The Samaritans

This is how we defeat terrorism.

Power

The essence of power, in the political sense, is the ability to do as you please without regard for others. A nation controlled and dominated, without check, by one person or by a small group is a despotic tyranny; regardless of whether you call it a monarchy, aristocracy or democracy. The opposite situation is every person claiming to be his own governing authority. This is anarchy and anarchies always lead to tyranny or oligarchy by those who are smarter and/or stronger.

The goal should be to balance power so that tyranny can not manifest itself. That was the goal of the framers of the US Constitution. Unfortunately there is a ceaseless endeavor to upset this balance usually for some perceived altruistic idea. The compulsive utopian considers power to always be a force for good as long as the power is in his hand. It was in the name of liberty that the Russian revolutionaries destroyed the old political system. But like a natural force in the physical world, power in the political world does not vanish. Instead it seeks the path of least resistance. And the path of least resistance became the tyrannical hands of the radicals. The cost was sixty million lives.

History clearly shows that we can not put our trust in mere benevolence. Constitutional restrictions, political checks and balances and adequate enforcement of the laws must be in place to restrain human natures appetite for power. A just government maintains a healthy tension between the claims of authority and the claims of liberty.

Teen sex -> Teen suicide

But there was another statistic that should have gotten parents' attention but which was similarly ignored, namely, that there seems to be a direct link between teen sexuality and teen depression. A study by the Heritage Foundation, in-turn based on the government-funded National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, found that about 25 percent of sexually active girls say they are depressed all, most or a lot of the time, while only 8 percent of girls who are not sexually active feel the same.

While 14 percent of girls who have had intercourse have attempted suicide, only 5 percent of sexually inactive girls have. And whereas 6 percent of sexually active boys have tried suicide, less than 1 percent of sexually inactive boys have. The report challenges the previously held notion that teens become sexually active in order to self-medicate their own depression.

The rest of the story.

Buckley vs Vidal

From a 1968 debate between Bill Buckley and Gore Vidal.

Buckley snapped: "Now listen, you queer," he said, "stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in your goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered."

And you thought the debate was rude these days.

Children of Crises

From Robert Coles' Children of Crises.

They came telling us not to have children, and not to have children, and sweep up, and all that. They tell you you're bad, and worse than others, and you're lazy, and you don't know how to get along like others do. . . . Then they say we should look different, and eat different -- use more of the protein. I tell them about the prices, but they reply about 'planning' -- planning, planning, that's all they tell you. The worst of it is that they try to get you to plan your kids, by the year, except they mean by the ten-year plan, one every ten years. The truth is, they don't want you to have any, if they could help it.

To me, having a baby inside me is the only time I'm really alive. I know I can make something, do something, no matter what color my skin is, and what names people call me. When the baby gets born I see him, and he's full of life, or she is; and I think to myself that it doesn't make any difference what happens later, at least now we've got a chance, or the baby does. You can see the little one grow and get larger and start doing things, and you feel there must be some hope, some chance that things will get better; because there it is, right before you, a real, live growing baby. The children and their father feel it, too, just like I do. They feel the baby is a good sign, or at least he's some sign. If we didn't have that, what would be the difference from death?

Even without children, my life would still be bad -- they're not going to give us what they have, the birth control people. They just want us to be a poor version of them, only without our children and our faith in God and our tasty fried food, or anything.

Da Vinci clue for heart surgeon

It appears that Leonardo Da Vinci is helping with modern heart surgery.

Leonardo worked out in the 1500s that the opening phase of the mitral valve was extremely important - this can be compromised with conventional surgery because the opening is made narrower than normal.

Mr Wells says he can now repair the floppy mitral valve in such a way that it does not alter the normal diameter of the valve when it is open which means that the individual can return to more vigorous exercise without any problems.

He said Leonardo had a depth of appreciation of the anatomy and physiology of the body - its structure and function - that perhaps has been overlooked by some.

Hamastan

As predicted.

The worst fear of politicians, military officials and Israeli civilians regarding Israel's withdrawal from Gaza has become a reality - the volatile coastal strip is now the private domain of Islamic terrorism, led by the infamous Hamas organization.

The rest of the story is here.

Voice of the CalipHate

The WAPO is reporting that Al Qaida now has their on news show.

The anchorman, who said the report would appear once a week, presented news about the Gaza Strip and Iraq and expressed happiness about recent hurricanes in the United States. A copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, was placed by his right hand and a rifle affixed to a tripod was pointed at the camera.

