A Warded Neuron

reelect carter?

2008-07-03T15:36:00.003-06:00

Heh, found this one today. A while ago now, the worst American President (yes, even worse than Slick Willie) endorsed Barrack Hussein Obama. Here, the Newsobserver.com has pointed out some similarities between the two, and the similar challenges in foreign and domestic politics of Carter's era and today...

http://videos.newsobserver.com/index.php?a=player&id=1950747

He'll be facing an economic and political landscape that would tax the wisdom of Solomon, yet the man is still largely a cipher. Unlike Obama, Jimmy Carter had been willing to put his life on the line by serving in his country's military. If elected, Obama only has a couple hundred days of congressional service, where his record is now best known for fence sitting by voting "Present" instead of Yea or Nay on many issues. The "Yes We Can" man seems awfully weak to me.

Braggart and Thief

2008-06-20T16:36:00.005-06:00

One overhears things. I heard this yesterday afternoon on Edmonton's LRT.

This dumb shit was bragging to his friends how he'd stolen a certain thing from a white kid, and was going to sell it to another guy for $50 bucks.

His friends asked, ''Aren't you ashamed?" "Don't you feel guilty?"

"Fuck no, I took it from a white kid. A white kid. I'm gangsta."

Someone said something about jail. His reply was laughed, " I'll phone you from there."

What a moron. Wish I knew what he'd taken. I'd give his fucking photo to the cops.

Eskimo Football

2008-06-20T00:39:00.005-06:00

That title ought to confuse the hell out any Non-Canadian browsing through here. I volunteered for a Charity fundraiser at a CFL Football game in Edmonton today. We were selling beer (with part of the proceeds going to charity) and this Saskatchewan Rough Rider fan walked up in the damnedest outfit. I wish I'd gotten a better photo. He had a sort of Mexican-wrestler/combo gimp mask, big Cow Horns, a green suit and a cape. I tell you the Saskatchewan fans are always entertaining when they come here for a game. They're great sports, even though their team lost to Edmonton, 37-7.

This made me chuckle.

2008-06-05T15:49:00.004-06:00

The humor is in it's truth. I am really enjoying the airing of American Left's schizoid mentality during this election year.

Something's Wrong Here

2008-05-26T01:00:00.008-06:00

I don't know how to state it more clearly. If you're going to emigrate to the Western nations leave your historic ethnic animosities in the old country. Otherwise be prepared for an anti-immigrant backlash.

Somebody organized about 20 dickheads to go into the Ankara cafe here in Edmonton yesterday and break up the joint, beating patrons with clubs, knives and stones.

According to the news story angry Kurdish Turks in the area were quick to blame the violence on ethnic tensions with their fellow Turkish immigrants who oppose Kurdish independence from Turkey. But the Cafe's owner says the fight began earlier in the day, when two of the cafe's patrons got into a heated argument. One of the arguers went and called a bunch of friends to help him win the argument.

Regardless, It's the kind of shit you hear about that happens elsewhere, like France.

I've said before I don't have a problem with immigration. Our nation was built by immigrants. But for most of our history immigration meant that the people who came here adopted the ways and mores of their new culture. They tried to fit in. Those with the inclination were free to honor their cultural traditions at home, but they sure as hell didn't try to force the rest of the country to change to accommodate them.

I really don't give a damn about multiculturalism or showing tolerance for other people's way of life it it means changing my culture's way of life. It may be considered normal in Turkey to punctuate an argument in a cafe with 20 armed men, but I hope and pray it will never be considered appropriate here. The Middle East is a hell-hole of ethnic and religious violence and turmoil. If we're going to continue to allow people who want to flee it to come live here, we'd better start doing to better job of telling them to check their baggage at the border.

Carbon Tax?

2008-05-26T00:33:00.002-06:00

The Left wing Pembina institute released results of a poll today, claiming Canadians are warming to the idea of a Carbon Tax. When asked if it was a good thing that B.C. citizens are now paying a Carbon tax on fossil fuels, nearly 60% of other Canadians said, 'Yes'.

