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February 28, 2006

Truth stranger than fiction?

Sleeper.jpg

The medical profession's take on nutrition in 2173, as portrayed in 1973's Sleeper.

Dr. Melik: [puzzling over list of items sold at Miles' old health-food store] ... wheat germ, organic honey and... tiger's milk.

Dr. Aragon: Oh, yes. Those are the charmed substances that some years ago were thought to contain life-preserving properties.

Dr. Melik: You mean there was no deep fat? No steak or cream pies or... hot fudge?

Dr. Aragon: [chuckling] Those were thought to be unhealthy... precisely the opposite of what we now know to be true.

Dr. Melik: Incredible!

Nutrition in 2006.

CHICAGO Feb 27, 2006 (AP)— Leave it to the Dutch to help demonstrate the health benefits of chocolate. A study of older men in The Netherlands, known for its luscious chocolate, indicated those who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death.

And there's this.

Feb. 7, 2006 — The theory that eating less fat can help prevent disease suffered a setback today with the release of a large-scale study that failed to show such a diet lowered older women's risk of breast and colon cancer, and heart disease.

Waiter! Another bottle of chianti, your biggest sirloin, medium well, and save me a slice of the chocolate triple-layer cake.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

My kind of sheriff

So, let's say you're the sheriff, and you've got a guy in your jail awaiting trial for stealing a $7 million jet.
nAnd, let's say that the parents of this 22-year-old thief are complaining in the press that their poor baby boy is being cruelly treated in jail, 'cause his gums hurt. Why? Seems gingivitis is the culprit, because the big bad sheriff won't let him have floss.

Can you think of a better response?


LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- A man accused of stealing a plane from St. Augustine and flying it to metro Atlanta has a new cellmate after his parents complained their son has dental problems.

Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway moved Daniel Andrew Wolcott Friday night to the cell with a Dacula dentist facing murder charges in the death of his wife.

Conway said he moved Wolcott to Bart Corbin's cell because Corbin is "trained in dentistry." He said if Wolcott has any complications, the two cellmates can advise the medical unit. He noted that Wolcott just had his wisdom teeth out.

Wolcott, 22, is awaiting trial on charges that he stole a $7 million private jet in St. Augustine in October and flew it to Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville. He has been in jail since then in lieu of $175,000 bond.

Wolcott's parents, Scott and Diane Wolcott, have been at odds with Conway since November over dental floss not being allowed in the jail. They said their son has developed gingivitis and gum pockets because he has been unable to floss.

The couple said putting their son in a cell with a dentist who cannot practice his profession is no solution. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes Scott Wolcott as saying: "This appears to be a very bad inside joke on someone's part."

I read this yesterday, and I'm still chuckling.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:10 AM | Comments (0)

The doctor will see you now

A psychiatrist examines the pathology of those suffering from firearms phobias.

With footnotes, too!

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More (or less) from the Ostrich Media

Following up on yesterday's point, that many in the West refuse to state the obvious because to do so involves recognition of the existence of a problem, Patterico points out an example arising from the death of a California Highway Patrol Officer.

Yesterday a Barstow newspaper reported that a suspected drunk driver who killed a CHP officer had “a fake identification card, a Mexican identification card and other identification all with different names and different variations of names.”

News? You betcha! It suggests that the killer may have been an illegal immigrant who never should have been in the U.S. to begin with.

News reported by the L.A. Times? Don’t make me emit a mordant chuckle!

Despite this evidence suggesting that the officer’s killer was an illegal immigrant, the Los Angeles Times has printed not one word of this information. In today’s story, titled Shaken by Deaths, CHP Reviews Safety Policies, the paper shows no curiosity whatsoever concerning whether the man who killed the officer was legally in this country.

Is this not news? Obviously, it is. So (he asked rhetorically), what exactly is going on here?

I guess we’ll have to await the answer from the Readers’ Representative as to why only desert-based papers appear capable of reporting this information.

We all know the answer. In the world of the MSM, illegal immigrants are not a problem. Hell, they don't even exist; they're "undocumented workers," aka, future potential Democratic voters.

That CHP Officer Gregory Bailey would still be alive today if Domingo Esqueda had not broken the law when he came here is entirely beside the point.

Which is why you won't read about his immigration status in the L.A. Times.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 27, 2006

Denying the obvious

Have you heard about what's happening in France? Mark Steyn gives a thumbnail tour of the latest in Jew hunting on the Gallic Plain.

In five years' time, how many Jews will be living in France? Two years ago, a 23-year-old Paris disc jockey called Sebastien Selam was heading off to work from his parents' apartment when he was jumped in the parking garage by his Muslim neighbor Adel. Selam's throat was slit twice, to the point of near-decapitation; his face was ripped off with a fork; and his eyes were gouged out. Adel climbed the stairs of the apartment house dripping blood and yelling, "I have killed my Jew. I will go to heaven."

Is that an gripping story? You'd think so. Particularly when, in the same city, on the same night, a Jewish woman was brutally murdered in the presence of her daughter by another Muslim. You've got the making of a mini-trend there, and the media love trends.

Yet no major French newspaper carried the story.

This month, there was another murder. Ilan Halimi, also 23, also Jewish, was found by a railway track outside Paris with burns and knife wounds all over his body. He died en route to the hospital, having been held prisoner, hooded and naked, and brutally tortured for almost three weeks by a gang that had demanded half a million dollars from his family. Can you take a wild guess at the particular identity of the gang? During the ransom phone calls, his uncle reported that they were made to listen to Ilan's screams as he was being burned while his torturers read out verses from the Quran.

This time around, the French media did carry the story, yet every public official insisted there was no anti-Jewish element. Just one of those things. Coulda happened to anyone. And, if the gang did seem inordinately fixated on, ah, Jews, it was just because, as one police detective put it, ''Jews equal money.'' In London, the Observer couldn't even bring itself to pursue that particular angle. Its report of the murder managed to avoid any mention of the unfortunate Halimi's, um, Jewishness. Another British paper, the Independent, did dwell on the particular, er, identity groups involved in the incident but only in the context of a protest march by Parisian Jews marred by ''radical young Jewish men'' who'd attacked an ''Arab-run grocery.''

