious Pope responds. Is this as it seems on the surface? Sure hope so.

No, I think it has to be this one: The Looking-Glass War in Iraq.

Yup. Victor Davis Hanson rights a fine piece about the corner Dems have painted themselves into. Too bad leftist politicos have such short memories, but I'll have more to say on that in a future post.