Sanity In Durham

At last. After far too much time, it appears that the State of North Carolina will drop the remaining charges against former Duke University lacrosse players Reade Seligmann, Colin Finnerty and David Evans.

I have been expecting this for quite some time, as it has long appeared that the State had no case. What astounds me is that this travesty has been allowed to go on as long as it has. What is even more astounding is that many of Duke's professors and several out-of-state jounalists, such as Selena Roberts, have jumped on the players with presumptions of guilt after it was known that the accuser, one Crystal Gail Mangum, had serious credibility issues and that several players, inlcuding Seligmann, had alibis!

This entire charade has made everyone except the Duke women's lacrosse team and the few brave souls who stood by the players, look extremely bad. I would hope that once the charges are actually dropped, that the players will proceed against Duke adminstrators, Mangum, Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, the Durham Police Department, the Durham Herald-Sun newspaper and any others (such as the 88 Duke professors who published an advertisement libelling the players) with the full force of the law, and I hope they wring every last cent out of those who tried to use them to advance their own agendas at the expense of the United States Constitution, which clearly states that any accused is innocent until proven guilty.

For a complete chronology of the case, please see the Durham-in-Wonderland, Friends of Duke University, John in Carolina and Liestoppers blogs. These folks have been on this case from the very start and it is due to their fine reporting (certainly not to the mainstream media) that many of the facts regarding this case have seen the light of day.

Kernel Panics

Can be fun! Really, you ask? Why, yes. Click HERE for details. This made my day.

Hat tip to Expat Leo's Wordpress.

College Aid and Discomfort

College tuition is big business. And in some cases, it appears that business has corrupted the very institutions it is supposed to aid.

The Washington Times reports that financial aid officials at several colleges, including Johns Hopkins University, are tied to widespread conflicts of interest wherein tuition firms funnel money to them, which firms then receive preferential treatment in gaining new clients. Read the whole thing.

This is why college tuition is a disgrace. The government should cease subsidizing all education, and colleges would then have to lower their tuition or go out of business. Based on my own experience, most universitites put their tuition dollars into nice offices for their administrators, while the actual faculty rots in underfunded and ancient classrooms. And don'ty even start me on how the students are treated by said administrations.

it is time to get the cost out of education. Let subsidies cease, and then universities will survive or die based on quality of education, not on inflated tuition.

Tolerance, Islam-style

American and Western leftists like to claim that Islam is a "religion of peace". They also like to claim that Islam is "tolerant". Well, can they define tolerance? Today, the Washington Times newspaper reports that a Taliban-style court in Pakistan issued a fatwa against the Minister of Tourism for posing in what they call an obscene manner.

So what did the minister actually do? She apparently went hang-gliding and allowed herself to be photographed in hang-gliding wear, and then hugged the instructor when she landed. This drove the Islamic fundamentalists off the cliff, provoking the fatwa- essentially a sentence of death.

Islamic fundamentalists believe women are equivalent to slaves. This should be anathema to Westerners - especially the Left. But I haven't heard any condemnations from NOW about the fatwa. In fact, has any Muslim group condemned the fatwa? I haven't heard any. Now imagine that a Western university shut off funds for the Vagina Monologues, or for Muslim Appreciation Week. Or tried to hold a Christian event- any Christian event. Think how loudly they would scream. And the Press would abet them and encourage those screams every inch of the way. Yet no one has from these supposedly progressive organizations has stepped forward yet to condemn the Muslim fundamentalists, and praise the brave woman who challenged the fundamentalists.

Ultimately, the Left has no courage to challenge real threats. It is much safer to criticise George W. bush or Republicans, or the United States. They face no risks in doing so. But it is funny that they are allied with the Islamic fundamentalists, when their most dear beliefs are anathema to the Islamic fundamentalists.

Illegals go home

Open borders proponents have claimed that our illegal immigrants are happy to be part of our culture. Well, that appears to be untrue. The demonstrations last yeaar proved that many of them want to make the US a part of Mexico! And in fact, the illegal aliens are so little interested in being a part of the United States that in Santa Ana, a Southern California city, they haven't even bothered to learn English.

This is sadly not a new phernomenon. Mexicans and other illegal immigrants like to use their language to say bad things about Americans while they live and work illegally in our country. But when it comes to actually making a positive contribution, they don't seem to care. Their idea is to use the United States as their giant wastebasket, and bring all of their probelms over to us. For an example, see the KSL 5 website out of Salt Lake City, which is reporting that an illegal alien asttempted to rape an eleven-year old girl.

This has to stop. The sooner our elected representatives get off their hands and start securing the border and deporting these illegal alines, the better off we will all be.

Political Profile

If you want to take a few minutes and find your poltiical profile, you can do that at the Political Profile Quiz on Blogthings. Be warned- some of the questions are pretty skewed, so that those of us who are more libertarian will not have good options. However, it is interesting. My results are below:

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 80% Conservative, 20% Liberal Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Enjoy!

Viva la difference!

Apparently there IS still a difference between the sexes, despite the best attempts of feminism and Title IX. Men and women really do think differently, according to Dr. Helen. Read the whole thing- including the comments.

Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.

democrats? really?

The Democrats claim to be the party of the people. Leaving aside the Communist-sounding implications of that claim, it appears that they are not as friendly to the less-wealthy as they like to claim. According to the Charlotte Observer, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of permanent campaigner John Edwards is afraid of her "rabid, rabid Republican" neighbor- a person she has never actually met!

Later in the article it appears that she is also not pleased with the fact that said neighbor can't make his 42 acres as pristine as the Edwards' recently-purchased 102-acre, 28000-square-foot estate. According to the Observer:

Edwards views Johnson as a "rabid, rabid Republican" who refuses to clean up his "slummy" property just to spite her family, whose lavish 28,000-square-foot estate is nearby on 102 wooded acres.

The neighbor, a Mr. Monty Johnson, takes umbrage at that suggestion:

Johnson said he has lived his entire life on the property, which he said his family purchased before the Great Depression. He said he's spent a lot of money to try and fix up the 42-acre tract.

"I have to budget. I have to live within my means," Johnson said. "I don't have millions of dollars to fix the place."

Sounds reasonable. Mr. Johnson isn't a multi-millionaire trial lawyer like Mr. Edwards. He is trying to keep up his large tract of inherited family property out of his own pocket with resources that are decidedly less than those of the Edwards family. If Mrs. Edwards feels that the site needs improvement, maybe she could give Mr. Johnson some of her own money to help out. After all, her husband is trying to get elected President on a platform that the re are "two Americas"- rich (like himself?) and poor (like Mr. Johnson?). Since Mr. Edwards claims the government should redistribute income to from rich to poor, shouldn't Mrs. Edwards do the same, saving the rest of the taxpayers from having to do so? But that would require doing what Democrats don't want to do- actually giving THEIR money and/or privileges to those dastardly normal people (or even worse- to Republicans!). In the end, this is just one more example of rich, elitist Democrats not taking kindly to living near ordinary people. Remind us again- which party is the real party of the people?

How Americans Behave in Captivity

Much attention has been paid to the 15 British servicemen and women who were recently held prisoner by Iran. They were granted permission by the British military to sell their stories to the Press. However, it appears that there is a difference between how members of the EU behave under captivity and how Americans behave in captivity.

Over at IMAO, there is a post by a former American hostage of the 1979 embassy seizure. He recounts their captivity, contrasting it with how the Britons behaved under similar circumstances. He writes, "For our troubles we were isolated, thumped, went through two mock executions, starved, threatened, and had to put up with useful idiots from Amnesty International showing up just to let the world know how humane we were being treated."

He goes on to say that "We resisted at each opportunity, except for Army Sgt Joe Subic who collaborated from day 1 and was later snubbed by the rest of us (and was the only one not to receive a citation). We refused to cooperate, stole keys, plugged toilets, pissed in their rations, blew circuit breakers, laughed in their face when they threatened us and cursed them when they beat us. Steve Kirtley even told one of them to pull his finger! The monkey did and Steve was beaten for the inevitable result."

Contrast this behavior with that of the British prisoners. While not belittling their ordeal, I must say that it would appear they have less stamina than our boys for resisting. Whatever happened to the old British spirit that carried them through the Blitzkrieg?

I especially enjoyed the comments about Amnesty International. They were certainly up in arms about Guantanomo Bay, and so worried about those pooor Muslim prisoners. Anyone heard a peep out of them regarding the Britons? Read the whole thing.

Hat tip to Power Line.