Why the reluctance to admit the obvious? Killing Jews is an accepted practice in some Muslim neighborhoods; and in most of the world, "Never Again!" means denying the obvious. To recognize that Jews are being targeted because they're Jews on the former turf of the Thousand Year Reich carries with it the moral obilgation to act.

It also imposes on the Europeans a need to choose sides: Arabs or Jews. A growing, vocal, violent segment of the populace, or the ever-nettlesome "Other," small in number, different, irritating and a reminder of France's less-than-stellar behaviour during the German occupation.

Steyn continues:

A lot of folks are, to put it at its mildest, indifferent to Jews. In 2003, a survey by the European Commission found that 59 percent of Europeans regard Israel as the "greatest menace to world peace." Only 59 percent? What the hell's wrong with the rest of 'em?

Well, don't worry: In Germany, it was 65 percent; Austria, 69 percent; the Netherlands, 74 percent. Since then, Iran has sportingly offered to solve the problem of the Israeli threat to world peace by wiping the Zionist Entity off the face of the map.

But what a tragedy that those peace-loving Iranians have been provoked into launching nuclear armageddon by those pushy Jews. As Paul Oestreicher, Anglican chaplain of the University of Sussex, wrote in the Guardian the other day, "I cannot listen calmly when an Iranian president talks of wiping out Israel. Jewish fears go deep. They are not irrational. But I cannot listen calmly either when a great many citizens of Israel think and speak of Palestinians in the way a great many Germans thought and spoke about Jews when I was one of them and had to flee."

It's not surprising when you're as heavily invested as the European establishment is in an absurd equivalence between a nuclear madman who thinks he's the warm-up act for the Twelfth Imam and the fellows building the Israeli security fence that you lose all sense of proportion when it comes to your own backyard, too. "Radical young Jewish men" are no threat to "Arab-run groceries." But radical young Muslim men are changing the realities of daily life for Jews and gays and women in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and beyond. If you don't care for the Yids, big deal; look out for yourself. The Jews are playing their traditional role of the canaries in history's coal mine.

Did you know that the French had the highest rate of compliance with German orders to surrendur citizens who were Jews for transportation to the death camp ovens? The hatred runs deep. And I'm not confident that France will make a better choice about its Jews today, better than the one it made in the dark days when the Wehrmacht marched down the Champs Elysee and the Fuhrer gazed upon Napolean's tomb.

Speaking of two dictators who dreamed of world conquest, did you know that there are those who still yearn for an end to the rule of nations?

Something very remarkable is happening around the globe and, if you want the short version, a Muslim demonstrator in Toronto the other day put it very well:

''We won't stop the protests until the world obeys Islamic law.''

Stated that baldly it sounds ridiculous. But, simply as a matter of fact, every year more and more of the world lives under Islamic law: Pakistan adopted Islamic law in 1977, Iran in 1979, Sudan in 1984. Four decades ago, Nigeria lived under English common law; now, half of it's in the grip of sharia, and the other half's feeling the squeeze, as the death toll from the cartoon jihad indicates.

But just as telling is how swiftly the developed world has internalized an essentially Islamic perspective. In their pitiful coverage of the low-level intifada that's been going on in France for five years, the European press has been barely any less loopy than the Middle Eastern media.

What, in the end, are all these supposedly unconnected matters from Danish cartoons to the murder of a Dutch filmmaker to gender-segregated swimming sessions in French municipal pools about? Answer: sovereignty.

Islam claims universal jurisdiction and always has. The only difference is that they're now acting upon it. The signature act of the new age was the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran: Even hostile states generally respect the convention that diplomatic missions are the sovereign territory of their respective countries. Tehran then advanced to claiming jurisdiction over the citizens of sovereign states and killing them -- as it did to Salman Rushdie's translators and publishers.

Now in the cartoon jihad and other episodes, the restraints of Islamic law are being extended piecemeal to the advanced world, by intimidation and violence but also by the usual cooing promotion of a spurious multicultural "respect" by Bill Clinton, the United Church of Canada, European foreign ministers, etc.

The I'd-like-to-teach-the-world-to-sing-in-perfect-harmonee crowd have always spoken favorably of one-worldism. From the op-ed pages of Jutland newspapers to les banlieues of Paris, the Pan-Islamists are getting on with it.

And those Americans who fail to condemn the advance of global Sharia may one day live -- briefly -- to regret it.

Posted by Mike Lief at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

Good TV

Lileks reviews a cult-classic cancelled series.

I know a few of you are waiting for the “Firefly” review. Well. I watched the pilot . . .

When “Firefly” first came out I read good reviews, and stayed away because I was certain it would be cancelled, and I would be annoyed. There was also a certain amount of Buffyness hanging over the project, and I’d managed to completely miss that one as well. So I watched the pilot Friday night out of obligation, really – arms crossed across the chest, remote in hand on the FF button, looking for an excuse to bail, because it just can’t be that good.

About fifteen minutes in, I thought: well, this is just the best sci-fi TV pilot ever. An hour into it I hit pause, shrunk the screen and hit Amazon to see if they had any Serenity toy ships. I enjoyed every minute. Every half-minute. Sometimes I rewound and did a frame by frame so I could enjoy certain seconds at my leisure. I’m sure there will be lesser episodes and better ones; I don’t care. I love it. And, as usual, I’m late. But at least I don’t have to worry about it being cancelled; as far as I’m concerned, it’s just begun, and it ends with a big movie. Happy day.

I wonder if they have it at Costco?

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2006

Sammenhold for Denmark, Scorn for Sitzpinklers!

The threats of violence and an on-going economic boycott against the Danes for, how shall we say this, exercising their freedom of speech and refusing to kiss censorious Mullah ass have motivated some in the online community to call for a rally at the Danish embassy. The Captain has the scoop.

Sammenhold is Danish for "solidarity", a quality that the Danes could stand to see from the West at this time. [Christopher] Hitchens wants to stage a rally outside the Danish embassy to show support for our friends in their time of need -- something the mainstream press has yet failed to do. That's why C[aptain's] Q[uarters] is also offering a vocabulary lesson today, or at least a re-run of a lesson that first appeared in August 2004 and got some attention yesterday at The Corner. That's when we discovered the delightful German word sitzpinkler:

Apparently, the Germans have a word for men who can't stand up for themselves, both literally and figuratively. It's 'sitzpinkler', which means both one who sits when urinating and wimp.

