Of course, the media will hype this as isolationism and/or anti-islamic, but it’s more like stripping off the multicultural blinders. At some point, the people of the western world stopped being proud of themselves and their achievements, and that has led to this warped sense of denial.

Screw that. I’m proud to be an American, and apparently Mr. Costello is proud to be an Australian. Good for him, and good for any person of any national origin who immigrates legally, accepts the fact that they are taking on the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of their new country, and lives a productive life as such.

The Daily Telegraph | Ultimatum to Muslims

PETER Costello last night condemned “mushy multiculturalism” and told Muslims who could not tolerate others to leave Australia.

The Treasurer said the citizenship pledge of loyalty and respect for law should be a “big flashing warning sign” for those Muslims.
[...]
“They are conscious that this is not a trivial event. It is a big decision. Becoming a citizen of another country changes their identity,” he said.

Mr Costello said the citizenship oath tried to capture the essence of what it meant to be an Australian, and the values of loyalty, democratic beliefs, respect for liberties and obeying laws.

It’s late, but I wanted to tag this for comment – bold sentence is what caught my eye.

Larry Flynt on the Danish Cartoons

What do you think of the situation of the Danish cartoons?

It’s scary, to say the least. Freedom of speech is involved in this, and I’ve always been an absolutist when it comes to free speech, even in countries that don’t have it. I don’t think you’re really free unless you do have freedom of speech and freedom of religion and civil liberties. If you pull any one of those out, it’s like a domino effect. I can understand why a lot of people are afraid, but if they thought a little harder about the issues themselves and asked if they wanted to live in a country of tyranny I don’t think anyone would. I think Americans are just reacting without thinking.
Freedom of speech is only important if you’re gonna offend someone; if you’re not gonna offend someone, you don’t need free speech. As the Supreme Court found in my lawsuit of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, just because the government finds speech offensive, it doesn’t mean people don’t have a right to say it.
I hate to see so many people waffle on this.

The http://www.dailytarheel.com/media/paper885/news/2006/02/09/Opinion/Cartoon.For.February.9-1605213.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytarheel.com “Daily Tarheel”, a campus newspaper at the University of North Carolina, has stepped into the Mohammed cartoon frenzy with this offering.

There’s been some http://apps.dailytarheel.com/blogs/pivot/entry.php?id=517 discussion among the paper’s staff and subscribers, including some well-reasoned points both for and against. I added my own opinions in support of the paper’s editorial staff, which I’ll quote here:

Look at the DTH cartoon. Does it in any way insult the character depicted? No. The fact that some moslems consider it blasphemy to look at images of their “prophet” aside, it is no more disrespectful of him than any of the many images that have been drawn over the years, none of which caused any uproar.

The “controversy” is in the rest of the image; a simple comparison of Danish cartoons vs. untamed violence. Words alone have not brought that point to the moslem world, so perhaps exposing the masses to the ridiculousness of their actions will. No reasonable person believes that the average moslem citizen is a wild animal bent on destruction; their rage is a device nurtured and used by unscrupulous leaders to try to force the world to capitulate to their demands.

If/when we concede, we lose.

If/when the “average moslem” realizes that he’s being used, we’ll all win.

If it takes a cartoonist to bring about that realization, then so be it.

For a healthy dose of images depicting mohammed over the years, go http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/ here. (Site may be down or overwhelmed)

That (the title above) was a suggested bumper sticker overheard on http://www.bobandtom.com Bob & Tom this morning. Expect this accident to be the butt of many jokes for some time.

Fortunately, Mr. Whittington is fine and expected to recover fully.

The shooting incident occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday on the sprawling 50,000-acre ranch just south of Sarita in deep South Texas.

There was no immediate reason given as to why the incident wasn’t reported until Sunday.

“Harry was about 100 yards away, looking for a lost bird,” said Ms. Armstrong, who attended the hunt. “The vice president and another hunter had moved on toward another covey of quail.

“But Harry came up behind the vice president’s party and didn’t announce himself,” she said. “The vice president was following the birds as he swung around and hit Harry. It’s just good hunting protocol to let the other hunters know where you are.”

Mr. Whittington was sprayed in the face, neck and upper chest with 28-gauge birdshot, Ms. Armstrong said. “He wasn’t hit in the eyes or anything. It just knocked him down, but he never lost consciousness.”