A Word from our Soldiers

The guys at Power Line have posted in its entirety a letter from Marine Sergeant Baker Brooks who is about to be redeployed to Iraq. This letter provides one of the clearest views of why our soldiers (and yes, they are soldiers, not mercenaries, not warriors, they are soldiers), go willingly back into the fray, despite our media's endless carping and negativism.

Sergeant Brooks writes,

Well, “The War in Iraq” is not a catchphrase and it isn’t the war itself, it's a battlefield, like Afghanistan, where we get a chance to spill the blood of our enemy. And unlike any war in the past there are no boundaries and there will be no end. No end until Jesus returns in fulfillment of his prophecy. My son and his children will be dealing with this fight as the enemy will never change their ideological stance much like we will never change ours. This war will wage as the Fringe Elements of Islam continue to exist.

Read the whole thing. It is men and women like this sergeant who make our country worth defending, and I thank God that there are men and women like Sergeant Brooks. It is men and women like the sergeant who are the real core of this country, not the lawyers, not the journalists and certainly not the shallow entertainers in Hollywood. While they chatter and try to undermine our great nation, soldiers like Sergeant Brooks are out there making things safer.

And the sergeant is quite correct- Iraq is not a separate war, anymore than the North African campaign of World War II was separate from the Pacific campaign. It is the same war, just in a different location. Too bad the media and many Democrats cannot or will not understand that.

Thank you Sergeant Brooks.

Hat tip to Power Line.

Farewell, Mr. Hart

Johnny Hart, creator of the comic strip B.C., passed away yesterday at the age of 76. According to his wife, he died from a massive stroke, as he was working at his storyboard. Hart was not only the creator of B.C., but also he co-wrote the strip The Wizard of Id with Brant Parker.

I grew up reading B.C., along with other great strips like Peanuts, Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, Haggar the Horrible, Blondie, Dennis the Menace, and some others that I can barely recall at this distance. While some modern strips (Calvin & Hobbes, Dilbert and Mutts come to mind) have captured my affection, most of the strips today are lacking humour. I find such strips as Cathy and Garfield more annoying than funny.

And Mr. Hart was rare in that he dared to flout the P.C., anti-Christian denizens of today's media by allowing his belief in Christianity to not only appear, but to appear as a positive force in his strips, despite pressure from editors and fringe groups of professional victims. For example, his strip for today must be read, as it accurately sums up the Easter experience.

Michelle Malkin has a wonderful tribute to Mr. Hart up on her site, as does Captain Ed Morrissey over at Captain's Quarters.

God bless you, Johnny Hart. Go in peace.

Hat tip to Captain Ed Morrissey.

Global Warming?

Not according to this story in the Charlotte Observer reporting that temperatures at the Chrlotte airport on April 8 broke the record for coldest day in Charlotte history at 21 degrees. The Observer also reported that the cold weather was not confined to North Carolina- it seems most of the East Coast is dealing with record lows.

This assessment is echoed by Professor Richard Lindzen of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who wrote an article for Newsweek magazing online wherein he stated that "Much of the alarm over climate change is based on ignorance of what is normal for weather and climate". Lindzen thoroughly debunks the global warming hysteria, concluding by saying that "The conclusion of the late climate scientist Roger Revelle—Al Gore's supposed mentor—is worth pondering: the evidence for global warming thus far doesn't warrant any action unless it is justifiable on grounds that have nothing to do with climate."

I am a confirmed skeptic at this point as far as global warming being a threat to us. Iran is a threat. North Korea is a threat. Militant Islam around the world is a threat. Global warming? The EU is probably a greater threat to the world than global warming. If it is even human-caused (a point about which I hold grave reservations), then I doubt it will pose a greater danger than the afore-mentioned countries- despite the hysterical claims of the Press.

Media folks are not experts, nor are they very knowledgable about-well anything other than how to write and talk well. Journalism is one of the least challenging fields you can possibly enter. It requires no hard study, no logic, no talent other than good writing skills. Would you trust an journalism major to tell you how to program your software? Or to assist you in designing a new mathematical problem? Or to tell you how to compose your new symphony? Of course not. They have no expertise or training whatsoever in any of those fields. Then why do we listen to these folks pontificate about global warming, the war, politics, or anything else? They are not trained, nor have they completed degrees in the fields they cover. Their function is to report, and let their listeners make up their minds. Unfortunately, they long ago decided that ignorant, emotionally-charged rants on topics about which they possess little if any real knowledge was preferable to actually doing their jobs.

On Economy

The eyars between 1992 and 2000 are generally considered a time of great economic prosperity. Former President Clinton likes to point to this as due to his Administration's efforts. However, the Bush Administration claimed today that the economy has done better under their governance than under Clinton- a claim strongly denied by the Clintons.

But is Bush right? Both sides agree that unemployment, at a mere 4.4 percent, is much better now than it ever was during Clinton's Administration. This is a definite point for Bush. However, they diverge on other points. The Clintonites claim that the number of Americans below the poverty line rose under Bush wherte it fell under Clionton. Since the poverty line is not specified, and can be counted in a number of different ways, I am going to discard that claim, along with the Bush claim that productivity rose much faster under their watch than under Clinton's. Both numbers are too hard to accurately verify.

However, there is other data to compare. Apparently wages have gone up under Bush more than they did under Clinton. However, at the same time, the economy may have created more jobs under Clinton than under Bush. However, Clinton inherited a fairly robuist economy that was coming out from George H.W. Bush's foolish tax increases, and he had a peaceful decade, with no military or other setbacks. Bush, on the other hand, came in as a recession was beginning, and then had to deal with a vicious terrorist attack and subsequent military action. Basedd on the two different eras, I woulod tend to agree that Bush's economy seems to be more robust and deeper than Clinton's. If you were not in high-tech, Clinton's economy was not that good, as I can testify. However, Bush's economy seems to be better to non-Silicon Valley folks.

In the end, I will agree with Larry Kudlow, who says that neither Administration has been as good for the US economy as was Ronald Reagan, who laid the basis for both booms with his tax relief, deregulation and disinflation. Just more evidence why in my opinion Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century.

But Russia Complains...

As the U.S completed 2007's second successful test of the new missile defense system, Russia complained that the US should invite them to join. In what sounds remarkably like whining, Konstantin Kosachev, a member of Russia's Parliament said Russia should be included in the missile defense shield. He went on to say that if Russsia was not included, that the shield would be viewed as a threat.

Well, yes, Mr. Kosachev, that would be a good way to look at it. Russia has proven over the past few years that they will do whatever it takes to injure the United States, and have been very prominent in propping up dictatorships such as the one in Iraq and currently the one in IRan despite the clear danger to the rest of the world. Under those circumstances, it would be foolish for the US to invite Russia to join in what is intended to defend us against those regimes.

Russsia has flouted UN and treaty law in giving technological and military aid to Iran, Iraq and North Korea that will enable them to produce nucleear weapons. Why should we give them the defense we are building against that technology? If Russsia wants to take it as a threat, then so be it. They have only themselves to blame.

Missile Defense Works!

As so-called "allies" (France, Germany and most of 'old Europe', etc) posture and carp, the US is proving it is still serious about defending itself. According to the Assocciated Press, the United States successfully tested the anti-missile defense shield for the second time in 2007. Since even the AP (better known as al-Quaeda Propaganda Network) is reporting this, we may take it as establsihed fact.

This could not have come at a better moment. My only comment would be, "Faster, please."

What's your age?

Or, as Dilbert creator Scott Adams asks, what is your permanent age?. Good question. I can't decide if I'm permanently 29 (high school and early college years were a blight) or permanently 2029 (I am more conversant with the Peloponnesian War of the fifth century BC than I am with the slightly more recent Vietnam conflict).

Anyway, read the whole thing and decide. What is your permanent age? Great post. Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.

More Judicial Activism

as the Supreme Court, once again sticking its nose into affairs reagarding which it has neither knowledge nor expertise, decides that the EPA can regulate greenhouse gasses as a pollutant.

How did the justices decide that said gasses are a pollutant? Probably the same way they granted rights to terrorists and found a right to privacy in a Constitution that never intended one. They certainly didn't look at the science, which is anything buut settled.

This is the latest in a long line of bad decisions from the Supreme Court, which seems to have forgotten that the Constitution does not set the Supreme Court up as a God. So I guess that we can all get ready for massive tax hikes and cost increases as auto makers are iincreasingly being squeezed into the same corner as tobacco companies were before them.I said at the tinme that the slippery slope had been embarked upon. Beware do-gooders - especially when they combine fanaticiscm with media power.