I have a question. How is it that these broadcast can get publicized but can never be traced to the source?

B.S. Declares Global Warming Emergency

World renowned enviromental scientist Barbara Striesand has declared a Global Warming Emergency.

Putin's Russia

For those who may be interested in such things the Carnegie Endowment has a policy brief on Vladimir Putin's second term.

Russia’s regime has gone through a major aggravation during the first year of President Vladimir Putin’s second term. The regime suffers from serious overcentralization of power, which has led to a paralysis of policy making. Putin’s power base has been shrunk to a core of secret policemen from St. Petersburg.

Weather War

Some claim that there is a trending increase in the number of natural disasters and they point to this as "a sign of the times". I haven't seen any data that would confirm this. Not that I have actually looked.

If you think it's controversial to attribute natural events to God, what do think of weatherman Scott Stevens. He blames it on the Japanese and the Russians. According to Scott we are at war.

A battle in the skies is waged daily. Some battles are won and others lost. We yet know not which. For years this massive global project has been under way, but only now is it making it to the forefront of the consciousness of those with curious minds.

It's a weather war!

So in early 1990, the weather engineering operations over North America were assumed from the FSB/KGB by the Yakuza/Aum Shinrikyo teams, and operations continued with the Yakuza's leased giant scalar interferometers. The weather engineering against the United States continues today under the rogue Japanese teams on site in Russia, with direct FSB/KGB supervision.

Needless to say, I remain skeptical.

The Law of Appeasement

Benjamin Netanyahu resigned his position soon after Israel surrendered Gaza to the so-called Palestinians . He assured us all Gaza would become the main base of operations for terrorist attacks against Israel. Netanyahu is not a prophet. He simply understands the law of appeasement.

The rocket attacks began almost immediately. Now Israel is promising a crushing responce.

The responce will not be enough.

A little history:

Until 1948 there was no such thing as a "palestinian arab". Until 1967 Gaza and The West Bank were parts of Egypt and Jordan. How do the so-called palestinians have any legitimate claim to this land? Why does Israel continue to tolerate these murderous people?

Appeasement always invites attack. Always.

Terrorist Recruiting

There is a constant drone that our actions in Iraq and elsewhere have actually increased the number of terrorist worldwide. This assertion has only been challenged by the facts.

A suicide bomber captured before he could blow himself up in a Shiite mosque claimed he was kidnapped, beaten and drugged by insurgents who forced him to take on the mission. The U.S. military said its medical tests indicated the man was telling the truth.

Mohammed Ali, who claimed to be Saudi-born and appeared to be in his 20s, said he managed to flee after another suicide attacker set off his bomb, killing at least 12 worshippers Friday as they left a mosque in the northern city of Tuz Khormato.

In confession broadcast on state television later that day, Ali told Iraqi interrogators he did not want to bomb the mosque and hoped to go home.

Results from medical tests on Ali were "consistent with his story and characterization of his treatment," Col. Billy J. Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman said Sunday.

It could be a cover story after being caught but the attitude doesn't fit. Most terrorist remain defiant even after being caught.

It appears that terrorist organizations are growing desperate. Why else use such recruitment tactics?

For those who continue to claim that terrorist recruiment is on the rise, may we please see the data?

The Disappearing Sheehan

In case you were wondering what happened to Cindy Sheehan Power Line has an update.

She has aligned herself with individuals and groups to radical even for the MSM.

Who is Cindy's "new friend" Malik Rahim? He is conventionally described as a "veteran of the Black Panther Party in New Orleans," and was recently a Green Party candidate for local office there. But the truth is somewhat worse. Rahim is a Communist. Here is a speech he gave to the Communist Manifesto conference in December 1998; it begins:

I'm here on behalf of two revolutionary freedom fighters that have spent the last 26 years in solitary confinement in Angola, a state prison in Louisiana. I met these freedom fighters as a political prisoner in 1970. I was in a shoot-out with the police in New Orleans as a member of the Black Panther Party.

Cindy Sheehan's hatred has driven her mad. How else can we explain the fact that she is now aligned with the very forces that killed Casey.

Cindy Sheehan's association with these Communists is no fluke. They are among her most fervent supporters (or, perhaps, manipulators). Sheehan has announced that she will participate in a climactic anti-Iraq war protest in Washington on September 24. Who is the co-sponsor of the September 24 demonstration? International ANSWER. Who has promoted the "Camp Caseys" that have sprung up here and there? the Workers World Party. Who has a special web page devoted to "supporting Cindy Sheehan"? the International Action Center.