And medical attention was prompt.

Don’t let the name of the blog sway you – http://hatemongersquarterly.mu.nu/ The Hatemongers Quarterly is neither hateful, nor quarterly (they update every day). Instead, their clear writing (with excellent use of the English language) and “pulling no punches” style makes for a great daily read.

Today’s offering is directed at the “absolute moral authority” of the hypocritical mother of Casey Sheehan. Drop by and give them a read, and browse through their previous articles while you’re there – it’ll be well worth your time.

The Hatemonger’s Quarterly: Her Hypocritical Authority Is Absolute

We mention all this, dear reader, because we found a particular portion of the E-Bay announcement of her deranged-lecture-for-sale a bit odd. Toward the bottom of said advertisement, the reader sees the following:

“Note: Because of the obvious potential for right-wing shenanigans, Cindy retains the right to refuse to speak to groups antithetical to her cause or offensive to her beliefs. If no group can be agreed upon, the winning bidder will receive a full refund.”

Frankly, dear reader, we found this alarming. If Alanis Morrissette knew what irony is, she might even label it ironic.

Perhaps it is just us, but does anyone else recall one of the purported prime messages of Cindy Sheehan’s Camp Out at W.’s Ranch Campaign? We thought that she and her allies on the isolationist Left delighted in concluding that President Bush, by failing to talk to Ms. Sheehan, demonstrated his inability to speak to those with whom he disagrees. Remember all that talk about “Bush in a Bubble”?

And yet now it appears as if Ms. Sheehan refuses to speak to those with whom she disagrees. Funny, that. Who would have guessed that leftists would prove so close-minded? Surely no one in academia would.

Fair warning: If you find the need to pop over to http://www.m-w.com/ Merriam-Webster’s place to figure out what Chip and the crack young staff are saying, don’t be ashamed. Consider it a mental exercise to improve your vocabulary!

Yesterday I once again answered the call of the vampire and visited the friendly neighborhood phlebotomist (there was a blood drive on base). I’ve given blood often over the years, and generally have no problems or after effects whatsoever. Occasionally I’ve had some mild dizziness and had to sit around a little longer than normal before resuming my day, but nothing to write home (or on a webpage) about.

Yesterday was a little different. For one, I felt the effect while the phlebotomist (I’ll just call him “the leech” from now on) was capping off the bag and preparing to fill the mandatory test tubes. I asked to be reclined, and he did so immediately – and I felt better almost immediately. He was actually pleased that I felt it coming and said something, as most folks just wait till they crumple to the floor while trying to stand to mention they’re feeling dizzy. That really obnoxious feeling of wanting to black out pervaded for awhile, mixed in with periods where I was certain I was fully readjusted and ready to get up. The leech got me a little bottle of sports drink and monitored my pulse and blood pressure for about 15 minutes while I remained reclined and chatted up the worried looking donors around me (trying to reassure them that this was not the typical response to donating blood!)

The leech suggested we try sitting up to see how it was going. Five minutes later, as I felt the world again closing in rapidly on all sides, I went back to full recline for another 20 minutes or so. While the leech and a nurse were discussing my condition, I found it amusing to note their concern over my extremely low blood pressure reading taken when I first felt myself slipping. I was asked no less than three times “did you pass out?”, followed by (what seemed to me, at least) a sense of awe that I was able to retain consciousness when my blood pressure was in relatively dangerous territory. Hey, if you’re gonna go down, go down hard. That’s a good enough rule to live by, I think.

After most of an hour of laying about with my legs up, sipping powerade and testing my limits, my pulse and blood pressure finally returned to normal and I was able to stand up, walk around, and eventually leave.

Later, while trying to determine what I had done differently that day, as opposed to the times I’d donated without incident, one thing seemed to stand out: Food. I had eaten plenty, but what I ate was not what I once would have called “typical”. I started the day with my now-normal breakfast of a banana and an apple, cut up and munched during my morning drive to work; during the morning I ate my daily mix of peanuts and raisins (about 1/2 a cup) that serves as my mid-morning snack, and before heading off to visit the leech and his cohorts, I munched down a dozen mini-carrots and a few slices of cucumber. All veggies. No meat. Very little sugar.