*sigh* If only the Republicans had had the courage to use their majority to remove the Court's jurisdiction from such things before the Democrats, who njever met a tax they didn't like, will undoubtedly try to tax as much as possible. Better buy a new car now, befroe we are stuck with cars that are the equivalent of low-flow toilets and shower heads. Do the former conserve water? OF course not- people are simply forced to take longer showers.

This will be the same. And who will profit? The government, of course. Funny how that works....

@ Technorati (Finally!)

After much thought, I finally broke down and claimed my blog on Technorati.com.

Go check out my Technorati Profile and drop me a line if you're a Technorati reader!


03/29/2007:1130 PM UPDATE- Well, I installed Andrew Gwozdzieywcz's excellent Technorati Widget and installed automatic ping in Technorati as well. This may seem to be rather late in the day, but as I took a lengthy absence form my blogs, I would like to let all (one?) of my former readers know I am back up and raring to re-commence blogging.

What Geneva Conventions?

Remember the furor over the terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay? Those supposedly poor, allegedly tortured 'civilians'? Well, now that Iran has clearly violated the terms of the Geneva Convention, specifically Convention III, Article 13, where are all the protestors and civil rights lawyers? As a reminder, the article in question states,

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.

The prisoners held by Iran are clearly members of the British military and as such, they qualify as prisoners of war, unlike terrorists (al-Quaeda, etc) who refuse to abide by any rules of war. In fact, the Geneva Conventions as signed and ratified by the United States clearly and specifically spells out who is protected by the Conventions. The relevant text is as follows:

Art. 4. A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:

(1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

(2) Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:[ (a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates; (b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance; (c) that of carrying arms openly; (d) that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.

(3) Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.

(4) Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civilian members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents, supply contractors, members of labour units or of services responsible for the welfare of the armed forces, provided that they have received authorization, from the armed forces which they accompany, who shall provide them for that purpose with an identity card similar to the annexed model.

(5) Members of crews, including masters, pilots and apprentices, of the merchant marine and the crews of civil aircraft of the Parties to the conflict, who do not benefit by more favourable treatment under any other provisions of international law.

(6) Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.

Clearly, the British Naval prisoners seized by Iran, whether they were or were not in Iranian waters (based on the data I have seen, there seems to be little doubt they were actually in Iraqi waters), are clearly entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention. This means that parading them and interrogating them (which probably included worse forms of torture than any supposedly used by the United States) violate those Conventions. However, I have yet to hear a single voice from those who were so diligent in condemning the U.S. for it claimed violations condemn the Iranians for flagrantly violating the same document.

As a side note, based on the text of the conventions, there is little doubt that the terrorists who reside in Guantanamo are NOT entitled to any of the protections or rights enumerated above. They do not fall into any category listed, and the U.S. did not ratify the protocols of the 1970s which weere designed to give terrorists exactly these rights. However, since our Supreme Court apparently either cannot read or cannot resist pressure from ignorant or agenda-driven media personnel, we are forced to give protections and rights that these folks are not entitled to. It is a pity when our so-called elites in the government, courts and media are more willing to invent rights to those who would happily murder them in their beds without warning than they are to stand up for previously granted rights to members of an ally's professional military who are fighting to keep them safe.

Hat tip to Ed Morrissey.

Hillary 08?

It has long been known that Hillary Ciinton lacks both her husband's political skills and his charm. Where Bill was able to parlay a 43% approval rating into two terms in the White House, Hillary is looking more and more like a wannabe politician, not the genuine article.

It is also well known that where Bill was and mostly still is genuinely liked as a person even by his political enemies, Hillary has no such good feeling. Unlike the politically gifted but ideologically centerless Bill, Hillary is a dyed-in-the-wool socialist/communist ideologue who lacks the political skills or charisma to bring her overweening ambition to fruition.

This knowledege was reinforced by a new Harris Poll that came out today, stating that 50 percent of Americans who are of voting age say they would not vote for Hillary. This includes a whopping 48 percent of independent voters and even 20 percent of registered Democrats.

This poll reinforces the feeling among many Democratic strategists that Hillary cannot win a national election. While I respect Hillary's ambition and her fund-raising skills, I would tend to agree that her only real chance of winning would be if a strong independent candidate split the Republican/libertarian/conservative vote, much as Ross Perot did in 1992. And even then, Hillary's chances are slim, as her negasitves are so high. Only thirty-six percent say they would vote for her. and eleven percent are undecided.

I believe that a Hillary presidency would be disastrous for the United States for many reasons. However, it is looking more and more that we will spared such a disaster, as Hillary does not appear at the moment to have enough support to actually win. IF the Republicans nominate a strong candidate, I don't think Hillary can win. At least , so I hope.

The Democratic Plan for Iraq

Courtesy of the fine bloggers and journalists who form The Victory Caucus, I am pleased to present to my readers here at StoneHeads a visualization of the Democratic Party's plan for victory in Iraq. Included is a diagram of how the Democrats' new rules of engagement for our fine soldiers (ie. being permitted only to engage in what Congress, not the Constitutionally-designated Commander in Chief, categorizes as 'counter-terrorist activity') might work in practice. By the way, for any Democrats who may be reading this, the Constitutional Commander in Chief is the United States President. Keep in mind the Congresspeople who are proposing this new 'strategy' are the same people who are claiming that they "support the troops". I think the guys at Victory Caucus put it best, accurately identifying it as "the latest iteration of the Slow Bleed strategy"!

As as been stated in many other places, elections have consequences. For the past several elections, the Democrats' constant losses allowed them to carp, complain and do their best to sabotage the majority and the elected President in a time of war. However, they did win the last Congressional elections. This victory, while it allows them to dictate policy, also makes them responsible for those policies. If the Democrats really want to end the United States' military involvement in Iraq, or anywhere else, they have merely to end funding for it. Of course, that would require them to actually take responsibility- something that they aren't very good at.

Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.

To Protect and Serve?

It is a long-standing belief that community police forces exist to protect the citizens of said communities. As a corollary, using the 911 number instead of relying on our own protection has been forced down our throats, together with the false (and very dangerous mantra) that calling and then waiting for the police to arrive is better than defending oneself. In fact, as explained in a 2002 Woman's Quarterly article various legal precedents around the United States have made the exact opposite true.

Police forces are essentially useless in actually protecting citizens from crime (unless you live in a city like Clovis, California where the police actually pride themselves on fast and accurate response). Certainly in the Bay Area, it seems many police officers are more interested in hanging out in coffee/donut shops and issuing tickets for parking violations than actually protecting the public against criminals.

This i not intended as an indictment of police officers in general, many of whom are hard-working and conscientious individuals. However, too many police forces are famed for slow responses, condescending attitudes toward the public and over-zealous enforcement of minor offenses by law-abiding citizens.

If cities are sued when they (invariably) fail to protect citizens against crime, they will respond like a home invasion rape/murder case in San Jose, where a California court held that

...the city of San Jose was shielded from the suit because of a state statute and because there was no "special relationship" between the police and Ruth--the police had not started to help her, and she had not relied on any promise that the police would help. Case dismissed.

This is simply horrendous. The only suggestion I can make is "buy a gun and become a competent shot". Guns are the ultimate equalizer, and the more people who possess them, the fewer criminals will be willing to risk facing them.

And the sentence is...

Well, in a Muslim country, it depends. If you are a Muslim caught beheading Christian schoolgirls, you might get 14-20 years in prison. If you are a Christian caught doing, well anything that any Muslims don't like (like being accused of smuggling drugs, you could get the death penalty.

This is not to defend drug smugglers. However, the disparity in sentencing is striking. As Publus Pundit points out, it does make you wonder if there is a little bit of anti-Christian/Western bias operating here. And yet these are the same folks who cry for extra-legal protections when they receive any criticism based on their own actions.

Remind me again why the West has to compromise with these people? Hat tip to Publius Pundit.

Living the Environmentalist Way

According to a hilarious new video over on Mary Katherine Ham's blog at TownHall.com. Check it out and enjoy a good laugh.

PS- It's made on a Macintosh.

Hat tip to the lovely and talented Michelle Malkin.

We Support the Troops..

...but only if they are deserters from the United States Armed Forces, according to Scrappleface. In the meantime, the New York Times tries to convince us that desertions are rising due to "toll of wartime deployments and point to the increasing percentage of troops who are on their second or third tours in Iraq or Afghanistan." In other words, it's all because of George Bush's warmongering!

