Wednesday, December 31, 2008

30,000 Egyptians!

...via the Egyptian Sandmonkey here, here, here, here, and especially here:
"The funeral of the killed assassinated dead egyptian border officer was attended by 30,000 of his countrymen, who according to al masry alyoum, turned the event into an anti-Hamas rally, shouting anti-Hamas slogans, and rightly stating that his blood is on Hamas' hands."
[---]
"Had Israel pulled even half of this shit, I would be the first person calling for some gold old fashioned egyptian-Israeli war, because then they would be clearly our enemies. Whether we like it or not, Hamas is acting like our enemy, and it's time we treat it as one!"
Don't forget to read the comments, too. This is a blog where Egyptians and Israelis often engage in friendly back and forth banter in the comments. Of course, there are also some hard-assed idiot Arab nationalist Israel/America haters, too, since those type are all too deeply entrenched in the Middle East, thanks to decades of Arab Nationalism (aka dictatorships) in the region. By and large, the Egyptian commenters seem to be loving and rallying around Mother Egypt way more than with Hamas and the Pals, or even the rest of the Arab world.

There is very little in the way of hostility toward Israel. Indeed, the Israelis and the Egyptians are engaged in very thoughtful and informative dialog. There is plenty of information about the history and politics of this latest round in the long Israeli-Palestinian "conflict" (read this one by an Israeli, for example) and Hamas is clearly seen as the enemy of Eqypt. One of the commenters posted this video showing Hamas using a young boy as a human shield. Little wonder they are regarded as such pariahs:



But wow! 30,000 Egyptians turn out for the funeral of an Egyptian guard murdered by Hamas at the Gazan border. I wonder how many of them feel the same way that the Sandmonkey does?

BTW, I pretty much agree with Tantor. Every country that continues to deliver aid to the Palestinians is engaged in classic enabling behavior and it has to stop.

Mopping Up the Slop

Israel Rejects Truce Call, Attacks Gaza
"The deposed government of Hamas in Gaza called Wednesday on Arab leaders to act immediately at the political and humanitarian level to stop the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip."
Yeah, right. Cairo will host a summit of Arab leaders. They will accomplish two or three days of bullshit blustering while secretly supporting Israel's actions and then go home.
"Israel rejected international pressure for a two-day cease-fire with Hamas and demolished smuggling tunnels that are the lifeline of Gaza's Islamic rulers in a fifth straight day of airstrikes Wednesday."
Hamas's propensity to ignore cease fires is what got them them into this in the first place.
"Since Saturday, the Israeli air forces have been carrying out intensive and unprecedented airstrikes on hundreds of targets, which included security installations, official buildings, mosques, universities and metal workshops."
Get 'er done, Israel. And don't stop until Hamas is completely, irrevocably crushed. Hamas, your Arab buddies aren't gonna help ya. You're an insufferable bunch of blithering, retarded buffoons. Get over it.

======================
What these guys said: The Doctrine of "Proportionate" Response

"It interesting to note that the hate directed at Israel is never referred to as ‘disproportionate.’ It is also true that the lopsided voting record against Israel by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (an assembly that includes some of the most oppressive and failed nation-states in the world) is never referred to as ‘disproportionate’ despite the admonition of three successive United Nations Secretaries- General. The same applies to United Nations General Assembly, now a forum for over the top racism, bigotry and hate- none of which seems to qualify as ‘disproportionate.’

None of the institutionalized hate and bigotry of the Arab world is ‘disproportionate.’ In fact, the Arabs will tell you that there are not enough calls to genocide and there is not enough hate and racism directed at Israel and Jews. In schools, media and from the pulpit, calls for genocide, bigotry and hate are considered ‘proportionate’ and reasonable.

The NGO’s for whom anti Jewish and anti Israel sentiment are daily bread, compete with other over who is more anti Jewish and more anti Israel, taking pride in their ‘originality’ or ablity to pass that hate as rational and reasoned."


And this: Israel-Hamas Primer

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Best Anti-CBC Rant Ever

I just stumbled across this entry on a blog that I recently bookmarked. Stupendous!

My Phone Rant Against the CBC

It's a Tough Task...

...but someone has to do it.

For the education of a tool who calls himself Balbulican, (whose handle, by the way, reminds me of the word balboolic, which in the Iraqi-Arabic dialect literally means "little birdie", but is a euphemism for the genitalia of a small male child, but I digress, so let's just call him a dick and be done with it).

Over at Xanthippa's Chamberpot the dick and I are once again arguing with one another. He has posed a couple of stupid remarks, namely:
"I'm glad that you eventually figured out there something odd about group of self proclaimed Muslims who claim to be editing the word of their God. You were a bit slower than the rest of us to catch on, that's all."
and, posing a hypothetical scenario that I might encounter, he says:

"Suppose she was approached by a group called “Christians for a Renewed Christianity”. They have a website, they solicit money, and they’re inviting people - anyone - to rewrite sections of the Bible that they feel don’t reflect true Christianity.

Then suppose you found out that “Christians for a Renewed Christianity” was actually a collection of folks who despise Christianity, and collect and post as much anti-Christian material as they can find."

This link is my response. Try and keep up, Bal.

I wonder if Muslims Against Sharia have a role in this project? Khalim?

Evidently, Bal, you have not heard of any of these folks, either:

Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi
Irshad Manji
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ibn Warraq
Wafa Sultan
Mithal al Alusi
Mona Eltahawy
Taslima Nasrin
Nibras Kazimi

Or heard the story of Simon Deng or Danish parliamentarian, Naser Khader? (Listen to him here on the cartoon fiasco.)

There are legions of others.

And you will note that one of the goals of the Institution for Secularization of Islamic Society is to "publicise acts of terror and oppression."

I could go on. The point is, there is a growing number of Muslims who have found the courage to speak out and the reformation of Islam has begun, and contrary to your delusions, not every non-Muslim who supports these courageous people is an Islamophobe.

You should read the Petersberg Declaration or listen to its delivery here, by Ibn Warraq, or for that matter, view all the presentations made at the Secular Islam Summit and ask yourself why you seem to be opposed to this movement. As a leftist, you are no doubt pleased to know you are opposed to the very thing the left, to their great credit, once championed.

