Israeli Neo-Nazis?????

Apparently, they exist: http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2007/09/09/758985.html&cvqh=itn_neonazi.

The whole situation seems impossible and bizarre, but there it is, in black and white. I wonder if it wouldn't be better if, rather than punishing them criminally, they were just expelled from Israel and stripped of its citizenship.

Update on the Bees

I blogged a while ago about how honeybee colonies across North America (and into Europe as well) are collapsing, and in some cases, vanishing entirely. There is finally an update on this story. Researchers have discovered a virus which may be affecting the honeybee colonies, which are already under stress from overwork and other environmental factors: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/nature/bees.html. The virus is known as "Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus" (great, another reason for people to hate Israel.............).

Honeybees are one of the most vital parts of our society, responsible for pollenating many crops. We need to determine with certainty what is happening to them, and soon, and then figure out something to save them.

The Left and The Angry Left

There are left wing people in this country, and then there is The Angry Left. I have no problem with left wing people. I don't agree with them. I'll debate them. I don't want them running the country, but I have no problem with them personally.

The Angry Left, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish. There is no discussing anything with its "members", because they start off with a few basic assumptions which will never change no matter what you say:

1) They know better than you do what is good for you.
2) They are smarter than you.
3) Conservatives/Republicans, by definition, don't care about anyone other than themselves.

There are other, more specific assumptions that they make (the U.N. is a force for good in the world, the U.S. is a force for evil; Arab autocracies are good, democratic Israel is bad, etc., etc.), but those are too numerous to mention.

I have blogged about him before, but to me, the ultimate example of an Angry Left "thinker" is Ted Rall. His latest piece is essentially an homage to socialism: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20070905/cm_ucru/killthepoor;_ylt=AgZzXtLJ7NF4w8UKWGeHBpwE1vAI.
If anyone can find me a country where socialism has done anything other than make everyone poorer, I'll listen to your argument. However, I don't think that North Koreans, Cubans and (soon) Venezuelans, Bolivians and Peruvians would necessarily agree.

Useful Idiots

Vladimir Lenin used that term to describe people in other countries who acted against their own countries' interests in an effort to help the Soviet Union, or to bolster the Communist parties in their own countries.

Well, the United States has a new and improved generation of Useful Idiots. One such individual is Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who supposedly is running for the Presidency on the Democratic side (though his policies sound an awful lot like Congressman Ron Paul's, don't you think?).

Mr. Kucinich's latest "words of wisdom" came out in an interview where he sang the praises of the chinless wonder, a/k/a Syrian President Basher Assad, and called for Syrian and Iranian troops to enter Iraq as peacekeeping forces (after the U.S. pulled out immediately and paid war reparations, of course): http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1550.htm, before he lapses into the "Bush lied, people died" canard. His policy--if you can even dignify it with that term--is wrong on so many levels that it barely merits a response. We can start off by saying that turning over the world's second largest oil reserves to two terrorist regimes is probably not a great idea. We can follow that up with the fact that there is pretty conclusive proof that Iranians are in Iraq, killing Americans.

This man is considered to be a serious politician, at least by some. Does he not realize just what kind of propaganda victory he is handing to the enemies of this country. Is the American Left so blinded by its hatred of President Bush in particular (and again, I will remind you that he isn't my favourite person in the world right now, either) and by Republicans in general that they will say and do anything to make this country look bad? What is wrong with these people?

A former U.S. Senator who HATES Israel

James Abourezk was at one time the U.S. Senator for South Dakota. Well, he recently gave an interview to a Syrian "journalist", and this was the end result: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1551.htm.

I challenge you to find a more vicious piece of anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli propaganda.

The veil and the vote

To me, it seems a matter of basic common sense that women should be required to show their faces prior to voting in elections. We WANT to avoid voter fraud, right?

Well, in Quebec they are about to allow women to vote while wearing full burqahs which will show only the slits of the eyes: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/06/qc-niqab0906.html.

Am I missing something here? We are in the process of committing cultural suicide, and as we do so, the Islamofascists laugh behind our backs and in our faces. How long does anyone think it will be before this happens here in the U.S.?

The forgotten hostages

Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev. Remember their names. It's been over a year since anyone heard any word from them, after their kidnappings by Palestinian and Hezbollah terrorists. And now, Hamas has denied a Red Cross request to see Shalit: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/901645.html.

Is it just me, or does it strike anyone else as odd that their names never seem to cross the lips of either Ehud Olmert or Tzipi Livni. It's as if they don't exist. The Israeli government can NOT be allowed to just sweep them under the rug. Thank God for the blogosphere, or that's exactly what would happen.

Human Rights Watch biased against Israel?

No.................Really? You don't say! What a complete shocker this is: http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/ken_roth_and_human_rights_watch_faqs.

Almost all of these supposedly objective NGO's are biased against Israel. It's part of that wonderful convergence of the Far Left, Far Right and Islamofascism. They all hate Israel.

American "Peace Activists" protecting terrorists

Don't believe me? Watch this amazing (and not in a good way) video which I found on Solomonia's blog: http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-internationals-protect-terrorists.html.

It defies belief. Now, I will admit that I can't say for sure that the "peace activists" are American, but you can hear them talking, and given their accents, I think that it's a fairly safe bet that they are (some might be Canadian, but again, I can't tell for sure).

It's easy for me to say that the IDF should have just shot them, in light of their active aiding and abetting of the enemy in a war zone, but given the continued beatification of Rachel Corrie, another terrorist sympathizer, I can certainly understand its reluctance to do so.

MSNBC's Dan Abrams eviscerates CNN's "God's Warriors"

What a fabulous job by MSNBC's Dan Abrams in completely exposing Christiane Amanpour's puff piece on Islamofascism (while at the same time excoriating Christianity and especially Judaism): http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=9b387b2f-762d-445f-aba9-136c72cc0505&f=00&fg=email.

It's long, but please, watch it all. It's good to see someone--ANYONE--take CNN to task for this hideous farce masquerading as journalism.

Mohammed al Dura

You remember him; the Palestinian child who was "murdered" by Israeli troops back in 2002, leading to yet another blood libel against Israel. Of course, facts have since come forward which suggest strongly that ad Dura was actually killed by the terrorists who were hiding behind him, and France2 has video footage which may establish this. However, it refuses to release the footage (what a shock, the country that gave the world "L'Affaire Dreyfuss" engaging in still more anti-Semitic activity.).

Here is a link to an online petition requesting that France2 release the footage: http://www.petitiononline.com/france2/petition.html. It may not achieve much, but it's worth the effort nonetheless.

More insanity from our schools

No, they're banning lego: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/21_02/lego212.shtml.

Apparently, kids competing over toys is a bad thing, and it goes against the left wing, touchy-feely attitude of our teachers, who want to raise a bunch of socialist clones.

A common denominator

In the past couple of days, astute police work in Germany and Denmark has disrupted two terrorist attacks on Americans: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070905/ap_on_re_eu/germany_terror.

Now, let's see what these terrorist wannabes had in common--and yes, AP, Reuters, CNN (sorry, Christiane Amanpour), etc., they ARE terrorists. Not militants. TERRORISTS. Why, that would be the Religion of Peace, of course.

How many times do we need to be smacked in the face with the obvious before we admit that anti-American terrorism is an Islamic problem?

Goodbye to a Canadian Hero

Stories about soldiers who die in the line of duty never fail to choke me up. This story, about a Canadian soldier who died recently in Afghanistan, was no different: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/08/31/mercier-funeral.html.

Soldiers such as this hero deserved our complete and unequivocal support.

It won't matter, but............

