Something Stinks At Google

"Christians who want similar consideration from Google will presumably have to start blowing things up and beheading people. As I've noted before, it's quite unwise to create this kind of incentive structure. I thought the Google people were supposed to be smart."

That Inconvenient Mobility

"The rich are indeed getting richer (the bastards). As Steven Lagerfeld points out in the Winter 2007 issue of The Wilson Quarterly (not yet online), those 130,000 households at the very top of the earnings pyramid have increased their share of pretax wage and salary income from 2 percent in 1973 to just under 7 percent in 2004. Folks in the top 5 percent of households--those making more than $166,000--have seen their inflation-adjusted annual income jack up by a hefty two-thirds since 1970.

But everyone is getting richer. In real dollars, every quintile has posted significant annual increases over the past 35 years, ranging from $3,000 for the lowest quintile to $13,000 for the middle quintile to over $25,000 for next-to-highest one. And the individuals in those quintiles change all the time, something even The New York Times, which wrings its hands on class matters like an obsessive-compulsive, admits. Urban Institute economists Daniel P. McMurrer and Isabel V. Sawhill estimate that between 25 percent to 40 percent of individuals switch quintiles in a given year and that "rates of mobility have not changed over time." Research tracking individuals in the lowest income quintile in 1968 found that 23 years later, 53 percent were in a higher quintile and that half had spent at least a year in the top income quintile."

Memory Holes Today

This video does not exist. (HT John)

Londonistan Part 99236

"The second courageous Muslim to speak out this week is Gina Khan, a Birmingham woman who was so sickened by the response of her fellow Muslims in the city to the ‘soldier kidnap plot’ terror raids that she has used an interview with the Times to deliver a few absolutely crucial home truths (that were totally absent from the Question Time ‘debate’):

Over the past 15 years, she says, there has been an influx of jihadist thinking into her part of Birmingham. Bookshops sell radical literature and the mosques preach separatism and hatred. The Government and the white Establishment have allowed it to happen. And she is outraged about it. ‘It’s all happening on your doorstep,’ she says, ‘and Britain is still blind to the real threat that is embedded here now. I truly believe that all these mosques here are importing jihad. The radical teaching is filtering through, and these mosques are not regulated. They are supporting everything that is wrong about Islam. We within the community knew this. People are lying. They are in denial. They knew they were bringing in radicals. But there are still more English and British people, no matter what, and if they got together and wanted to stamp out this radicalism, they could. I am wasting my time talking to my own people; that is why I am sitting here talking to you, to open your eyes…’

Khan believes that the radicals have co-opted concerns about foreign policy to suit their cause. When she began to be worried about what the mosques were teaching her children, she decided instead to ask a female student to instruct them at home. Khan picks up the story: ‘She was in the kitchen making the tea and it was after the London bombings. She said, “What do you think about what’s happening in Palestine?” I got angry. I didn’t realise how patriotic I was getting. I turned round and said, “I do not care what is happening in Palestine or Israel. I give a damn about what is happening on my doorstep. I have family in London. Look at what is going to happen because of these few people. Look at the people who have died or had limbs amputated. Where were the Muslims then? Why did not anyone care? Because they were mostly white Christians’. And now they’ve turned the bombers’ graves into shrines! They’re just killers.”’

…I had too much rubbish fed in me that I would be too Westernised. I was told to keep my distance from you because I am a Muslim. It is still really hard to explain to you how you are conditioned. From a young age those thoughts are put in your head: “I am a Muslim. I do not mix with those people”. I would honestly say that we are more racist and more prejudiced than the English.’

What would Ms Khan do to combate such a threat? Ban polygamy, forced teenage marriages and the veil. What do the British do? Produce programmes like Question Time, which present Islamist aggression as victimisation; or refuse to support the defence of western values, as Tory-run Buckinghamshire County Council is doing (to the horror of Wycombe’s Tory MP Paul Goodman) by refusing to fund its school’s defence against the imposition of Saudi-style Islamism upon its school uniform code.

Welcome once again to Londonistan." [ By the way, I favor not decreased but increased immigration to the U.S. And largely because the few Eurabians that don't want to submit to the knife will need someplace to flee. But even those proportionate few will probably ramp up to millions a year at some point in the next decade when you consider Greater Eurabia is home to 500,000,000... -ed. ]

"Not very favorable terms, but I wonder whether some in the Senate would go for it anyway."