However, as Jules Crittendon clearly demonstrates, if one actually reads the article in question, one finds that according to Lieutenant Colonel Brian Hilferty, "..numbers remain below prewar levels, and retention remains high. So the force is healthy." Crittendon also states that in the actual article from the Times, the following text is buried,

Desertions rates actually jumped in 2001, with nearly 1,000 more soldiers deserting when all we were doing was invading Afghanistan and hunting for Osama bin Laden, than since we opened the second GWOT front in Iraq, when desertions dropped. Desertion rates during Vietnam Redux nowhere near desertion rates during Classic Vietnam. The 2006 increase mentioned above is still many hundreds below the popular war period of 2001 and 2002.

Curiously, in the online version of this article, the above text is not included. Could the NYT be trying to spin a story to give the opinion diametrically opposite to what the actual data shows? The "Paper of Record"?? Say it isn't so!

Hmm, does that also mean that soldiers were more apt to desert BEFORE the supposedly unpopular war in Iraq began? One would think so. One would also think it would behoove journalists to actually proofread their writing so as to avoid cases like this where the actual news is in complete opposition to the headline. But that would require open minds and the ability to think logically- something too many reporters clearly lack.

Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.

About The '300'

There has been much talk about ancient history since the recent release of Zach Snyder's 300, an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel (think comic book for adults) adaptation of the epic battle between a small Greek force, made up of 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans and the army of Imperial Persia, made up of as many as ten thousand.

The battle took place in the narrow pass of Thermopylae, and for three days the Greeks, led by Spartan King Leonidas, held off the Persians. In the end, the Greeks died almost to a man, but their heroic sacrifice at Thermopylae, coupled with the near-simultaneous Athenian-led naval action at Salamis that destroyed the Persian fleet, gave the other Greek city-states time to organize together, and the Persians were eventually completely defeated.

Since the movie's release, there has been some controversy as to how accurate th movie actually is regarding its portrayal of the events at Thermopylae. I have yet to see the film, but I would like to offer a few thoughts.

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to study with the estimable Professor Victor Davis Hanson. Though Wikipedia mis-identifies him as a 'military historian', Dr. Hanson is in fact one of the pre-eminent classicists of our times. In a recent article on TownHall.com, he provided his take on the movie's accuracy.

As regards the movie, he says, "...remember that "300" does not claim to follow exactly ancient accounts of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Instead, it is an impressionistic take on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, intended to entertain and shock first, and instruct second." However, in Dr. Hanson's opinion, "...the main story line mostly conveys the message of Thermopylae."

Read the whole thing and make your own decision. Hat tip to Expat-Leo.

Cancer

Cancer is a terrible disease in all of its many forms. I lost my mother to a particularly vicious brain tumor a few years ago, and I myself have so far survived a less pernicious form myself. That being said, I am saddened to read that the lovely and talented Cathy Seipp of the Cathy's World blog appears to have lost her own long-running battle with the disease. As a very small fish in the blogger pool, I never had the opportunity to meet Cathy, but I have enjoyed reading her penetrating thoughts since she joined the blogging community.

If you can, please sign the wonderful petition for Cathy, and send your thoughts and prayer to her and to her family. For myself, thank you to Cathy for her many wonderful thoughts and your presence, Cathy, and while your memory lives, you will not be forgotten.

God bless you Cathy, and may you go peacefully into that good night.

On Animal Rights

I have conflicting opinions on the animal rights lobby. On the one hand, they do serve a valuable purpose in bringing up inhumane treatment, and groups such as the SPCA save many abandoned and mistreated animals every year. Our first puppy came from an SPCA shelter.

However, they do seem to be a little over the top in their quest for animal "rights" at times. PETA's extremism is well-documented, and groups such as Animal Liberation Front are terrorists in their tactics and ideals. They also seem to lack balance. According to the United Kingdom's Daily Mail, animal rights activists would rather see a baby polar bear killed instead of being raised by zoo personnel.

The problem arose when the baby was abandoned by its mother. After the baby bear's brother died, Berlin Zoo personnel intervened, feeding the bear from bottles and making sure it would survive. However, these so-called animal rights activists say that the bear is better off being killed than brought up in such humiliating circumstances. I gather they see being brought up by humans as worse than death. So would these activists also advocate the killing of all domestic pets? This seems to be their argument.

Sometimes these extremists hurt their own position with their far-out views. This is clearly one of those cases. The zoo is doing its best to save the endangered animal, and if these animal rights activists really want to help, they should applaud the zoo's actions. However, it seems they are more interested in making headlines than actually helping the animals.

History, anyone?

I posted a few weeks ago on the fact that many on the Left like to ignore the many moments of splendor, both moral and cultural, displayed by Western culture.

However, there are those who have made the realization that Western civilization, while certainly not perfect, has many more positives than negatives, on balance. Michael Barone pinpoints this in his article "The Blame-America-First Crowd". Barone uses the writings of Winston Churchill and the British historian Andrew Roberts to make the point that,

...almost all the advances of freedom in the 20th century have been made by the English-speaking peoples -- Americans especially, but British, as well, and also (here his account will be unfamiliar to most American readers) Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders. And he recalls what held and holds them together by quoting a speech Winston Churchill gave in 1943 at Harvard: "Law, language, literature -- these are considerable factors. Common conceptions of what is right and decent, a marked regard for fair play, especially to the weak and poor, a stern sentiment of impartial justice and above all a love of personal freedom ... these are the common conceptions on both sides of the ocean among the English-speaking peoples."

Read the whole thing. And if you know any Blame-America-First folks, feel free to share it with them. They could use all the real history they can get....

Sweet Sixteen

Well, the NCAA men's basketball tournament has so far lived up to its billing, with the games on both Saturday and Sunday providing plenty of down-to-the-wire finishes. Though only one high seed (Wisconsin, Number 2 seed in the Midwest region), was upset, all the top seeds received tough tests from their second-round opponents.

So we are now down to the sweet sixteen. In the East Region, the top two seeds, #1 North Carolina and #2 Georgetown will face #5 USC and #6 Vanderbilt respectively. In the South, top seed Ohio State faces #5 Tennessee and #2 Memphis faces #3 Texas A&M. The West showcases all four top seeds- #1 Kansas against #4 Southern Illinois and # 2 UCLA against #3 Pittsburgh. The Midwest is the most upset-minded region- #1 Florida will face #5 Butler while #3 Oregon faces #7 UNLV.

Next weekend should provide some good games, so I will attempt to predict them here:

East:
North Carolina over USC, Georgetown over Vanderbilt.

South:
Ohio State over Tennessee, Texas A&M over Memphis.

West:
Kansas over Southern Illinois, UCLA over Pittsburgh.

Midwest:
Florida over Butler, UNLV over Oregon.

My Final Four:

East- North Carolina
South- Texas A&M
West- UCLA
Midwest- Florida

If next weekend lives up to the past weekend, we will see some great games. Go Tar Heels!

So are we at war yet?

The Democratic Party and their shills in the mainstream media have been insisting that we are not at war with Iran or their fellow-travelers in al-Quaeda almost since the beginning of the Iraq campaign of our fight against Islamic terror. However, it appears that whether or not the Democrats and the media recognize it or not, we re engaged in a battle against Iran.

News has appeared in recent months amounting to a veritable smoking gun of Iranian involvement in the Iraqi campaign. In addition, Iran has a long history of military acts of war against the United States, beginning with the capture of our Embassy in 1979. Last month, US forces found and captured a number of Iranian military officials in Iraq, and the recent defection of General Ali Resa Asgari has also increased our knowledge of Iranian actions against us.

However, Iran has now raised the bar in their long-running war against the US and Western civilization. The Times of London reports that Iran is threatening to kidnap US soldiers all over the world in what Iran claims is retaliation for supposed undercover kidnaps of its Revolutionary Guards leadership. According to the Times, security analysts say that this is a credible threat, especially in Iraq, where US personnel are easier to reach.

We need to scotch this immediately. Iran need to understand that their Revolutionary Guards are operating outside the lines in Iraq, and any such attempt to kidnap US personnel would be met with a strong and immediate military response - including the targeting of the Iranian political leadership.

That being said, when will the media and the Democrats wake up and realize that we have been at war with Iran since 1979, and the time allotted us to teach them a permanent lesson is growing shorter as they reach desperately for nuclear weapons. History shows that countries such as Iran only respect force, and that when they are allowed to nourish delusions of grandeur that the cost to squash those notions increases exponentially the longer they are allowed to pursue them.

