All Bush's fault...

A New Middle East, After All:

"George W. Bush staked his presidency on his response to 9/11: on the proposition that the United States had to defeat the virulent forces loose in the Muslim world directly and militarily. In his last State of the Union address, delivered shortly after his first and only grand tour of the Middle East, Bush reaffirmed his intention to continue the fight everywhere he has committed American arms. It is way too soon to give the president a final grade, and it is surely tempting to flunk him, given the high-wire act the country has endured in Iraq. The denizens of the Middle East, however, will remember Bush as the most momentous American leader since an angry Thomas Jefferson sent men-of-war in pursuit of the Barbary pirates. His successor will not be able to walk away from what he has wrought. Let us consider the issues one by one--leaving aside for another day Iran and the menace of a Persian bomb."

End of a long era...

Polaroid Closing Instant Film Factories

"Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures such as a portable printer for images from cell phones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, televisions and DVD players."

Back to the Dark Ages...

The Belmont Club: Old sport:

"Probably the single most devastating critique of Rowan William's advocacy of Sharia law in Britain comes from a Muslim woman writing in the Independent.

Look around the Islamic world where sharia rules and, in every single country, these ordinances reduce our human value to less than half that is accorded a male; homosexuals are imprisoned or killed, children have no free voice or autonomy, authoritarianism rules and infantilises populations."

Liveblogging the game....

College Matchup of the Week: U.M. vs. M.U.

No question where to look for this week’s top college matchup — Oxford, Ohio. The town of just over 21,000 is home to the nation’s top team: the Miami RedHawks. No, not *that* Miami. This one. How does a little school like Miami (Ohio) have the No. 1 team in college hockey?

But you must tell the truth....

Hamas: We’re Allowed to Lie:

"Hamas leaders spoke to the Arabic language Ash-Sharq il-Awsat newspaper recently and explained that as Muslims, they are allowed to lie. In an interview printed on Thursday, senior Hamas terrorists explained, “A Muslim is permitted to say things that oppose his beliefs in order to prevent damages or to be saved from death.”"

What's the problem?

'We hold in our hands the solution to the global tobacco epidemic that threatens the lives of 1 billion men, women and children during this century,' WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in an introduction to the report."

Seems to me we'll have a much bigger problem if we save the poor schmucks.....

Education means something....

As usual, David Brooks has an interesting take on the election

Hillary Clinton is a classic commodity provider. She caters to the less-educated, less-pretentious consumer. As Ron Brownstein of The National Journal pointed out on Wednesday, she won the non-college-educated voters by 22 points in California, 32 points in Massachusetts and 54 points in Arkansas. She offers voters no frills, just commodities: tax credits, federal subsidies and scholarships. She’s got good programs at good prices.

Barack Obama is an experience provider. He attracts the educated consumer. In the last Pew Research national survey, he led among people with college degrees by 22 points. Educated people get all emotional when they shop and vote. They want an uplifting experience so they can persuade themselves that they’re not engaging in a grubby self-interested transaction. They fall for all that zero-carbon footprint, locally grown, community-enhancing Third Place hype. They want cultural signifiers that enrich their lives with meaning.

It's "Little People", please....

The Belmont Club: Heigh-ho:

"Swedish police are quizzing 'people of limited stature' with criminal records following a spate of robberies from the cargo holds of coaches - possibly carried out by dwarves smuggled onboard in sports bags. According to the Sun, the gang responsible pack their vertically-challenged accomplices into bags and stick them in with other passengers' luggage. The undercover operatives then rifle the hold for valuables before resealing themselves in their hiding place, to be extracted later by another gang member at the coach's final destination. ..."

Well, you can't think of everything...

Oops!! We were just kidding....

Studies Warn Biofuel Crops Could Accentuate Global Warming:

"Just one month ago, a study conducted by a team of American researchers concluded that there was nothing more environmental-friendly than the biofuel crops, that could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by 94% and produce five times more energy. New studies however warn that by transforming the various ecosystems into biofuel crop fields would only accentuate the global warming phenomenon rather than reducing it. According to the latest estimations, converting natural ecosystems into biofuel crop fields is likely to release up to 420 times more carbon."

Here we go again. A few months ago, biofuels were the darlings of the media, Congress, and every "progressive" on the planet. So now, maybe they spoke too soon, maybe they spoke too much, maybe they should have shut-up....When will we ever learn to take all of the hype with a grain of salt, sit back and try and actually THINK before we pass legislation that can't be so easily reversed and realize that we cannot govern our way through these messes?

Can't buy me love...

Instapundit's right:

BAH: "Stimulus" bill passes. More properly known as the "buying votes with borrowed money" bill.

Cold January...?