When told that the government of British Columbia had recently introduced "a carbon tax on fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," 72 per cent of those surveyed in the poll said that this was a positive step versus 23 per cent who thought that it was a negative step.

But it's all in the question. It's all good to ask if you approve of OTHER people paying taxes, but the McAllister Opinion Research Survey failed to ask Canadians if they'd be willing to pay a Carbon Tax themselves. I know what my response would be.

No f*cking way.

Both evidence and scientific opinion against human-caused global warming is growing, as nearly two decades of research have failed to prove it's our fault. In fact, it's finally beginning to be admitted that records purported to show a warming trend were either falsified or interpreted incorrectly. Some of the chicken littles are now voicing concerns about global cooling.

Yet the organs of big government are still acting as though human-caused climate change is going to kill us all, if we don't give up our way of life. This is looking more and more as if like-minded big-government supporters are just trying to use this as an excuse to raise taxes. Canada needs to follow the Swiss example; no tax increases without direct approval from the voters.

Ted Kennedy's Brain Tumor

2008-05-23T13:44:00.006-06:00

Growing up in the 60's and 70's even the Canadian school system couldn't say enough complimentary things about the glorious Kennedy brothers. I grew up believing Americans were fools for not electing more Kennedys to the White House.

Later, as Catholic, I realized what a hypocrite the surviving Kennedy brother was. In a speech in 1983 he said "I am an American and a Catholic; I love my country and treasure my faith."

Yet he publicly opposed the Catholic Church; supported abortion on demand, the homosexual agenda, and the "secular humanism as a state-faith" movement of the American Left. Perhaps he treasured his faith, but from his actions it appears he treasured it as a tool to sell his political agenda. Perhaps he treasured his faith, but as a Catholic and Knight of Columbus he failed miserably. Worse, his very public example has led other Catholics astray too.

I heard today about Ted Kennedy's Brain Tumor. I'm not proud of my first thoughts in response to the news. As Christians we're supposed to love our enemies, and try to see everyone as Jesus would see them. Okay Ted, I'll pray for you.

I'm not proud of my first response, but I feel the need to voice it.

"Good bye asshole."

Chain Email: Fear of MUSLIMS

2008-05-12T13:51:00.008-06:00

No matter how cute, religious, serious or threatening they are, I never forward chain letters. I rarely read them, and despite what I'm writing here today, will continue to not do so. I am especially offended by the assumption that I am either credulous or superstitious enough to believe their threats of dire consequences for not forwarding them. Are you one of those people who originate these things? Fuck you then.

This post was prompted today by a chain email I received from a co-worker, called "IKE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. This email is worth reading despite the fact that the original author of the email incorrectly assumed the entire UK school system had dropped the Jewish holocaust and Crusades from it's curriculum. Sadly, such pressures are mounting in the Western world, out of a misguided desire not to offend Muslim students. News stories from last year tell of a Government-backed report indicating that some schools in the United Kingdom have in fact done so. I have no doubt that there are many cute and fuzzy-bunny minded teachers here too who have personally chosen not to teach these potentially controversial subjects.

This is frightening on several levels.

Most notably, Muslim children who are taught a distorted or outright false view of history at home or in the mosque are not taught the truth at school. Ours is a society of immigrants, which successfully assimilated or acculturated all creeds who came here. Now in the interests of multicultural sensitivity, newcomers to our society are allowed to bring all their old hatreds from the old world to the new world, UNCHALLENGED. As Barry Rubin points out in the New York Post, these soft-headed non-thinkers are condemning Muslim children to continued slavery to the radical Islamists who dominate their culture.

As for the email "Ike Knew what he was Doing," the text is reprinted below. I've only posted two photos, trust me, they're pretty gruesome.

It is a matter of history that when Supreme
Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight
Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps,
he ordered all possible photographs to be taken,
and for the German people from surrounding
villages to be ushered through the camps and even
made to bury the dead.

He did this because he said in words to this
effect: 'Get it all on record now - get the films
- get the witnesses - because somewhere down the
track of history some bastard will get up and say
that this never happened.'