'Fair and Balanced'???

For many years, the Democrats have enjoyed an echo chamber in the national media. CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS are all reliably and heavily partisan toward the Democrats. The biased coverage is goods for at least five points in most elections. Yet apparently the Democrats are not satisfied with this. When the Nevada Democratic Party allowed the Fox News Network- the only network that actually allows conservatives a fairly even voice- to co-sponsor a debate, the Democrats threw a temper tantrum. John Edwards' campaign wrote on their blog, "Fox News already proven they have no intention of providing "fair and balanced" coverage of any Democrat in this election." This from the campaign that engaged in reckless and hateful blogging about Catholics?

I think the reaction of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is the most apt. The editors wrote a stingingly honest editorial today regarding the Democrats' inability to engage in any debate where they do not enjoy a totally controlled media environment. Among other things, the editors wrote,

"You'd think the deal called for having Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter mock the candidates between comments. No, even unfiltered, unedited, live debate between loyal Democrats couldn't be entrusted to Fox News.

The approach of outfits such as MoveOn.org is so juvenile it's laughable. Imagine if every political organization created litmus tests for news organizations before agreeing to appear on their programming. Republicans would have boycotted PBS, CBS, NBC, ABC, National Public Radio and The Associated Press decades ago."

This seems about right. Apparently Democrats are so out of touch with American values that they imagine liberals are a majority, and that conservatives are not even human. I have some advice for the moonbats of the Left- try actually talking a few conservatives once in a while instead of demonizing us. Or even better, actually meet a few in person. You might learn why we believe the things we do, and perhaps you might even find that you can entertain a few novel ideas once in a while.

NCAA Thoughts, Part 2

Well, so far our teams are batting .500 (I wish there was a better way to describe this than using terms from my least favorite sport- baseball). In any event, our hometown Fresno State Bulldogs weren't able to deliver, losing 78-73 to Boise State's Broncos in the WAC tournament. This almost certainly means the 'Dogs will play on in the NIT, as opposed to the NCAA Tournament.

After a wild first day in the ACC tournament, in which all the higher seeds lost, North Carolina avoided the upset bug, smacking down Florida State to remain on track for their first ACC tourney title since 1998. Hopefully they can remain focused tomorrow when they will face Boston College, who defeated Miami (FL) 74-71 earlier today.

Reminders of Western Clarity

Multi-culturalists dislike being reminded that Western culture is responsible for many moments of moral clarity not shared by non-Western cultures. A case in point is the movement against the slave trade. While many cultures have been involved in the slave trade (among them Islamic, Asian and Western), only the West has made any effort to end this abominable trade in human souls. To note, Saudi Arabia officially ended slavery only in 1965 (at the behest of its Western allies), and the two Barbary Wars of the early United States were fought against slave-trading Moslem nations of North Africa.

This March marks the 200th anniversary of the success of the abolitionist movement in passing the Slave Trade Act of 1807. This Act of the British Parliament, passed on March 25, 1807, made it illegal for any subject of the British Empire to engage in the slave trade and by classifying slaver ships in the same category as pirates, also allowed British warships to engage in military action against those ships of other nations who were carrying slaves.

This Act marked the beginning of the end for slavery, though the United States would engage in bloody internecine war partially due to the slave question, and other cultures would continue to condone slavery. However, were it not for the moral clarity and steadfastness of men of the West like William Wilberforce, slavery might yet be a blight upon our world. For that, we owe them much.

And for the multi-culturalists, why is it that these other oh-so-equal cultures who engaged in slavery saw no reason to end it? Why only the West? Why was it that the West had to force these other cultures to end it, why couldn't they see the evil of this pernicious trade on their own? I await the answer...

March Madness Begins

Well, March Madness, aka the annual NCAA basketball championship, is about to commence, and the preliminary craziness, also known as the individual conference tournaments, are already in full swing. With that in mind, we are stepping away from our usual preoccupation with political and historical matters to offer some thoughts on the sports scene.

First, congratulations to those teams who have already made the field of 65. As for us over here at StoneHeads, we are rooting for the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Western Athletic Conference and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels out of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bulldogs will be playing Boise State at 5PM Pacific time this afternoon, and the Tar Heels will play Friday against the winner of today's game between Clemson and Florida State. Good luck to all.

Media At War

Rand Simberg at the blog Transterrestrial Musings wrote a wonderful depiction of the Mainstream Media's efforts so far in the war against Muslim aggression in which we are currently engaged. Although this was originally written back in December of 2001, I feel that it is as relevant in February of 2007 as it was when it was first penned. A sample of Mr. Simberg's wit is as follows:

One older reporter is a grizzled veteran of the successful Tet Offensive, in which a US victory on the ground had been successfully converted into an ignominious setback in the papers and television news, with little organized resistance.

"When we arrived at the front, everything was going our way, just as we expected. The US Air Force had been pounding the Taliban for weeks, with no obvious effect. We thought that the battlefield was prepared for a major propaganda advance. But just as we started to move out seriously, with fusillades of stories about Vietnam analogies, and the futility of just chasing down terrorists without addressing why the world hates us, the Taliban and Al Qaeda started to collapse without warning. We came under fire ourselves. Huge shellbursts of cruel reality and vicious satire were exploding all around us, and dangerous facts were whizzing just past our ears, sometimes right in one and out the other..."

Read the whole thing. Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.

iPhone Peace

Well, it seems that Apple, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc. have come to their senses. I must confess, however, that the news that the two San Francisco Bay Area technology heavyweights have agreed to jointly use the name 'iPhone' is hardly unexpected. I have been expecting some such agreement since Apple's intial announcement of the iPhone at the MacWorld 2007 conference in January.

While I am not a lawyer, it would seem to me that the fact that the two companies are marketing entirely different markets and that neither is infringing on the other's core business would make it difficult for Cisco to win, though Apple's case is just as shaky, considering that Cisco does have a prior claim.

In either case, now both companies can focus on their respective product lines without engaging in a lengthy and expensive lawsuit which would ultimately serve only to line the pockets of the lawyers.

More Journalistic Malfeasance

The forged George Bush memos, which Dan Rather and Mary Mapes attempted to sell the United States are the latest examples of reporters pushing their version of truth as opposed to the real thing. The Hurricane Katrina 'reporting' and the lies of Jayson Blair are also good examples of the current disinclination of the mainstream media to report fairly and truthfully. However, it appears that there is a strain of dishonesty that predates anything Blair, Rather and Mapes perpetrated..

One of journalism's highest awards is named after former CBS reporter George W. Polk. Polk was a reporter who served as a US Naval officer in World War II, and later worked for CBS. He was murdered during the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s. The award named for him is for reporters who uncover stories regarding scandal and deceit, according to the Polk award's website.

Polk was a brave officer. According to a recent study published by historian Richard B. Frank, Polk was in charge of an aircraft repair facility at Henderson Field on the island of Guadalcanal. As such, he was in one of the most dangerous posts possible in 1942- one out of every thirty men who served on Guadalcanal were killed.

However after the war, Polk represented himself as a decorated Naval pilot- something that simply isn't true, according to Mr. Franks. He deliberately lied, wore uniform accoutrements he had no right to, and forged documents to support his falsehoods. In addition, Mr. Franks says,

Judging from the correspondence and tributes included in his personal papers, deposited at New York University Library, Polk's glorious war record helped him get--and keep--his reporter's job at CBS.

.

As Mr. franks suggests, this raises some serious questions about Polk's reporting. If someone is willing to lie about their personal experiences for personal gain, which it appears Polk did, how can that individual's subsequent reports be accepted without some basic skepticism? And what about the institutions that were deceived? Not a single mainstream news organization has evidenced any interest in this story, though they are only too willing to reprint discredited stories about President Bush even now.

I agree with Mr. Franks, who concludes by saying, "Journalism that exposes "myriad forms of scandal and deceit" deserves to be honored. So do reporters who take risks seeking the truth. But to honor them in the name of George Polk is a travesty."

I agree. The sooner the rest of the media acknowledges this, the better. However, we are still waiting for the New York Times to acknowledge the lies propagated by their Pulitzer Prize winning Stalinist propagandist Walter Duranty. Nor has CBS acknowledged the pernicious and illegal lies that Rather and Mapes attempted to use to throw the 2004 Presidential election to John Kerry. SO I guess we won't hold our breath for this latest proof of mainstream media malfeasance. We can only say to those who still read or view these biased and untruthful 'newspeople' that the old term caveat emptor- buyer beware, applies even more now than ever.