TigerHawk wonders:

Whatever your personal weather, around the planet January 2008 was the second coldest in 15 years. The linked post, complete with graphs and everything, does not suggest that this says anything in particular about the climate or the long-term direction of local temperatures.

To me, the most interesting thing about this story is the complete absence of discussion in the mainstream media, which manages to induce a scientist or politician to blame anthropogenic global warming for any bit of idiosyncratic weather. See, if you can stand it, the latest comedy gold from John Kerry.

If you are going to live by idiosyncratic weather, you should die by it. The cherry-picking of specific weather events to bolster the case for greenhouse gas regulation actually makes the advocates and their propagandists in the media look like fools. Among smart people, at least, there would be less skepticism about climate change if the media and activists were not so disingenuous and opportunistic in their publicity of it. But maybe they are not trying to persuade smart people.

Truly cowards...

Berkeley Surrenders to the US Marines:

Never had the intention ... regretted ... impugning' ... never have such big words been placed at the service of so small a spirit. Now we know how much principles are worth. In this case they are worth 2.3 million dollars. They shouldn't bother to offer their hand in apology. It would be better to wash it.

I still think they should have been allowed to go ahead with the ban, providing that they signed an agreement forgoing ALL military assistance for the city in the future (earthquakes, floods, war, pestilence, etc.). The hallmark of the liberal mind, to me, is the complete disconnect between cause and effect, much like an adolescent who believes that he/she can do anything they want without consequences. Let the wonks have their little tantrum, and then see who the first phone call would go to if they were in some REAL trouble - the proverbial and Mommy and Daddy. Idiots and fools....

Are we glad that the 60's are well behind us?

It's like a man is in a car and the car is old and the man gets out of the car and rolls the car into the water into a lake.

"Well, Maharishi dropped his body. It's like a man is in a car and the car is old and the man gets out of the car and rolls the car into the water into a lake. Do we feel sorry for the man? The car is gone but the man is there. No problems for Maharishi. People are sad because that voice of wisdom is gone."

Here's a woman to admire...

The Corner on National Review Online:

"Erica Jong, who was last seen on CNN calling noted intellect and husband par excellence Charlie Sheen a 'patriot' for suggesting 9/11 was an inside job, has a WaPo op-ed that deserves to be singled out for contempt:"

What a shame...

James Kirchick:

"There are certainly reasons to vote for Barack Obama. But the endorsement of Ted Kennedy and his dopey son is hardly one of them."

Legal self defense is not for the stupid

Gunning For a Concealed Carry Permit:

Bob Owens joined fellow students in a cramped classroom to learn the rules for carrying a concealed handgun in his state. Between the limited definition legal self defense and number of places he is forbidden to carry a weapon, he says, “it would be far more practical to apply for a ‘concealed lawyer’ permit, if I could only find one small enough to shove in a holster.

Worth reading if you believe that you should be allowed to defend yourself

The Israelis are paying attention...

The Belmont Club: The strip

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) argues that, by blowing a hole in the Gaza-Egyptian border, Hamas has reshaped its geography vis a vis Israel. As if to illustrate the point, two suicide bombers who attacked a Dimona shopping center believed to be Hamas operatives may have entered Israel via Egypt.

Atlas Shrugs noticed the same thing....and Egypt ain't so happy about it either.

Too much of a coincidence?

The Belmont Club wonders about the undersea cables

Bruce Schnier, a noted author on network security and encryption subjects, comments on the undersea cable outages at his blog. "There have been no official reports of malice to me, but it's an awfully big coincidence." The conspiracy theories -- and their rebuttals -- are in his comments section.

Plus, Iran is not disconnected! which provides a reality check on this subject. However, conspiracy theorists will delight in this Washington Post article on drug-running submarines. The key piece is that 13 criminal submersibles were recently seized by US authorities, more than in the last 14 years put together. Once upon a time the ocean provided a defense against intruders. Today it has become something of a blanket udner which hanky-panky proceeds apace. How long till cruise ships have to defend against combat swimmers?

Others have speculated similarly, but have different theories....

They're really all the same...and they can't save us

Jonah Goldberg on the end of the Bush Presidency

Clinton left office insisting that he’d restored liberalism in America, but in reality he bequeathed a confused mishmash of ill-formed ideas, slogans, and hatreds. President Bush is winding down his presidency much the same way, talking about limited government, personal liberty, and spending restraint, but he’s left his party’s troops scattered across the battlefield, with no overarching strategy and an awful lot of friendly fire.

Read it all..

The Culture of Cowards....

Only a Euroweenie Would Bring a Sheet of Paper to a Gunfight:

"Disarmament always gives the advantage to the thugs. Europe has been disarming itself, militarily and morally for six decades now. It will be interesting to see if they can stand up to even a second-rate thug like Russia."

And why, as Dershowitz says, terrorism works...