Try using these new words in a sentence, such as: "The American media consists of sitzpinklers who cannot summon the sammenhold to publish the Prophet cartoons in defense of the free speech they espouse."

Y'know, the thought occurs to me that the American media would be less sensitive to the threats of the terrorists if the bomb-throwing, throat-slitting brigands were Bush supporters.

Taking the lunacy to new heights, Michelle Malkin notes the ever-growing demands from Muslims that we live our lives according to their dictates.

Let's review.

Depictions of Mohammed are not allowed.
Depictions of ordinary human beings and animals are not allowed.
Depictions of mosques are not allowed.

And now, depictions poking fun on the prohibition of depictions are not allowed, either...

This is the cartoon that has caused yet more outrage in the Muslim world:

Apparently, humor is a Western vice.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 23, 2006

The judiciary's war on the death penalty

It’s infuriating, isn’t it? The condemned prisoner admitted crushing the skull of his victim, raping her as she lay dying, then stabbed her in the chest to make sure she was dead.

And a federal judge is concerned that the murderer not feel any pain. And in order to make sure that the killer's death was painless, the judge ordered that a doctor participate.

Michael Morales, 46, was scheduled to die Tuesday by injection for torturing, raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl 25 years ago. But officials at San Quentin State Prison could not meet the demands of a federal judge who ordered licensed medical personnel to take part in the execution. Because of ethical considerations, there were no takers, and the execution was called off.

The reprieve meant California, with 650 condemned inmates, awoke Wednesday to what effectively was a moratorium on executions.

The case may eventually place the issue of lethal injection before the U.S. Supreme Court. Thirty-seven of the 38 states with capital punishment use a procedure similar to California's.

Last week's ruling in the Morales case by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel shifted the debate subtly to whether licensed medical personnel should play an active role in an execution, something the American Medical Association and other medical groups have long opposed on ethical grounds.

It’s a combination of two things: judges gaming the system to figure out a way to prohibit any and all executions by couching their obstruction in terms of an 8th Amendment violation; and it's also a result of the public’s squeamishness at the prospect of putting the death back in the death penalty.

Sedating the prisoner and letting him drift off into oblivion on a tidal wave of drugs ain’t my idea of retributive justice.

If judges wanted to ensure that death was quick and relatively painless, we’d bring back the firing squad, with the bullseye on the condemned man’s head, or appropriate the guillotine, which is fast and foolproof.

The problem with both of those methods is they offend our aesthetic requirements: bloodless and neat.

Finally, the single most offensive thing about this judge’s actions is the insistence on making medical professionals violate the Hippocratic oath. It’s far too close to the worst characteristics of the Third Reich, and I salute the doctors for telling the judge, in essence, to buzz off.

Daffyd Ab Hugh has a good post on the issue, with a comment from someone who purports to be a friend of the victim. It makes for compelling reading, and should make you both angry and sad; it did me.

It was in November 1980 that this story begins for me. I was busy with college, working at the skating rink . . . This was also the month I first met Terri Lynn Winchell. She was about 5 feet tall with beautiful flowing brown hair in a style we now make fun of as big hair of the 70’s.

She worked at the skating rink and was your typical 17 year old girl. She smiled and giggled and brighten any room she entered. She loved to sing at the piano and write songs . . . In high school, Winchell was a straight-A student and a humble beauty, those closest to her said. Her mother said her daughter had planned a bid to become Miss San Joaquin County.

In 1980, she was a contender to become a "Pibb Girl," the next face of the Coca-Cola Bottle Co., because of her striking resemblance to a composite of the most prominent female celebrities of the time. She had Pam Dawber's hair, Susan Anton's eyes and Kristy McNichol's nose.

On slow evenings at the rink she would wander away from her station at the snack bar and join me at the railing next to the rink just to talk and watch. We had a lot of good times together chatting. Out on the floor of the rink were our friends . . . .

Only one of those "friends" was the mastermind of her murder, who lured her into the car where Michael Morales waited.

Terri Lynn Winchell died a terrible death twenty-five years ago, strangled with a belt, head bashed in with a hammer, raped, stabbed in the chest, and left in a field like garbage, all by Morales.

The last thing a civilized society should concern itself with is his "right" to avoid all pain as he pays for his crime.

Posted by Mike Lief at 12:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

It's a crime! (to insult Islam)

So, if you've been thinking about offering an opinion about Islam, think again before expressing anything other than happy, positive thoughts in Germany.

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - A German court on Thursday convicted a businessman of insulting Islam by printing the word "Koran" on toilet paper and offering it to mosques.

The 61-year-old man, identified only as Manfred van H., was given a one-year jail sentence, suspended for five years, and ordered to complete 300 hours of community service, a district court in the western German town of Luedinghausen ruled.

The conviction comes after a Danish newspaper printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad -- sparking violent protests around the world from Muslims who saw the images as sacrilegious and an attack on their beliefs.

Manfred van H. printed out sheets of toilet paper bearing the word "Koran" shortly after a group of Muslims carried out a series of bomb attacks in London in July 2005. He sent the paper to German television stations, magazines and some 15 mosques.

Prosecutors said that in an accompanying letter Manfred van H. called Islam's holy book a "cookbook for terrorists."

He also offered his toilet paper for sale on the Internet at a price of 4 euros ($4.76) per roll, saying the proceeds would go toward a "memorial to all the victims of Islamic terrorism."

The maximum sentence for insulting religious beliefs under the German criminal code is three years in prison.

And when was the last time a German citizen was convicted of insulting any other religion? My, how quickly the West accepts its dhimmitude.

Via Little Green Footballs.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 22, 2006

It takes a village -- of propagandists

Have you seen what is sure to be the stocking-stuffer to beat in Blue States this year? It's an illustrated book for the kids, one with a heartwarming story, cute illustrations, and a valuable lesson: Mommies are Democrats because they care about children and animals, while Republicans are nasty, selfish white people who smoke.

Seriously.

The good stuff is always in the background with this book. In the image above, notice the cigar-smoking man and his affluent wife striding by the miserable bum on the bench as they refuse to share with the less fortunate.