On (Illegal) Immigration...

...the New York University College Republicans have a novel idea- have the Border Patrol find the illegal alien! It appears that the group is staging a hunt on campus today in which several students wearing 'Border Patrol' nametags will try to find a student wearing a similar 'illegal alien' tag. the College Republicans say that this is to promote dialog about illegal immigration. This seems like a wonderful idea.

Too often we forget that illegal aliens are exactly that- illegal. These people have so little respect for American laws and culture that they break the law to come here and then demand rights above sand beyond those available to immigrants who actually adhere to the legal process- however flawed that process may be. In addition, we forget that citizenship is not a right- it should be earned by those who come here.

And the fact is that the Border Patrol needs our attention and our help. The politicians in Washington and most other government houses have no connection to the vast majority of Americans who want a stop to the indiscriminate amnesty that both parties are offering to these undesirables. But the only way to stop this invasion of illegal aliens is to bring more attention to it and convince these feckless and cowardly politicians that America is tired of these thugs from outside our borders.

Let's fix the process for legal immigration, so that we can eliminate the rudeness, arbitrariness, and pettiness that the Department of Homeland Security (formerly the INS) displays to both citizens and legal immigrants. Let's not focus on a bunch of illegal aliens who are- well, illegal.

To this end, the College Republicans are to be congratulated for bringing this issue to our attention, since the media (and most politicians) are seemingly incapable of differentiating between legal and illegal immigration. Perhaps this will, as the College Republicans hope, promote a clearer dialog about how to deal with this threat to our country.

Happy Valentine's Day

Posting will be light today, but I wanted to take this opportunity to send a Valentines to the following:

Mrs. Gankomon for everything

Several conservative blogs have sent Valentines to their favorite leaders of the past/present. For me, I would like to follow Captain Ed Morrissey's example, and send a Valentine to Ronald Reagan, for his leadership and for making conservative thought a valid philosophy. No leader since has approached his stature. I only hope that the Republican leadership takes note of his example and that the party itself return to its Reaganite roots before it is too late.

Hope your Valentine's Day is a safe and happy one!

Democratic Arrogance

One would think that Democrats and leftists, whose mantra is that everything is a right, would respect the rights of others as well. However, a failing of the Left shared by many Democrats in Congress, is to only allow themselves rights and to attempt to take away others' rights and privileges.

The latest example of this is provided by freshman Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Though Mr. Ellison insited that he be allowed to take the oath of office on the Koran (this despite the US being a country where the Koran has no official weight whatsoever), he apparently will not extend the same courtesy to his peers.

Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado enjoys smoking the occasional cigar in his office, and he is allowed to do so under Congressional rules. However, Mr. Ellison (whose office neighbors that of Mr. Tancredo) apparently feels that his rights take precedence over those of Mr. Tancredo, and called the Capitol Police, despite being told that Mr. Tancredo is not breaking any rules or laws.

One would hope that Mr. Ellison would be aware that his rights end where another person's begin. If he expects to have a career in US politics, he had better learn this, or he will himself fall afoul of the law at some point. And on a wider point, if Democrats can't respect the rights of others in small areas such as this, do we really want this party to lead our nation in governance?

John Burns, New York Times

There are some individuals who do live up to the very best ideals of the journalistic profession. Such individuals are unfortunately rare (especially among the so-called Mainstream Media), but John Burns, Baghdad Bureau Chief for the New York Times is one of them.

Almost alone among his peers, Mr. Burns has kept his eyes open as to the reality of Iraq and he has managed to avoid falling under he terrorist spell that so many other reporters in the area have succumbed to. He appreciates he heroism displayed by our troops despite the obstacles and even understands who the heroes and who the villains are in our current conflict.

For an example of Mr. Burns' experiences, please see his recent interview with Hugh Hewitt. And from all of us who long for fair, objective and honest reporting by the media, thank you Mr. Burns. Thank you.

More Inconvenience...

...about the global warming hysteria promoted by most so-called 'mainstream' journalists and more than a few headline-hunting politicians is contained with a recent study conducted by Dr. Henrik Svensmark of the Danish National Space Center.

According to Dr. Svensmark, global heat is actually more dependent on cosmic rays and cloudiness than on 'human-caused' CO2 emissions. In the article, former New Scientist magazine editor Nigel Calder explains that,

He saw from compilations of weather satellite data that cloudiness varies according to how many atomic particles are coming in from exploded stars. More cosmic rays, more clouds. The sun’s magnetic field bats away many of the cosmic rays, and its intensification during the 20th century meant fewer cosmic rays, fewer clouds, and a warmer world. On the other hand the Little Ice Age was chilly because the lazy sun let in more cosmic rays, leaving the world cloudier and gloomier.

Now all of this may or may not be true. It certainly seems from the reported cooling of Antarctica, (which was predicted by Dr. Svensmark and his team in their report), that they may be on to something. But to me this is merely more reason to keep an open mind until the real scientific method (test until the data produces a defensible theory) and not the method preferred by Mr. Gore and most reporters (choose a theory and manipulate the data to fit)- has played out and the facts are really in. At this point, the idea of human-caused global warming is no more credible than the idea of a new ice age the very same media was pushing so relentlessly thirty years ago.

Too many reporters and politicians have made up their mind regarding something they have absolutely no expertise in. Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe wrote on February 9, 2007 that "Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future." This is ridiculous. Ms. Goodman, just what expertise do you have in this area? And what right have you to try to force your opinion - and it is only opinion- on those of us who have not yet made up our minds? Ms. Goodman is merely another in a long list of media blowhards who spout rhetoric before they think.

A politician who does understand is Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus, who said in an interview on Monday February 12, 2007 that "Global warming is a false myth and every serious person and scientist says so. It is not fair to refer to the U.N. panel. IPCC is not a scientific institution: it's a political body, a sort of non-government organization of green flavor."

Mr. Klaus went on to say why so few politicians echo his views "Other top-level politicians do not express their global warming doubts because a whip of political correctness strangles their voice." He also spoke of former US Vice-President Al Gore when asked by the reporter (who comes off as both ignorant and agenda-driven,)"Don't you believe that we're ruining our planet?

President Klaus responded, "I will pretend that I haven't heard you. Perhaps only Mr Al Gore may be saying something along these lines: a sane person can't" However, it was his final answer that really showed his understanding and the lack of the same on the part of his interviewer. Continuing his answer to the reporter on whether humans are ruining the planet, he said:

I don't see any ruining of the planet, I have never seen it, and I don't think that a reasonable and serious person could say such a thing. Look: you represent the economic media so I expect a certain economical erudition from you. My book will answer these questions. For example, we know that there exists a huge correlation between the care we give to the environment on one side and the wealth and technological prowess on the other side. It's clear that the poorer the society is, the more brutally it behaves with respect to Nature, and vice versa.• It's also true that there exist social systems that are damaging Nature - by eliminating private ownership and similar things - much more than the freer societies. These tendencies become important in the long run. They unambiguously imply that today, on February 8th, 2007, Nature is protected uncomparably more than on February 8th ten years ago or fifty years ago or one hundred years ago.• That's why I ask: how can you pronounce the sentence you said? Perhaps if you're unconscious? Or did you mean it as a provocation only? And maybe I am just too naive and I allowed you to provoke me to give you all these answers, am I not? It is more likely that you actually believe what you say.

In conclusion, let us continue to look at the evidence produced by all teams. But the attempts to silence those who produce theories that do not fit the human-caused global warming scenario is frightening. And the ignorance and one-sidedness on the part of the national and international media is equally scary. Ultimately, it behooves all of us to get it right, whatever results are produced.

"Teachers"? Really?

In recent years, public (and some private) school teachers have been involved in activities that definitely fall outside their job description. Whether it be indoctrinating kids with multiculturalist garbage, engaging in illicit affairs with their underage charges, encouraging their illegal alien students to break the law, or simply using their unions to keep parents from being able to oversee what their children are "learning" teachers have been overstepping their bounds and mis-using their positions.

Now it appears that at least some teachers believe that somehow it is OK to flout the laws of the United States in front of their students. According to the WBEN 930AM radio station in Buffalo, New York, a substitute teacher was arrested for using what apparently was cocaine in front of her students.

Seems to me that this would be an excellent time to introduce the idea of charter schools, or maybe to revisit home-schooling. If we cannot trust teachers to behave when instructing our children, then maybe it is time to take control of the public school system ourselves.

And More on Vista...

