Powerful statement

This is a comment re the recent arrest of Muslim terrorists in Canada. The MSM (Mainstream media) took careful pains to avoid mentioning their race- middle Eastern - or their religion (Islamic).

This softly softly sensitive approach angered one commentator:

Read the rest here

By saltydog
This tippy-toeing around the fact of reality doesn’t protect us from would-be homegrown terrorists. It guarantees that we will have homegrown terrorists.

I will give the bastards this: they have studied the North Vietnamese strategies very carefully. They have gone to our universities, where they became acquainted with the weaknesses eating away at our foundations. They have studied the contradictions we have tried to impose on Enlightenment Individualism and seen just how to undermine us using those contradictions. Once you acceed to the idea of group rights, you’ve blown the premise out from under the idea that we are all equal before the law. Now some people, if they can qualify for the privileged group, are more equal than others. When your laws become completely subjective, where someone’s feelings constitute the basis for the use of force, and your society becomes one, not of individuals with the same rights, but of a bunch of separately privileged collectives, no one is safe. How is this any different than competing tribes? Or competing religious ideologies? Or the gangs of LA?

We’ve disarmed ourselves, and it wasn’t just the leftists who did it. Every group has seen some advantage of seeking that special legislation, usually based upon some type of victimhood, to give it a hand in the government till. Even religion, which used to understand why they ought to be strictly separated from government for their own protection, has allowed itself to enter into the game. If you give the proper argument why ignoring the fact that these people are a part of a religious ideology that is out to enslave us, you risk someone pointing out that the same arguement could be made against your own little group. All that had to be done for this to be accomplished is for the idea that the individual doesn’t necessarily own his own life, or his own home, or indeed have any rights at all if it can be shown to be detrimental to some group. Someone can always find some detriment to somebody, real or imagined. What else can follow but the same kind of gang warfare that typlified the Middle Ages.

So, we are now to the point where otherwise reasonable people allow themselves to be bullied into not stating the obvious - and who believe that it is the right thing to do. It is happening in the middle of a war that we’ll fight, but only so long as nobody names what it is we are fighting. We can talk about the method involved, but not who is using that method and why.

The first article I read today was about Bush offering nuclear technology to Iran. Then I got a call from my sister that my nephew was killed in action today. I came here, thinking to take a break, and I see this article. The thing that allowed Bush to even consider such an obscene gesture, and the thing that told that policement it was “politic” to take care of his language, also killed my nephew. We’d better start asking ourselves why we won’t fight to win. Otherwise, all we’re doing is pissing in the wind. We are wasting precious finite resources in men and treasure that we are going to need down the road. We are wearing out our finely trained warriors by using them as policemen and social workers. They’ve done a splendid job of what they’ve been asked to do, and they’ve done it in the face of a losing propaganda war at home. How long before the Iraqi government starts demanding to have some kind of control over them, and what will we answer?

I apologize. I thought I could just visit and get my mind off of things for a bit. I can’t. Sorry.

The truth sometimes hurts

Read this today. Seems to make a lot of sense. I'm not too sure why but every generation seems to produce an idealistic misguided lot. 700 years ago, the Christians were busy sending hordes of its soldiers down to the Holy Land to kill Muslims and Jews. But wait... duh... didn't Christ tell you to love your enemy?

Then to make matters worse the stupid Crusaders invade Constantinople- the Great mighty Christian city and sack it TWICE. Thus enabling the Ottoman Turks to invade the city and conquer it killing, raping and enslaving all of its inhabitants- and turning it into Istanbul- and reversing 1000 years of Christian rule. You can imagine the Christians in the affected lands living back then- reading the Book of Revelation and going "Ooooohhh crap."

Good going Christian Crusaders! Score a own goal twice. Mind you, the Christians back then were also busy fighting amongst themselves too much to notice the Mongol Army Horde screaming down from the East- butchering everything in sight. By some miracle, the Mongols turned back because their leader got so pissed drunk on vodhka that he had a heart attack and died. Remember that the next time you drink a Lemon Ruski.

Wait let's talk about our grandparent's generation. Unfortunately, they were saddled with leaders who thought that talking with a bully would solve everything. Talk it thru, reason with him, yeah that would work! And so Hitler managed to score the whole of Europe until half of his goose-stepping army died in Russia from frostbite.

So now most of the Western world has ditched Christianity. As the saying goes- If you don't believe in God- you'll believe in anything. Seems that most people have a Star Trekie view of the world- ie that all cultures are equal - except for Christian culture which is so passe. Anyhow read on: From James Lelik.