You see, Democratic Mommies want all children to have free educations, unlike the rich, fat white guy in the background. Of course, the other way to look at it is that the white guy worked hard to pay for his kid to attend the $160K-per-year university. Mommy Democrat, unwilling to do anything other than spend her days eating nuts and having litter-upon-litter of tree rats, would rather have someone else pony up the 160 large for her kids to go to a private university.

But the most important thing Democratic Mommies do is protect the children from the rampaging GOP elephant, who is about to trample the hobo in the park.

This is not a hoax. It is, however, an argument in favor of the seriousness with which the left views the need to indoctrinate children about the inherent evil of conservatives.

Hat tip to Van der Leun.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:36 AM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2006

Humor in Uniform

Joe Carter has penned a funny post on why a young man might choose the Marines over the U.S. Air Force.

It's all (mostly) tongue in cheek, so don't get upset if he gores your ox.

Make sure to check out the comments for some funny riffs on inter-service rivalry. This one's my favorite:

US Marine Corp Rules for Gunfighting

1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or
tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to shoot.

Navy SEALS Rules For Gunfighting

1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view.
3. Return quickly to looking cool in latest beach wear.
4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers Rules For Gunfighting

1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound pack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher" to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving.

Army Rules for Gunfighting

1. Select a new beret to wear.
2. Sew combat patch on right shoulder.
3. Change the color of beret you decide to wear.

US Air Force Rules For Gunfighting

1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See what's on HBO.
4. Determine "what is a gunfight."
5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" PowerPoint presentation.
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally.
9. Tell the Navy to send the Marines.

US Navy Rules For Gunfighting

1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Watch porn.
4. Send the Marines.

KEITH J. PAVLISCHEK
COLONEL, U.S. MARINES

As a veteran of the U.S. Navy's submarine service and a serving member of the California SMR JAG Corps, attached to a unit of the Air National Guard, I'm deeply offended.

Okay, I'm over it. Funny stuff.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:56 AM | Comments (2)

Bullets or barristers?

Mark Steyn published an opinion piece yesterday on the trial of Abu Hamza, the Captain Hook of London's radical Mullah crowd. Near the end, Steyn turns to my favorite topic of the day, lawyers and lawsuits or battalions and bodybags.

Go back four years. On September 11th, the Bush Administration had to choose whether to regard the events of that morning as a matter for law enforcement or an act of war. At one o’clock that afternoon, as the Pentagon still burned and after he’d helped pull the injured from the rubble, Donald Rumsfeld told the President, “This is not a criminal action. This is war.”

That’s still the distinction that matters: Part of the reason John Kerry lost in 2004 and why the Democrats will lose again this November is that they view this business as a law-enforcement matter – all warrants and due process. And, as we see in almost every case that comes up, to fight the jihad in the courtroom means you’ll lose.

Imagine if, during the London Blitz, you’d had Germans with British passports giving speeches advocating the United Kingdom’s incorporation within the Third Reich and demanding the Swastika fly over Buckingham Palace and you had to prosecute them individually and most Nazis were acquitted on technicalities but a few got 18 months-to-two-years.

To be sure, one can argue (as many British and Americans do) that the jihad does not pose the same kind of existential threat, but at what point do you cross the line? Three hundred dead in a Tube blast? Six thousand in a skyscraper bombing? Why aren’t the dead of September 11th and July 7th already enough?

More Americans were killed on 9/11 than on December 7. The latter, a "Date which will live in infamy," generated a war-fighting desire for revenge in 99 percent of the populace. Apparently the former created a war-fighting desire for revenge in about 50 percent of today's America, the balance preferring some combination of reading terrorists their Miranda rights, apologizing to them, understanding their rage, and surrenduring.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:41 AM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2006

Remember remember the fifth of November

The internet can be an amazing resource, with the ability to take an entertaining diversion and turn it into hours of educational reading via the wonders of the mouseclick on a hyperlink, as well as the Google search.

The coincidences and connections aren't limited to impromptu research sessions, either, but more on that later.

I was checking out the latest movie trailers, viewing two for the upcoming flick from the Wachowski brothers, V for Vendetta, a thriller set in an alternate future where the Nazis conquered Britain. The Wachowskis, who also made the Matrix trilogy, can put some slick and stunning images onscreen, and their depiction of a fascist United Kingdom is, at least for the duration of a coming attraction, oddly compelling.

The protagonist is an anarchist/freedom fighter who wreaks havoc on the repressive regime while disguised behind a mask and wig. The first advertising slogan I came across for the film said, "Remember remember the Fifth of November."

The Yahoo webpage for the film spoke of the release date having been pushed back from the Fifth of November, making the catchphrase moot.

Actually, no. The phrase triggered a memory of a plot to destroy Parliament, and a rhyme commemorating the plot's failure.

Remember Remember the fifth of November

The gunpowder treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot

Guy Fawkes Guy, 'twas his intent
to blow up king and parliament

Three score barrels were laid below
to prove old England's overthrow

By God's mercy he was catched
with a dark lantern and lighted match

Holler boys Holler boys let the bells ring
Holler boys Holler boys God save the King

The name was familiar, and I vaguely recalled the broad outlines of the plot, so I googled Guy Fawkes and started reading, beginning with the Britannia web site's bio of the would-be bomber.

I then turned to the entry in Wikipedia, which, for all the potential pitfalls of a reader-created encyclopaedia, was very informative. Besides, there were tons of links for me to fact check with other sources.

In no short order, I was reacquainting myself with the English Civil War, the regicide of Charles I, the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the Restoration of the Monarchy and the origins of it all, beginning with the plot against the murdered king's father, James I, which ended with the grisly demise of Mr. Fawkes (he was hanged, drawn and quartered).

It turns out that the mask in the movie is modeled after Guy Fawkes, which also explains the wig and cape. It will all resonate with British audiences, given that it was illegal until 1959 to not celebrate the capture of Fawkes and the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, but I wonder if American audiences will get it, absent a history lesson.

Anyhow, click click click, I found myself reading about Samuel Pepys, who is remembered more than 300 years after his death for the meticulous diary he kept for ten years during the 1690s. Pepys detailed his affairs in the service of the King, as well as his affairs in the pursuit of a little slap and tickle, Mrs. Pepys notwithstanding.