There is an excellent piece which addresses head on the Walt/Mearsheimer resurrection of the old canard that those evil, manipulative Jews are controlling U.S. foreign policy (because, apparently, if you take this absurd argument to its logical extreme, Christians aren't smart enough to see through this Jewish perfidy): http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=35913.

Read it all, it's well worth your time. I'll repeat a point I made in an earlier post; just because these two are well-credentialed doesn't mean that their work is indicative of good scholarship.

The Democratic "base" eats its own

Much has been made of the recent comments by Washington State Congressman Brian Baird, an opponent of both the Iraq War and the Surge, to the effect that he felt that the Surge should be given a chance to work. He made these comments after going to Iraq and personally observing conditions there.

Well, it turns out that the (in)famous "netroots" (nutroots might be a better term) aren't too happy with Congressman Baird's comments, and Moveon.org (which is bankrolled at least in part by the odious George Soros) is now running ads against him: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010562.

To his credit, the Congressman isn't backing down. It's a shame that the so-called Democratic Base is so invested in failure that it will stop at nothing to silence anyone who deviates from its viewpoint.

Mandatory Health Care

Let me get this straight. The current Democratic Presidential Candidate, and ex-Senator (and pretty boy/media darling) John Edwards is, like so many other members of the loony left, raving about how government under the evil/nefarious/fascist Bush Administration has invaded our personal lives. That's bad, right? Well, maybe the former Senator needs to practice what he preaches, because if he were ever elected President, mandatory preventative health care would be the law: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070902/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_2.

So, when he and others in his parties screech hysterically about the erosion of civil liberties, I guess that they weren't thinking of stuff like this, which would obligate people to do certain things.

What a putz................

Israel is green!

The timing on this is just too good, given the comments by British politician Clare Short which blame global warming on Israel. For more on that, see my previous post.

Turns out, no country in the Middle East is more eco-friendly than Israel: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/899996.html.

Like that should be a shock to anyone with a brain...............

European Parliamentarians show their true selves

Great piece on the recent farce held by the European Parliament which was nothing more than an updated version of what happened in Durban six years ago. It was supposed to be for Wall Street Journal subscribers only, so don't aske me how I got it!

The Israel Bashing Club
By DANIEL SCHWAMMENTHAL
September 3, 2007

"Israel is an apartheid state," was the most often-heard charge, closely followed by calls for a boycott. The West should cut its economic ties with the Jewish state, the speakers urged, and engage the "democratically elected" Islamists now running Gaza.

No, this was not a Hamas rally somewhere in the Palestinian territories. This was Brussels, where the European Parliament last week played host to the "United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace."

If the conference title's inversion of the truth is reminiscent of Communist-style propaganda, this is no coincidence. The meeting was organized by the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a Soviet-era body founded around the time of the 1975 U.N. "Zionism is racism" resolution. That anti-Semitic resolution was revoked in 1991 but the committee continued its activities in the resolution's original spirit.

Speaker after speaker at the European Parliament on Thursday and Friday presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an exclusively Palestinian perspective. Israel was accused of human rights violations while Palestinian terrorism and incitement went unmentioned. The delegates invoked the Israeli occupation as the underlying cause for the conflict without mentioning the Palestinian rejectionism and violence that prevent further Israeli withdrawals. The "right of return" of millions of Palestinians, which would lead to the demographic destruction of Israel as a Jewish state, was upheld despite the official claim to favor a two-state solution.

Amid this standard-Israel-bashing, a few delegates managed to come up with a few innovative charges against the Jewish state.

There was Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and Secretary for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair until she resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war. Claiming that Israel is actually "much worse than the original apartheid state" and accusing it of "killing (Palestinian) political leaders," Ms. Short charged the Jewish state with the ultimate crime: Israel "undermines the international community's reaction to global warming." According to Ms. Short, the Middle East conflict distracts the world from the real problem: man-made climate change. If extreme weather will lead to the "end of the human race," as Ms. Short warned it could, add this to the list of the crimes of Israel.

The U.S. also came in for criticism. Pierre Galand, chairman of the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine, admonished Washington for increasing its military aid to Israel. What really worried Mr. Galand was that this aid would allow Israel to build a missile defense system. In Mr. Galand's view, Israel's ability to protect itself against possible nuclear-tipped Iranian missiles doesn't serve the "cause of peace."

Speaking at the conference's opening session, Edward McMillan-Scott, British vice president of the European Parliament, told the audience that, "It is also worth noting that I am related to Colonel T. E. Lawrence of Arabia." Having thus established his noble pedigree, he later told me that Hamas was "not a terrorist organization." Perhaps Mr. McMillan-Scott is aspiring to the title of Edward of Hamastan?

The only attempt among the dozens of speakers to present the other side came from an Arab-Israeli. Nadia Hilou, a member of the Israeli Parliament (so much for the "apartheid" charge) explained why her countrymen are pessimistic about the prospects for peace. "It's the disappointment that the withdrawals from Gaza and Lebanon, which were seen as gestures of good will, have worsened not improved Israel's security situation." Having failed to stick to her assigned role as witness for the prosecution, Ms. Hilou is unlikely to be invited back.

One is tempted to dismiss the conference as of little practical consequence. Another U.N. conference bashing Israel -- what else is new? Bronislaw Geremek, a former Polish foreign minister and current member of the European Parliament, disagrees. That his house has played host to this "revolting" meeting, he told me, will further diminish Europe's credibility as an even-handed peace broker in Israeli eyes. Mr. Geremek, together with a group of like-minded lawmakers, many also Polish, tried in vain to stop the conference from taking place.

The U.N. gathering in Brussels, though, did more than just sow distrust between Europe and Israel. It was a further step in the growing campaign to delegitimize and demonize Israel. The calls for a boycott, championed first by radical Palestinians, have already been adopted by some mainstream organizations, such as various British unions. Similarly, the idea of establishing contacts with Hamas has been echoed recently by high-profile politicians. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, a former EU Commission President, suggested talking to Hamas last month to help it "develop." (He later backtracked.) The British Parliament's foreign affairs committee also recommended last month to engage with Hamas. The U.K. lawmakers even added Hezbollah and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to their wish list of dialogue partners -- all in the interest of peace, of course.

By hosting this conference, the European Parliament has lent its good name to propaganda and helped to make radical anti-Israeli claims more mainstream. It's a huge disservice to the search for Mideast peace, which must be based on compromise and dialogue.

Mr. Schwammenthal edits the State of the Union column.

Continuing down the road

Some of Europe's politicians are belatedly recognizing the rabid anti-Semitism which has become so pervasive on their continent: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090300719.html.

I have said again and again that insofar as Israel is concerned, Europe is a lost cause. I have not quite yet come to the conclusion that it is a lost cause for Jews in general, but that isn't a tremendously long step to take. The demons thatwere unleashed by the Nazis 60+ years ago were not fully destroyed, and the Islamofascists, in league with the far left, are doing their best to unleash them once again.............

Iran fulminates

A nuclear-armed Iran would be a death sentence for Israel. That's not a matter of opinion, that's just a fair interpretation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments. Now, there are reports in various western media sources about the Pentagon drawing up plans for attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece.

While I am heartened that maybe, just maybe, we are not going to allow Iran to complete its journey on the nuclear road, I am dismayed that our media seems all too eager to reveal all the details of the supposedly-planned attack. Hasn't it occurred to anyone that maybe the Iranians just might use this information to defend against the attack, or does that not bother the MSM or the sieve who revealed this information?