What makes these associations doubly sick is that the International Action Center, International ANSWER and the Workers World Party were, prior to the Iraq war, staunch supporters of Saddam Hussein and his Baath regime. See, for example, this tirade by Ramsey Clark, leader of the IAC, who later volunteered to represent Saddam.

Cindy Sheehan has staunchly aligned herself with the enemies of her country, even with those who murdered her own son ("freedom fighters," as she calls them, or "Minutemen" as her patron Michael Moore says). She has gone even beyond that perverse outrage: she has sought out and lent support to the very most extreme, twisted, hateful remnants of the Communist movement, and the last survivors of the Black Panthers. Cindy Sheehan is a hater: nothing more, nothing less.

This poor woman has become a pathetic instrument of the extreme left. She is the ultimate "useful idiot". But in the process she has exposed the true nature of the "Bush is Hitler" crowd. That's why she has disappeared from the headlines.

Red America, Blue Europe and China

Some comments from Jonah Goldberg stress the point that anti-Americanism did not start with our current President.

Anti-American books tore up the best-seller list in France throughout the Clinton presidency. The staged anti-globalization riots during the 1990s were not love letters to America or the Democratic party. In 1999, Bill Clinton needed 10,000 policemen to protect him from Greek activists who aimed to firebomb him. Protesters in Athens continually pulled down a statue of Harry Truman. Despite the relentless jackassery of people like Michael Moore and others who attributed 9/11 to Bush's policies — including our failure to sign the Kyoto Treaty (stop laughing) — al-Qaeda got its operation up and running throughout the sunny days of Bill Clinton and the dotcom bubble.

In the 1980s, anti-Americanism was also a big problem, but fortunately the elites of Europe generally understood — with some lamentable exceptions — it was better to have America as a friend than the Soviet Union as a ruler.

I'm sure that some Europeans dislike us more since Bush became president but who cares, really. It is ironic that former Soviet Bloc nations are friendly to America while our former cold war allies are unfriendly.

When looking at the bigger picture we see that Europe is far less important than China.

The U.S. is the only superpower and European elites don't think anyone but them should be superpowers. The Chinese have a similar attitude, of course, and pretty much every foreign policy article and expert I can find says we're going to be playing Cold War-style games with China for the next 50 years.

While freedom is limited in China as compared to America, China is progressively moving toward more liberty, at least economically. There is no argument that modern China is more free than the former Soviet Union. The result is that China's best weapon against America is cheap products. If Chinese policy and economic trends continue to favor liberty then the worst threat to America is no longer having the largest economy among nations. A good economist will not have any grave concerns over this.

While China should still be considered a totalitarian state, I remain hopeful that it will continue it's trend toward freedom. For Europe, the opposite is true. Europe has freedom on par with America but is showing signs of an opposite trend. Of course the same could be said for America. I will save comments on America's erosion of freedom for a later post.

For now let's look at some of the news from Europe.

A columnist for the British Sun wrote this week, "America may have given the world the space shuttle and, er, condensed milk, but behind the veneer of civilization most Americans barely have the brains to walk on their back legs." Then he got offensive, writing that the people of New Orleans were "finding themselves being blown to pieces by a helicopter gunship."

A third of Germans under 30 think America ordered the 9/11 attacks. The "theory" that the Pentagon attack was self-inflicted stagecraft is in wide circulation in France, and the subject of a best-selling book. Throughout Europe, it's easy to find commentators who take it at face value that Bush's failure to sign Kyoto led to Katrina. (It's worth noting: Clinton refused to sign it, too. And rightly so.)
...
Tony Blair, a stalwart ally in Iraq, has recently been caving to Islamic radicals for domestic political considerations. He's decided to seek advice from a new "task force" on extremism that hosts a rogues' gallery of anti-Semites, Holocaust deniers and apologists for bin Laden and jihadism (one "adviser" calls bin Laden a "freedom fighter"). This hardly bodes well for Britain to stay the course in the battle against Islamic fundamentalism.

What bodes even worse is that Britain is the only country in Europe with a military capable of projecting significant military force abroad for a sustained period of time. Even if the next president, or the one after that, succeeded in winning European friends where Bush has failed, it seems unlikely those friendships will be of enormous use. Economically and militarily, Europe is increasingly second-rate.