"The reality is that Islam sees our decadence not as a threat but as an opportunity."

More Peaceful Holocaust Denial

"SAN FRANCISCO - In a bizarre attack, a well-known author and Holocaust scholar was dragged out of a San Francisco hotel elevator by an apparent Holocaust denier who reportedly had been trailing him for weeks.

Police escorted Elie Wiesel to San Francisco International Airport on Feb. 1 after a man accosted Wiesel in the elevator at the Argent Hotel, at 50 Third St., after Wiesel participated in a panel discussion at a peace conference and before Wiesel was scheduled to catch a flight back to New York.

Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and author of more than 40 books, including the memoir “Night,” about his experiences at Auschwitz, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986." [ Why would someone who was there know anything about the Holocaust anyway? Sigh. -ed. ]

Because It Wasn't The Memetic Answer Of Course...

"It's difficult to understand the objection of the IG. If the activity broke no laws and violated no policies, what is inappropriate about having competing sets of analysts looking at intelligence to get alternative viewpoints? One of the criticisms made by Bush administration critics is that the White House relied on stovepiped intel analysis for the WMD question -- which came from the official CIA analysts and directed by George Tenet.

In this case, the Secretary and Undersecretary of Defense wanted an investigation of intel to determine whether Iraq had operational ties to al-Qaeda, a reasonable question given the circumstances. The CIA -- which the Democrats believe got it wrong on WMD -- didn't believe that radical Islamists would cooperate with the supposedly secular Saddam Hussein. Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz authorized Feith to review the intelligence to see if evidence existed for a different conclusion, and Feith found enough contacts between Saddam and AQ to at least challenge the notion that they would have never considered a partnership.

Instead, the IG scolded Feith for not following the consensus, and then not following the procedures for "rare" disagreement. That differs rather dramatically from the scolding given to the intel communities by the 9/11 Commission and enthusiastically supported by the same elements in Congress that now want a piece of Douglas Feith for daring to disagree and to do so publicly. Back then, dissenters got celebrated as visionaries who had the courage to try to wake up the decisionmakers. Now Congress wants to punish someone who essentially did what Congress demanded during those reviews." [ Did I forget to mention that Al Qaeda actually admitted a while ago that they have lost 4,000 fighting in Iraq? -ed. ]

The Secret Place Corruption

"This budget week, there was one thing on which Democrats and Republicans agreed: It's time to do something about earmarks. And in a nod to voter disapproval with these special-interest projects, this year Congress will do its pork spending in secret.

Welcome to Congress's new and dirtier earmark game, in which the big spenders are setting all the rules. In front of the cameras, both parties claim to have found earmark religion, and are talking up a bill that would reform the way Congress asks for billions in goodies for lawmakers' home districts. Behind the scenes, they're working feverishly to keep the earmarks rolling, this time using a technique outside of the legislative process and hidden from public view."

The NetrootSens

"Every member of AEI's board of directors was graciously copied on the missive. We're told the Senators never bothered to contact AEI about the veracity of the reports, and by repeating the distortions, these four Democratic senators, wittingly or not, gave credence to falsehood.

For its part, Exxon appears unwilling to take this smear campaign lying down. Bribery can be a crime, and falsely accusing someone of a crime may well be defamation. A company spokesman says Exxon has written a letter to the Independent demanding a retraction.

One can only conclude from this episode that the environmental left and their political and media supporters now believe it is legitimate to quash debate on climate change and its consequences. This is known as orthodoxy, and, until now, science accepted the legitimacy of challenging it."

Mencken Finally Hits His Sell By Date? Pray For It -- But Don't Bet On It...

"Those shows' producers may be the first ever to go broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American public. Also, the tv news folks have been going beyond their usual negativity and sensationalism by playing up the bad news even more to make Bush look bad, but judging from this story by doing that they're also chasing away their audience, which now finds their programs too depressing. Oops."