Couldn't resist posting on this

How nice, Neo-Nazis and the Islamofascists who run Iran are playing nice with each other: http://fleetingperusal.blogspot.com/2007/09/ahmadinejad-neo-nazis-hero.html. Doesn't this just warm your heart? It makes me feel all fuzzy and nice inside that we Jews can unite people who would otherwise despise each other...........

Labour Day

It's Labour Day. I will spend it with my family, so blogging will be light or nonexistent today. Have a great holiday, everyone!

Some sporting thoughts for a Sunday morning

Did anyone else catch that Michigan-Appalachian State game yesterday? I know that the Wolverines have a tradition of coming up small in big games, but yesterday, they came up tiny in a minor game. Yes, I know that the Mountaineers of Appalachian State are the two-time defening Division 1-AA (or whatever the NCAA is calling it now) champs, but if you are the preseason #5 team in the country with national title aspirations, you can NEVER lose at home to a team that was so dismissed that there wasn't even a line on the game! Still, this game was one of the reasons that I love college football.

The baseball pennant races are heading down to the wire. While the Phiadelphia Phillies did complete a four-game home sweep this week of the division-leading New York Mets this past week, I just don't see the Phillies' pitching staff, especially without Cole Hamles, doing enough to keep Philadelphia in the race for either the division or the playoffs. Witness J.D. Durbin's line from last night's game: 0 innings pitched, 5 hits against, 7 runs against (all earned). Par for the course for the Foldadelphia pitching staff. In the NL Central, it remains the division that no one wants. Right now, the Chicago Cubbies are only 69-65 and lead the division by a 1 1/2 games, but have only gone 5-5 in their last 10, though the faltering second-place Milwaukee Brewers have gone 4-6 during that same stretch. Even the St. Louis Cardinals, who were given up for dead in May, are now back in it at 66-66. Out west, the pitching-rich and hitting-poor San Diego Padres are tied with the callow but talented Arizona Diamondbacks, with the Los Angeles Dodgers lurking four games back and the surprising Colorado Rockies five out. My NL postseason picks: The Mets, Cardinals and Padres, with the Diamondbacks making it as the Wildcard team.

In the American League, my Boston Red Sox still lead the East by five games, but they have reverted to their pre-2004 form of losing every game that matters to the New York Yankees. Right now, the Bronx Bombers are five games out, having shaved 9 1/2 games off of what was once a 14 1/2 game lead. In the Central, the Cleveland Indians have opened a 5 1/2 game led over the very disappointing Detroit Tigers. We all knew that Detrpot could hit, but I really thought that their pitching staff would allow them to cruise to the division title. Instead, it has been the downfall of a team that has underachieved. Still, Detroit is still very much in the Wildcard race, 2 1/2 games back of New York. Out west, it WAS a race up until a week ago, when the Seattle Mariners turned back into a pumpkin. They have now lost eight in a row, allowing the Anaheim Angels to open a comfortable 6 1/2 game lead with less than 30 games to play. My post-season picks: The Yankees, Indians and Angels, with the Red Sox hanging on to capture the Wildcard.

The U.S. Open began last week, and I really have no buzz about it. It's going to come down to Roger Federer and someone else, most likely Rafael Nadal, and Federer will win because no one else is good enough to beat him, plain and simple. Ultimately, the sublime Swiss star will go down as the best men's tennis player ever, though I do think that he needs to win the French Open to really cement that title. On the women's side, again I have no particular interest this year. There are no captivating personalities or at least as of this point, great story lines.

The NFL season begins next Thursday, and it should be a great season. I like the Patriots and Cowboys to meet in the Super Bowl, with New England rolling to its fourth title in the last seven seasons. I am sure that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants nothing more than for the season to start, so that the focus on his league can return to the on-field product, as opposed to on the activities of Michael Vick, Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, et al.

Don't be so impressed by Walt & Mearsheimer

Why not? Because there are plenty of well-credentialed psychopaths and wackos out there. Check out the credentials of the attendees at the Wannsee Conference: http://www.aish.com/holocaust/overview/he05n20.htm. A pretty impressive list of degrees, no?

Let me also ask another question about the Walt & Mearsheimer book: The power of the "infamous Israel Lobby" is their obvious concern. Yet, the Saudis, Chinese, and Mexicans, among others, all have well-funded, powerful lobby groups in D.C. Shockingly (ha ha), Walt & Mearsheimer and their sycophants seem utterly unconcerned about them. It couldn't be because Israel is the lone Jewish state in the world, could it?

Just wondering...........

Durban Revisited

Rather than write my own post, I am going to link to two other fabulous blogs, www.solomonia.com and www.tundratabloids.blogspot.com, both of which have excellent recaps of the recently concluded European Parliament conference on the "Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People". As both of those blogs point out, the atmosphere was so biased and toxic that even the rabidly pro-Palestinian Scandinavians were somewhat put off.

Go and read what they have to write. It's eye-opening.................

Seven politicians in Europe who get it on the subject of Israel

They may be the only seven, but it's seven more than I thought existed: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/30/opinion/edletters.php.

Debunking the "Israel conned the U.S. into attacking Iraq" Theory

I wonder if you will ever see this article in the New York Times, Washington Post, or if an anti-Israel political figure such as Pitchfork Pat Buchanan will ever quote it: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH30Ak04.html.

You see, Israel was apparently opposed to the American attack on Iraq, believing that if the United States was going to go after a country in the Middle East, it would have been better off targeting Iran. The Bush Administration, obviously, did not listen. Still, I am sure that this story will be shrugged off if not ignored by those who contain to believe that those evil Zionist/Nazi/Fascist/Imperialist/Colonialist Israeli JEWS (and their supporters here in the U.S.) were behind the American invasion of Iraq.

Australian Christians Offended

Some provocative artwork down under has overwhelmingly Christian Australia a little miffed: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070830/ts_nm/australia_art_dc.

And yet, how are the Christians reacting? No beheadings. No calls for riots. No fatwahs, or whatever the Christian equivalent might be, if there even is one. You might even call their reaction (gasp!) CIVILIZED.

Strangely, I see no calls by CAIR or its Aussie equivalent for this supposed artwork to be put away. What a shock...........

North Korea out-thinks us.........again

There's a reason why I am a huge fan of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. He is a straight-talking, no-nonsense HONEST man. That alone should have made everyone in this country want to support his permanent appointment, but the Democrats seem to have problems with those who tell the U.N. what it really is, and so he is no longer at Turtle Bay.

Nonetheless, he is still active politically. Here he is with a fabulous piece on why we absolutely cannot trust the North Koreans............not that anyone outside a narrow sphere of the Republican Party (and maybe Senator Joseph Lieberman) is listening: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010542.

North Korea is a dangerous country. As is the case with Venezuela, which is also dangerous for different reasons, we ignore that fact at our own peril.

Hezbollah is going to sue Israel

No, I'm NOT kidding: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/898467.html. The Islamofascist terrorist group is going to try to recover money for the "damage" Israel did after last summer's war.

How much do you want to bet that in loony left/anti-Semitic world that is international law, Hezbollah will actually win?

Goodbye, President Bush...............

...............don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.

Why would I write this? It's simple; his metamorphosis into his father, especially in terms of foreign policy, is more or less complete now. His latest act, no doubt egged on by a pro-Muslim, Arabist State Department, is to oppose bills calling for divestment from Iran and Sudan: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/898706.html. Hard to believe, but it's apparently true. Two of the most odious, anti-Semitic regimes out there, and we don't want to do squat against them.

Unbelievable........................

The San Francisco Treat

It's not Rice-a-Roni, as it turns out. No, it's social engineering: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/08/the_racial_engineering_of_san.html. I have never been to the City by the Bay, and would still like to visit sometime, but I have to ask how any sane human being could stand living there. I know that there are a few of you out there, because you have e-mailed or are members of the same listservs as me. Doesn't it drive you insane to live in that place?