I’ve found nothing to confirm my suspicions, but I can anecdotally recall times when I munched down a grease-burger from the local McD’s before donating just to avoid bleeding on an empty stomach, and had no problems whatsoever. I can also remember an experience similar to this most recent after donating on an empty stomach (which led to the burger runs I just mentioned).

So… My hypothesis when donating blood:
Empty stomach: Bad.
Full stomach with nothing but “healthy” foods: Bad.
Full stomach with foods that would make Jerrod cry: Excellent.

I’ll test this theory again at the next blood drive (should be a couple of months) and try to remember to report my findings here.

For good measure, I’ll add http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-09/aha-wmp091802.php this study’s findings to my hypothesis, and slam a mug of water beforehand, too.

“As we considered that finding, it occurred to us that there is a big problem with people passing out after giving blood,” says David Robertson, M.D., senior author of the other report. “We believe that around 150,000 people a year faint or experience near-fainting after blood donations, and many of those people never give blood again.

For those potential blood donors who may read this in a bad light – don’t be a wimp! If you pass out from giving blood, there are professionals on hand to ensure you’re well taken care of. It’s not unusual, and not cause for shame. A few minutes of discomfort for you – the https://www.givelife.org/index_flash.cfm? gift of life for the recipients of your donation. If you learn the causes, you can work to avoid or minimize these negative effects.

I am.

Amazingly insightful, as often found at http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/ Day by Day

In what should have been a celebration of the life of the late Coretta Scott King, certain folks just couldn’t help but make a political statement. Note the following statements made by the “Reverend” Joseph Lowery.

“She extended Martin’s message against poverty, racism and war. She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar.”

“We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there.” At which point Lowery got a huge ovation.
[...]
Then Lowery dropped another rhetorical bomb. “But Coretta knew and we knew that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance, poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor.”

Yay, free speech. Sure, this in-duh-vidual has the right to say what he wants to, and has the right to be disrespectful towards the President sitting behind him. We can even feel a little sorry for this former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (a political organization), since he apparently has few opportunities to make a statement anyone will listen to these days. But on an occasion that is intended to honor and show respect for the dead, this is a pretty sad demonstration.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one to take political advantage of the pulpit today. Former president Jimmy Carter (friend to everyone except the country he once led), weighed in with a sideways comment on the current wiretapping questions being kicked around congress:

“It was difficult for them personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the targets of secret government wiretapping and other surveillance and, as you know, her harassment by the FBI,” Carter said, receiving a loud and long ovation.

These people should be ashamed of themselves; Lowery, Carter, and those who applauded their inappropriate remarks. Freedom does not eliminate personal responsibility, and I would like to think those who spent their lives working for freedom, equality, and civil rights would be the first to condemn such blatant abuse of their memorials.

Rest in peace, Ms. King.

Source

If your intended targets use English as their primary language, be sure you hire someone fluent in English to write your phishing emails. The below tripe was received this morning (a few copies, all merrily shuffled into the trash by gmail). Good marks for spelling, piss-poor marks for grammar. The only people more mock-worthy than the authors of this are the morons who read crap like this, click the imbedded links, and start punching in their personal information for “verification”.

Good afternoon, unfortunately some processings have been cracked by hackers,
so a new secure code to protect your data has been introduced by visa.
Some processings? What planet are you from again?
You should check your card balance and in case of suspicious transactions immediately contact your card issuing bank.
Good advice… contact YOUR BANK, not some anonymous emailer
If all transactions are alright, it doesn’t mean the card is not lost and cannot be used. Probably, your card issuers have not updated information yet.
But wait! If you verify everything, you wasted your time! Click our link anyway!
That is why we strongly recommend you to visit our web-site and update your profile, otherwise we cannot guarantee stolen money repayment.
So much for that advice about contacting your bank… c’mon stupid people!
Thank you for your attention.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/why-dhimmi.htm Dhimmi: Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, “protected people,” are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur’an’s command that they “feel themselves subdued” (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, are part of the legal superstructure that global jihadists are laboring to restore everywhere in the Islamic world, and wish ultimately to impose on the entire human race.