'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good men to do nothing'
Edmund Burke

This week, the UK removed The Holocaust from its
school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim
population which claims it never occurred.

This is a frightening portent of the fear that is
gripping the world and how easily each country is
giving in to it.

These photos were taken in Germany by J. Chanslor,
an Army Master Sergeant who served in
World War II from 1942 until 1945.

Source: Photos courtesy of John Michael Chanslor.
It is now more than 60 years after the Second
World War in Europe ended.

This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in
memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians,
10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who
were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and
humiliated with the German and Russian peoples
looking the other way!
Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others,
claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is
imperative to make sure the world never forgets.

This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people
worldwide!

Be a link in the memorial chain and help
distribute this around the world.

Don't just delete this. It will only take a minute
to pass this along. Let's cover the world and
remember because we
cannot let it ever happen again.

Bad to the Bone

2008-05-12T13:14:00.003-06:00

The Mrs. went back to work today, to a new job of being in charge of all the flowers in town. Her first day of work she had to wash some road graffiti off the street. The words "bad to the bone," and a giant penis.
Lovely.
What kind of twinkled-up mentality thinks that'd be a nice addition to their street?
"Heh heh, I drew a penis on the road... heh heh..."
I'm sure that's not the sort of roadside beautification she thought she'd be working with. Reminds me of why I went to school.

More Liberal Hypocrisy

2008-04-26T09:24:00.002-06:00

After mishandling and misappropriating Billions of dollars during the last decade, the Liberal Party's feigned outrage over a million dollars in alleged tory over-spending during the last election sounds pathetic, sad, and self-serving.

Thank God.

That's the best the they could do after two years of a Conservative minority government. Oh, they're trying their best, arranging for the media to video armored police teams bursting into the Conservative Party offices like Robert Mugabe's storm troopers in Zimbabwe. CBC Radio-One treated Canadians to a political panel of leftist university professors who happily chortled about how even though there was little of substance to the allegations, the widely televised imagery of the raid would stick in voters minds, and the Conservative government must fall.

So what happened? Apparently some Conservative Party candidates hadn't spent their entire budgets during the election, and they used their unused funds to buy National advertisements. Although the election act sets a limit on Party spending, Clause 422(2) says money allocated to individual candidates doesn't count towards that limit. Regardless of what the act says, The Liberals say it should count.

Well, when it comes to mismanagement of taxpayer dollars they're the experts.

What's funny is that Liberal Member of Parliament Marlene Jennings and nearly 100 other Liberals and NDP candidates had election expenses that fall in the same grey area. In Jennings case, she says her expenses shouldn't count because even though they were for advertising materials for the election, they were incurred before the election was officially called.

Hahahahahaha. Talk about things that make you go hmmmmm.

Earth day again, blech.

2008-04-22T10:04:00.008-06:00

That's right. Humbug. Please don't misunderstand me, I believe polluting the enviroment is bad, but that is not what earth day is about anymore.

This preoccupation with 'saving the earth' is just so much bs. Our 'leaders' see it as an apple pie issue with which to distract the masses; the Suzuki's of our society see it as a gateway to vast amounts of government grant money to 'study' the issue; and much of the enviromental movement seems to be a front for both those who think humanity is a destructive virus on the planet earth, and those who think it's a perfect way to force the the re-distribution of wealth and the dismantling of our economy.

This is a picture of my pickup truck, two days ago. It's got a V8. Yesterday I saw my first Robin of the spring, and it's still snowing. Ain't global warming a bitch? Too bad though, as there are records from history to prove that prior to the little ice age of the 1500s there was a warming period where world temperatures rose way above their current levels. Far from a period of doom and drought, it was a time of enhanced rainfall and long lush crop growing seasons. (I've posted links before, and I only have a few minutes to write this) So, this earth day I'm praying for global warming.

That's all, gotta run. I'm going outside to drive around in my truck and do my part for climate change.

Geek Chart

2008-04-17T13:11:00.004-06:00

Who thinks up this stuff? I laughed my ass off.
Thanx to Drogar Truthhammer (Patrick) at Absolute Power for passing this one on to me.