With respect to economic freedom and the improvement of peoples lives, I am more hopeful for China than I am for Europe. The wild card is the Chinese governments ability to instantly screw things up. An invasion of Taiwon and all bets are off. And in light of China's massive military modernization and build up, the threats can not be ignored. The Chinese will not back down from Tiawon the way the Soviets did in Cuba. Tiawon is the oriental Sudetenland.

Creamed Skin

Could this be considered pseudo-cannibalism?

A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe, an investigation by the Guardian has discovered.

Agents for the firm have told would-be customers it is developing collagen for lip and wrinkle treatments from skin taken from prisoners after they have been shot. The agents say some of the company's products have been exported to the UK, and that the use of skin from condemned convicts is "traditional" and nothing to "make such a big fuss about".

How is this repugnant practice not a "big fuss"? How does a supposedly civilized society get into the practice of using body parts from executed prisoners in commercial products? I guess when supply runs low they can just kill more prisoners.

The agent told the researcher: "A lot of the research is still carried out in the traditional manner using skin from the executed prisoner and aborted foetus." This material, he said, was being bought from "bio tech" companies based in the northern province of Heilongjiang, and was being developed elsewhere in China.

He suggested that the use of skin and other tissues harvested from executed prisoners was not uncommon. "In China it is considered very normal and I was very shocked that western countries can make such a big fuss about this," he said. Speaking from his office in northern China, he added: "The government has put some pressure on all the medical facilities to keep this type of work in low profile."

Here's a suggestion for a warning label. "This skin cream product contains creamed skin".

Delay, the waste

I am convinced that Tom Delay is either a liar or stupid.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget.

I had to read it twice. The republicans are spending US dollars like it was monopoly money and Delay says there's no fat left to cut?

I think Citizens against Government Waste have a few suggestions.

Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), said if Mr. DeLay wants to know where to cut, "there are plenty of places to reduce."

His group soon will release a list of $2 trillion in suggested spending cuts over the next five years, and he said Congress also could cut the estimated $20 billion to $25 billion in pet projects that make their way into must-pass spending bills each year.

CAGW and the Heritage Foundation also suggest rescinding the 6,000-plus earmarked projects in the recently passed highway bill.

That's the highest number of projects ever budgeted in a highway bill. Ever! And the highway bill is not an anamoly. It is typical of the legislation that has been passed by this congress and signed by Bush since Republicans took over the house and senate.

And the biggest waste of all is Tom Delay. If Delay calls himself a conservative he's either lying or stupid. He has no idea what a conservative is.

Federal Responce to Katrina

Jason van Steenwyk is a Florida Army National Guardsman who has been mobilized six times for hurricane relief. He notes that:

"The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne."

I guess what most people don't understand is that one, it is impossible to know exactly where a storm is going to hit and two, even if you did know you can't have relief supplies on location because they would be threatened by the very conditions that mandate the need for relief.

A former Air Force logistics officer had some words of advice for us in the Fourth Estate on his blog, Moltenthought:

"We do not yet have teleporter or replicator technology like you saw on 'Star Trek' in college between hookah hits and waiting to pick up your worthless communications degree while the grown-ups actually engaged in the recovery effort were studying engineering.

"The United States military can wipe out the Taliban and the Iraqi Republican Guard far more swiftly than they can bring 3 million Swanson dinners to an underwater city through an area the size of Great Britain which has no power, no working ports or airports, and a devastated and impassable road network.

"You cannot speed recovery and relief efforts up by prepositioning assets (in the affected areas) since the assets are endangered by the very storm which destroyed the region.

"No amount of yelling, crying and mustering of moral indignation will change any of the facts above."

"You cannot just snap your fingers and make the military appear somewhere," van Steenwyk said.

The rest of the article is here.

Body Count

I am becoming hopeful that my previous prediction of a low body count may be accurate. According to this story the number of bodies recovered in LA is 118.

The recovery of Katrina's victims speeded up in the last two days. As of Thursday, Mississippi had recorded 201 deaths and Louisiana 118, while other affected states had much lower numbers.

With the flooding in New Orleans it has not been possible to go in and do a thorough search of the city. So the count will surely rise.

This statement is troubling.

In the rural areas east of St. Bernard Parish, some bodies will never be found because alligators will have taken them away, locals said.

Katrina Summary

QandO has posted a lengthy summary of the Katrina rescue/relief effort.