Pepys witnessed a tremendous amount of history, including the Great Fire of London, the Plague ravaging England, the beheading of King James and the execution (hanging, drawing and quartering, again! ) of one of the men responsible for the regicide, after the late king's son won back the throne and exacted a cruel revenge.

So, I click over to Gerard Van der Leun's web site this morning, to find that he's been reading . . . wait for it . . . Pepys' diary, linking to the same site I'd been studying the day before.

I know, it's not the most earth shattering coincidence, but really, what are the odds.

So, at the end of the day, I've learned about English history, politics, intrigues, methods of torture and execution, as well as how kidney stones were removed in the 17th Century (don't ask).

And of course, that Van der Leun and I are apparently treading the same cyber path.

Posted by Mike Lief at 10:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Judicial stupidity alert, international edition

Proving that judges of all nationalities are intent on getting us killed, the Germans provide a marvelous example of losing sight of the forest for the trees.

February 20, 2006: A German court ruled that a hijacked aircraft could not be shot down to prevent it from crashing into a stadium full of people. The court said that the rights of the passengers on the hijacked aircraft took priority over attempts to prevent greater loss of life in the stadium.

The ruling came as Germany was organizing security for the soccer world cup. There will be a no-fly zone over the stadiums, but because of this ruling, the fighter jets patrolling the air space will not be allowed to shoot down aircraft threatening the thousands of people in a stadium.

Germany will try to come up with another way to stop a hijacked aircraft, or seek another legal solution to the prohibition on shooting down attacking aircraft.

Wartime involves assessing cost benefit analyses that result in lives being saved -- and lost. The Brits managed to decode Germany's secret military communications, meaning that the Allies often had advance notice of the enemy's next attack. But to act on that knowledge too often would result in the Germans realizing their codes were no longer secure.

With that dilemma in mind, Winston Churchil allowed the German aerial assault on the English city of Coventry to proceed with no greater defense than would be encountered by the Luftwaffe if the Brits had received no prior warning.

In other words, civilians had to die, in order that many more civilians -- and soldiers -- would live.

It was a tough decision, the kind that wartime leaders have been forced to make time and again. These decisions are not -- can not -- be decided through the calculus of the legal system. The time for lawyers and judges (regrettably) comes after the guns fall silent.

It is insane for judges to hold as a matter of law that the "rights" of passengers on one plane trump the rights of thousands in a stadium to avoid being dismembered and incinerated in a Teutonic repeat of 9/11.

And it takes insanity to an even greater level for the German government to allow its defense establishment to have its responsibility for protecting the German people be usurped by the judiciary.

Via StrategyPage.

Posted by Mike Lief at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

The Islamic States of America

Republic World News is the official news source for the Islamic States of America, and makes for some fascinating reading. It's based on a new book, Prayers for the Assassin, which imagines a future where, in the words of the author:

Well, the premise of the novel is approximately 2010, the United States is in terrible economic straits, the political leadership is weak, there's lots of dissension in the country, politically and socially, and over a period of time, the regular religious and social institutions are not able to deal with this.

There is an increasing funding by Muslims, from Saudi Arabia particularly, building Mosques, doing good deeds, drawing converts, and there is a political and social shift where Islam becomes slowly more prominent, and there is mass conversions, which has often happened in the past in the United States during the depression, Aimee Semple McPherson, etc.

And in about 2015, there are simultaneous nuclear attacks on Washington, D.C., New York City, and Mecca. And this is blamed at first on Muslim terrorists. And within a week, it is blamed on agents of the Israeli Mossad. And essentially, the United States goes through political upheaval, and most of the country becomes Islamic. The fundamentalist Christians, or the Christians become centered in the, what we call the Bible Belt, the old confederacy, and pieces of that. [The free state of Nevada is] where you can actually get a drink and you can gamble. It's actually the financial center . . . it's the Switzerland of the new America.

Make sure to check out the obituary for Shania X, the country singer who announced her conversion on the stage of the Grand Ol' Opry.

The New York Times gave it a good review (if you care), but that endorsement notwithstanding, it sounds like a fascinating "what if" take on the coming global jihad.

There's a lengthy interview with the author, courtesy of Hugh Hewitt and Radioblogger.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:18 AM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2006

Is it just me, or is Larry O'Donnell crazier than a Jackson family reunion?

I haven't posted anything on the Vice President Cheney hunting hoo-doo, but Hugh Hewitt had a fascinating interview with West Wing producer Lawrence O'Donnell yesterday. Hewitt questioned the Hollywood cum-Hahvahd liberal pundit about his claim in the Huffington Post that "Every lawyer I've talked to assumes Cheney was too drunk to talk to the cops after the shooting."

By the end of the interview, which you can listen to for yourself, you can hear the veins in O'Donnell's neck creaking as he comes periously close to blowing a gasket.

Cathy Seipp had a close encounter of the Larry O'Donnell kind last Spring on the late, lamented Dennis Miller show. It culminated in a neck-bulging, David Banner-esque rant, looking like O'Donnell was going to attack the diminutive blonde.

Today, Seipp has her revenge, gutting O'Donnell like a particularly ridiculous Clownfish, in a devastating parody of his weird interview on Hewitt's show.

And, if you're really in the mood to be punished, check out Hewitt's interview with White House correspondent (and voluptuary of tyrants ranging from Lenin to Stalin, to the very, very spicy Fidel) Helen Thomas.

Posted by Mike Lief at 01:09 PM | Comments (0)

Have you seen these men?

These are the Al Queda terrorists who escaped from a Yemeni jail this week. Lauded by many Arabs as heroes, they're intent on killing you and me, my friends.

Michelle Malkin points out that one of the fugitives is a U.S. citizen, who trained with the U.S.-born Lackawana Six in an Al Queda camp. The Yemenis refused to turn him over to the U.S.; now he's in the wind.

Malkin also notes the recent purchase by a company from the United Arab Emirates of port operations (read security) at major U.S. ports.

Given that the easiest way to smuggle nukes into the U.S. (other than from Mexico) is in a SeaVan container, are you worried yet?

Posted by Mike Lief at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

Dying is easy; comedy is hard

Well, the sexual harassment/hostile work environment lawsuit filed against the producers of "Friends" by a former production assistant has had its day in the California Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, the justices of the California Supreme Court seemed inclined to keep their fingers -- and jurors' second-guessing -- out of the creative process that helped breathe life into his sex-obsessed character, and others, on the sitcom "Friends."

