May 2006
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May 31, 2006
Vietnam War Myths
By word of mouth repetition, by slovenliness about checking facts, by fitting in with ideological propensities, erroneous "facts" may in time become furniture of the mind. Such are that Hitler was elected democratically (he lost both elections in which he ran and "was appointed Chancellor"), or that Stalin killed 20 million (he killed about 43 million). One such erroneous fact is that the Vietnam War was a Civil War. This idea was very much promoted by the "anti-war" crowd and the Vietnam propagandists, for if true it meant the United States had no business interfering in an internal Vietnamese conflict,... ... morePosted at 5:29 PM
May 30, 2006
On 'Europe's Weakness For Russia' - Implications For The U.S.?
Evgeny Morozov's piece at TCS today opines on the upcoming Russia-EU summit, which takes place this week in the Russian resort town of Sochi. He says that the Kremlin has already turned most of the communication between the EU and Russia into a minefield, where nation-states walk on tiptoes to compete for Putin's heart, often ignoring orders from Brussels. So what's Russia's stick? One word - energy:... ... morePosted at 6:31 PM
May 29, 2006
On this Memorial Day wekend, I think back ...
On this Memorial Day weekend, I think back to a few specific events in history, and I marvel at the courage and selflessness displayed by our men and women in arms. First comes to mind the heroes on Bataan and Corregidor in WW2. They were surrounded and outnumbered and eventually captured by a fanatical enemy that worshiped a heathen god and had no moral decency (remind you of anyone today?). Their treatment on the Bataan death march and in the death camps of the Philippines was unimaginable. Many died from murder, disease, and starvation, yet the remainder stayed strong and... ... morePosted at 11:55 AM
Special Notice: The Freedom's Zone Mission Is Expanding
Freedom's Zone is about to take it's next step in expanding it's mission. Alll member blogs are encouraged to read the "revised" mission below, in order to be aware of the changes and to participate more fully, as appropriate, in our collective mission to fight tyranny in all it's forms, and promote liberty to the people of the world through information, education, and "rightful" participation in the economy of one's country.
... morePosted at 10:36 AM
May 28, 2006
Flemming Rose And The European Politics Of Victimology
Flemming Rose of Jyllands-Posten fame has a new column over at RealClearPolitics--a great daily read--that highlights the culture of victimology, cultural relativism, and immigration failures brought on by negligence and a Left that sees racism and imperialism everywhere, and where those factors will take Europe: The worldwide furor unleashed by the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that I published last September in Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper where I work, was both a surprise and a tragedy, especially for those directly affected by it. Lives were lost, buildings were torched, and people were driven into hiding. And yet the unbalanced reactions... ... morePosted at 4:49 AM
May 26, 2006
FreedomsZone - Updates Coming
We are beginning to make a number of updates to FreedomsZone that have been long overdue. Tonight the sight will be down for a few hours - I'll update this post when we are back online.... Update: Changes complete! Look for more updates in the days to come.... ... morePosted at 12:59 AM
May 24, 2006
Taliban Offensive Busted
For people my age, we have the Vietnam War to which we can compare the liberal media's treatment of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of my bitter memories is of the 1968 Tet offensive by the North Vietnamese controlled Vietcong that failed. South Vietnamese and American forces not only held, but in many parts of the country they so badly mauled the Vietcong that their ability to launch another offensive was set back many years. Yet, the Media played up the Vietcong's momentary successes in Saigon and Hue, and subsequently treated the offensive as a Vietcong victory. This... ... morePosted at 10:13 PM
Moving Toward War With Iran While Yawning
Looking at Iran-related news just for today, we have Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saying in his address to both chambers of Congress.today that Iran's nuclear ambitions posed "the test of our time" and urged swift international action to meet what he termed a threat to the existence of Israel, and reiterated that he believes Iran to be on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons; President Bush expressing doubts today that Iran wants a negotiated solution to the dispute over its nuclear program; a spokesman for the "Headquarters to Commemorate the Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement" announcing that Iran... ... morePosted at 4:58 PM
May 22, 2006
The Dance Of The Left--Hate America, Love Her Enemies
One of the curious aspects of the left's adulation of socialist and Marxist dictators, such as Castro and Hugo Chavez, is that the liberal left was once dedicated to freedom and human rights, but those they now applaud hardly show by word or deed that they share these beliefs. The critical op-ed of this by Ian Buruma, "Thank you, my foolish friends in the West", is interesting to read, since he is no conservative. He provides examples of the left's ideological collapse, and provides the key explanation that I want to underline. It is that the left has become so... ... morePosted at 10:24 PM
Saudi Textbooks Get Failing Grade
Jihad in the path of God -- which consists of battling against unbelief, oppression, injustice, and those who perpetrate it -- is the summit of Islam. This religion arose through jihad and through jihad was its banner raised high. It is one of the noblest acts, which brings one closer to God, and one of the most magnificent acts of obedience to God" - Saudi 12th grade textbook.