There were Eighteen Synagogues in Tehran Once...

2008-04-17T10:45:00.003-06:00

Oh my. I had thought there was only one, but there were until recently eighteen synagogues in Tehran and thirty-five in Iran in total.

Until recently. This week there's only eleven.

In a story that has not been picked up by midstream media, AKI News service says 7 ancient synagogues were recently burnt to the ground in what officials describe as an "attempt to renew" an ancient quarter of the city. According to the news story

"The synagogues were in the Oudlajan suburb of Tehran, where many Iranian Jews used to live... A group of residents of Oudjalan have also sent a letter to the mayor of Tehran asking him to suspend the renovation work being carried out in the suburb."

As I said today in an earlier comment on this blog, I am astounded that Tehran had more than one Jewish Synagogue. This bit of news along with the AKI story also have made me wonder at a few things:

At my readiness to believe there was only 1 Synagogue in Iran. This blog is primarily my thoughts and attitudes towards what I see in the world around me. I think I'll be checking my assumptions more carefully in the future.
Much of the conservative blogosphere have already picked up this story and run with it. Dhimmi Watch, Gateway Pundit, small dead animals, to name a few. Why have the news services of the midstream media not carried this story? Are western news services so thin on the ground in Tehran that they couldn't confirm the story? A quick check of google shows the BBC ran a brief story today at 9:28 am this morning that life in Iran for Jews isn't so bad. I've gone 6 pages into the google search but...
Will Tehran allow it's Jewish inhabitants to rebuild? I'm still doubtful. After two hours of internet searches I'm still faced with a lack of further information. But...

I get 216 news links from google searching for "christian persecution muslim". Most are stories either about Muslim Persecution of Christians or calls by religous and civil leaders for an end to persecution. I saw a couple of stories about Hindu destruction of Mosques and Christian churches. But most are about Muslim persecution of Christians or Jews in Dar Islam. Like this one: "Although Christian persecution of Muslims belongs to history, "Muslim persecution of Christians and other religious minorities remains a present evil..."

That's Socialism!

2008-04-04T16:14:00.004-06:00

lol. I wish I wish those liberal MFCSers like Larry Pogemiller actually understood what's wrong with this attitude.

Nice find. thx Roger.

Live Leak succumbs to threats, then Rallies for Free Speech

2008-04-01T14:36:00.006-06:00

Succumbs to threats? Yes, internet video site Live Leak's employees and their families lives and well being were threatened last week, and in response Live leak pulled the Geert Wilders short film 'Fitna. In 17 minutes or so, Fitna attempts to wake the viewer up to the threat that radical Islam poses to the Western Societies by chronicling many many of the acts of barbarism, violence and intimidation by those who claim to act in Islams name.
Acts of terrorism, murder, and incitement to hatred are interspersed with quotes from the Koran that appear to support them.

Small wonder that Live Leak was threatened.

Little Green Footballs posted what looks like part of of a press release from Live leak:

On the 28th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film “fitna” from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don’t consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted.

After reading the post on Little Green Footballs I tried to find Fitna on the Live Leak site, but found only a place-holder claiming that Geert Wilder himself has pulled the video and will be reposting it following some editing. If you want to see the video, goto the Little Green Footballs link, or click on the picture.

Is it hate speech? I don't believe so. There's no narration. Just video and audio of horrible things that have been said and have actually happened. If it's hate speech, it's only because of the hateful things the people in the video are saying in support of Islam. CAIR must be shitting their pants trying to snuff this one.

I don't say this lightly. I am constitutionally inclined to support freedom of religion. My family and culture benefited from it when the English conquered Quebec and chose not to assimilate the French Catholics out of existence. I am a member of the Knights of Columbus, who proudly promoted freedom of religion in the United States during the dark years of the anti-Catholic Know-Nothings and Nativist's movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But...