The court, in a case televised live by the California Channel, had been asked to rule that writers' sexually crude comments and simulations while hashing out TV scripts could constitute sexual harassment serious enough to cause a hostile work environment, especially for women and minorities.

But the six justices on hand for oral arguments appeared uncomfortable with the thought of forcing writers to curb their thoughts, words and actions even if they often push the boundaries of sexual harassment.

It's interesting to see two normally-sympatico communities at each other's throats. Hollywood and the women's rights movement are often joined at the hip, but the creative process is the epitome of sausage making; it may taste good, but you sure as hell don't want to see how they turn pig into dinner. And, in the end, freedom of expression is at loggerheads with the assorted rights movements.

If you want all the salacious details contained in the moving papers, they're only a click away.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

That'll teach 'em!

Seeing as how today's posts have a law-related theme, the folks over at Patterico detail how a new attorney seems intent on committing career suicide and alienating the entire local bar with just a few e-mails.

Beautiful.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Dispatch from Exit 7A

From my old neighborhood in New Jersey comes this report:

Lawyer hit by van, gets ticket for jaywalking

MORRISTOWN -- A Morristown attorney was charged with jaywalking after being struck by a van while crossing the street to the Morris County Courthouse on Wednesday.

Jeffrey Advokat, 51, of Denville, whose law offices are on North Park Place, was attempting to cross Washington Street from the northwest corner of Cattano Avenue when he was struck by a white van that was turning left from Washington onto Cattano Avenue, police said.

Advokat was knocked down and suffered a cut on his head, police and Advokat said. Advokat said he was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital by the Morristown First Aid Squad. He was treated for the cut, which he said was bleeding profusely, and released . . .

Advokat was trying to cross the street from a point that was within about 50 feet from either a crosswalk in front of the First Baptist Church or another leading to Court Street. He was charged with unlawfully crossing the road.

Advokat said he began to cross the street because he believed that the van had stopped to allow him to cross. "The truck stops for me and as I started walking in the road it started driving again," Advokat said.

Police said the driver of the van, Steven VanFanten, 33, of West Milford, told them he did not see Advokat. VanFanten was not charged.

I love the image of some beat cop handing a pen to the guy as he lays on a gurney, telling him to sign the citation, as the driver of the van tells the other cop, "This mook steps off da curb, from outa nowhere he comes; bada-bing, bada-boom! Next thing I know, my bumper's screwed up and my boss is gonna give me hell."

Then the lawyer watches the cops let the guy go with a sympathetic slap on the back.

Gawd, I love the East Coast.

And did you catch the lawyer's name? Advokat. Talk about your life being programmed at birth.

Nota Bene: You get off the Turnpike at Exit 7A to get to Morristown.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 15, 2006

Drinking the blood of Jews

So, you've heard that the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza elected the terrorist organization Hamas to run their territories. So, having defeated Fatah, Hamas has begun the process of moderating its views, ready to join the ranks of sober, responsible governments, right?

Not exactly.

Courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch, check out what's on the official website of the new rulers of the West Bank and Gaza.

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Farewell videos from two suicide bombers.

And what do they have to say?

My message to the loathed Jews is that there is no god but Allah, we will chase you everywhere! We are a nation that drinks blood, and we know that there is no blood better than the blood of Jews. We will not leave you alone until we have quenched our thirst with your blood, and our children's thirst with your blood. We will not leave until you leave the Muslim countries.

It doesn't get much better when the second homicidal maniac sits in front of the camera.

In the name of Allah, we will destroy you, blow you up, take revenge against you, [and] purify the land of you, pigs that have defiled our country . . . This operation is revenge against the sons of monkeys and pigs.

Yeah, the Israelis should negotiate with Hamas, their partners in the peace process.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:11 PM | Comments (1)

Jackie Mason on Muslim vs. Jewish revenge

From an article in the Spectator by comedian Jackie Mason and lawyer Raoul Felder on the Muslim riots over the cartoons of Mohammed:

Could you picture a Jew doing something like this? Ironically, the cartoonists were not even condemning Islam, they were merely creating a satire of a terrorist. They weren’t insulting their religion, they were satirizing a fanatic. But, the Muslims have decided that there are no laws, limits, or boundaries that apply to their behavior. They not only have the right to take your life, they now have the right to rob you of your freedom of expression.

Could you picture a Jew killing anybody for such meaningless reasons? If a Jew gets mad he might sneak into your house and steal your lipitor or he would make a deal with your doctor to lie about your cholesterol number, or just when you have fasted a whole day on Yom Kippur when you finally could eat you would find that he snuck into your house and stole all your pastrami sandwiches.

I never saw a Jew going into meaningless fights. That is why you seldom see Jewish football players. A Jew is not going to take a chance in spraining his neck or tearing a ligament in his knee or wrinkling his clothes just because he was fighting with somebody about catching a ball. He would rather go to a store and buy another ball and avoid the whole problem. That is why there are also no Jewish hockey players. Hockey players spend all their time hitting each other in the mouth with sticks. When Jews saw how Gentiles played hockey that is how Jews found out that instead of becoming a hockey player they would become dentists, and that way they decided to let other people play the game while they found a way to make a profit from it.

Jews are never known to get into unnecessary physical battles. That is why people are never afraid of being attacked by a Jew. Did you ever hear anybody say, "Don't go into that neighborhood it is very dangerous, there are a lot of Jews there?"

Jews have for so long been accustomed to being threatened and persecuted all over the world that they could never dream of creating needless violence anywhere because they would be grateful to even find a place where they are allowed to live in peace. Jews could never dream of threatening innocent people with inexcusable violence.

Meanwhile the rest of the world is reacting to the Muslims with an amazing cowardice. Instead of a collective fury, we are pleading for forgiveness, and promising not to offend them with any more cartoons. Could anything be more perverted? The same people who are not offended by suicide bombers and terrorist killings, murder, mayhem, and destruction around the world have now decided that a cartoon... "OY VEY IS THIS TERRIBLE!"

They're just so ridiculous. Scary, but ridiculous.

Via Little Green Footballs.