In A Nutshell

"Thus, for example, all truth is relative, free will is attenuated through the cult of victimology, envy (perhaps the greatest enemy of spiritual fulfillment) is promoted as a defining virtue, and transcendent moral obligations are reduced to an arbitrary cultural agreement. Leftism is defined by an externalizing consciousness that locates the reason for unhappiness or failure outside the self. On the other hand, one of the greatest gifts of a proper spiritual education is that it forces one to locate the reasons for one's unhappiness within. Every leftist politician arrives with the perverse gospel that, "it's not your fault! You are a victim! Don't be responsible for your life! Liberty is a pernicious illusion anyway! Transfer your power to me, and I will rescue you!" "

Questions Of The Golden Hour

"But it comes down to this. It's no secret how the dynamics of social conflict works in the Arab world. There's a pattern to it that has been operating for centuries, and it's all about factions running out of steam (as expressed in terms of money and fighters). Iraqis understand this, which is why the Shia want the Sunni Arabs run out of the country. The United States understands this, and wants to avoid the ugly photo-opportunities that would accompany the flight of the Sunni Arabs. Many Iraqis believe the upcoming "Baghdad Pacification" campaign will only delay the Sunni expulsion. Pro-Iran groups in Iraq, and around the world, believe that disarming Shia death squads will only make Shia Arabs more vulnerable to Sunni Arab terrorism. About the only thing everyone can agree on is that peace will come when the Sunni Arabs are gone. Well, maybe.

The American belief is, that enough factions (there are several dozen factions) on all sides (there are over a dozen different wars going on) are beaten down sufficiently, they will accept a ceasefire and peace. That's not an end to the war, just as the 1990 Lebanese peace deal (ending fifteen years of violence) is about to be revoked. The Israelis and Palestinians have been going at it for decades. The Yemeni civil war is almost as old. Most Iraqis want peace, and the belief is that killing a few more of those who don't will make it happen, at least for a while." [ I continue to be pessimistic about our success during the Golden Hour -- even if we did a stellar job which we're nowhere near with the partial exception of the military. But I continue to support it. I don't have the taste for truly large scale wars -- surely you remember WWII? -- that the left does... -ed. ]

Web 2.0 In 5

The Machine is Us/ing Us

HT: AL

The Square Circle

Educational system failure? Or polling bias? Since I've been working hard to recover from my own personal education failure for a number of years now, I'm honest enough to admit I don't have enough hard data to sort it out. But the former seems a strong front-runner. Sigh.

Just Like Politicians

""You can tell they are working for a political campaign now because they are apologizing just like politicians." Thus are the netroots domesticated."

It Hated Me Before It Hated You

"Remember, prior to our primordial calamity, Adam lived in intimacy with God, but afterwards he was driven from paradise and his consciousness became "horizontalized," so to speak. Before the fall, spirituality came naturally to him, whereas afterwards it was -- and is -- more of a struggle, to say the least. You might say that the rest of the Bible deals with man's struggle to reestablish the vertical link with God, culminating in (if you are a Christian) God's determination that man's efforts are futile, and that the only option available to him is to come down and personally reestablish the link himself.

But once again, we must always ask "by virtue of what principle" does this event and the transformation of consciousness that follows take place? In other words, it seems axiomatic -- a tautology, really -- that the Word becomes flesh because it is possible for the Word to do so. This is not to detract from it, but to rescue it from being confused with "magic" or some other such paganism. It is not through "magic" that the Word becomes flesh. Rather, it is "in the course of things." But to say it is not "magic" hardly means that it is not a glorious mystery, mystery being a mode of understanding, not a form of ignorance. It is no less wonderful that God has dropped a lifeline through the ever-present hole at the center of creation through which heaven and earth -- the horizontal and vertical -- may be reconciled.

According to Mouravieff, it is with the "second birth" that our latent faculties are actualized, as this coincides with the establishment of a link between the visible and invisible worlds -- between "word and flesh," so to speak. In so doing, we make the transition from "mechanical man" to a truly "living man" revivified by the "waters" from above. Coons are well aware of the fact that we are often discriminated against for our orientation -- which is to the "above" and the "within." This is why the Master made many perceptive and wise cracks to the effect that, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you." "

The New Helots

"More important still, Oaxaca’s troubles cast doubt on the conventional wisdom that illegal immigration is a safety valve that allows Mexico critical time to get its house in order. Perhaps the opposite is true: some of the areas, like Oaxaca, that send the most illegal aliens to the United States, still experience the greatest social tensions—in part because of the familial disruption and social chaos that results when adult males flee and depopulated communities consequently become captive to foreign remittances.