But I have a problem extending the gift of the freedom of religion to any cult that would deny freedom of religion to others. That principle is also why I don't believe in allowing Communists to participate in democracy, and why I oppose Socialist Monopolies like the Canadian Wheat Board. One time I was in a heated discussion with a Muslim member of a gaming club I belong to, and he kept falling back on outrage and anger. He left when I cribbed a quote from blogger Jack Rich, saying that I'll be more accepting of Islam when it's as easy and safe to open a New Synagogue in Mecca or Tehran as it is to open a new Mosque in Rome or New York.

Every one should see this video. Especially all those lame so-called moderate Muslim apologists the western media keeps digging up to tell us Islam is a religion of peace.
http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/040208.jpg

I get a drunk driver arrested

2008-03-11T16:35:00.006-06:00

I got a drunk driver arrested yesterday in Edmonton. I saw this guy stopped at a red light get out to put on a coat, -he could barely stand upright. Ok, I thought, maybe he's merely disabled, but then when the light turned green and he pulled away he bounced off the curb on the other side of the street.

I called 911 and directed the Police to his location, describing the vehicle and driver. Within a few minutes two patrol cars intercepted him; and I continued on my errand.

When I returned 30 minutes or so later he was in the back seat of one of the police cars, and his truck was being towed. The arresting officer said they had him on a lot more than just the drunk driving, and that he'd definitely be going to jail.

Good.

When I saw him weaving and bouncing his truck off the curb I knew he could kill somebody. Besides the satisfaction of maybe saving a life, my auto insurance is too pricey already, in part because of having to cover for the mistakes of drunks like this asshole.

Barrack Hussein Obama: scary.

2008-03-10T01:12:00.002-06:00

In his book Tunnel in the Sky, Robert Heinlein once wrote something to the effect that anyone who lives their life as if the world was the way they wished it, instead of in accordance to the way it actually was, shouldn't be allowed to graduate into adulthood, or be trusted to look after themselves, or vote or some such thing.

I'm reminded of this almost every time I hear this guy speak. This guy is living in a dream world. Here's what's wrong in 52 seconds:

Reporter Rebecca Aguilar Fired for Ambush Reporting Incident

2008-03-08T18:16:00.010-07:00

I had misgivings about working as a reporter when I entered the field in 1984. Mostly it was because I didn't want myself to be associated with reporters of a type like Rebecca Aguilar. A recent recipient of the Broadcast Journalist of the Year award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Aguilar was fired by her Dallas-FortWorth Fox affiliate last week, apparently for conducting an "ambush interview" of a 78 year old burglary victim trying to climb into his car outside of a Dallas Gun shop.

If you did not watch the video, 78 year old James Walton allegedly shot and killed, on two occasions, thieves who'd climbed this 8 foot security fence and broke into his salvage business. Police had confiscated Walton's shotgun, and Walton had earlier in the day told Aguilar that he was going out to buy another one.

I've always been disappointed in the way competition among broadcast journalists can lead a reporter to treat victims of crime or disaster in this way. In a small way, Aguilar has my sympathy. But only a small amount.

From the TV interview, it's clear he didn't expect to see her there, and she badgered him with the tasteless questions we've come to expect from sewage journalism. You know the sort of questions I mean, like "How did it feel to see your house burn down?" or "How did you feel when you heard your husband's plane went down?"

The guy was clearly upset at her and the camera crew and she had the nerve to ask, "Are those tears of remorse?" Holy Shit lady, the guy was buying a new gun for pete's sake. Her liberal gun-guilt was sickeningly obvious as she tried to turn the blame back onto the Burglary victim for having the audacity to defend himself. I rather like James Walton for how he answered her, "It's a shotgun, and I'd hate to have to use it already..." or "...do you think I invited them into my building?"

Good for you James Walton, I hope the bastards never try to rob you again.

You didn't have to do your story that way, so Good for you too, Rebecca Aguilar. I read your complaints about how you're now professionally marked for life in the Google age. Now you can experience something too few liberals ever get to experience: accountability for one's actions.

Good luck on your new career, whatever it is.

Prince Harry

2008-02-29T09:31:00.009-07:00

(Nice picture eh? He looks like my Brother in Law.)