... morePosted at 5:01 PM
May 21, 2006
Some Advice From A Muslim Friend Of Democracy: On Democracy As A Goal In The Muslim World And The Necessity For Education And Economic Reform First
Just imagine, a little education - through in a little economic prosperity and hope for the future, and before you know it, over time, blowing yourself to hell wouldn't sound like such a great idea!
... morePosted at 8:42 PM
May 19, 2006
On Messages Of War And Peace: Iran's Khomeini-inspired Islam Verses Pope Benedicts' Christianity
The difference represents drastic conflict. Unfortunately the contrast exactly represents where the world is heading like a speeding locomotive - drastic conflict, complete with all that implies - especially with the advent of a nuclear Iran.
... morePosted at 10:15 AM
May 18, 2006
The Peace Of Freedom--The Positive Peace Principle Part III
But, one may still ask, despite the benefits of a positive peace I described in Part II, does such freedom really promote social justice (the final element of the Positive Peace Principle listed in Part I)? Is a positive peace a just peace? To answer this some idea of the Good or Just society must be joined with that of peace. But, to pose this is to offer a Rubik Cube full of twists and turns and different colors. I have analyzed this puzzle in my The Just Peace and will outline the approach and conclusion here. To begin, let... ... morePosted at 10:38 PM
American Convert: Muslims must reject democracy!
Sometimes we run across opinions that are simply beyond or below comment - after all, we have to recognize that there people on our planet that are simply "out there".
... morePosted at 6:59 PM
Dutch Government Reconsiders Expelling Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of Islam, said earlier this week she was resigning and leaving the Netherlands after Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk, a member of her own VVD liberal party, told her she might lose her Dutch passport.
... morePosted at 2:28 PM
Palestinians Used International Aid To Fund Terrorism
Some of the Israeli money, Shubaki told his investigators, was also used to fund Palestinian terror groups
... morePosted at 11:57 AM
May 17, 2006
The Peace Of Freedom--The Positive Peace Principle Part II
Why has the Constitution of the United States, which sets up a political system with horizontal and vertical divisions of power, failed to prevent a growth in government that undoubtedly now exceeds in size, power, and intervention in social and economic matters, the greatest fears of Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton? The answer lies along three dimensions. One is the involvement of the United States in war, especially the two World Wars, but also in the Korean and Vietnam wars. In time of war, governments centralize, extend and introduce controls, and mobilize resources and people. Massive intervention, coercion, and regulation are... ... morePosted at 10:33 PM
May 16, 2006
The Peace Of Freedom--The Positive Peace Principle Part I
That government is best which governs least ----Thoreau. Civil Disobedience, 1849 They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shallnot lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. ----Isaiah 2:4 Believed desirable in itself, peace has been the great goal of humanity. But, we also have other values. Truth and beauty. Justice. Love. And these values may be totally lost in the peace of the slave, the captive, the oppressed. We should keep in mind, therefore, that there are two kinds of peace. One is negative peace. This is peace to be sure,... ... morePosted at 10:34 PM
About That Cassandra Syndrome
Taking into account the opinion of three (including Pat Santy) "superb mental health professionals" that have in effect come to identical conclusions, as Pat Santy says - you better believe that they are on to something. That "something" is a sound assessment of the current situation in the conservative blogsphere and the state of affairs of the political and cultural left.
... morePosted at 9:34 PM
Iraqi Ayatollah talks about the Annihilation of America, Muslim Conquest of the World, and Declares His Support of Nuclear Bombs in the Hands of Muslim and Arab Countries.
Jihad initiated by the Muslims, which means raiding the world in order to spread the word that "there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah" throughout the world.
... morePosted at 4:40 PM
A New Friendship Between Lybia and the West
Tonight President Bush delivered a ho-hum speech on the issue of illegal immigration. While this remains the issue du jour, I have personally tired of it. For me, the most interesting and pleasing news of the day was that the US and Britain have reached a peaceful agreement with Lybia, a country that has long harbored and supported terrorism. The result, Mr. Bush and Blair said, was that Libya agreed to disclose all its weapons of mass destruction and related programs and to open the North African country to international weapons inspectors to oversee their elimination. Libya's most significant acknowledgment... ... morePosted at 9:42 AM
May 15, 2006
"Da Vinci Code" Unites Indian Muslims And Christians
A powerful organisation of Indian Islamic clerics promised on Monday to help Christian groups launch protests if the authorities did not ban the screening of the controversial film, "The Da Vinci Code".
... morePosted at 4:35 PM
May 14, 2006
Mortacracies--From Blog to Webpage
As you may remember, I wrote six parts in answer to the question as to who were the mortacracies for 2005. By mortacracy, I mean those states that commit considerable democide and demoslaughter. After statistical analyses of measures of democide, life expectancy since birth, human development, fall in life expectancy over nine years, and failed states, the final answer was: Central African Republic Chad Sierra Leone Angola Burma Congo (Zaire) Equatorial Guinea North Korea Sudan Zimbabwe Mozambique Nigeria If these are still mortacracies in 2006, the natural question is what do about them. I answered this with some suggestions for... ... morePosted at 10:25 PM
May 13, 2006
Enriched Uranium Found in Iran
Hat Tip Bretibart.com and Newsmax The UN Atomic agency seems to have found weapons-grade Uranium in Iran. Furthermore, the site where the Uranium was found is linked to the Defense ministry. While Uranium only needs to be slightly enriched for energy production, weapons-grade Uranium must be enriched to contain very high (90%) of the heavier isotope of Uranium. This large disparity between weapons-grade and energy-grade Uranium should make it clear that this is not meant for civilian use. These findings are in sharp contradiction to the rhetoric that tyrant President Ahmedinejad has been spouting. "The Islamic republic denies accusations it... ... morePosted at 1:39 PM
May 12, 2006
Qaddafi-mocking Cartoons
Bulgaria's Ambassador in Libya Zdravko Velev was scolded Wednesday evening in Tripoli over the Qaddafi-mocking cartoons that were published in a Bulgarian daily on May 3. Libya finds that the caricatures slander the dignity of Muammar Qaddafi, they discredit the country's justice system and offend the whole Libyan people. The cartoons were an act of provocation, aimed at disturbing the relationships between the two countries, authorities in Libya seem to believe. Such insults to the head of state are inadmissible, and both Libyan officials and the people cannot tolerate them, Velev was told. here... ... morePosted at 7:10 AM
May 11, 2006
Mubarak 'Stomping On Democracy' As Egyptian Police Beat Pro-Democracy Marchers -
The violence appears to signal a tough new zero tolerance stance by the government toward protests demanding reform and expressing discontent that President Hosni Mubarak has backed off promises of democratic change.
... morePosted at 10:02 PM
More On That 'Hello To The Great Satan"
... a very good perspective on the second week of May 2006 which began with the removal of the British foreign secretary Jack Straw and ended with a letter from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to US president George Bush.