Two further issues have persuaded Americans to close the borders: the attitude of the Mexican government and the problems with first-generation native-born children of illegal aliens.

Worker remittances sent back to Mexico now earn it precious American dollars equal to the revenue from 500,000 barrels of daily exported oil. In short, Mexico cannot afford to lose its second-largest source of hard currency and will do almost anything to ensure its continuance. When Mexico City publishes comic books advising its own citizens how best to cross the Rio Grande, Americans take offense. Not only does Mexico brazenly wish to undermine American law to subsidize its own failures, but it also assumes that those who flee northward are among its least educated, departing without much ability to read beyond the comic-book level.

We are also learning not only that Mexico wants its expatriates’ cash—and its nationals lobbying for Mexican interests—once they are safely away from their motherland; we are also discovering that Mexico doesn’t have much concern about the welfare of its citizens abroad in America. The conservative estimate of $15 billion sent home comes always at the expense of low-paid Mexicans toiling here, who must live in impoverished circumstances if they are to send substantial portions of their wages home to Mexico. (And it comes as well at the expense of American taxpayers, providing health-care and food subsidies in efforts to offer a safety net to cash-strapped illegal aliens.) So it is not just that Mexico exports its own citizens, but it does so on the expectation that they are serfs of a sort, who, like the helots of old, surrender much of the earnings of their toil to their distant masters."

Oh THAT Second Amendment

"Following a KKK night ride in Jonesboro, the Deacons approached the police chief who had led the parade and informed him that they were armed and unafraid of self-defense. The Klan never rode through Jonesboro again. Local cross burnings ceased when warning shots were fired as a Klansmen’s torch met a cross planted in front of a black minister’s home. The initial desegregation of Jonesboro High School was threatened by firemen who aimed hoses at black students attempting to enter the building. When four Deacons arrived and loaded their shotguns, the firemen left and the students entered unscathed. It was this series of efforts by the Deacons that caused the Klan to leave Jonesboro for good."

Our Friends The Saudis

"The principal of an Islamic school has admitted that it uses textbooks which describe Jews as "apes" and Christians as "pigs" and has refused to withdraw them.

Dr Sumaya Alyusuf confirmed that the offending books exist after former teacher Colin Cook, 57, alleged that children as young as five are taught from racist materials at the King Fahd Academy in Acton.

In an interview on BBC2's Newsnight, Dr Alyusuf was asked by Jeremy Paxman whether she recognised the books.

She said: "Yes, I do recognise these books, of course. We have these books in our school. These books have good chapters that can be used by the teachers. It depends on the objectives the teacher wants to achieve." [ You mean like exterminating all the Jews and Christians? -ed. ]

In another exchange, Dr Alyusuf insisted the books should not be scrapped, saying that allegedly racist sections had been "misinterpreted".

The school is owned, funded and run by the government of Saudi Arabia. Mr Paxman asked: "Will you now remove this nonsense from the Saudi Ministry of Education from your school?"

Dr Alyusuf replied: "Just to reiterate what I said earlier, there are chapters from these books that are used and that will serve our objectives. But we don't teach hatred towards Judaism or Christianity - on the contrary." " [ Right-o. -ed. ]

Not 1942

"It seems that the media and the anti-war movement understands some implications that the internet and 24-hour news coverage have for the troops, but seems unwilling to keep that in mind. It is not 1942, when the Chicago Tribune's revelation of American codebreaking at Midway managed to escape the attention of the Axis. Today, when the New York Times blows intelligence programs, the Washington Post's columnists labels the troops mercenaries, Newsweek releases a report that is inaccurate, or when an anti-war politician compares American troops to the Khmer Rouge, it spreads across the world at the speed of light.

Naturally, such ill-considered decisions by these media outlets and politicians draw fire. This then leads to polarization. The offended troops see this as elite media members not understanding what is going on. The media, of course, digs in its heels, charging the military with wanting to censor the news, never considering that there is a responsibility to carefully consider the words one uses in that debate, particularly given the fact that those comments will spread around the world. The troops usually are caught in the middle, taking incoming fire from the media, while those who support their mission return fire. Too often, those troops caught in the middle of the debate, often see their opinions lost in the din."