A few days off

Blogging will be very light through the Labour Day Weekend, as I take off a few days to go to the beach and generally recharge the batteries. I'll still try to get the occasional post up, though.........

New Blog and New Blog Feature

I found an absolutely hysterical new blog, written by a stay-at-home mother of six. She is witty, insightful and clearly on the way to losing her sanity! ;-) Her blog can be found here: http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/, and I have linked to her on my blogroll.

As well, on the right hand side of my blog, I have inserted a world map. For those readers who are so inclined, you can post your location. I am curious about where all of you are located! :-D

Walt & Mearsheimer revisited

The Walt & Mearsheimer "expose" of the nefarious and all-powerful "Israel Lobby" is coming out in early September. There is an interesting article on the book in the New Yorker magazine, which can be found here: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/09/03/070903taco_talk_remnick?printable=true.

I've blogged about this previously, but it bears repeating. It's open season on Israel. Any and all comments about the Jewish State are acceptable. Leaders of foreign countries can call for its eradication without so much as a "tut tut". Domestically, scholars write books about the power of "those Jews" and are accorded the highest esteem.

We live in strange and dangerous times.................

Mr. Vick goes to prison (maybe)

We'll find out for sure in Deember, when he is sentenced, but all indications are that Michael Vick will be sen away for anywhere from 12-18 months on the dogfigthing conspiracy charge to which he pled guilty.

To me, as an animal lover in general and dog owner in particular, what Vick did was reprehensible. He deserves to do jail time. There is another companion story, however, and that is how what Michael Vick did is perceived across the country. Sadly, as is the case with so many issues, the view of what he did has broken down along racial lines. Caucasians overwhelmingly think that he is guilty, African Americans...........not so much. Jason Whitlock, who is African American, has written a great piece in which he asks his fellow African Americans how they can blame "white racism" for the pratfalls and criminal actions of every one of their athletic heroes: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7160334.

Then again, maybe I'm just off base on this one.

Absolutely Pathetic

I am truly ashamed to originally be from Quebec, with politicians who believe the way this one does: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/08/23/qu-response.html.

Yes, I KNOW that it is horrible that Canadian soldiers are dying in Afghanistan, but perhaps the odious Gilles Duceppe thinks that if all Canadian soldiers are withdrawn, everything in Quebec will just be hunky dory. After all, he couldn't care less about the English Canadians who die there. Then again, maybe Duceppe is just being true to his French heritage: When the going gets tough, run away and/or surrender.........

An inauspicious Canadian anniversary...........

...........though you'd never be able to tell that from this insipid CBC article, which is so vanilla that it says virtually nothing: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/08/26/quebec-bill101.html. You see, Quebec is "celebrating" the 30th anniversary of its infamous "Bill 101", which the article says made French the official language of Quebec, but which in reality legalized linguistic discrimination that should never be permitted in a true democracy. But, then again, whoever said that Quebec was truly democratic?

American in decline?

As it turns out, the constant drumbeat of "The Decline of American Power" is nothing new: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/08/declinism.html. The thing is, there is generally no way to tell if a decline is taking place until after it has already occurred. Given the standard of living in this country, the lines of people looking to move here (which aren't shrinking), etc., etc., I'm not of the opinion that this is a country in decline, much as some on the Left want that to be the case, or want the public to believe that that is the situation.............

Getting ready for Durban II

The planning continues for the 2009 U.N.-sponsored anti-racism conference, a followup to the anti-Semitic, Israel Hatefest which took place in Durban, South Africa, back in 2001. Unlike six years ago, both the United States and Israel are keeping a very low profile, reasoning (correctly) that it is likely that the 2009 conference will be more of the same: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1188128150156&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. After all, let's keep in mind which country is running the show: LIBYA. That would be like Vladimir Putin chairing a conference on democracy or Hugo Chavez leading a discussion on capitalism.

For more on this subject, read this excellent Op-Ed from Hillel Neuer, the head of U.N. Watch: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/25/challenging_the_uns_darker_side/.

Euope: Two steps forward, five steps back

I was stunned to find the following Op-Ed in this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070826_One_Last_Thing___Europeans_have_supplanted_backbones_with_capitulation.html. Jonathan Last, it must be stated, is one of the few clear thinkers writing for the Inquirer. It is heartening, at least somewhat, to see a piece like this get published, though the point of the article, on how Europe seems to be rushing headlong into dhimmitude, is certainly far from a positive one.

Religion of Peace strikes again

The death toll, this time in India, is over 40, and it could have been much higher: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/HuJI_behind_blasts_in_Hyderabad_Centre/articleshow/2310796.cms.

I'd like to ask a couple of questions of Christiane Amanpour and the rest of the amoral dhimmis at CNN: Was it those evil followers of Jimmy Falwell who did this? No? Okay. Well, then, it MUST have been disgruntled "Zionist settlers" from Gaza or the West Bank, or at least followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane? What's that you say, it wasn't them either?

Well, it COULDN'T have been delusional, psychotic, homicidal followers of the Religion of Peace? Why, the Religion of Peace is NO DIFFERENT AT ALL FROM ANY OTHER WESTERN FAITH! IT IS NO MORE VIOLENT THAN JUDAISM OR CHRISTIANITY. GOT IT???????? Isn't that what you and the rest of the politically correct members of the MSM keep telling us, even as the death toll mounts ever higher?

MSM runs scared from the Religion of Peace again

Bloom County/Opus cartoonist Berke Breathed is no friend or fan of the Republicans, and has done many, many cartoons lampooning conservatives in general and President Bush in particular. Well, the next two weeks he drew cartoons which (gasp!) poked fun at the Religion of Peace (official motto: "Don't call us violent or we'll kill you!"), and newspapers across the country are refusing to run it, including the host paper for the strip, the Washington Post. Here is the skinny from Breathed's own website: http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/pages/index.asp.

Our cowardice knows no bounds..............

UPDATE (Sunday morning, 8:25 a.m.): To its credit, the largest local paper in my area, the Philadelphia Inquirer, HAS printed the cartoon.

Israel ponders future military threats

The IDF, unlike the collection of fools running the government, is apparently considering what future threats to Israel will involve, including Iranian nuclear threats, another possible war with Hezbollah, etc.: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/896815.html.

Read it all. The situation Israel is facing is dire indeed.

The Six Day War revisited again

A new book is coming out which provides even more evidence of how the Soviet Union effectively engineered the 1967 Six Day War in an effort to destroy the nascent Israeli nuclear program: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1187779146277&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull.

The most fascinating aspect of this story in my mind are the emerging details of how Soviet ballistic missile submarines were poised off the Israeli shoreline and, even more stunningly, were contemplating landing troops in Israel (which undoubtedly would have turned the Cold War into a very hot one).

It really is an amazing story...............

15 Years Ago Today

It's hard to believe for me, but 15 years ago today I went through one of the more fearsome weather events this country has ever seen, Hurricane Andrew, one of only four Atlantic Basin Category Five hurricanes to make landfall. At tthe time I was about to begin my second year of law school, and had just come off a very rough first year. Still, I had made it through, and was ready to see what the second year would bring. As it turned out, it brought Hurricane Andrew on August 24, 1992.

For those who have never been through a hurricane, there is no way to really explain it properly. The howling winds, the sounds of things being blown around, the pounding rain, the sense that it is never going to end, all are part of a truly incredible (and not in a good way) experience. I had friends who literally lost everything they had except for the clothes on their backs. School, which was supposed to begin that week, was delayed by three weeks. That allowed my friends and I to do some hurricane relief volunteer work and, because we were all so much more fortunate than so many others, to go to Disneyworld for four days.