News that Matt Drudge has forced England's Prince Harry to abandon his 14 week tour of duty in Afghanistan four weeks short is interesting and disappointing at the same time.

Interesting in that the Prince got his wish (in part at least) to serve in his regiment as more than a REMF. One acquaintance of mine, a retired U.S. Marine, said it bluntly, "...he's living like just any ordinary grunt. He's been in some fights, he's engaged the enemy, he's seen the elephant.. .And that means that people in the UK are going to hate him for having a pair of balls the size of coconuts and showing the London Liberals what a Real Man looks like. It's been a long time since their was a real man in the Royal Family. Bravo, Harry."

The Prince has long chafed against the fame and attention that's part of being a Royal; He's expressed before a wish to be ordinary. These past 10 weeks of living like a grunt with his messmates in Afghanistan's Helmand province must have been gratifying. Nice going Matt, you disappointed a Prince.

Interesting, in that in exchange for unprecedented access to the Prince, the MoD managed to broker a deal to get the British press to cooperate this long in keeping the news of his deployment confidential.

When the news leaked, the MoD was quick to order an end to Harry's deployment out of security concerns. Most of the 88 British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 have died in Helmand, where British forces began fighting with the NATO-led coalition two years ago. Security for the prince will be higher when he returns home too, as now the Islamist death threats against him will be portraying him as a killer of Muslims.

Good for you Harry, I'm glad you had your chance to give em hell.

Maxim Blows it - forced to apologize to Black Crowes

2008-02-28T21:09:00.004-07:00

Maxim magazine has had to apologize to the Black Crowes for writing a review of a New CD without listening to the cd. The Crowes first new studio Album in eight years, Warpaint, will be released Tuesday; Maxim had been provided only with samples for preview purposes. The March issue of Maxim panned Warpaint, giving it 2 and half stars out of five, saying the Black Crowes "sound pretty much like they always have: Pretty Boozy, competent, and in Slavish debt to the Stones, Allmans, and the Faces."

While I agree about the intellectual dishonesty on Maxim's part, is the review so bad? I've always thought the best thing about the Black Crowes was their consistent ability to infuse their bluesy Rock sound with a level of Soul that the Stones, Allmans and Faces could handily achieve, but did so all too rarely.

Pretty Boozy, Competent, and in slavish debt to the Stones, Allmans, and the Faces.

F*ckin Eh. Looks like I'm buying Warpaint on Tuesday.

===========

ps: review of Warpaint from Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone's review

Dark day.

2008-01-22T16:21:00.001-07:00

Two blows to my psyche in less than 5 minutes today.

The first, when I learned that one of my favorite authors, Dr. Jerry Pournelle is being treated for some kind of growth in his head. Malignant? There's not enough information yet, but further tests are scheduled. I now gladly buy the first issue hard cover edition of anything J.E. Pournelle and/or Larry Niven will writes. I've enjoyed his work more than any other writer, which include the creation of a future history that includes "The Mote in God's Eye," and "Falkenberg's Mercenary Legion." Here's a publisher-provided link to two free copies of his books, one of which is an early Falkenberg title.
Don't know if it matters to you Jerry, but you're in my prayers.

---------

I was very sad to see that Fred Thompson has surrendered in face of the midstream media's campaign of silence. Not that they'd necessarily choose him, but I've yet to talk to an American conservative who didn't like him. The media tried real hard to either ignore his campaign or put it down. They characterized him as lazy or stupid, but I believe they thought he was another republican in the Reagan mold, and that scared them bad. Anybody that scares the liberal press has to be good for America.

I like what roger suggested, when he was speculating about a possible last ditch campaign effort for Fred Thompson:

"I'm Fred Thompson. You may not even know I'm running for president, because there's been a media blackout of my campaign. Why? The media elite see me as the closest thing to Ronald Reagan, and that scares the hell out of them. Here's what I believe ... ___Insert here______. Here's what I don't belive. ___Insert man made global warming_____

If you want a pandering pimp for president, then you want McCain or Huckabee. If you want a leader, it's me. Here's where I stand, then. If I don't win the Florida primary, I'll have to quit unless I receive $40 million dollars in campaigh contributions immediately. Otherwise, I won't have to say "go fuck yourselves"; you'll have already done it.