Posted by Mike Lief at 06:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 13, 2006

Happy Birthday, Gen. Yeager

Today is Gen. Chuck Yeager's birthday. A World War II ace, Yeager flew 64 combat missions and downed 12 German planes, including a staggering five in one dogfight.

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Yeager was shot down during his eighth mission while piloting his P-51 Mustang, Glamorous Glennis, escaping to freedom over remote mountain passes while evading the pursuing Germans. Yeager's journey over the French Pyrenees -- on foot! -- is detailed here.

In 1947, Yeager became the fastest man on Earth, breaking the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis, named -- like all his aircraft -- for his wife.

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I first read his autobiography back when I was in the navy, and I thought his life was a thrilling adventure, as he climbed the ranks from enlisted mechanic to general.

He's one of a dwindling breed, the last of the look-em-in-the-eyes gunfighting aces. No over-the-horizon missile launches for these warriors; they fought aerial knife fights, up close and personal.

Yeager was a natural pilot, whose undeniable skill in the cockpit and his preternatural eyesight gave him an enormous advantage in combat. Twenty-one years after I first read his book, I remember him saying that the key to surviving a dogfight was seeing the enemy before he saw you. Yeager delighted in calling out "Bogies ahead at twelve o'clock!" as his fellow pilots frantically peered ahead in vain.

Inevitably, as they drew nearer, the enemy planes were where Yeager said they'd be.

I think the first time I became familiar with Yeager's role in aviation history was when I read Tom Wolfe's great book, The Right Stuff, later made into a superb movie.

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The film cast playright Sam Shepperd as the laconic Yeager, but the real test pilot appeared in a cameo in Pancho's Bar & Grill, pictured above, right.

An Air Force biography is here.

Happy birthday, General. Thank you for your service.

Stop on over at his web site and leave your birthday wishes for an American hero.

Posted by Mike Lief at 11:25 PM | Comments (2)

Weakness begets violence

I've been saying for the last week that the failure of the American media to publish the cartoons that have driven Muslim protestors to violence has an unintended consequence: more violence from more people.

Here's the problem. The newspapers and TV news networks who cite "sensitivity to our Muslim viewers" are lying. They're not interested in avoiding offending their readers/viewers. If that were the case, they'd have refused to publish pictures of rapper Kanye West as Jesus; embargoed the elephant-dung-encrusted picture of the Madonna; and nixed Andres Serrano's urine soaked crucifix, "Piss Christ."

No, the MSM is refusing to publish the cartoons because they're afraid. Afraid of angry Muslims resorting to violence to express their unhappiness with a secular corporation refusing to follow the dictates of a reactionary religious movement.

Two lessons may be drawn from this. First, Muslims know that for many media outlets, freedom of speech is subordinated to a fear of violent protest; therefore, more violence will lead to greater willingness on the part of the media to surrendur to the requirements of the Muslim mob.

Second, Christians and Jews see that their faiths are subjected to blasphemous mockery only because the fearless purveyors of satire, art and media believe they may impugn these peaceful faiths without fear of violent opposition.

Question. Is it possible that some followers of the heretofore peaceful Christian community assimilate this lesson?

Am I saying that we're going to see Christian mobs buring down embassies? Of course not. I think it's far more likely that we'll see more Muslims using these tactics to try and silence criticism from non-Muslims.

But it's possible that some people may begin wondering what advantage lies with avoiding forceful confrontation with those who mock their beliefs.

This weekend, law professor Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame spoke to this issue, giving CNN a swift kick in the pants for their cowardice.

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REYNOLDS: I think you guys have blown it and I think by not publishing the cartoons, what you've done is let people imagine the worst. The actual cartoons are not that [outrageous]. And in fact, one way we know they're not that [outrageous] is the Danish imams had to add fake cartoons when they did their little tour to try to stir up trouble, because the real ones weren't bad enough. And I think when you cover things up, you let peoples' imaginations run wild and the result is worse that if you expose things. The press is there to tell us things, not to hide things from us.

TATTON: You mean the images themselves are not that severe?

REYNOLDS: They are not nearly as bad as the fake ones the Danish imams felt like they had to add to stir things up.

TATTON: Some of them though very offensive to people.

REYNOLDS: Everything is offensive to somebody. In the modern world, we all have to put up with some degree of offense. If fundamentalist Christians were rioting because of "Will and Grace" would you take it off the air?...

TATTON: Now this has been a subject of discussion on the left and on the right, but particularly among conservative bloggers. Why do you think that is?

REYNOLDS: Because I think conservative bloggers hear a lot of talk about free speech in other context. But it seems like people are willing to go to the mat to protect free speech when it's free speech irritates people on the right. But when it is free speech that irritates Muslims, they're more concerned about not offending…

TATTON: One thing Glenn can comment on also, is the fact that whatever we're deciding about whether to publish these images or not, they are out there. They're online. You can find them. How is the Internet contributed to the story?

REYNOLDS: I think it's helped people find these images they couldn't find through the mainstream press, which as always helps people bypass the gate keepers. But, look, my beliefs are offended when gangs of ignorant thugs burn embassies. Where is my respect for my beliefs? Do I need to burn embassies to get respect for my beliefs? Because that's the message CNN sends. The message they send is we will reward violence. And you're going to get more of what you reward. That's how it works.

The video of Reynold's appearance is available here.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Reason number 4,872 why Al Gore is a retard

4,872. He went to Saudi Arabia and complained that America doesn't kiss enough Saudi ass, and that Americans abuse Arabs.

Seriously.

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.
"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

"Unfortunately there have been terrible abuses and it's wrong," Gore said. "I do want you to know that it does not represent the desires or wishes or feelings of the majority of the citizens of my country."

The folks at Powerline have a good rejoinder to the 2008 presidential hopeful's latest act of craven pandering to people who don't give a damn about us.

UPDATE

Michelle Malkin comments:

Let's cut through Gore's disgraceful slander and pander. The immediate post-9/11 detention of illegal aliens from suspect countries netted 762 aliens -- nearly all of them here illegally -- who were held while being investigated for possible ties to terrorism. . .

The notion that Saudis are entitled to unfettered visas to work, study, and do business in this country--the notion that entry into America is an entitlement and not a privilege--cost 3,000 innocent lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

How much did the Saudis pay you to forget, Al?