In the meantime, there is great news from Bangladesh this morning:

Secular Party Wins Landslide Victory in Bangladesh
"...the Awami League, in alliance with a smaller party called Jatiya, won more than two-thirds of the 300 parliamentary seats after votes in most districts had been counted."
Led by a woman, no less.
"Ms. Hasina has promised to quash Islamist extremist groups in Bangladesh, a largely Muslim country.

She has been a target of the extremists’ ire already, having been wounded by a grenade at a 2004 rally in an attack linked to Islamist radicals that killed 23 people."
God bless her and keep her safe.

The times, they are a changing, Bal. Your bankrupt ideology is part of the problem. Please get out of the way if you can't lend a hand.

(Note to Saskboy: This is how it's done in a democracy. You form the coalition before the election, so that the people know what they are getting when they mark their ballots.)

Monday, December 29, 2008

Goodbye Crossed Sabres!

And good riddance.

Iraq to Replace Martial Monuments With Peace Art

I can't imagine a monument more ugly both in form and expression. It is so good to hear that this blight on the Baghdad cityscape it will be removed and with it, the grotesque symbolism of Saddam Hussein's megalomania.
"Before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, all statues and monuments in public squares made reference to Saddam's Baath party or told a story about its military victories against Iraq's numerous enemies.

Along with the giant Saddam statue that U.S. troops pulled down from Baghdad's al-Firdous square before television cameras in April 2003, many other images of the former president, often in military uniform, dotted the city.

Outside an Agriculture Ministry office, a mural depicted Saddam tilling the fields with a spade. At the Justice Ministry, he appeared in a gown, holding scales of justice.

Most of the murals have since been painted over and the statues destroyed by Iraqis in the chaos that followed the invasion."
[---]
"In the heavily fortified Green Zone diplomatic compound, two pairs of giant arms emerge from the ground, hundreds of metres away from each other, holding crossed swords to form an arch across a parades ground. They were modeled on Saddam's hands and cast using 160 tonnes of bronze.

Iraq wants to replace such monuments with symbols of peace."
[---]
"We did not determine the subject matter of the art at all in order not to be accused of political influence," Timimi said. "We want beautiful statues that instil pleasure and calm."

Artists hailed the plan as symbolising their hopes."
[---]
"Iraq is ... in transition from a dictatorial system to a democracy," Timimi said. "A supporting pillar is to shift art away from a single person to depict all aspects of Iraq."

Lockerbie, Scotland - Twenty Years Ago

I missed this, but it's not to late. December 21st was the twentieth anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 by two Libyans, killing 270 people. Justice was finally served in 2001, only months before 9/11. It would be interesting to document the number of terrorist attacks, including hijacking, perpetrated by men from the Arab and Muslim world in the past twenty to thirty years, or more. The Munich Olympics massacre is another, more distant, example. There was a time, when I was much younger, that security screening at airports was non-existent and big events like the Olympics, were not crawling with security personnel. Times have changed. But the tactic of hijacking and blowing up passenger planes has not lost its appeal to disaffected thugs, whatever their ethnic or religious origin.

Speaking the Truth



And then of course, there will always besome astute analysis and some comic relief from the Egyptian Sandmonkey.

Reflections on Two Kennedy Women

There's been much in the news the past few days about Caroline Kennedy's decision to take a stab at a New York Senatorial seat. Many are critical of her lack of political experience. Some are calling the affair an American betrayal of its founding principles, namely the rejection of hereditary privilege.

Frankly, I find her a rather tragic figure. Her family's history is one of profound loss and pain. Her father was assassinated just a few days before she turned six. Her uncle fell to an assassin's bullet only a few years later. More recently, her brother, her only sibling, died in a plane crash.

Her Uncle Ted has been a controversial figure, having somehow, no doubt as a result of hereditary privilege, escaped any of the consequences one would expect had he been an ordinary sot, for his behavior following the car accident on the bridge in Chappaquiddick. His wife was an alcoholic. A Kennedy cousin accused of murder, and the family of a cover-up, was found guilty by the courts. In short, there is a lot of sleaze, which more or less lends itself to the notion that hereditary privilege is indeed at play. To top it all off, her oratory skills are worse than George Bush's, if that's possible.

She may be succumbing to the same pressure that propelled her Uncle Ted. The family expects their members to be involved in the nation's political affairs, whether they like it or not, which is largely how I view Ted Kennedy's career - fulfilling an hereditary role, and not particularly well at that, simply because it's expected of the Kennedy clan. They believe it to be their proper station in life. No. I think Caroline would do well to follow her mother's path. Be a Bouvier rather than a Kennedy.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. There was a woman who was stoic and loyal, yet not afraid to be her own person. She was no Hillary, that's for sure. She preferred to be out of the spotlight, largely for the sake of her children. She was strong and faced life's hardships with grace and courage.

I found this YouTube presentation, which seems to be the eulogy delivered at her funeral by Ted Kennedy. It sums up her life quite well, omitting only a few of the tragic bits, such as the miscarriages, the death of two infants, the philandering husband, the public's disapproval of her second marriage, the jealous step-daughter fighting over her claim to her father's fortune, and so on, none of which would be appropriate elements in a eulogy anyway, but every one of which contributed to and demonstrated her strong and steadfast character.

But the Democrats do like their best known dynasty, even if they deny the obvious pretension it betrays. I have to wonder if the Democrat elites and their fawning media will be as picky with Caroline as they were with George Bush? I frankly think her entry into politics could be the end of the Camelot mystique, but only if the MSM is truly non-partisan, which, of course, it isn't. So, she might just go for it, and she might just win, and the MSM will be dutifully, adoringly obsequious.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Scary, But Cool

..or should I say hot.

Israel, Gazans, Egypt - Ad Nauseam

Hamas, of course, lobs rockets into Israel FROM A RESIDENTIAL AREA, so that Israel will be lambasted by the ignorant MSM if they strike back. Just like Hezbollah and so many of the Splodydopes in Iraq during the recent war, putting civilians in harms way is the standard modus operendi and it never fails to work.

World leaders deplore the actions of both sides, calling Israel's response "disproportionate".

Egypt, as always, is in a quandry.
"THE BURDEN OF GAZA -- Cairo believes that if it left the Egypt-Gaza border wide open Israel would wash its hands of responsibility for ensuring the Gazans receive enough to keep them alive -- food, water, medical supplies, electricity and other essentials. Egyptian diplomats say that Israel would seal the border with Gaza on its side, diverting all trade and traffic through Egypt. The burden would be a drain on Egyptian resources and the authorities might find it hard to prevent an influx of Gaza Palestinians seeking work and housing.

In one worst-case scenario Israel might hold Egypt responsible for any attacks on Israel launched from Gaza, forcing Egypt to act as Gaza policeman -- a role fraught with danger. Egypt's presence in Gaza between 1948 and 1967, and its inability to impose full control on Palestinian groups there, helped drag Egypt into war with Israel in 1956 and 1967."
And the game goes round and round and round.

Meanwhile, President Elect Obama ducks for cover. I wonder what he will do about this persistent, festering sore on the face of the earth. Remember that Arab governments liked him very much, but he may have some surprises for them.

Winston, from Spirit of Man, shows up at protests in Toronto and does Canada proud. You the MAN Winston!!

The Vulcan Versus Harper

Beginning roughly 1.28.55 of this Al and Mike podcast, after talking about the ridiculous coalition that sent Canada into a tizzy, someone compares Michael Ignatieff to Pierre Trudeau. Bingo!! That's exactly what I think of him. He has a statesman like character, a classic liberal (and he looks like a Vulcan). I could vote for him. Got that, Harper?

MoveOn Still Stuck in the Past

Will MoveOn Live Up to Its Name?
"Last week, the group’s members chose their top four priorities for the organization, winnowed down from a top-10 list culled from 50,000 suggestions."
[---]
"What they chose: universal health care; economic recovery and job creation; building a green economy; stopping climate change; and end the war in Iraq."
What???? The war has been over for months. What sort of fog do these people live in!!

And I wonder how they think they will stop climate change? Reminds me of King Canute sitting at the shore, attempting to command the tide to stop.

And on the topic of climate change, perhaps they should read this:

Was the Year Man Made Global Warming Was Disproved

Poland and One Pole Remembered

I've been watching this broadcast from TV Ontario, which I find very interesting, as I was keenly conscious of the Solidarnose movement in Poland that resulted eventually in the rapid collapse of communism throughout Eastern Europe.



Roughly midway through the discussion, the panelists mention Adam Michnik. I remember posting this entry about him and what must be one of the best essays I have ever read, written by him.

Here's the article: We, the Traitors

Sharia and Bal

Over at Xanthippa's blog, Balbulican and I went to war again over the authority of the blogger who runs Muslims Against Sharia. Bal, apparently, believes the author could not possibly be a real Muslim. I won, of course, because I base my position on facts, not on ideology.

For Xanthippa, here is a list of good sites that you may want to explore. They are run by Muslims who wish to either reform their faith or who have given up on it and are working to discredit it. Either way, they are excellent sources for reliable information.

Muslim World Today

Institution for the Secularization of Islam

Islam Watch

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Okay. If I Must!

I'll list the jobs I've had, but I won't tag anyone else.

1) farm girl [includes things like haying, slinging manure, driving the tractor pulling some sort of implement, such as a plow, a seeder or a swather or the grain truck and/or the combine, bringing the cows home, helping castrate the baby bulls (that always makes the men squirm. Ha, ha.) and inoculate the baby cows and the yearlings (you should see the mother f*er of a hypodermic needle they use on farm critters! Nurse Ratchet would eat her heart out.), feeding the chickens, gathering the eggs, etc.] If I recall correctly, I think Dad paid us a dollar an hour for some of this stuff, like the haying and harvesting, but we weren't unionized, so we had to be content with being exploited while we learned responsibility. The nerve, eh? But things were tough in those days.

2) janitor at the one-roomed country school (every one of the "older kids" took a month long turn on a rotational basis doing this.) I can't remember what we got paid. Might have been $20 for the month.

3) babysitting

4) bookstore clerk (great job, lousy wage)

5) teacher

6) youth centre supervisor

7) research assistant (twice)

8) museum worker (twice)

9) cataloguer (for Parks Canada)

10) currently working in a profession that I ain't gonna reveal as it may lead to someone in the blogosphere identifying who I really am and I don't want that to happen. Sorry. Let's just say it's a field that requires a Masters Degree. Been doing that since 1991 and will probably stick with it until I retire.

There. That's more than you ever wanted to know about me and are probably sorry you asked.

(PS: It's been interesting to see all the jobs various bloggers have had in their lives. So many of us have done so many wild and whacky thinks. No wonder we're so interesting. ;-))

Iraqi Views of the Shoe Thrower

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas Everyone

Blogging will be light to non-existant for the next several days. Come back next week. Don't eat too much. Enjoy this feast for the spirit and see you in a few days:













Monday, December 22, 2008

For Your Viewing Pleasure

The real Che...

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Revenge of the Mice

Mice suspected in deadly cat fire
"An initial report from the fire marshal says mice or rats chewing through electrical wires in the ceiling are likely to have sparked the blaze."

Don't You Just Love the Media?

Lord love a duck. Another bogus story hits the airwaves. I wonder if the MSM will retract this one?

There was no Ba'athist Coup in Iraq

Those speaking about coups in Iraq are illusionists

Israel Set to Invade Gaza Strip

No sooner said than done.

Note the radical chic young madam with her Palestinian kafia speaking radical chic speak in the video. Perfect illustration of what I said the other day.
"...our values as expressed in International law and UN Declarations, the Geneva Conventions and the like, about things like torture, human rights, the rule of law, etc., etc., are the Achillies' Heal of modern Western civilization."
Of course, the thing that's always missing from these radical chic pontifications are the facts that prompt Israel's actions. It's okay for the Palis to lob rockets and mortars into Israel nonstop, but God forbid that Israel should take any action to root out the idiots who are doing it.

===========================
Good. The Pals have proven themselves utterly incapable of anything even remotely resembling nationhood. They've had sooooo many opportunities and have failed soooo miserably each and every time.

While they are at it, perhaps the Israelis should take a swing through Hezbollah land and take out a few of those fat thugs who shoot rockets on an almost daily basis into Israeli communities before this happens.

Where is Canada's Obama?

He’s all around us for crying out loud.

Joel Johannesen sums it up quite nicely.

Sick of Reading?

Try some stimulating video interviews. Uncommon Knowledge is one of my favs. In this series in particular, Peter Robinson interviews Thomas Sowell on two conflicting competing visions of society in the Western World. Starts on October 27th.

The November interviews with Shelby Steele are pretty good, too.

The Proof is in the Pudding

For all those Milquetoast Leftists who proclaim confidently that torture doesn't work, I invite you to watch this:



Any half witted tool should be able to understand that if torture did not produce genuine, actionable intelligence that results in the gathering of more evidence, real suspects, real discoveries of things like ammunitions caches, graves, and can lead to solid cases that can end in a slam dunk court case, it would be deemed a waste of time. This notion that people will say anything the torturers want to hear just to get the torture to stop and that what they say, therefore, cannot be believed is denying reality. Said fools with less than half a wit should seek redress from their indoctrinators. Of course they won't, but what else is new.

Oh, and waterboarding and parading naked men around on leashes is not quite the same as cutting off hands, gouging out tongues and eyes and dragging someone along a road behind a vehicle until his flesh is ripped off. And you may have noticed that the perps who pulled off the Abu Ghraib fiasco were tried and convicted. Funny that doesn't happen in the Arab and Muslim world, but then why would it if dragging someone to their death is at the behest of the Big Man. I might add, that the pictures in the torture manual at the links earlier in this paragraph are precisely the kind of thing that went on at Abu Ghraib during Papa Saddam's era. Where was your outcry then, may I ask?

In 1958, when he was thirteen years old, my ex witnessed the dragging technique during the so-called "revolution" in Iraq which overthrew the king. Needless to say, it was a soul disturbing experience, but folks, that is the Arab Nationalist's (aka Ba'athist's) way as well as the al Qaeda way. In fact, I'm certain those torture techniques, the illustrations of which are at the links above, are not al Qaeda inventions. They are the product of the backward, retrograde culture in so much of the house of Islam. For the verbal expression of that backward, retrograde culture you need look no further that to the words of one of our very own Canadian Imams, who apparently finds favour with Canada's Human Rights Commission. And if that's not good enough, take a stroll though some of the abundant Memri TV clips to hear what the Arab and Muslim masses get to watch on the state controlled telly.

h/t Pat Dollard

Friday, December 19, 2008

In the Beginning There Was Catty Catnip

I started this blog in response to being banned by the Catty Catnip, a sniveling little woman who can't get over herself and is condemned to blurting out leftist screeds all day long on her blog Liberal Catnip. Funny that someone visiting my blog today using search terms 9/11 and changed politics, or something like that, came across an old entry on this blog. Using sitemeter to find out who visited, where they came from, what parts of the blog they landed on, etc., I discovered that that visitor landed here. The three entries on that page are still a great read. Kind of a window into the world of the lunatic left as personified by the Catty Catnip herself.

Just out of curiosity, I visited Catty Catnip's blog again. Turns out she was raised in an alcoholic home. That explains a few things. Children of alcoholics are rarely unscathed and their journey through life can be considerably more difficult than those who have had healthy, nurtured, loving and responsible parenting. I do hope some year she will find peace and contentment.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Well. So Much for those Shoes

"The shoes were examined by the Iraqi and American security services and then destroyed," the judge told AFP.

And once more, Iraqis are at odds with their neighbours.

Hmmmm. Interesting theory.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Speaks

UPDATE: After I wrote this entry, I was curious to find out if the ex-brother-in-law still worked at the embassy in Washington, so I emailed my ex. His reply was more than a little interesting as it told me a story that I had not heard before, likely because it happened after my ex and I broke up. It's a story about, guess who? The Butcher of Baghdad himself, Saddam Hussein. I tell you folks. When you know personally, people who lived under the Butcher of Baghdad, it puts a whole different perspective on the war and on George W. Bush. Here it is, verbatim (emphasis mine):
"He was employed by the Iraqi Government as a councilor in the Iraqi embassy in Washington, DC. This year he retired having added to his service the years that he was in (exile) in London, UK. These years put service up to 35 years (25 years is the requirement). The reason I say (exile) is because back in early 80's and while he was working in the Iraqi embassy in London, Saddam call upon him to return back to Baghdad. When Saddam asks you to return, you do not. needless to say he quit and took legal refuge in the UK and later he became British citizen. He lives in Baghdad now. I talk to him from time to time but I don't know what he does now."

I think I may have mentioned sometime a long time ago on this blog that my ex's brother works (or worked, because I'm not sure if he's still there) in the Iraqi Embassy in Washington DC. This video of the current Iraqi ambassador to the US reminds me of my ex's family. Despite our differences, most of my ex's family were very decent people. It was through meeting and conversing with people just like him that I came to believe that Iraq could rise and some day be a great nation. I haven't lost that hope. Not for a minute.



h/t Pat Dollard

Merry Christmas From a Jew

This posting says it all.

Thank you, Yaacov!! May 2009 be the year that political correctness dies.

h/t Blazing Cat Fur

Al Qaeda Training Manual Refresher Course

In the ongoing saga about the journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush, we now "learn" that the guy was beaten and tortured by Iraqi authorities.

In light of that, I would like to provide a refresher course on tactics that Jihadist's use. I'm not saying this guy is a Jihadist. It's just that, if we are to believe the media reports, then it's worth noting that some well know Jihadist tactics seem to be part of the mix here. The guy is a Sadrist, which suggests to me that he may have had a useful idea or two planted in his head.

Let me refer you to the following sources which describe elements of al Qaeda's training manual:

Al Qaeda 101: The Jihad Manual

Al Qaeda's Torture Manual Recovered

Note that lesson 18 of the al Qaeda training manual discovered in Iraq in 2004 contains the following instructions. They pertain to when an al Qaeda agent is detained and tried. (Emphasis added)
"1. At the beginning of the trial, once more the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by State Security [investigators] before the judge.
2. Complain [to the court] of mistreatment while in prison.
3. Make arrangements for the brother’s defense with the attorney, whether he was retained by the brother’s family or court-appointed.
4. The brother has to do his best to know the names of the state security officers, who participated in his torture and mention their names to the judge.
5. Some brothers may tell and may be lured by the state security investigators to testify against the brothers [i.e. affirmation witness], either by not keeping them together in the same prison during the trials, or by letting them talk to the media. In this case,they have to be treated gently, and should be offered good advice, good treatment, and pray that God may guide them.
6. During the trial, the court has to be notified of any mistreatment of the brothers inside the prison."
Lawyers Allege Suspects Being Tortured in Jail
"Lawyers for some of those accused emerged from the halls of justice on Monday morning claiming the Crown has asked for a publication ban on all events going on inside, so they can hide what's really happening behind the scenes - including what they refer to as the "torture" of some of the suspects."
Al Qaeda 101: The Jihad Manual (Same title as above but different article)
"“Under the convention against torture and other cruel and unusual punishment, the instances of mistreatment that defence counsel have cited as going on at the jail constitute torture,” said another lawyer, Rocco Galati."
Jihadists are not dumb, my friends. They know how to play our own values against us. In fact, our values as expressed in International law and UN Declarations, the Geneva Conventions and the like, about things like torture, human rights, the rule of law, etc., etc., are the Achillies' Heal of modern Western civilization. Too many of us swallow these accusations without question, while the Jihadist laughs with appreciation of our gullibility.

Oh, and for those of you who think waterboarding is torture, let me tell you something. You don't know torture. Take a look at the pictures at one of the links from these websites and you'll see torture, Jihadist/Ba'athist style. (Warning: May not be suitable for Milquetoast Leftist viewers.) If you didn't watch the YouTube videos in my posting on December 14th, you may be interested in knowing that these torture techniques are not that much different from what Saddam Hussein's henchmen used on Iraqi citizens for years and years and years. But, why do I bother. I know that in Milquetoast Leftist circles, torture of Arabs by Arabs is no problem. It's only when it can somehow be linked to George Bush that it becomes useful.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Egyptian Sandmonkey Rules

Did you know that the blogger who runs Rantings of a Sandmonkey once invited me to be his co-blogger. I turned him down. Good thing, too, cause the guy is humongously prolific. I couldn't keep up. Anyway, this young guy, educated in the US (has an MBA from some university there) has been blogging from his home town of Cairo for several years now. You can always count on some cynical and hilarious commentary on incidents occurring in the Middle East. Soooooo, here's the rantings of Sandmonkey on the recent shoe throwing incident.

On the Shoe Throwing Incident

Is Throwing Shoes at Someone Free Speech?

Sock and Awe

And try scrolling through these entries for a glimpse at how the Egyptian government deals with dissent.

Speaking of which, that reminds me of the famous Seven Rules of the Arab Parallel Universe, coined by our hero, the Sandmonkey. All you seven or eight fans of my blog might also want to read this entry at Iraqi Bloggers Central for a fuller understanding of the APU. (Note: the entry on "Akbar's" blog that Jeffrey [Iraqi Bloggers Central] refers to is here. So many of the good Iraqi bloggers quit blogging once the real violence began in Iraq. I often wonder what happened to them. Are they still alive? Did they find refuge in another country? Akbar was one of the best.)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Iraqi Reporter Throws Shoes at Bush

UPPERISTDATE: Dennis Prager nails it. It's easy to throw a shoe at a world leader from and in a free and democratic story. Try throwing a shoe at the dictator in Egypt in downtown Cairo.
"Can you imagine if he threw his shoes at an Arab leader? He’d be dead by the end of the day."
UPPERDATE: Sudanese Thinker has a YouTube video of the incident, and Sandmonkey weighs in and reports on a day in the life of everyday Egypt.



UPDATE: From an Iraqi commenter at Talisman Gate:
"Nibras, only today I knew why Arab leaders don't come to Iraq. Do you think one day an Iraqi journalist will be able to throw his shoes on Gadaffi for example? If such thing happened, it will be the best day of my life."

==============Original post follows===============

"The man did not have his tongue cut out, did not have his arms broke and was not thrown off a roof."

Things are done differently now in Iraq.









and here.

This Thing Will Market Itself

Ontario man builds real-life female android

Her name is Aiko and she recognizes faces, can clean toilets and even make toast.

Now, let's get to work on a real-life male android. I suggest he be capable of picking up after himself, sharing the remote and putting down the toilet rim. I mean, if Aiko is going to be cleaning toilets, it's only fair that her partner do his bit, too, wouldn't you say? Any other suggestions as to what attributes our erstwhile male android should have are welcome.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

"Five Years From Now...

..it will be a good question for Trivial Pursuit."

Thus spake Canada's one and only shimmering gem employed by Mother Corp in this wonderfully penned article about the mighty coalition that had Canadians atwitter only just ten days ago. I give you Rex Murphy, Canada's singular exemplary wordsmith, summing up the most deliciously screwed up political gamble in Canadian history, IMHO, of course:

And what of this coalition now?
"And where is this coalition now? What is it? Does it even still exist? Mr. Ignatieff hems and haws about "a coalition if necessary, but not necessarily a coalition," which is what a really fancy mind comes up with when it wants to say yes and no to the same question. Equivocation in a tuxedo, but pure equivocation nonetheless."
[---]
"...on the few occasions that Mr. Ignatieff has been pushed to clarify the most central question in all of Canadian politics - is the agreement to bring down Stephen Harper still in force? - the most erudite washing machine in Canadian politics goes into full spin cycle.

And out tumbles yes, no, and maybe as if they were synonyms."
[--]
"This week, the once explosive notion of a coalition is a shimmer in some phantom zone of yesterday's politics. No one who had anything to do with it wants to admit it's dead. They want it to fade away all on its own. If it wasn't for that signing ceremony and the wonderfully retentive powers of videotape, I'd almost bet some of its backers would deny it ever existed."
Ah, Rex. What would we do without ya? ROTFLMAO!! (More at the link)

Five Years Ago Today

...Samir, a 34 year old Iraqi-American pulled the butcher of Baghdad out of his hole in the ground. Three years and seventeen days later, after a long trail during which the butcher tried every form of trickery and disruption he and his lawyers could think of, the big tough hero was hanged by the neck until dead.

Do you remember this?



Iraqi reporters in the room bursting with emotion, crying, swearing and shouting at the sight of the tyrant being examined for lice. Who said Iraqis were not grateful to be liberated from this tyrant.

Here's an interesting account of his and other Ba'athists' trials.

Polls, Polls and More Polls

Sign up. So far 174,220 have done so. Read the comments. Folks are angry, to put it mildly.

Our right to vote on the coalition government As of this morning at 6:00 am CST there's 322,910 signatories.

Message to Iggy: Polls show Canadians want compromise, not brinksmanship

Ignatieff wouldn't bolster coalition much

Ipsos and COMPAS

Polls, polls and more polls

This has been a very interesting month, so far. We're even getting noticed by Americans, who normally never pay much attention to their whiny northern neighbours. Americans scratching their heads, that is --- or laughing.

I saw part of this somewhere earlier this week, but this is the whole thing. Hey, we whiners will take any kind of attention, even if they're laughing at us. LOL!!



Love it!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

More Good Signs From Iraq

Baghdad property market booms
"Although property prices are plunging in many other cities across the world amid the global economic crisis, the return of Iraqi refugees to Baghdad – which has long had a housing shortage – could unleash a ballooning of demand."
Security draws Iraqi doctors home

"Mr Jaafar said the fall in violence had encouraged many of the doctors, even those who had left to go to the UK, to return.

"I do not think they returned for financial reasons," he told Reuters.

"The security situation was their sole concern. Without the improved security situation they would not have returned in this number.""
Iraqi lawmaker wins in fight over Israel visit
"I am happy for two reasons here," his lawyer said. "One is because I won the case. And the second is that this proves the Iraqi judiciary is independent, and there is no influence of the executive, legislative or government authorities on it. We have a courageous and daring judiciary," he said
Pact, Approved in Iraq, sets timetable for U.S. pullout
"Some Iraqi Shiite politicians said a significant factor in the cabinet decision was the approval of the pact by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shiite cleric in Iraq, who from the outset had laid down three conditions: full Iraqi sovereignty, transparency and majority support for the pact."
[---]
"Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, said the agreement allowed for the possibility that American forces could withdraw even earlier if Iraqi forces were in a position to take over security responsibilities earlier. He also said either side had the right to cancel the agreement with one year’s notice."
[---]

"In many ways, the vote can be seen as a calculated judgment by the Iraqi leaders as to who, for now, is best positioned to guarantee their political survival. It was the United States, after all, that helped usher many of the current Iraqi leaders into power and, given the improved but still fragile security situation in the country, many still see a need for an American military presence.

The presence of American troops in Iraq is governed by a United Nations resolution that expires Dec. 31. If the pact is not approved and if the Security Council were to balk at extending it, the Americans say their forces in Iraq would have to cease operations."
British troops to leave Iraq by June 2009
"Britain is to start withdrawing its remaining troops from Iraq next March with the last of the forces likely to be back home by June, ending six year of British occupation of southern Iraq, according to media reports quoting military sources.

They would be replaced by “several thousand” U.S. troops as part of an agreement between the U.S. and Iraq. "

[---]

"The BBC said Britain was negotiating the legal basis on which its forces can stay when its U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year."

Let's hope the UN Envoy's prediction about the upcoming provincial elections will prove correct, despite attempts by militants to disrupt Iraq's progress.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Sixty Years Ago

..today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations. Have we made any progress at all? You decide.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Olmert Condemns Settler "Pogrom"

Olmert condemns settler "pogrom"

Good for him. I've been somewhat neutral on Olmert's administration, even though many Israelis and Israel watchers have been very critical of him. IMHO, he should have been far more ruthless with Hezbollah in Lebanon a couple of summers ago, but that's water under the bridge, as the saying goes.

Israel is no different than any other democracy. Its policies and action can be legitimately criticized. One thing I have always been opposed to is the propensity of successive Israeli governments to allow the fanatic settlers to put down roots in disputed territory. Thing is, not many of its neighbours allow the same criticism of their own behavior with respect to their own minority citizens, or for that matter, their never ending support of Palestinian corruption and violence against Israel. When push comes to shove, however imperfect, give me the Israeli democracy any day.

Milestone in Iraq

"The barbarism in Mumbai and the economic crisis at home have largely overshadowed an otherwise singular event: the ratification of military and strategic cooperation agreements between Iraq and the United States.

They must not pass unnoted. They were certainly noted by Iran, which fought fiercely to undermine the agreements. Tehran understood how a formal U.S.-Iraqi alliance endorsed by a broad Iraqi consensus expressed in a freely elected parliament changes the strategic balance in the region."

[---]

"Also largely overlooked at home was the sheer wonder of the procedure that produced Iraq's consent: classic legislative maneuvering with no more than a tussle or two -- tame by international standards -- over the most fundamental issues of national identity and direction.

The only significant opposition bloc was the Sadrists, a mere 30 seats out of 275. The ostensibly pro-Iranian religious Shiite parties resisted Tehran's pressure and championed the agreement. As did the Kurds. The Sunnis put up the greatest fight. But their concern was that America would be withdrawing too soon, leaving them subject to overbearing and perhaps even vengeful Shiite dominance."

[---]

" A self-sustaining, democratic and pro-American Iraq is within our reach. It would have two hugely important effects in the region.

First, it would constitute a major defeat for Tehran, the putative winner of the Iraq war, according to the smart set. Iran's client, Moqtada al-Sadr, still hiding in Iran, was visibly marginalized in parliament -- after being militarily humiliated in Basra and Baghdad by the new Iraqi security forces. Moreover, the major religious Shiite parties were the ones that negotiated, promoted and assured passage of the strategic alliance with the United States, against the most determined Iranian opposition.

Second is the regional effect of the new political entity on display in Baghdad -- a flawed yet functioning democratic polity with unprecedented free speech, free elections and freely competing parliamentary factions. For this to happen in the most important Arab country besides Egypt can, over time (over generational time, the time scale of the war on terror), alter the evolution of Arab society. It constitutes our best hope for the kind of fundamental political-cultural change in the Arab sphere that alone will bring about the defeat of Islamic extremism. After all, newly sovereign Iraq is today more engaged in the fight against Arab radicalism than any country on earth, save the United States"
RTWT

67 Years Ago

...today, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor (h/t The Spirit of Man). That act of aggression brought the United States into World War II, which had already begun in Europe more than two years earlier. On September 11, 2001, I recall thinking that the attack on the World Trade Center in New York was of equal import. Apparently, many on the left disagreed.

FDR, a Democrat, was president in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed. If there had been a Democrat in office in 2001, I wonder if it would have made a difference? There is a Democrat poised to assume his place in the Oval Office now, and so far I haven't seen much difference between what Bush's approach to the modern day fascist menace we call Islamism has been and what Obama has done in preparation for the day he assumes power. Unless Obama substantially changes his tune following his inauguration in January, I have to wonder if the left will pillory him as much as they did to Bush because he certainly won't have brought to the office anything close to the Nirvana he promised his minions.

Anyone who has studied 20th century history will know that there were several conflicts playing out in various parts of the world in the 1920s and 30s, many of which could be a viable contender to Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 as the event that set off the Second World War. Anyone who has studied history also knows that the past always influences the present. There is no escaping it. No leader can ever start fresh.

My hunch is that Obama will be a Cold Warrior no less than any of his predecessors in the Oval Office. He may try a few things that are different, but global realpolitik remains the same as it always has been. Making deals with some unsavory characters to contain, or effectively deal with the even less savory ones, is part and parcel of the task of leading, and even more so, if you are leader of the world's most powerful nation. To disengage, and become isolationist, is to invite economic collapse, not just of the US economy, but of the whole world.

So good luck Mr. Obama. I hope you understand that many of your campaign promises were pie-in-the-sky. The world is looking to you and wondering whether or not you will be a realist, a pragmatist or a foolishly romantic idealist.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

More Fun Than a Monty Python Skit!!

UPDATE: Ezra Levant has excellent summaries of pollsters' findings about Canadian sentiment on this issue. Read them Saskboy, and cry.

As Ezra says, it just goes to show how far removed the media is from the real opinion held by the rest of us, the great unwashed in this country . Here's hoping that the voters remember this fiasco when the next election roles around and give Harper a real majority and then let's hope he privatizes the CBC. Go, Harper!!!
==========================

Coverage of the anti-coalition rallies are featured on several Canadian blogs this evening and I see Saskboy, like the rodent in a game of whack-a-mole, is popping up on the right side of the Canadian blogosphere desperately mewing. Some great placards at some of them, too. Too bad I'm so far away from any of the chosen rally sites.

Check out these: Deborah Gyapong on Ottawa, Darryl Wolk, on Toronto, Queens Park and other places, two entries at Dust My Broom, and one at the Mad Dino's place on the rally in Winnipeg or should that be Winterpeg (gotta like the Louis Riel reference in the vid at the Broom). Daveberta in Edmonton, Robert Jago in Vancouver. Kate also has a good round-up.

Mad Dino, but the way, has a great compilation of editorials from Canada's MSM newspapers about this grand theatre.

Meanwhile, Adam Daifallah reports that the knives have come out in the upper echelons of the Liberal Party.

So long, Dion. Looks like you're the sacrificial lamb. For good reason, too.

Hit the road, Jack. And don't you come back, no more, no more, no more, no more. Liberal Party coat tails have been ripped off, thanks to you and your incompetent sugar daddy, Stephie.

Gilles, that's a long steep hill you're falling down. Good luck with that. All that beautiful hair is gonna be messed up, no matter how carefully you roll, but it serves you right for being such a crass opportunist.

And Bob Rae? As you know, those who can, do. Those who can't - teach. Looks like you might have to take up consulting for a living.

Such fun!! I love it.

The Mighty (Mouse) Has Fallen

Muqtada al Sadr has lost his groupies, apparently.
"Sadr's militia was systematically being taken apart for well over a year, and his political capital started to wane during that time. The vote over the status of forces agreements showed just how isolated and out of the mainstream the Sadrist movement is in Iraqi politics. Of the 199 votes cast, 149 voted for the agreement, 35 voted against, and 15 abstained. Thirty of the votes against the agreement came from the Sadrist bloc. All of the signs of the demise of Sadr and his movement have been there. The media either missed it, or chose to ignore it, until now."
The media again, huh. Quelle surprise!!

Mother Corp and the Rallies

Like watching for the Loch Ness Monster. These are the links at 12:35 pm CST covering the protests for and against the coalition. Nothing yet from the Liberal Party's official propaganda machine, Mother Corp:
"Pro-and anti-coalition groups plan to win Canadian hearts and minds"
The Canadian Press - 2 hours ago
"OTTAWA - The padlocking of Parliament may have suspended the bickering among politicians, but it won't the silence the debate over whether Stephen Harper's government should stay or go.
Rallies for, against coalition planned for Saturday"
CTV.ca
"Pro-Coalition, Pro-Harper Rallies Planned In Toronto"
CityNews

Edmonton Sun - Canada.com - Toronto Star - National Post
all 3,121 news articles »

Another shot: Google News Canada

CBC, where are you?

===============================
I take it back. On CBC's website there it is. Playing second fiddle to...you guessed it...soldiers killed in Afghanistan. And on the Google News Canada snap shot you can search way deep down into the extensive list of news stories from all over the world and you will find two or three from CBC (starting halfway down the second page).

Excellent Article About Mumbai Terrorist Attack

If This Isn't Terrorism, What Is?
"Last week in Mumbai we witnessed as clear a case of carefully planned mass terrorism as we are ever likely to see.

The seven-venue atrocity was coordinated in a highly sophisticated way. The terrorists used BlackBerrys to stay in touch with each other during their three-and-half-day rampage, outwitting the authorities by monitoring international reaction to the attacks on British, Urdu and Arabic Web sites. It was a meticulously organized operation aimed exclusively at civilian targets: two hospitals, a train station, two hotels, a leading tourist restaurant and a Jewish center.

There was nothing remotely random about it. This was no hostage standoff. The terrorists didn't want to negotiate. They wanted to murder as many Hindus, Christians, Jews, atheists and other "infidels" as they could, and in as spectacular a manner as possible. In the Jewish center, some of the female victims even appear to have been tortured before being killed.

So why are so many prominent Western media reluctant to call the perpetrators terrorists?"


RTWT

h/t Downeast Blog

Which Is It?

You know, in a Cold War, there are genuine threats that come close to igniting a real war, there are diversions meant to distract and there are disinformation campaigns meant to either confuse or nudge or manufacture consent or any combination of the above. When I read this, I saw the possibility of any one of those:

Hoax Call to Zardari "put Pakistan on war alert"

Evolution in Action

Bush Derangement Syndrome has moved north and mutated. The new strain is called Harper Derangement Syndrome. Fortunately, a majority of Canadians appear to have strong natural immunity to the otherwise deadly disease. But you know, the thing about evolution is that the process weeds out the weaker members of the species and leaves the stronger, more fit members to carry on. Gotta love those numbers.

h/t SDA and Celestial Junk

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Message to Canuck Guy

Dear dip stick. Why do you think you have the right to say whatever you want on someone else's blog? Do you not understand the concept of private versus public spheres when it comes to freedom of expression? If not, let me make it clear to you. A blog, like a newspaper, a magazine, a radio station or a for-profit television network are in the private sector. That means that the editor, publisher or owner has the right to determine what will and will not be published on its pages or its airtime. Get it?

Where the right to freedom of expression comes in, is one step removed from the private sector, namely, in the "public" sphere, which means that regulated by government. In a nutshell, it means governments must guarantee and protect the rights of individuals who own private sector media organs to publish what they want. Governments cannot force owners of private media organs to publish what they don't want to publish. This is generally called editorial prerogative and it even extends to the right of the owner/editor to edit what private citizens submit for publication or to refuse to publish submissions from private citizens. Are you not aware that editorial prerogative is a cornerstone of freedom of expression? You are not guaranteed a spot in whatever media organ you may want to publish your thoughts, but you are guaranteed the right to start your own where you may publish whatever you wish to publish, either that be your own thoughts or someone else's.

Yes, Canuck Guy, you are free to say whatever you want, but others are not obliged to listen to it, are not obliged to publish it and are not obliged to read it. If you had even a modicum of basic civility, you might get your thoughts published on my blog, but so far, you have not demonstrated to me that you have even the most fundamental grasp of civil debate. You're a loser, and my editorial prerogative is to not provide you with space on my blog to illustrate it! Remember that old saw from Mark Twain (I think it was him, although sources vary.). "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool and than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." You should be grateful that I don't allow you to make a fool of yourself on my blog.

Analysis of the Coalition to Destroy Canadian Democracy

Two of my favourite bloggers have nailed it.

First, from Jay Currie:
"The NDP will get seats in Cabinet meaning, day to day, that their Cabinet members will have to answer questions in the House. The Bloc will not be in Cabinet and will not be subject to the scrutiny of the House. Whatever deals they do, whatever policy vetos they cast, will be in private."
And then there's Ezra:
"Without the Bloc, the Liberals and NDP have even less of a claim after the recent election than they did before. The Conservative vote, measured as a percentage, has grown five elections in a row. The Liberal vote, measured as a percentage, has declined four elections in a row. Trivia: in terms of absolute vote count, Stephen Harper received more votes in 2008 (5.21 million) than Paul Martin did in 2004 (4.98 million) or Jean Chretien received in his 1997 election (4.99 million) which earned him a majority. Harper’s 2008 count roughly tied Chretien’s 2000 majority result, too (5.25 million)."
[---]
"In other words, the Bloc’s formal, explicit participation is essential for the Liberal-NDP coalition to work."
[---]
"Harper’s short-lived plan to remove the public subsidy from political parties, which would have put the opposition at a disadvantage. Opposition claims that it was a disagreement over economic substance are incredible. Not only has the opposition approved every Tory budget to date, but just a week ago they voted to accept the Throne Speech which was, at least in general terms, exactly what the Conservatives proposed in their fiscal update."
Ezra's is a must read. Stinging points one right after the other leaving poor old DeYawn in pieces on the floor, and probably the Liberal Party, too.

Mumbai Fallout

Mumbai attacks open South Asia Pandora's Box for U.S.
"U.S. officials fear the deadly Mumbai attacks could worsen Indo-Pakistani tensions and prompt Pakistan to move forces from its Afghan border toward India, undermining U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan."
Almost every day, I wake up and find the world has inched a little closer to WWIII. WWII brought about the conditions that led to India's independence and the creation of the two Pakistans. There is some unfinished business in that part of the world, though, and it's hard to see how a country of over a billion people, with over 600 million available for military service, could be defeated.

This is Democracy?

From a commenter at Small Dead Animals:

Global

Do you think Canada would be better served by a coalition government?

Yes 22.72 %

No 77.28 %


CTV

An NDP-Liberal coalition would:

Reflect the will of the people 4674 votes (27 %)

Be nothing more than a power grab 12842 votes (73 %)


CityNews

Would you support a coalition government?

"Yes, of course" has the same # of votes as "No, I'd rather go to the polls" (about 25% each)

"The Conservatives should stay in power" is way ahead with about double those two, and "Only if Dion wasn't in charge" has a good 10% or so.


Toronto Star

Do think a Liberal-NDP coalition with Bloc support would lead to good government?

Yes 2755 39%

No 3897 56%


CBC

Do you support a proposed coalition government?

Yes, it's a good solution (230) 29%

No, we need to go back to the polls (89) 11%

No, just let Stephen Harper and the Tories govern (468) 59%

Total Votes: 787

====================
I've sent a message to the Governor General pleading with her not to hand over our country to socialists and separatists. The Governor General's contact information is here. Do it today!!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Some Perspectives on Mumbai

It's Pakistan and it's War
"This nation is under attack. The scale, intensity and level of orchestration of terror attacks in Mumbai put one thing beyond doubt: India is effectively at war and it has deadly enemies in its midst. Ten places in south Mumbai were struck in quick succession.

As in the case of the demolition of New York's World Trade Center in 2001, Mumbai's iconic monuments such as the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi Trident and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus have come under attack. The number of people killed in multiple attacks is 101 and counting, which includes foreigners and senior policemen. At least 300 have been injured.

The terrorists who carried out the attacks are well supplied, armed to the teeth and extremely well motivated. The question now is whether the nation can show any serious degree of resolve and coordination in confronting terror."

Save Pakistan to Save Us All
"The ferocious cruelty and unprecedented nature of the terror strikes in Mumbai may have left many in the world gasping at the daring and meticulous planning of the operation. There's also some mud on India's face as a result. But this is an excellent opportunity for New Delhi to try bold thinking and some sorely necessary plain speaking.

To start with, call a spade what it is. It's Pakistan. Much of global terrorism today, not just what hits India, emanates or is planned from Pakistan. Just take a few instances that are obvious to all in the know but the world's eyes seemed, till recently, reluctant to see."

Mumbai Attacks 'were a ploy to wreck Obama plan to isolate al-Qaeda'
"Relations between India and Pakistan were on a knife edge last night amid fears that Delhi’s response to the Mumbai attacks could undermine the Pakistani army’s campaign against Islamic militants on the frontier with Afghanistan.

Officials and analysts in the region believe that last week’s atrocities were designed to provoke a crisis, or even a war, between the nuclear-armed neighbours, diverting Islamabad’s attention from extremism in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and thus relieving pressure on al-Qaeda, Taleban and other militants based there".


h/t Pat Dollard