There are several mental images which will never leave my mind: The utter devastation in Homestead and South Miami. See Royal Palms lying across the parking lot of my apartment complex. Going to my law school several days later and seeing not a single tree standing. Watching parrots fly around, after they had been "set free" from Parrot Jungle. Being unable to get a phone line for over a day to tell my parents that I was okay. Bonding with several close friends, people I am still honoured to call my friends to this very day. Staring in amazement and bemusement as emergency services workers fished an understandably confused dolphin out of a swimming pool. I could go on and on...........

Hurricane Andrew was one of those "Where were you?" moments for me, and it remains one of the most incredible events of my life.

Can't get a Get

No, it's not a misprint. Under Jewish law, if an orthodox woman wants a divorce, her husband must grant her that right, also known as a "Get" (unfortunately, my religion obviously has a neanderthal streak, too): http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010514.

It's not something of which I often think. Mrs. BHG and I are what is commonly known as Conservative Jews. If she ever tires of me (I sure hope not!), or I of her (which I can't ever see happening), we could just get divorced and move on with our lives. Orthodox women, unfortunately, can't do that unless their estranged husband permits it. That, in my mind, is an incredibly backward way of thinking..............

Still MORE idiocy out of Great Britain

What would you say is the number one international concern for Great Britain? Iraq? A good guess, but wrong. The threat from Islamofascist terror? A nice choice, but also incorrect. The almost-solved, but never quite gone Troubles in Northern Ireland? So close, yet so far.

You see, Britain's number one concern, according to a Labour Party Member of Parliament writing in The Guardian, is the welfare of the Palestinian people, and to that end, Britain (through Middle East Envoy Tony Blair) should immediately begin talking to Hamas, which The Guardian breathlessly asserts would be on a level of Nixon going to China: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2147420,00.html.

Who cares if China never advocated the eradication of the United States (or any other country, for that matter)? Those are mere details. I'd say more, but I'm too nauseated after reading this.............

Another Brit who hates Israel

I know that it's redundant, but the Brits have managed to find a new columnist to spew his/her venom against Israel. This one, a guy by the name of Mark Steel, writes in The Independent of how a Palestinian soccer team has been refused entry for the British Foreign Office: http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_m_z/mark_steel/article2883835.ece. Apparently, this is Israel's fault. You see, those evil, nefarious Zionists MUST have exerted pressure on the Foreign Office. That's the only explanation for Mr. Steel. And, he then launches into one of the more venomous anti-Israel diatribes I have read in quite some time.

Rather than repeat the whole thing, I suggest that you all go read it. Then, you will understand why Great Britain is rapidly replacing France as my number one most hated country in Europe.

Addicted to blogging?

According to this test, I sure am: http://mingle2.com/blog-addiction.

I scored out at 72% addicted to blogging, whatever that means. I am sure that it is nothing good, though!

In defense of Jose Padilla

No, no, I'm not defending him. Ted Rall, patron saint of all anti-American, anti-Republican, anti-Conservative thought, is: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20070822/cm_ucru/itdidhappenhere;_ylt=Ak.3sONkpz0G34otzMMs240E1vAI.

I know, Rall is a crank. The thing is, people read him. Yahoo in particular features him as one of its star columnists. He has a BIG audience. So, everytime he writes one of his missives, thousands of people read the drivel and if they don't know any better, what he is writing could actually make sense to them.

From the "Dog Bites Man" Category

So, CNN in in general and "star" correspondent Christiane Amanpour in particular are anti-Israel: http://www.hvc-inc.com/clients/cnn/warriors/news.html. No....................REALLY? I had no idea!

CNN, in the past week, has run a six hour series on the three major western faiths, and their "violent" tendencies. Gee, Christiane, when was the last time a Jew snuck into Ramallah and blew up a Ramadan meal? Any Jews flown planes into buildings in Doha, Riyadh or Kuwait City? How many Zionists have planted bombs on trains in Spain or in the London Underground? And, how many Christians are plotting mass deaths in the Muslim world? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

CNN is what it is. There's a reason why I do not watch the news network (though I did check this series out). It is overtly anti-Israel. Period. End of story. It always has been. Amanpour can barely disguise her antipathy towards the Jewish state, but any clear thinker can see through her moral relativism.

For more on the same subject, check out CAMERA's post on it: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=3&x_outlet=14&x_article=1354.

Again, CNN is what it is. Amanpour is who she is. To expect any more from them is to delude yourself.

Blame Rocky and Bullwinkle!

It took a while, but we finally know the cause of global warming. It's not human activity. No, Norwegian scientists have found out it's all those Norwegian moose belching and farting: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0%2C1518%2C501145%2C00.html. They're worse than cars! Really! I guess that moose are the Hummers of the animal world...............

The kind of story that would make my hair fall out, if I had any

Israel is supposed to be our ally, the conclusions of Walt & Mearsheimer notwithstanding. So.......WHY are we training the people who then go out and kill Israelis: http://www.nysun.com/article/60989.

The terrorist quoted in this article makes it a point of thanking the United States for the training that the United States gave to the Palestinians, thereby enabling the Second Intifadah to "succeed". Let's keep in mind the perverse logic of the "Palestinian Cause". Boiled down to its essence, it can be summed up as follows: Losing is winning. The more Palestinians die, the more poverty and misery afflict their people, the more attention they get from the world press, and the more concessions which are offered by the odious Olmert government, which in turn lead to more scorn and hatred visited on Israel by people around the world. Twisted, but amazingly, it does seem to work.

You don't believe me? Look at how the movement to boycott Israel economically and academically has really picked up steam ever since the Olmert government took power. As I said, perverse, but there is no denying the effectiveness of this tactic...............

Stunning editorial from the Washington Post

Why? Because (gasp!) it actually supports something other than doing nothing insofar as Iran is concerned. Because it correctly points out that the U.N. is at best useless in dealing with this looming threat. Because it finally shows a recognition that Iranians are actively involved in the killing of Americans, though God forbid our government should ever acknowledge that fact.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/20/AR2007082001581.html

Tribute to the troops

Someone forwarded this to me late last night, and it was too good not to share with everyone. It came with the following introductory note:

"The following is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News today. Lizzie Palmer who put this YouTube program together is 15 years old. There have been over 3,000,000 hits as of this morning. In case you missed it, here it is."

http://www.youtube.com/jp.swf?video_id=ervaMPt4Ha0&eurl=&iurl=http%3A//img.youtube.com/vi/ervaMPt4Ha0/default.jpg&t=OEgsToPDskIZK55n73Es4aPpkDb2AURB&autoplay=1

I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought tears to my eyes..............

No reincarnation for you!

At least not in China, where the government has banned reincarnation without government permission: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227400/site/newsweek/.

And then people wonder why I question government involvement in our lives? This is what bureaucrats do if they are given enough time!

It's not just me who sees the BBC for what it is

Even some newspapers across the Pond are coming to the realization that the BBC is biased against Western culture in general and Israel in particular: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/08/20/dl2001.xml.

Unfortunately, I think that this Editorial, while laudable, will be shouted down by the PC voices in the BBC which proclaim that they are completely unbiased. If that were true, then I suppose that Michael Moore is completely objective, too...............

Environmentalists who miss the point

There is an interesting Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal on a small town in Romania called Rosia Montana: http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010500. This town is ravaged by unemployment and poverty, but recently, a large mining company discovered a huge cache of gold underneath it. Not surprisingly, the company wants to mine the gold, which could provide a ton of jobs for the residents of Rosia Montana, but foreign environmentalists, led by George Soros, are opposing the mine.

Look, I am never opposed to environmentalism. I am a recycling freak. However, at what point do we in the West stop having a right to interfere in the lives of people in other countries? The residents of this small, poor town seem to have an economic opportunity before them. Who are we to tell them that they should not take it, or that it should be denied to them? Isn't there just a teensy bit of cultural arrogance in doing that?

The Hezbollah Museum

This thing actually exists (in, where else, Lebanon): http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070827&s=krieger082707.

You know what appalls me about this? The woman visitor who is quoted in this article is a CHRISTIAN. How does a Christian woman get to the point mentally where she thinks that it's a good idea to support a museum devoted to glorifying Islamofascist terrorists who hate, among other religions, Christianity? Am I just missing something here?

If this doesn't scare you, nothing will

Fearmongering? Maybe. The fact of the matter, however, is that the Islamofascists have made no secret of their unending desire to hit the U.S. homeland with a massive terrorist attacks, be it chemical, biological or as this column posits, nuclear: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DouglasMacKinnon/2007/08/15/the_two_things_to_know_before_your_city_is_nuked_by_terrorists.

I have to be honest. I'm not prepared for this eventuality. I don't have stockpiles of food, water or much as I hate to admit that I would need them, weapons. So, I don't know what I would do, though the idea of packing my family off to Canada to live with my sisters and their families is certainly appealing....................

An Imam from India visits Israel

Better yet, he actually LIKED the country: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3439462,00.html.

Of course, how long do you think it will be before there is a fatwah issued against him and he is either killed or forced into hiding? Because, you know, the Religion of Peace is SO tolerant of dissenting voices within its ranks.

Senator Joseph Lieberman makes the case against Syria

Not that any thinking person really needs to be convinced, of course: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010496. That said, I am sure that somewhere right now, James "F--- the Jews" Baker and his "Realist buddies are reading this and are shaking their heads in disagreement. That, or they're cashing their paychecks from their Saudi masters....................

Terrorist Ideas

Local columnist Michael Smerconish has written an interesting column on Freakonomics author Steven Levitt, who on his blog asked readers for suggestions on what terrorists might or would do in terms of attacks here in the homeland: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070819_If_I_were_a_terrorist__I_would______.html.

It got me thinking about where I live. We already had the Fort Dix Six, who lived a hop, skip and jump away from my house, so it's not like this is such a far-fetched scenario. Does it make me a traitor for contemplating these things, as one reader of Levitt's blog accused him of being? I don't know, but for better or worse, here are my nightmare scenarios. All of them are decidedly "low tech", which is assuredly not al Qaeda's modus operandi, but they would not take much planning, and would certainly accomplish their goal of sowing terror:

1) Two miles or so from my house is one of the larger high schools in the region, Cherry Hill East. Its students are overwhelmingly middle class, upper middle class or better. They are also largely Jewish. How hard would it be for, say, 3-5 Jihadists to arm themselves with submachine guns and grenades, all of which are pretty easily available and to walk down the hallways and "do what they do". Alternatively, how hard would it be to park a rental truck near one end of the school and take it out with a well-placed Oklahoma City-style bomb?

2) There are numerous major malls within an hour of here, including King of Prussia, which is among the largest in the country. Different location, same scenario. It would be virtually impossible to stop any seriously-motivated terrorists from killing scores, if not hundreds of people, in attacks as I've described above.

3) The largest Jewish Community Center in southern New Jersey is 2 1/2 miles away from here. You need to show ID to get into the building, but there is no armed security enforcing that. The doors to the early childhood care center, where one of my kids goes, are locked at all times, but how much would that slow down someone who meant harm to the kids?

I have to be honest. Anytime I am in one of these locations, these thoughts do pass through my mind, albeit fleetingly. It's a sad and frightening world where this is even a consideration.....

Teens go wild, parents cover up for them

Okay, time for a social commentary rant. I live in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, and a story that made the wires locally involved a bunch of Haddonfield, NJ, teens who partied to a degree that I have never before seen. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Monica Yank Kinney is all over the story, which began in the Spring:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/monica_yant_kinney/20070527_Monica_Yant_Kinney___Haddonfield_teens_going_to_extremes.html

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/monica_yant_kinney/20070617_Monica_Yant_Kinney___Haddonfield_tells_parents__Dont_be_parties_to_risk.html

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/monica_yant_kinney/20070627_Monica_Yant_Kinney___Dont_Snitch_comes_to_suburbs.html

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/monica_yant_kinney/20070819_Monica_Yant_Kinney___A_blackout_on_truth_in_Haddonfield.html

Look, we all have our pasts. We all did things which we wish we hadn't done. That's a fact of life and a part of growing up. What these kids did, however, was nothing like anything I ever did. Defecating in a piano? Filling a supersoaker with urine and spraying it around the house? Masturbating on stuffed animals? Who does things like that?

Worse yet, the parents of the kids are completely covering up what the kids did. Lawyers were immediately hired, and non-apology apologies were half-heartedly offered. Where is the sense of accountability? Where are the parents telling the kids, "You messed up, now you face up to what you did"?

Look, no one expects the parents to completely hang their own flesh and blood out to dry, but is it so much to ask for them to let their kids know that what they did was wrong, instead of whining about how "rumours" are ruining their kids lives? What about the parents whose home was wrecked by these little savages?

Find a feather, knock me over with it

So Hugo Chavez is about to make changes to the Venezuelan constitution which will allow him to be El Presidente for life: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/17/wchavez117.xml.

Gee, like we didn't see THAT one coming. What a complete shocker. Again, I'll remind everyone that Chavez is much more dangerous than your typical third world tinpot dictator. He has billions in oil revenue and his best buddy in the whole world is Mahmoud "Holocaust? WHAT Holocaust" Ahmadinejad. He is a dangerous, dangerous man.........

Whether to talk about the weather

I admit, I am a weather channel geek. I love the stuff and can watch the channel for hours on end, especially during hurricane season (and no, it's not just because Jim Cantore has the same 'do that I do!). So, with Hurricane Dean churning through the Carribean, and nervous Gulf Coast residents wondering where the almost Category Five storm is going to make landfall, I am having a field day watching every weather-related program I can find. Mrs. BHG has banned me from the bedroom because she simply can't take it anymore.

I don't know why I am writing about this. Maybe I subconsciously need a day of not writing about the increasingly depressing news out of the Middle East...............

Pat Condell is BACK

You may remember him, the Brit with the most decidedly politically incorrect views of Islam (and just about every other religion, for that matter). Well, here he is again, taking the Islamofascists and their appeasement-minded dhimmi European leaders to task: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=33c_1187358686

Jose Padilla

I haven't blogged about the Jose Padilla trial or his subsequent conviction, mainly because it seemed so obvious to me that he was guilty as sin. That said, there apparently are defenders of Mr. Padilla, such as this CBS legal analyst: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/15/opinion/courtwatch/main3168949.shtml.

I am rarely left speechless after reading an Op-Ed, though Lord knows the Angry Left does its best to try, but this piece came pretty darned close. In short, Andrew Cohen's view is that for there to be a conviction, there HAVE to be dead or wounded bodies. That's idiotic at best and I have little doubt that Cohen and others of his ilk would waste no time at all in condemning the government if a terrorist attack could have been prevented but was not. Then again, maybe the prospect of dead Americans really doesn't bother them that much...........