...with Apple's recent warning to iPod users that they should avoid Vista. According to the United Kingdom's Telegraph,

Apple, the long-standing rival of Bill Gates’s Microsoft, is urging users not to upgrade their PCs to the Vista system until it comes up with a compatible version of the software that runs iPods.

The article goes on to say that apparently Windows Vista can corrupt iPods, even if the user selects the "Eject Hardware Safely" option. And it also appears that Vista cannot play Apple's iTunes Store-purchased songs. In fact, the article says "Microsoft has already released a software update for Vista users so they can play their iTunes Store songs" Heh. Not even released a week and we already need a patch, Microsoft?

This is not good news for Microsoft. Vista has already been widely panned by a number of reviewers, and if iPods cannot be safely used with the new operating system, then Microsoft has a big problem. In conclusion, it seems the Microsoft, in their haste to release Vista, has once again released a not-ready-for-primetime product. They have long been infamous for releasing Beta-quality products and calling them final. The Vista operating system appears to be yet another example of this bad Microsoft habit.

Holocaust Silliness from Iran

It would appear that the world's greatest Holocaust denier is engaging in some semantic silliness. According to Breitbart News, Iran is calling on Europe to provide proof of the Holocaust perpetrated against European Jews by the Nazis during World War II. According to the report,

An Iranian government-sponsored body set up to probe the veracity of the Holocaust has challenged Europe to hand over documents about the mass slaughter of Jews in World War II. Mohammad Ali Ramin, the head of the "World Holocaust Foundation" created after Iran's controversial Holocaust conference last year, said Austria, Germany and Poland in particular should supply documents.

Proof? Sure. Dachau, Auschwitz, etc. Also, the records of the Nuremburg trials, the writings of Adolph Hitler regarding his intentions vis-a-vis the Jewish population of Europe. These are all easily accessible to the public, Mr. Ali Ramin. And I am sure Europe would be happy to help you out. Just as soon as your president supplies proof of his own, less credible claims that the Holocaust never happened. As previously mentioned, evidence is extant in Dachau, Auschwitz, and plenty of other places that is far more convincing than documents read by a group of international scalawags and in some cases, criminals (David Dukes???) at an Iranian Holocaust-denying conference.

Of course, we also wait for Muslim explanations of the support given Hitler's 'Final Solution" by the Grand Mufti Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini of Jerusalem. I'm sure that such eager studens of truth such as President Ahmadinejad and Mr. Ali Ramin would be happy to comply. Once that is satisfactorily explained, then I am sure that Europe would be happy to give Mr. Ramin and Mr. Ahmadinejad access to the sites and archives of the Holocaust.

Latte with a Twist

So they may have 'sex happening' clubs in Tokyo, but in Seattle, they have 'sexpresso shops'. Read the whole thing.

Fun And Games in Japan

While at the Super Bowl party, one of my friends happened to ask me if I had heard about this next topic. Since this was entirely unknown to me, I did a little research this morning, and the results are as follows:

Apparently in Japan, there is a fairly new phenomenon called 'sex happening' clubs. The well-known US fetish queen Midori recently went to investigate Tokyo's fetish scene, and regarding these clubs, she reports:

...what the Japanese have are private, membership based sex clubs called "happening bars." These are similar to swingers clubs. I went to a couple of them and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, good facilities with serious sex furniture and friendly staff. Since so many homes and apartments in Japan are tiny, and not necessarily soundproof, these clubs provide couples with a comfortable play space away from home. Unlike a swingers club, I felt no expectations for people to engage sexually with others, but opportunities were available for those who desired it. Some of the staff would do demos or casual lessons for the members. Peer-to-peer instructions happened a great deal as well.

As I said, this is news to me. When I lived in Japan, there were the ubiquitous love hotels for private encounters, and hostess (as well as host) bars for drinking/socializing. However, I am not entirely surprised. If anyone has more info on these so-called sex-happening places, please feel free to comment.

A VERY Inconvenient Truth...

...is contained in the essay Global Warming: The Cold Hard Facts? by Professor Timothy Ball, PhD, regarding the hype of global warming. Read the whole thing. For more, I recommend MIT professor Dr. Richard Lindzen's writings on the subject. Global Warming may itself be true, but politicians and reporters are not experts, and too many scientists are rushing for press accolades to stop to actually look at the data.

Amateur Ads at the Super Bowl

Watching the Super Bowl 'just for the advertisements' has become somewhat of a tradition, and most companies traditionally use this to launch theior newest and greatest ad creation. Who, after all, can forget the classic 1984 Ridley Scott-directed ad introducing the Macintosh? This year introduced a new twist on the phenomenon- amateur-created advertisements. Several companies, from Frito-Lay (Doritos), to General Motors (Chevrolet), launched advertisements produced by non-professional advertisement makers. After watching the entire Super Bowl, in the main I thought the amateur ads stacked up pretty well against the professionals.

However, at least one member of the scribbling class was not happy about amateurs invading the professionals' turf. Writing for CBS News, Andrew Keen whined,

This is not good news. The shift from professionally produced to user-generated advertising makes us poorer in both economic and cultural terms. The arrival of user-created commercials at Super Bowl XLI represents the American Idolization of traditional entertainment — the degeneration of professional content into a "talent show" for amateurs.

Gee, Mr. Keen, are you afraid that people who are talented in more than just their own professions might push untalented hacks like yourself into actually having to do a real job? To me, this is suspiciously like the argument that 'if you didn't go to journalism school, you can't be a journalist, or, going back a few years, 'if you are not a member of the [insert union name here], you can't do [insert profession name here]. This argument is valid only in professions whose members need a professional certification. Engineering, law, medicine and other such vocations are professions where understandably, amateur practicioners are not and should not be welcome.

However, in the area of creative content creation, such as advertisement cration, music, journalism, opinion writing, creative writing, etc, there should be no bar. I am a professional musician, and have been for over twenty years. However, I know some supremely talented amateur musicians. A department chairman at a prestigious university, for example, is a talented jazz trumpet player. Just because he does it mainly for fun, should he not be allowed to entertain people with his talent? None of the Beatles went to music school. Should they have been denied permission to entertain? Additionally, what about people such as the Monty Python team? They graduated in professions that contained no relation to comedy or to acting, yet they have made some wonderful creations over the years. Should they too be denied permission because they did not attend acting school? Taking this argument (if such inanity can even be dignified buy that name), Keen writes:

Why is the work of the amateur of a lesser quality than professionally made content? There's the intrinsic talent of a lifelong professional, such as Ridley Scott, of course. Then there's the financial resources made available to the professional content creator. Back in 1984, Apple paid Chiat/Day $1.6 million to produce their Mac ad. Today, according to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the average professionally-produced 30-second spot costs $381,000. In contrast, wedding photographer Jarod Cicon, one of the five finalists in the Doritos competition, estimates that his 30-second ad cost $150 to produce.

This argument is easily dispatched. The "Intrinsic talen of a lifelong professional"??? Many famous writers, both past and present, were entirely self-trained. Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of 'Tarzan', wrote his first novel without any previous experience in writing of any kind. Robert Louis Stevenson was a student of engineering at Edinburgh Universioty. Should that lack have disqualified these two from writing, Mr. Keen? Much of the best commentary in current events comes from bloggers such as Glenn Reynolds. These are not professional journalists. Should they be disqualified from writing just because they did not graduate from Columbia School of Journalism?

As far as cost, reporters routinely rage against how much something costs (like gasoline), or how much a corporate executive gets paid (though these arguments somehow get forgotten when it is members of their own set who reap ridiculous sums of money- for example a Tom Cruise or a Katie Couric). If amateurs can make an advertisement for less, then by all means they should be so allowed. Or is Mr. Keen worried that if costs drop, the companies will be able to save more instead of fattening the coffers of companies like- CBS! In my opinion, competition is good for everyone.

To conclude, this entire argument simply does not hold water. Instead, it is a prime reason why creative content creation must not be limited to members of the 'elite media club'. Many reporters lack both knowledge and the ability to turn a coldly objetive eye to their subject, and essays such as Keen's show why journalism is not considered a demanding disipline- or even a real disipline at all, in this writer's opinion. Logic, research, and objectiviy too often seem to take a back seat to 'feelings', agenda and protecting privilege- the very things so many of them accuse accuse others of doing.

Vista Thoughts Redux

As a long-time fan of Apple's Macintosh as well as the various flavors of UNIX and Linux that are currently available, I freely confess that I am not a Microsoft fan.

I have become accustomed to using Windows XP at work, and I do have some fond memories of Windows 2000 (in my humble opinion, that was the best operating system Microsoft ever released), but I have long been suspect about the upcoming Vista. I used Longhorn throughout its various permutation as part of my job, and when they repackaged it as Vista, have been forced to test it. However, my impressions have not been positive. (For another reviewer's comments on the security underlying Vista, please see my post About that new Microsoft OS...).

Now, it appears that I am not alone. In a number of reviews, technology reporters share my lack of positivity regarding this new Microsoft OS. Some of the comments have been as follows:

Ironically, playing around with Vista for more than a month has done what years of experience and exhortations from Mac-loving friends could not: it has converted me into a Mac fan.
-Erika Jonietz, Technology Review

It's also going to have this spiffy new file system called WinFS (Windows File System)… oh wait, that was canned last year. At least Linux doesn't have a new file system either. Well, except for Reiser4, and so what if it may be the fastest desktop file system ever.
-Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, eWeek.com

Nor is Vista bug-free. As I assessed final code, I ran into a variety of small but annoying glitches and found plenty of features that didn't work as seamlessly as I would have liked. I can't shake the feeling that Vista's release was rushed. So what's our verdict? Vista is good—in some respects very good—but not spectacular. Call it a nice-to-have product rather than a must-have.
-John Clyman, PCMag.com

So while there are plenty of folks out there who I am sure will rush (foolishly) to upgrade to this new release, it appears that once again Microsoft has missed the boat, releasing what is essentially beta-ware and claiming it to be final.

Muslim Hyperbole

In the wake of the arrests in Birmingham last week, one would expect both Muslims and non-Muslim Britons to understand that planning to kidnap and execute a British soldier is neither legal nor is it very compatible with the ideal of differing cultures/religions living together in harmony. At the very least, one woul expect Muslims to thank the British police for their timely arrests.

But it appears instead that Muslims prefer to engage in rhetoric. According to Breitbart News, one of Briton's leading Muslims has declared Briton to be comparable to Nazi Germany. The Muslim leader in qustion is a man named Mohammed Naseem, and according to the report,

"The country is moving toward a police state. That's not right. We have to change this," he said inside the mosque, where some 2,000 Muslims gathered for weekly Friday prayers.

Actually, Mr. Naseem, what isn't right is Muslims planning to kidnap and execute a British soldier in their adopted country. If you and your followers tried harder to fit into what is a majority Christian country, and refrained from the hateful and anti-Western rhetoric such as this statement, then perhaps the police wouldn't need to arrest your ignorant and violent followers. Perhaps you might even consider that these arrestees, if the charges prove to be true, were breaking the law in virtually every respect.

You might even consider that if you don't like living under Western laws, you are welcome to return to your countries of origin. Of course, you wouldn't have the luxury of publicly condemning your government there. After all, there is not a single Muslim-majority country that grants Christians the kind of freedom that Muslims enjoy in all Western countries. Chirstians, and non-Muslims are treated as criminals in most Muslim countries, or at best tolerated for the skills they bring.

Muslims are welcome in the West, but they must learn that they have no right to require their host countries to change according to Muslim wishes. Rather it is the responsibility of Muslims - and other immigrants - to change to fit into their adopted countries. If the West were firmer about requiring asimilation, and more robust in defending their justifiable proud culture, then perhaps we would not have these problems. Just a thought...

Democratic Perks

When they were campaigning, Democrats frequently accused Republicans of mis-using their powers and of excessive privilege. Insults flew, and a campaign of cleaning up the misuses was on every reporter's lips. However, it appears that Democrats are not averse to using public money for personal advantage either. Nor are they content with normal perks.

According to the Washington Times newspaper, new Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is attempting to commandeer military aircraft for herself, her family and her friends pretty much anytime for any reason. The newspaper writes,

The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the Bush administration for routine access to military aircraft for domestic flights, such as trips back to her San Francisco district, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
The sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said thethe Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation. A knowledgeable source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time."

This seems more than a bit excessive. As the article points out, military aircraft for members of Congress are traditionally only provided for trips to military bases or for overseas junkets= not for personal trips. Former Speaker Dennis Hastert used the military planes for trips to his district following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but even he did not go as far as Pelosi's demands. The Bush Administration should squash Madam Speaker's attempts to gain access to these planes, and Pelosi should be ashamed of herself for this brazen demand.

English Kanji (英漢字)

It seems improbable, but according to the Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun (週刊文春), at least one Japanese calligrapher has managed to make English words into Japanese characters- known as kanji.

The calligrapher, one Kunishige Tomomi, calls her work Eikanji (英漢字)- literally English Kanji. Although there are unfortunately no pictoral representations of the her Eikanji work, the concept is intriguing. Read the whole thing.

Shielding Reporters...

In recent months, reporters have been assiduously pushing the idea of a so-called federal shield law, which would essentially allow them to pick and choose what to reveal about their sources. In my opinion, this would essentially place them above the law (which to my mind the First Amendment was never intended to do) in answering questions about their sources. Reporters and media organizations have claimed that such a law is necessary for them to report on controversial issues.

However, there may be another reason. As the trial of Lewis 'Scooter' Libby is showing, despite the job requirement of factually and accurately reporting on what their sources tell them, reporters are not very good at either taking notes or remembering exactly who told them what. And as the sad case of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's coverage (or lack thereof) regarding Keith Ellison's ties to Muslim extremist groups showed, reporters often do not do a very good job of honestly reporting in any event- especially when they have a stake in the outcome of said reporting.

In my opinion, a federal shield law for journalists would be a very unwise move. Reporters are not and should not be above the law- and when a court of law orders them to disclose their sources, they should not have the option to refuse. Reporters already have far too much power in our society- they can destroy lives with impunity, and can write unfair and near-treasonous articles already without fear of retaliation. A shield law would place them in a position of far too much power.

Trains and Women in Japan

Hard to know what to say regarding the Shukan Post's full-scale attack on women-only train carriages. Read and consider.

The attack seems to have been brought on by Japan's railways providing female-only carriages to alleviate the problem Japanese women have with gropers- known as chikan in Japan. I have personally had experience with this, as a friend and I once threw one of these morally diminished individuals off a electric streetcar.

Personally, while I think that the only real solution to the problem is to alleviate the over-crowding that allows such despicable behavior to occur, I don't really have a problem with female-only carriages as a temporary fix. Of course, I no longer have to ride the Tokyo commuter trains either, so I do not have first-hand experience with their crowding. Anyone else want to weigh in on this?

Launching the Age of Iron

On this day in 1862, the first turreted warship made of iron, the USS Monitor was launched. With her launch, the existing navies of the world were instantly made obsolete, and a new age began that eventually saw the introduction of ships such as HMS Dreadnaught, IJN Yamato and finally USS Missouri and her Iowa-class sisters, the last battleships.

The Monitor not only introduced the turret as opposed to the broadside gun mountings of previous warships, but her iron skin made her virtually impervious to gunfire from ships of that day and age. However, she was not a perfect warship. Her main defect was her low freeboard, which would eventually cause her loss in a storm off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862.

Her engine and part of her hull were recovered in 2000, and her turret was recovered in 2002. These artifacts are now preserved in the USS Monitor Center, part of the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virigina.

The Candidates and the Polls

Well, I held out as long as I could, but the recent polls and other news have made it impossible for me to avoid mentioning the current political situation in these United States. As the estimable Captain Ed Morissey and the Powerline crew have already commented, it is very early to be starting a Presidential campaign push. However, that being said, there are some very interesting polls out already regarding both the various candidates and the potential matchups in the general election.

Although I have no intention of endorsing any candidate at this stage, I find it more than interesting that former New York mayor Rudolf Giuliani seems to be one of the front-runners- and also to be the only Republican who consistently beats any Democratic offering.

On the Democratic side, while John (bash America whilst overseas in Davos) Kerry has had the good sense to pull out, I find it interesting that John Edwards is apparently doing well. And that Barack Obama, despite his complete inexperience, is also among the front-runners- even edging out Hillary Clinton, much to that egotistical ideologue's surprise.

While I wish to hear more from all of the candidates before committing to any one, I am interested to see if Mitt Romney can overcome the seeming handicap of his Mormon background to make a serious push. But most of all, as a friend and I were discussing the other day, I would like to see the Democrats abandon the wilderness of Bush Derangement Syndrome and take an active part in governing, since they are now the majority party in Congress. Sniping from the wilderness does no good to anyone, in my opinion.