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:39 AM | Comments (0)

It's a tough world out there

From The Officers' Club.

Naval-gazing as we are, I remember sitting in the barber shop at VMI with one of my Army buddies, and there was a US Weekly magazine on the floor. I picked it up, flipped through it, and turned to my buddy and said flatly: “this is why the terrorists want to kill us.” Are we so focused on celebrities, fashion, and ourselves that we have ignored the world around us? The world around us, whether our culture likes it or not, is not sensitive, compassionate, or in touch with its feminine side. The real world takes its feminine side into a soccer stadium and executes her for getting raped, in front of a crowd of cheering onlookers glad to have their “culture” cleansed of impurity. The real world executes people on a mass scale, herds them into refugee camps where they can be controlled and starved to death, and then insults us for being “insensitive to their culture.”

The world around us requires toughness to survive in it. We need to stand up, man up, and cowboy up to face the new problems in the world today. We need to be aware of our own cultural biases, of course, but we must let other cultures know that they have biases too, and we will not let that stand in our way of doing business.

All of these acts on the world stage required toughness, and America stood up and delivered. But toughness is mocked, lampooned, and chided by the left in our culture today. It is described as “over-compensating,” cowboy-ish, ignorant, and immature. Toughness, however, founded this country, and got us to where we are today. People can only stand and criticize it now because they are secured by the same toughs they mock.

Something akin to those critics who wail about the brutality of the L.A.P.D., then draw a deep, shuddering breath and wail about how those damn cops don't patrol in their neighborhoods enough.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 03, 2006

CNN finds religion

Michelle Malkin continues her roundup of the worldwide twofer: Murderous threats from the Muslim world and sudden sensitivity to religious iconology from the West -- as long as the images aren't Jewish or Christian.

The international storm over cartoon drawings of the Prophet Mohammad published in European media gathered pace across the Islamic world Thursday with angry demonstrations and the shutting down of the EU office in Gaza City.

In Paris, the daily newspaper France Soir fired its managing editor after it republished the caricatures Wednesday, and in Pakistan protesters marched chanting "Death to Denmark" and "Death to France."

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying the cartoons -- one depicting the founder of Islam wearing a turban resembling a bomb --showed press freedom should have its limits.

Muslims consider it sacrilegious to produce a likeness of the Prophet Mohammad. CNN has chosen to not show the cartoons in respect for Islam.

Look, Christians and Jews are easily offended -- rightly so, in my opinion -- when their beliefs are mocked. But when was the last time you heard of a Jewish mob threatening violence against secular mockery? Actually, when was the last time you saw a Jewish mob anywhere but at the Bar Mitzvah buffet dessert table? Calm down! I saw it at my own Bar Mitzvah -- and at the local cafeteria with my grandparents.

Andres Serrano and his "Piss Christ" photo, showing a crucifix in a jar of the "artist's" urine? Featured in dozens of publications. The Madonna made out of elephant dung? Saw it in the paper. Britney Spears set to guess star on "Will & Grace" as the star of a Christian cooking show, "Cruci-fixins' " and rapper Kanye West showing courage by appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone as Christ. Pardon me for not being impressed by the egomaniacal Mr. West, but if he really had anything other than a jones for publicity, he'd trade the crown of thorns for a robe and turban -- but then those Muslims just can't take a joke like a good pacific Christian.

Oh, did I mention the Virgin Mary bleeding from her anus on "South Park"?

So forgive me if I find the sudden concern by the American media for the religious sensitivities of Muslims to be of such concern. I thought the First Amendment gave journalists the right to publish anything, inspired them to go to jail, rather than reveal sources.

Apparently I was mistaken.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:37 AM | Comments (2)

February 02, 2006

Support the Danes

If you haven't been following the story, Mad Muslim Mullahs and supporters of their thugocracy have their turbans in a twist over a series of cartoons published in the Danish press, threatening those involved in the decision to print the cartoons and calling for a worldwide boycott of Denmark and its products.

In an unexpected development, other Euros are backing the Danes.

PARIS -- Declaring that democracy includes the "right to blasphemy," French and German newspapers yesterday republished caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that have riled the Muslim world.

The front page of the daily France Soir, which is owned by an Egyptian businessman, carried the headline "Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God" along with a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud. Inside, the paper reran the drawings.

La Stampa in Italy, El Periodico in Spain and Dutch paper Volkskrank also carried some of the drawings, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.

However, courage is not the coin of the realm in France. Eager to become the Publishing Petain of the Caliphate, one would-be dhimmi was only too happy to give his editor the chop for lacking the proper ass-kissing demeanor demanded by the angry Muhammadeans.

Late yesterday, France Soir owner Raymond Lakah said he would remove Jacques Lefranc as managing director. He expressed regret "to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication" of the cartoons, a statement said.

The Danish daily Jyllands-Posten originally published the cartoons in September after asking artists to depict Islam's prophet to challenge what it perceived was self-censorship among artists dealing with Islamic issues. A Norwegian newspaper reprinted the images last month.

The depictions include an image of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. Another shows him saying that paradise was running short of virgins for suicide bombers. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet to prevent idolatry.

Angered by the drawings, masked Palestinian gunmen briefly took over a European Union office in Gaza on Monday. Saudi Arabia, Syria and Libya recalled their ambassadors to Denmark.

The Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods said its sales in the Middle East have dropped as a result of a boycott of Danish products across the region. The company is preparing to lay off 140 employees.

The Jyllands-Posten, which received a bomb threat over the drawings, has apologized for hurting Muslims' feelings but not for publishing the cartoons.

Editor Carsten Juste said the international furor amounted to a victory for opponents of free expression.

"Those who have won are dictatorships in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, where they cut criminals' hands and give women no rights," Mr. Juste said. "The dark dictatorships have won."

Amen, Mr. Juste. I'm going to buy some Danish sardines, pronto.

Michelle Malkin has -- as usual -- a thorough post with links galore, including the cartoons, too. Surf on over and see what has the "Religion of Peace" threatening most unpeaceful revenge.

Posted by Mike Lief at 08:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Big Brother is driving

Canada is looking into putting Big Brother in control of your car.

It won't be long until our neighbor to the north requires its citizens to ride in kiddie car seats, no matter how old they are.

Posted by Mike Lief at 07:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack