It is interesting occasionally keeping track of the activism of Netherlander Gert Wilders. He has announced that he will travel to the UK, at the request of a member of Parliament, despite the UK government’s label on him as persona-non-grata. Wilders, of course, is the producer of the film Fitna. It is this film that has caused him to be looked upon with infamy. A film that merely puts Islam on display using the words of Islam, and the contemporary deeds that have been attributed to Islam by the various perpetrators.
I currently display the following bumper sticker on my primary vehicle:
I picked this up over at LibertyStickers. I do agree with the tongue-in-cheek sentiment of this slogan but I realize that I must be careful so as to not be painted into the complete sentiment of LibertyStickers collection of offerings.
After all, the depth of political discourse these days rarely goes beyond superficial. Here is another of their current, and accurate offerings:
Frequently, many of us in the United States may think that the “Terror” threat to us began on a clear autumn day in the year 2001. The ideological dimension of the threat has been persistent for 14 centuries. The contemporary threat has been growing in parallel with increases in global travel and the growing wealth of the Muslim world.
The current version of the threat can be described to have begun in the 1970’s. We did not really notice it much then due to our preoccupation with the raging Cold War. Nevertheless, the bad guys were already among us, plying their craft. Way back in 1973, one of these bad guys attempted acts of mass murder on US soil. We caught him in 1991 and put him in jail. Now, having “paid his debt to society,” he will soon be released and deported.
There is a very thorough account of the story over at Fox News. Read the whole thing to get an appreciation for the persistence and nature of the treat. Like many of the bad guys that have been released from Gitmo, this fellow is sure to similarly return to his life-ling sworn mission of existence.
I belive that civil law, and our strategy (more accurately our lack of strategy) are characteristically inadequate to counter the threat over the long term. In many cases, success will really depend on the front-line folks, like agent Mike Finnegan to do the right thing while the beauracacy above and behind them wallows in political self-interest and tidal motions of indecision.
Here is an interesting note that should not be missed: Al-Jawary used airline flight training as his cover purpose for being in the United States in the 1970’s.
I came upon this Alan Dershowitz article at another publication but now see that it has been picked up at Frontpagemag. It is a very good article, but I shall particularly critique the title, at least on this version.
The article is titled “The Right to Defend” spoken in the context of Israel’s military action in Gaza. Certainly this is a “right,” and coming from a high-profile lawyer, perhaps this is the term we should expect. However, I will take this one step further.
Israel has something much more compelling than a “right.” Israel has an OBLIGATION to protect its citizens from attack by an agressive and violent entity. This obligation exists on a much higher moral plane than does the issue of what “rights” a sovereign nation has within the construct of some words that might exist within a text of international law.
The Board that is doing the recount of the recount of the recount for the Minnesota Senate seat counted the above pictured ballot for Franken. This is one of many available examples of contested ballots. In my opinion, this ballot should be thrown out.
A broader look at this particular ballot shows other scribbles in the margin that are arguably not aligned with any bubble. This is a reason to disallow ballots like this other than attempting to divine the intent of the margin scribbler.
To be fair, a survey accross many ballots demonstrates that voter stupidity, incompetence, or innebreation occur on both sides of the aisle. However, some of the presumed Democrat voters’ ballots are a little more entertaining.
The greater concern is that if the electorate is unable to operate a pencil, what does that say about their ability to begin to comprehend the magnitude of what it is when they are voting, let alone gain at least a novice understanding of an issue.
Help! We are going to freeze to death! (Oops, that was the last time the sky was falling)
When I was in gradeschool, a few years ago, what was not yet known as the “Environmental Movement” was threatening that we better clean up our act, or else!
The “or else” back then was the return of The Ice Age. How ironic, 30-(ish) years ago, the “experts” were telling us we had better stop “polluting” or suffer a torturous death by freezing to death or by being crushed to by an enormous glacier that would suddenly appear on the horizon and then overtake us. At least this is the image that was implanted in my mind - a result of the rhetoric, my naivety, and the embellishment that took place in my young, do-gooder mind.