If dhimmis complained about their inferior status, institutionalized humiliation, or poverty, their masters voided their contract and regarded them as enemies of Islam, fair game as objects of violence. Consequently, dhimmis were generally cowed into silence and worse. It was almost unheard-of to find dhimmis speaking out against their oppressors; to do so would have been suicide. For centuries dhimmi communities in the Islamic world learned to live in peace with their Muslim overlords by acquiescing to their subservience. Some even actively identified with the dominant class, and became strenuous advocates for it.

Visit http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/ DhimmiWatch for more information on the topic.

http://hatemongers.mu.nu/archives/155122.php The HateMongers (and Chip!) weigh in

Finally, http://www.zombietime.com/ The Zombie Times Mohammed Image Archive has posted a copy of the cartoon I was looking for. Here for your perusal, the full front page of the French paper that stepped up and reprinted the “controversial” Dutch cartoons – with their own editorial cartoon featured prominently on the front. (Cartoon text reads “Don’t complain, Muhammad, we’ve all been caricatured here.”)

I came across many good artistic responses to this current nonsense; needless to say, the cartoonists out there are very capable of making their point in pen and ink.

Edit: http://retecool.com/comments.php?id=13539_0_1_0_C Photoshop artists are no slackers, either… Warning, some are pretty damned funny. I’m getting the idea all this outrage over a few mild images is getting the islamists far more disrespect for their “prophet” than they ever imagined.

The interesting part of the entire controversy is summed up neatly http://www.resiliencetv.fr/modules/news/article.php?storyid=318 here:

While the debate rages, an important point has been overlooked: despite the Islamic prohibition against depicting Mohammed under any circumstances, hundreds of paintings, drawings and other images of Mohammed have been created over the centuries, with nary a word of complaint from the Muslim world. The recent cartoons in Jyllands-Posten are nothing new; it’s just that no other images of Mohammed have ever been so widely publicized.

PS: In honor of the uproar all this has caused in the world, I now have a new icon to represent posts regarding radical islam – Fits right in, don’t you think?

By now, everyone has heard about the ignorant muslim reaction to the http://www.humaneventsonline.com/sarticle.php?id=12146 Danish cartoons depicting their “prophet”. It’s common knowledge that the religion of Islam is so guilt-ridden and insecure that they can’t allow anything that might tempt the “faithful” to use their own minds and imaginations, let alone sit idly by while infidels poke fun at them. (If you somehow missed the news, the standard muslim death threats have been issued, masked gunmen have attacked innocent people, and the media has plenty of http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004441.htm images of Danish flags being burnt).

But there is one specific image I can’t seem to find – the cartoon that the French newspaper “France Soir” published alongside the Danish comics. It depicts Mohammed speaking with several other religious icons (Jesus, Buddha, etc), and being told “we’re all caricatured here”, or something to that effect. I am fairly sure I saw it once, but when I wanted to write a comment and link to the image here, I could not find that particular cartoon.

Anyone have, or know where to find it? Thanks!

PS. For all you insecure muslim types (or any other religion for that matter), poke.

Update: Plenty of images of the top-half of the front page of “France Soir”, but none depicting the actual cartoon… surely there’s one brave soul willing to reproduce it?

Let me just say that this is one of those “it’s about time” things. Lasers have been in development for years, and with the need for pinpoint accuracy to minimize the tragedies that feed the evening news, this is the natural conclusion.

Oddly enough, the first thing that came to mind when I read this was that I’d seen it before… then I had to go digging for the name of the movie: “http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089886/ Real Genius”. Fun movie, tons of great one-liners, and some of Val Kilmer’s best work (IMO), certainly better than his Batman effort.

New weapon could mean the end of collateral damage

The U.S. military has been developing a gunship that could literally obliterate enemy ground targets with a laser beam.

The military plans to test the Advanced Tactical Laser, a laser weapon mounted on a C-130H air transport that could destroy any weapon system without collateral damage.

The laser could have tremendous repercussions on the battlefield, particularly in urban warfare in such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq. “It’s the kind of tool that could bring about victory within minutes,” an official said.

While I don’t buy into the “victory within minutes” scenario, I do think it’s about time we got around to using our blatantly superior technology in ways that can destroy the enemy without yielding him the advantage of hiding amongst innocent civilians. I hope we’re able to put this thing to work sooner, rather than later…