The Pile Of Rubbish

"Let's recap - Libby was pushing back against a Kristof column that claimed, in error, that Wilson had gone at the behest of the VP; that Wilson had debunked forgeries he had not seen; and that Wilson's report was definitive. And pushing back against that pile of rubbish amounted to an attempt to "discredit" Wilson."

Reconciliation Said The Wolf...

"Disturbingly, the US seems to have abandoned the fight. The State Department has joined the EU, the Arab League and the OIC in calling for "reconciliation" between the TFG and the ICU and supports the participation of "moderate" jihadists in the Somali government. Speaking to African journalists this week in Addis Ababa, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said, "I think the [ICU] was hijacked by the extremists from within. And there are members who want negotiation to participate in national reconciliation."

So it is that the US ambassador in Nairobi, Kenya, forced Kenyan authorities to release Sharif Ahmad from jail.. Commenting to the Kenyan media on his release, Prof. Ali Abdiweli, a US-based Somali professor with ties to the TFG said, "I am outraged by the behavior of [the US ambassador] to Kenya. More than 3,000 Somalis died because of Sheikh Sharif and the ICU.

"[Sharif] should be put on trial. Here we go again saying that he is moderate... This is nonsense, and there is no way that Sheikh Sharif will accept any secular government. Actually, the behavior of the ambassador will encourage the remnants of the Islamic Courts." "

The Real Neofascists

"Who are the culprits in this situation? According to the neopopulists or neofascists intent in propelling ''21st century socialism'' -- Correa, Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales and Fidel Castro -- the responsibility falls on the liberal state and the republican design, with its separation of powers and market economy.

They want to demolish it (they did that in Cuba, 48 years ago) to build a strong state upon the ruins, led by a vigorous caudillo who will dictate the laws, control the judges, direct the economy, make order out of chaos with an iron fist and make us happy at the point of a baton. In a word, fascism.

It is a pity that these fascist-style neopopulists don't realize that the 30 most prosperous nations on Earth are in fact ruled by law, that they are based on the existence of separate powers and limited by the law, that their economic systems are guided by respect for private property and the market, whereas the 30 poorest and most unhappy nations are satrapies governed by enlightened caudillos full of good intentions, willing to impose prosperity and justice at the point of a sword.

Lamentably, the neofascists are oblivious of the catastrophes that their destructive predecessors provoked. They will repeat history."

"Nice little Army you got there. Shame if something was to happen to it."

Lend Me Your Ear

"Perhaps taxpayers should forward their own funding requests to Taylor. If you do, CC me. I'll publish the "most worthy" ones here. Maybe we will even have a public vote on them to see which ones ought to be funded and which should be directed to File 13.
That will be more of a public debate than Congress typically gives the vast majority of earmarks."

Lebanese On The Realists

"Most Lebanese think the American and Israeli “realists” who want to negotiate with the Syrians are painfully naïve at best, and downright sinister at worst. There’s an old saying about the Damascus regime in Beirut: Assad starts the fire, sells the water, and never delivers. And Lebanese will never forget that Secretary of State James Baker green-lighted Syrian domination of Lebanon for completely unneeded “help” in ousting Saddam Hussein from Kuwait."

"Things are tough all over."

I Lied Too. I Admit It.

"However, this opens up a completely new problem for Edwards and the rest of the Democrats. They have claimed for at least the last two years that Bush Lied (TM), that the entire basis of the war was based on his deceptions about the intelligence. Their campaigns have created an impetus for impeachment in some Democratic circles based on this supposed set of lies. Now John Edwards, years later, claims that Clinton administration officials gave him essentially the same analysis about WMD in Iraq -- exposing the Democrats as liars and smear artists themselves."

The SAS?! In London?! Not Looking Good...

"The “strategic” assassination instruction was issued by Al-Qaeda’s leaders in Pakistan and Iraq to dozens of their followers in this country. It was uncovered by MI5 last autumn, senior security sources say.

As a result police are on standby for multiple attempts by terrorists to kidnap and then behead people across Britain. MI5 is conducting a counter-terrorism surveillance operation to prevent such an attack.

The alleged attempt to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier or soldiers in Birmingham was just the first of a series of planned attacks, security sources say.

The revelation explains the recent deployment of a permanent SAS unit to London. The unit has been placed on 24-hour standby to respond to a terrorist attack in the capital. It would aim to carry out a hostage rescue mission within minutes of being alerted."