... morePosted at 5:48 PM
A Somalian has executed in public the murderer of his father stabbing him
Traslation from El Diario de León: Mohamen Moallin, aged 16, is Somalian and this last Thursday has executed the assasin of his father. He did it publicly because an Islamic Tribunal told him to do it. The man was his father's murderer. Omar Hussein, aged 45, had been declared culprit when applying sharia law of having killed the teacher Sheik Osman Moallin, about the way this teacher was educating his son. The Tribunal of the Bermuda district, in the Somalian capital, ordered Mohammed to execute Omar in the same way that he had murdered his father. So Omar was transported... ... morePosted at 1:47 PM
May 10, 2006
20th Century Mortacracies
As a result of an 8-year project I concluded some years ago, I defined the major 20th century mortacracies as those listed below. But, since then I have increased some of the estimates, particularly for Mao's China and colonialism., but had yet to change the above table. This was done by Jade in New Zealand, and with thanks I show below the table she sent me, with slight revisions I made in its format: In the last century, governments have murdered 262,000,000 people. And that is not even counting mortacide (as defined in my recent post). With such a near... ... morePosted at 10:16 PM
Analyzing Ahmadinejad's Admonitions
I have had time to read and analyze the letter from Iran's President Ahmadinejad and my conclusion? He has basically said, 'abandon democracy and join the [Islamic] religious revival', ... or else. President George W. Bush was right to dismiss this letter as a move by Tehran to divert attention from the nuclear issue. To give any public value to this letter would be a mistake. However, behind the scenes our govenment should be taking this 18 page rambling letter very seriously. Ahmadinejad recounts all the supposed "sins" of the American government and calls on President Bush to abandon democracy... ... morePosted at 8:37 PM
May 9, 2006
And these are the teachers of the future Spanish Foreign Experts
From El Confidencial Digital: Some attendants to the classes at the Spanish Diplomacy School, dependant from The Foreign Subsecretary, have shown their surprise at the lessons given by Mahmoud Sobh al-Kurdi, Palestine and Professor at the Madrid's Complutense University of Islamic and Arabis Studies. He also writes often at the left-winged newspaper El Pais and has been invited by conferences and simposiums celebrated by the Cantabria's (one of the Communities in which Spanish is divided) Socialist Government. According to witnesses, this professor has expressed his views against sex equality, has defended the Supremacy of the Islamic Religion upon all the... ... morePosted at 10:23 PM
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part VII--What To Do About Them
In the previous post, I defined the worst group of mortacracies in the world today. For reference, I also include the list here: Okay, what can we do about them. First, I do not suggest any democracy make war on these mortacracies, or militarily attack them unless: • They are a direct or immediate threat to the national security of a democracy, as is Iran in its development of nuclear weapons and being the home of Islamofascism. • They have invaded a democratic neighbor. • They are supporting and aiding terrorism against a democracy, as did Afghanistan under the Taliban.... ... morePosted at 10:04 PM
May 8, 2006
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part Vi--The Answer
I think I solved the puzzle of why my posted images always showed on the Mac and only sometimes on PCs, thus requiring me to provide alternative links. It has to do with leaving empty the height and width containers for an image, e.g., putting nothing after the equality for height= and width=. If the dimensions of an image are okay as is, these containers should be omitted. I haven't been doing that, but will do so now. Before providing a final list of mortacracies, there is one more term to add to those I've been using. As you know,... ... morePosted at 10:27 PM
'Allah' Takes Over Catholic Church In Belgium
[Most of the immigrant squatters in the churches are Muslims. They display banners in the church showing the name of Allah (picture taken in the church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Brussels - Brussels Journal)]. As a Catholic, I'm very much in favor of ecumenism, including greater cooperation and improved uderstanding between Christians, Jews, and Muslims. However, when it comes to Bishops opening their churches to illegal immigrants in order to pressure the Belgian authorities to allow the immigrants to stay in the country, altering the inside of a Catholic church, and especially moving the altar and covering... ... morePosted at 2:35 PM
Arrested Blogger Needs Help - Urgent Action Requested!
Urgent action from readers and fellow bloggers is needed to help an Egyptian blogger that has been arrested in Egypt.
... morePosted at 10:30 AM
May 7, 2006
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part V
I lied. I wrote that this would be the concluding part of this series on defining the world's mortacracies, with my identification of the final list and what to do about them. But, I came across the Fund For Peace webste on failed states with beautiful data for my purpose here. So, never one to let good data rest in peace, I will exploit them to further define mortacracies. The data comprise the 12 indicators of a state's failure listed below: 1 - Mounting Demographic Pressures, 2 - Massive Movement of Refugees and DPs, 3 - Legacy of Vengeance -... ... morePosted at 10:12 PM
May 6, 2006
Israel foils plot to kill Palestinian president
Times Online is reporting that a Hamas plot to assassinate Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has been thwarted after he was tipped off by Israeli intelligence: Hamas's military wing, the Izza Din Al-Qassem, had planned to kill Abbas at his office in Gaza, intelligence sources said. Abbas, who became president of the Palestinian Authority last year after the death of Yasser Arafat, was formally warned of the danger by the Israelis and cancelled a planned visit to the territory. The murder plan is the clearest sign yet of the tensions inside the Palestinian Authority between Hamas, which swept to power... ... morePosted at 9:12 PM
May 5, 2006
Heart-wrenching news from Italy
On Monday, the Washington Post reported a story about three Italian soldiers who were killed in a roadside bomb in Iraq. The article claims that Iran was not only involved in the attack, but complicit in planning and orchestrating it.Iranian agents were accused yesterday of masterminding a bomb attack that killed three Italian soldiers in Iraq last week and intensified political pressure for the incoming government to speed up its withdrawal of troops from that country. But what would otherwise be merely a tragic story is shaping up to be a disturbing tale of deception and underhanded politics. Gateway Pundit... ... morePosted at 10:39 AM
Zarqawi's video: what we haven't seen!
Al-Zarqawi is not a capable military leader. The showing yesterday of the "outtakes"* of the latest Al-Zarqawi's video prompted surprise and laughter among the Coalition Forces. In one, Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, has trouble trying to operate an automatic weapon. An associate has to show him how to do it. Later in the same shot, an associate takes the weapon from Zarqawi by the barrel and burns his hand. In another, the feared terrorist is shown in a black uniform and bright blue "tenny pumps." Coalition troops found the tape during a raid on a hideout... ... morePosted at 5:06 AM
May 4, 2006
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part IV
So far, I have suggested that mortacracies be defined by their democide (Part I), and also by their LE--the life expectancy of a people from birth--(Part II), and their LE within the context of a peoples' HDI--general well being--(Part III). While some free countries may have a very low HDI and LE that they inherited from their previous rapacious thug regimes, I expect that their very low LE will be moving upward. And those thug regimes whose people have moderately high LEs should show them falling as the regime's rapaciousness and corruption affects the people's well being. So, what does... ... morePosted at 10:12 PM
May 3, 2006
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part III
In Part II, I used a people's life expectancy from birth (LE) as an indicator of whether they were ruled by a mortacracy or not. But is LE enough? Perhaps, in addition to LE, I should consider a wider measure of human underdevelopment that takes into account LE's social and economic context, and its high and low. We have this from the UN's Human Development Report for 2005 It used a human development index (HDI) based on a people's income, education and health. Its purpose is not to give a complete picture of human development, but to provide a measure... ... morePosted at 10:23 PM
May 2, 2006
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part II
RETRACTION: In case you read it in yesterday's Part I, before I edited it out: I lost my cool at the end of the blog and called for the democracies to make war on these bloody mortacracies (a thanks to Walter W. Cox for questioning it). I retract that as an irrational and dangerous thrashing about. I had just seen the previous night the A&E "Flight 93" and 9/11 recap, and then stupidly wrote my Part I about the bloody mortacracies. But the question as to what to do about these mortacracies has to be answered sensibly, and as a... ... morePosted at 10:23 PM
May 1, 2006
Who Are The Mortacracies? Part I
I have used the term democide for murder by government, where murder is understood as it is defined in civil law. This is clear enough. And, I have used the term mortacracy for a regime that commits mass democide, such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, communist China, and Pol Pot's Cambodia, among others. The key understanding of democide is that it is intentional. But what about those who die from a regime's actions or their lack, but which death is not an intentional consequence, but a natural consequence of the regime's actions. Such might be, for example, corruption that... ... morePosted at 10:51 PM
S.O.S. ITALIA
A new dictatorship is looming on the horizon. For those who live outside Italy surely this doesn't seem possible and my assumption may be regarded as exaggerated. But we have already witnessed this past week the first signs of it, both in Parliament and in the streets of Rome and Milan. After appointing the leader of Rifondazione Comunista Fausto Bertinotti speaker of the Lower chamber, and Franco Marini, a former unionist, speaker of the Senate, we are now waiting for the final blow which will tear the country apart: the election of former communist, now party chair of the Democratici... ... morePosted at 8:42 PM