Tucker Carlson vs. Ibrahim Hooper

I've meant to post the links to these go-rounds for quite some time now, and I apologize if they are no longer topical. However, it is fascinating to watch as Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's #1 mouthpiece, dissembles, prevaricates and gets all righteously indignant at the supposed hardships which are being visited upon American Muslims, and how he attempts to spin the unspinnable and justify the unjustifiable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf_H5doDdRk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3gFvR_9uek

Good for Poland!

You read that right. You see, the European Parliament is about to hold a conference to "discuss" the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. The preliminary reports on the conference are that it will shape up to be a bigger and better version of the infamous 2001 Durban Conference on Racism, ie., a viciously anti-Israel hatefest. Seemingly alone, Polish delegates (or some of them, anyway) have openly stated that they will not participate in the conference: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3438591,00.html. I've heard no such sentiments out of the Germans, French, British, Danes, Dutch, Belgians, Italians, etc., etc. Not shocking, I know. Disappointing, but certainly not shocking.........

Israeli Technology

While the Arabs count the billions they are raking in from oil revenue, Israelis are forced to scramble around looking for alternative fuel sources. Among the sources of energy that are being tapped is the sun. Read this story on how an Israeli scientist is leading the way in terms of harnessing solar energy: http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/parry/20070815.html.

Why I support Rudy Giuliani for President

Very simply, he gets it, on so many issues. As Mayor of New York, he turned a city to which tourists were afraid to go into a world class city once again. He cleaned up Times Square. On 9/11, he demonstrated leadership qualities that a President must have. After the terrorist attacks, he told a Saudi prince that the latter could take his offer of $10 billion and shove it you know where when the prince attached as a condition to accepting the gift an acknowledgment that American policies vis-a-vis Israel were at least in part a cause of the attacks.

Now, he has written a piece in Foreign Affairs where he neatly divorces his view of the Israel/Palestine conundrum from that of the Bush 43 Administration, as discussed in the New York Sun: http://www.nysun.com/article/60514.

I know that a lot of conservatives are appalled by his three marriages and liberal social views, at least some of which don't please me too much either, but there is a bigger picture. In my mind, Islamofascism is the number one, defining issue of our time (though you'd have a hard time telling that from the Democratic Party presidential debates, where Islamic terrorism is at most an afterthought, the recent proclamations of Senator Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards notwithstanding). I KNOW that as a President, Rudy Giuliani would deal with any Islamofascist threat expeditiously and firmly. Can anyone else say that about the candidates who they support?

The Islamofascist Theat

The New York City Police Department has put together a thorough and thoroughly frightening analysis of the Islamic terror threat. It is very long, but makes for riveting reading, and it can be found here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/dcpi/NYPD_Report-Radicalization_in_the_West.pdf.

The bottom line to me? That we have not been attacked again in the U.S with a major attack since 9/11 is more a matter of good luck and unseen (as well as, unfortunately, thankless) anti-terrorist activity. Make no mistake about it, however. We WILL be attacked again, and when (not if) this takes place, you can be sure that the Islamofascists will be looking for an attack bigger in size and scope than 9/11................

Power Failures = War

The Syrian econ0my is in shambles (though amazingly, they STILL have mone to buy weapons from the Russians and Chinese), and now there are reports that there have been power failures across the country this summer: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/world/middleeast/15syria.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.

Why is this so significant? Because dictatorial regimes which face domestic turmoil, or the potential of it, frequently react by "distracting" the public with war. And, what would be more popular with a restive Arab population than a war against the hated Zionist/Fascist/Nazi/Colonialist/Imperialist/Jewish State?

As well, let's not forget that Basher Assad is not as strong or pragmatic a leader as hsi father, Hafez Assad. Hafez Assad was a cold-blooded, mass murdering psycho, but he was also unquestionably "The Man" in Syria. His chinless son holds no allegiance from anyone, and weak leaders often attempt to consolidate their hold on power by engaging in warfare.

These are just some things to ponder as the tensions between Israel and Syria mount over the Golan Heights.

Still more PC idiocy

Get a load of this story out of the University of Maryland: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjU0M2UyNjFiMmM0ZDUzZjcxY2EwYjk5MGVhYTFiOTU. A Maryland student was wearing a pro-Israel shirt, and this apparently offended the fellow student who was assisting her at the Maryland food cooperative. So, the latter refused to ring up the former. Eventually, someone did ring up the purchase, but I am incredibly baffled by the reaction of the pro-Israel student and her friends, which was to attempt to soothe the "hurt feelings" of the Co-op worker.

What the hell is wrong with us?

Classic Comedy

My late parents used to absolutely love Victor Borge's comedy--and it really is wonderful stuff. Clean, funny, and classy at the same time. So, whenever I get sent a link to a Victor Borge comedy bit, it not makes me smile out of amusement, it brings back happy memories of my parents, who I miss greatly...............

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/victor-borge-piano-duet-p1.php

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

The United Kingdom continues on its path of dhimmitude and increasingly anti-Israel orientation. You won't find anything about this in the Western MSM, though if you did, it would almost certainly be cited approvingly, but Great Britain has been cutting arms sales to Israel: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1186557440717&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter.

Lest anyone think that this is all the fault of new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, this trend started when Tony Blair was still the PM. The bottom line to me is that if the UK is not already a lost cause insofar as Israel is concerned, it will be shortly................

World Terrorism Map

I was sent a link to a fascinating map which outlines suspected terrrorist activity around the world. It can be found here: http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php.

I did not know about a lot of these suspicious activities.

A change Down Under?

Australia, one the most staunch U.S. allies in Afghanistan and Iraq, is poised to hold an election at some point this Fall (which is Spring for them, of course): http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010469. This is another election that bears watching. Under current Prime Minister John Howard, Australia has proven to be a reliable, if not the most reliable, American ally overseas. If the opposition Labour Party succeeds in ousting the Howard government, and they have consistently held a 10-point lead in the polls, it is a fairly safe bet that Aussie foreign policy will take a left turn. So, watch out, United States, and watch out Israel. Changes are a-coming..............

Battlefield England, Part Sixteen

There are apparently at least SOME academics in the UK who do not have their heads up their rear ends: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1186557430820&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull.

While I am certainly happy that the there are individuals on the other side of the pond who are not complete goobers, I remain troubled by the fact that this discussion is even taking place, and am convinced that the anti-Israel crowd has achieved a major milestone by even getting the conversation to this point.

Windsor, Ontario, loves Hezbollah

Well, some people there do, anyway: http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=9e4885a7-c3ac-4280-881d-1f83d903b7be&k=45311.

This story is already all over the blogosphere. I have seen it reported on The Canadian Sentinel and on Little Green Footballs, but the long and the short of it is that some Lebanese ex-patriates in Windsor, Ontario (right across the river from Detroit) have put up a billboard praising Hezbollah, and essentially telling anyone who doesn't like it that they can go pound sand.

Hmm................just as a matter of curiousity. Let's say a Jewish group put up a sign with Rabbi Meir Kahane's name on it, singing his praises. I wonder if that would go unchallenged.

UPDATE (4:25 p.m.): The billboard has now been removed: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=5cd07f1e-efaa-4009-a5c6-6468c9938da3&k=53710.

War. What is it good for?

If you're Iran and Syria, the answer apparently is "Quite a lot". If you don't think that the signs out of Israel's north are ominous, check out these stories. On one hand, we have Hezbollah using Iranian money to buy out land owned by Druze and Christian Lebanese so that they can have better vantage points to launch missiles at Israel: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/12/wmid112.xml. So much for that UNIFIL force.

On the other hand, we have the Syrians arming themselves with the world's most sophisticated anti-aircraft systems (thanks to my favourite anti-Semites, the Russians): http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3436827,00.html. The Syrians aren't buying this stuff for their health. They are planning for an eventual and inevitable war with Israel, one that will undoubtedly take the West by surprise, though that should not be the case given the signs out of the region.

Be ready, my friends, be ready. This will be a bloody, messy affair, and the outcome is by no means certain............

We have nothing to fear..............but Republicans

No, no, it's true! Evil Republicans are the terrorists. If you don't believe me, just check out this wacko piece from the Portland Indymedia site: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/08/363204.shtml.

The scary thing to me is that these nutcases live in the same country as me, and they are overwhelmingly Democrats. Come January of 2009, the Democrats will likely control both houses of Congress and the Presidency.

Christianity is violent, Islam is peaceful

Yup, that is the constant spin being put forth by organizations such as CAIR and its willing, dhimmi-loving acolytes in the MSM. I read an excellent piece on Townhall.com this morning which neatly debunks that myth: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DougGiles/2007/08/11/christianity_sucks_and_islam_is_awesome?page=full&comments=true.

FOR THE RECORD..............I am NOT saying that all Muslims are violent. I am NOT saying that all of Islam is violent. What I AM saying is that if you look at most of the world's most violent hotspots--you have Muslims on one side, either oppressing or claiming that they are oppressed. Israel, Sudan, Kashmir, The Phillipines, Thailand, Afghanistan, the unreported ethnic cleansing in Lebanon, where Shiites are evicting the Druze and Christian Lebanese from South Lebanon. In very recent memory, we have also had Bosnia and Kosovo, and do I even need to comment on the horrific Muslim on Muslim violence in Iraq?

To deny that there is a current, extremely violent streak in Islam is to deny reality. To deny that this element is also the most vocal is again to deny reality. Sorry, but the facts are the facts. We are being sold a bill of goods by a naive at best or delusional and deceitful at worst elite which seems incapable of acknowledging, let alone discussing this.

Ron Paul 2008 = John McCain 2000

Congressman Ron Paul is, as the MSM loves to remind us, a "revolutionary" candidate on the Republican field: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/08/ron_pauls_revolution.html. He is a media darling, just like Senator McCain eight years ago. Why is Congressman Paul so beloved, you might ask? Well, because when it comes to foreign policy, he sounds a lot more like the defeatist left wing of the Democratic Party. He wants a pullout from Iraq NOW, regardless of whether the Surge works or not. He blames the terrorist attacks that the United States has suffered squarely on us and our actions.

It's no wonder the MSM loves him. He sounds so much like one of them on the issue that matters most to them, which is seeing that the United States leaves Iraq in shame. Fortunately I have a better chance of becoming President than he does................

Syria plans for war with Israel

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3435543,00.html

And what is Israel doing, near as I can tell? Not much. Ehud Olmert and the rest of the Tweedledees and Tweedledums who make up the Israeli government continue to release Palestinian "prisoners" at a record rate, and to fund the secular Mahmoud Abbas government, whose only significant difference from Hamas is that it is not religiously-based. They both agree on their collective desire to kill Jews. Meanwhile, to the north, a war is brewing and this one will not be anywhere near as neat or short as the one with Hezbollah last year. And like it or not, Israel has to emerge decisively victorious from this war, as it did in 1967, and unlike last summer. In order to do so, it cannot let the U.N. Security Council force it to stop if victory is imminent.

Franky, if I were running Syria, I would wait until 2008 at some point to start the hostilities. If it becomes apparent that a Democrat is going to capture the White House, I would wait even longer, until that President is inaugurated, because it's a fairly safe bet that any Democrat, and in particular Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, will not be anywhere near as friendly to Israel as the Bush 43 Administration was from 2001 until 2006 (when Bush 43 suddenly turned into Bush 41). If they play their cards right, the Syrians have a very good chance of winning the war outright................

More non-Muslims die in Darfur, World yawns

The ongoing genocide in Darfur is one that future generations will look upon with same amazement and horror that current ones do with respect to the Holocaust. However, we are living in a very different political climate than the one that existed after WWII. We are much more politically correct, much more "sensitive", and more ominously, much LESS inclined to "call it like we see it", especially if the offending party is (gasp!) adherents of the Religion of Peace (official motto: "Don't call us violent or we'll kill you").

There was an excellent article on yesterday's Frontpagemag website which discusses the obliviousness of much of the world to the crimes being committed there, while the same world obsesses over Israel to an absurd degree. I am linking to it here: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=8CA05B72-6F67-4F10-BCEB-7547A62C8D82.

Some people have a sense of humour, others don't

Here is one area where my old homeland has a big advantage over the U.S. Canadians are much more apt to see the humour in politics, and especially, how the folly and stupidity of politicians is worthy of mocking, ESPECIALLY during elections: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/rhino-party/index.html.

There is no doubt that elections are serious events, but for the most part I am of the firm belief that politics are much too serious to be taken seriously..........

Olympic events I want to see

Sorry about the light blogging in the past week. I have been attending to Mrs. BHG and the newest little BHG, as well as some personal health issues which have fortunately resolved themselves.

That said...............I was reading online that there are Redneck Olympics. No, really! Here is the story on them: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/09/ap/strange/main3150627.shtml. I guess that this should not be much of a surprise at all. If there is a movement to have ballroom dancing added as an Olympic event, why not these?

The new and improved Cold War

The Russians are going to start using Syrian ports as permanent bases: http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3434145,00.html.

Given the vastly increased Russian belligerence towards the West in general and the United States in particular, does anyone else want to bet that they won't get actively involved once the Iranian/Syrian/Hezbollah three-headed monster moves against Israel again?

More from the REAL Fascist State

No, it's not Israel. It's Iran, which is executing people at an almost unheard-of clip: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010434. The funny thing is, I don't see the U.N. Human Rights Commission launching any "permanent investigations" of Iran.

Maybe it's just me.................

Little BHG Update

The littlest BHG was born Friday, at 12:03 p.m., weighing eight pounds, three ounces. She has great lungs and thankfully, looks nothing like her dad! Mother and baby are doing well!

:-)

Blogging will be light (or non-existent) for the next few days......

.............as Mrs. BHG and I head this morning to the hospital this morning for the birth of the fourth little BHG!

Vermont man accused of sexually molesting a cow

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291858,00.html

All I can say is, it must have been a moooooooving experience.

The "Boycott Israel" movement gains new momentum

The timing of these notices and stories always amazes me, because they seem to inevitably occur just as or right after Israel has promised new concessions: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/31/methodists_concerned_with_israeli_occupation/.

So, now we have have the Methodists planning to divest from holdings in companies that do business with Israel. No such threat is being made against Iran, where women are treated like chattel (at best), Sudan, where a documented genocide is taking place, Saudi Arabia, which apart from oil seems to export only Wahhabism and terrorists. Nope, JUST ISRAEL.

If this push for divestment is not anti-Semitic in intent, it is certainly anti-Semitic in effect.......

New Blog Feature

At the bottom of the page, I have added a "news ticker" which will have updates on Israeli and Middle East News!

How the world saved Hezbollah

Stories like this absolutely make my head want to explode: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1185893683874&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. So, Hezbollah could have been effectively destroyed last summer, but it was saved by a combination of the EU, U.S. U.N., and weak Israeli leadership. How lovely. Is ANYONE out there as frustrated as I am in reading this?

The battle over Illegal Immigration comes to New Jersey

Last weekend, there was a protest against Illegal Immigration in Morristown, New Jersey. While there were plenty of people there who meant well on both sides of the debate, the nutcases were also out in full force, both on the left: http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2007/07/88909.html, and on the right: http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=407055&highlight=morristown.

It's more than a little scary to me that these nutcases are roaming around this country...........