The Cost Of Freedom

"It is incredible that the ridiculous argument that these wars are fiscally unsustainable has worked its way into the national dialogue. I had dinner with a well-informed and (but?) fairly lefty cousin a couple of weeks ago, and she cited the huge cost of the war among her various reasons for opposing it. I made the (to me) obvious point that defense spending was actually still very low by post-war standards and a fraction of the level that prevailed even in the 1980s. Her response: Why doesn't anybody know that? Well, perhaps NPR doesn't dwell on that sort of thing. The New York Times certainly doesn't."

What Part Of "Wiped Off The Face Of The Earth" Don't You Understand?

"They have no future. And it’s just a matter of time before the state of Israel will be wiped off the face of the earth.

[Crowd: Takbir! Allahu akbar!]" [ He forgot to mention that the "Great Satan" is next. And yes, that will include your children. And I wouldn't be surprised if this little Ahmadi-Nejad wanna-be thinks that nobody blinked either. -ed. ]

"Problem? What problem?"

The Lord's Way African-American Way

""I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this," said Dungy during the trophy ceremony Sunday night, according to the Associated Press. "But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that." [ Interestingly, on my drive home today I stumbled into listening to a local radio talk show host who was pointing out that he went looking for this quote in the audio clips he had available to him from both AP and Fox News. NEITHER of them had the full quote -- just the 'proud to be the first African-American coach to win this' part. The "Lord's way" wasn't PC enough to include. Remember that when they tell you that Fox is the Jesus network. And even the best interpretation would say that the opening phrase filled up the 5 seconds alloted for a sound bite. See this for why you need to turn off the tube and read more... And oh, yes. MLK would be proud of both Tony and Lovie because of the content of their character. Period. -ed. ]

The Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 on a soggy field in Miami, Fla., Sunday. They did it for their coach, whom the players say deserved the win. And Dungy did it without yelling or cursing from the sidelines - a trait that his players have trained with and that opposing coach and close friend Lovie Smith picked up when he assisted Dungy on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching staff.

A day ahead of the game, Dungy headlined the annual faith-based Super Bowl Breakfast, hosted by Athletes in Action. A record crowd of 2,500 people witnessed Dungy speak as the first-ever Super Bowl Coach to appear in person at the breakfast a day before NFL's marquee game."

Hey! Those Are My Ancestors You're Talking About There Fella!

"Circa 982, Erik the Red and a bunch of other Vikings landed in Greenland and thought, "Wow! This land really is green! Who knew?" So they started farming it, and were living it up for a couple of centuries. Then the Little Ice Age showed up, and they all died. A terrible warning to us all about "unsustainable development": If a few hundred Vikings doing a little light hunter-gathering can totally unbalance the environment, imagine the havoc John Edwards' new house must be wreaking." [ And now you've gone and tarnished their reputation by mixing them up with a "fetus whisperer". And if you have concerns about my keyboard style, check out what the fetus whisperer considers kosher... -ed. ]

Never mind those silly Freedom House ratings, it seems that Britain has turned into Nazi Germany. Who'da thunkit?

Nothing. Nada. Nil For The Nihilists.

In answer to the question of what should you do when supporting a Holocaust denier is your best option?

And This Would Be #56937 Of Course...

"Rosenfeld cites, among others, the two Tonys—Kushner and Judt—and Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, each of whom was in turn duly quoted in the Times story as protesting Rosenfeld’s characterization of them. The paper’s reporter, Patricia Cohen, seems to side with them in this dispute, slyly suggesting that the AJC has overstated the problem of anti-Semitism on the Jewish Left. Thereby, she neutralizes or buries the very problem the AJC was trying to expose.

No surprise there. In this matter, as it happens, the Times has long been not merely a reporting agency but a major player. For the past sixty years the newspaper has denied the Arab war against the Jewish state, just as in World War II it denied the German war against the Jewish people. Rather than telling its readers about Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism and describing how it shapes the societies in which it flourishes, rather than documenting the growing infiltration of Europe and America by this same poison, it speaks of anti-Semitism as if it were merely a figment, an occasion for fratricidal conflict among Jews themselves with no objective correlative in the real world. In this internal slugfest of accusation and counter-accusation, the offense itself disappears, and with it any serious discussion of its source, its gravity, or its spread.