Thank you, good night, and God bless America.
"

Chinese Gov't Offals Beat Blogger to Death

2008-01-16T13:11:00.001-07:00

A Chinese Blogger was beaten to death in the street by local Government Officials after he tried to record a Villager's protest on his cell-phone. Wei Wenhua, a 41 year old Construction company manager and blogger reportedly happened upon a violent clash between villagers and a group of Municipal Inspectors who were attempting to dump trash in their village. That the 50 government inspectors felt justified in beating Wenhua to death for attempting to document their illegal activity is indicative of the barbaric attitude China's Government-Culture has towards the rights of the individual or the ancient Western concept that laws should apply to everybody -even members of the ruling power stucture.

The Chinese Government is particularly sensitive to losing face at this time, as they want to show a civilized facade to the world in time for Beijing's 2008 Olympics. The Government has responded to the killing by arresting 24 municipal inspectors whilst investigating more than 100 others in relation to the incident. CNN reports the killing has sparked outrage in China, “with thousands expressing anger in Chinese Internet chat rooms, often the only outlet for public criticism of the government.”

When I first heard about this killing, I expected the protest to be about the land privatization movement in China. Added to the government's troubles, is the Unrest that has also been growing in China over what villagers and farmers see as unfair land management policies. Under the Communist system of collectivization of farmland, peasant farmers have been assigned plots to work on. They don't own the land, and can be re-assigned at the government's whim. Earlier this week I heard a CBC Radio news story about how Land Developers with close connections to the Communist Party were arranging to have the peasant farmers booted off prime land near growing urban areas without compensation. The Developers then profited hugely from developing the land.

Nothing is wrong about making a huge profit in an honest manner, but in this case it's blatant Government Corruption and Theft. This is what growing numbers of Chinese villagers and farmers are angry about. They are pressing the government to allow them to own the land they farm, and be compensated if it is appropriated.

Fat chance.

Tribute to Her Father

2008-01-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

I hope someday my kids will think half as well of me as Ann did of her father. That was really well said Ann.
Her Father, John V. Coulter died last Friday morning.

Hillary

2007-12-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

I knew she was corrupt. But this is as if she thinks she's untouchable. Now it's emerged that since she's been in the Senate, she's procured over a Billion Dollars in government backed financing for her corporate supporters... 64% of whom, have in turn contributed millions to her campaign.

We're sleepwalking into War

2007-12-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

(image by www.filibuster.com)

One of my favorite authors, Dr. Jerry Pournelle has pointedly asked people to read this. It's a warning to each and every one of us that we're losing a war by default, and that our society's opponents know they're at war with us, and are doing everything they can to keep the majority of us from realizing this.

He's referring to a recent speech. The speech's author begins by talking about a book, The Troublesome Young Men, which tells of the days leading up to World War II. There was a group of younger conservatives who were attempting to oppose the appeasement policies that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was following in his attempts to deal with the coming Nazi threat. These men recognized that Chamberlain's ilk were so deeply desiring to avoid war, that they refused to recognize the reality of Hitler's proven ambitions, or that policies of appeasement would eventually lead to a war even greater than was feared possible. For their efforts these young Tories were severely punished and isolated by Chamberlain and his Conservatives.

There are frightening parallels to today. After six years of a "War on Terror" neither the sponsors nor the funders of many of the acts of terror since have been called to account.

"We need first of all to recognize this is a real war. Our enemies are peaceful when they're weak, are ruthless when they're strong, demand mercy when they're losing, show no mercy when they're winning. They understand exactly what this is, and anybody who reads Sun Tzu will understand exactly what we're living through. This is a total war. One side is going to win. One side is going to lose. You'll be able to tell who won and who lost by who's still standing. Most of Islam is not in this war, but most of Islam isn't going to stop this war. They're just going to sit to one side and tell you how sorry they are that this happened."

Read the speech. The rest of it will bother you too, I hope.