Even more than those cited by Alvin Rosenfeld, it is the newspaper of record that has long displaced onto Israel’s moral ledger the misery that Arabs cause themselves. This morning’s edition carries a three-column story about a former Israeli government minister convicted of French-kissing a female soldier. This is evidently what the Times considers news. Not news, evidently, are the dozens of mutual kidnappings and murders committed by Fatah and Hamas. Dead Palestinians appear to interest the Times only insofar as their deaths can be laid at the feet of Israel."

Why I Call Them The NYeT (# 56936)

"I am writing to express my profound disappointment in The New York Times's decision to publish a photograph of a mortally wounded American soldier in its Jan. 29 issue and Web site posting. Not only are the photograph and video offensive, the clear depiction is also directly counter to the written agreement made by the reporter and the photographer before publication.

The article that accompanied the photograph and Web site video, " 'Man Down': When One Bullet Alters Everything," by the reporter, Damien Cave, and the photographer, Robert Nickelsberg, was a story of soldiers operating in and around Haifa Street in Baghdad.

This story can and should be told. That is not in question. What is disturbing to me personally and, more important, to the family of the soldier depicted in the photograph and the video, is that the young man who so valiantly gave his life in the service of others was displayed for the entire world to see in the gravest condition and in such a fashion as to elicit horror at its sight.

This photograph will be the last of this man that his family will ever see. Further, it will cause unnecessary worry among the families of other soldiers who fear that the last they see of their loved ones will be in a New York Times photograph lying grievously wounded and dying.

To achieve a mutually agreed upon standard of working together, all reporters and photographers are required to sign the Multinational Forces-Iraq News Media Ground Rules. In it, they agree to the following:

"Media will not be prohibited from covering casualties provided the following conditions are adhered to: (a) Names, video, identifiable written/oral descriptions or identifiable photographs of wounded service member will not be released without the service member's prior written consent."

No such consent was sought or provided.

All of us bear a responsibility to provide for the dignity of our service members in combat. This soldier and his family deserved better.

(Lt. Gen.) Raymond T. Odierno
Cmdr., Multinational Corps-Iraq
Camp Victory, Iraq, Feb. 2, 2007"

Of Catholics And Cliffs

"Surveys of Muslim communities in Ontario, France and other western jurisdictions show polygamy is accepted de facto, and recent rulings by Britain's pensions ministry reveal that it's also acknowledged de jure, albeit tentatively. On the other hand, by the police's own admission, there have been at least 120 honor killings in Britain which the constabulary declined to look at too closely on the grounds of "cultural sensitivity". The fact that putting Catholics out of the adoption business should be the priority in a week when British imams have been secretly filmed urging homosexuals be hurled off cliffs shows that the real issue remains not any "privilege" (in Andrew's word) to particular faiths accorded by law but the privilege accorded to one religion by multiculti cravenness."

NOT THAT SOUND BITES CAN NEVER HAVE VALUE DEPT.: "Or, as South Park has explained, our choice is always between a douche and shit sandwich."

Re-Creating France

"An article in yesterday's edition of Le Figaro, the conservative French daily, brings news that a new book written from an Islamic Creationist perspective, ""L'Atlas de la Création" (cover, right) is making waves in France. According to the newspaper, dozens of thousands of free copies of this diatribe against Darwinism were sent from Turkey and Germany to nearly all French schools and universities. The article does not say who paid for this expensive, lavishly-illustrated, 770-page anti-intellectual propaganda tome to be so massively distributed (although it asks the question.). Nor how whomever sent it was able to get a list of the "dozens of thousands" in educational establishments to whom it was individually addressed.

The French Education Ministry reacted by advising all educational establishments that the book does not conform to the national science-based curriculum and "should not be included in the centers of documentation and information in scholarly establishments," and commissioned a dissection and refutation of the book.

The book's pseudonymous author, a Turk named Harun Yahya ( photo left -- real name: Adnan Oktar), makes a number of astonishing claims -- including that Charles Darwin is "the real source of terrorism." For example, a photo of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers carries a caption reading, "Those who perpetuate terror in the world are in reality the Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy which validates and encourages conflict." Yahya also pretends to portray "the secret links between Darwinism and the bloody ideologies of fascism and communism."" [ Re-creating France in the image of the Prophet Mohammed that is... -ed. ]