Self-Loathing and the Denial of Terrorism
BY JAMES LILEKS
c.2006 Newhouse News Service

You're an enlightened world citizen. Your T-shirt says "9/11 was an inside job." You're pretty sure we're living in a fascist state, that President Bush taps the Dixie Chicks' phones, Christian abortion clinic bombers outnumber jihadis, and the war on "terror" is a distraction from the real threats: carbon emissions and Pat Robertson. Then you learn that 17 people were arrested in a terrorist bomb plot. How do you process the information? Let's take it step by step.

Gosh, that's horrible, you think. But no -- that's what they WANT you to feel. Recall the prime directive: Question Authority (unless he's a college professor). The plotters must have been impoverished olive farmers radicalized by the removal of Saddam Hussein. Why, if someone came in and toppled your president, you'd go to their country and ... well, you'd thank them. Unless they did it for the wrong reasons! Then you'd blow something up. Like an SUV dealership. At night. Anyway, you understand; you care a lot about Iraqis these days. You think about Iraq more than China, to be honest, but it's not as if you'll scrape off your "Free Tibet" bumper sticker -- unless it's to make room for "Free Darfur." Or "Hands Off Darfur," depending.

Wait a minute: The "terrorists" were Canadian? You can understand someone blowing up trains in Spain and London. They sent troops to an illegal war cooked up by neocons who want to kill brown people for Exxon and Jesus, or something. You can understand, reluctantly, blowing up teens in an Israeli pizza parlor, because the Jews took the West Bank from the sovereign, ancient nation of Palestine. (How can a liberal socialist country behave so poorly? The world is full of mysteries.) But Canada? Isn't Michael Moore from Canada? You can get medical marijuana from married gay doctors in Canada, and no one has guns. You console yourself: Maybe they were really planning to attack the U.S.

You realize the suspects were all Muslim, and you dread the inevitable pogroms. Haven't been any yet, but any day now. You read that a mosque was vandalized in Toronto after the arrest, and you feel a certain grim relief. Finally, racism! Banners. If you're going to have a march, you'll need banners.

Read the rest here

How not to influence people

Read this in the news: Double-parked mother cuffed over outburst

June 6, 2006 - 11:29AM

A mother swore at police and accused them of being pedophiles before she was handcuffed in front of hysterical children for double parking outside a Queensland school, a court has been told.

Yvette Green, 38, of Riverview, today appeared in the Ipswich Magistrates Court charged with being a public nuisance, disobeying a police direction and obstructing police as she tried to drop two of her children at Collingwood State School in Brisbane's west on January 25 this year.

Sergeant Carmont told the court Ms Green refused to provide her details despite being asked up to 14 times and became aggressive after police approached her BMW.

"She said 'I know all you f---ing c's are corrupt, haven't you got anything f---ing better to do, you should be out arresting murderers and not harassing mothers'," he quoted Green as saying. "The only reason you hang around schools is because you're a f---ing pedophile c--t."

Sgt Carmont said Green was eventually forcibly removed from the vehicle and handcuffed after another police officer arrived and they had to apply her handbrake and unlock her seat belt. (Meanwhile, her youngestn child looked on in total horror).

Later in the police watchhouse Green was apologetic for her behaviour at the school, he said.

However, he said that police were unable to tape what Magistrate Matthew MacLaughlin described as "all the colourful language" because his recording device was corrupted.

The trial continues.

******************************************************

Generally speaking, police just try and do their job. However, I have met cops who are really into chicken shit stuff and love to lord it over civies.

Once I was driving in the middle of nowhere- it was a fairly big road- and had a slight decline- I think I was doing 50mph. The place is totally deserted. As I acclerated up the hill- a cop flags me over and hands me a fine for doing 5mph more- $200 fine. Sure, I could have got angry with him- but he was well within his rights to fine me. But I couldn't understand why he was targeting road users except that it was dead easy to catch a good number of ordinary citizens going a few km above the speed limit- the sign was nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, the local hoons and toughs are doing illegal drag races down my street- doing 100mph- and loud burn outs- but the cops don't dare come.

Anyhow its just worth remembering to keep your cool and not let them aggravate you. Write a letter to the RTA, move on. Go grab some tea, have a danish cookie, run 10km.

Don't let the shites get to you. You'll only end up doing something stupid and allowing the buggers to take advantage of you.

Hell hath no fury like an eBayer scorned

Ever bought something off the internet only to find out its a dud- broken - piece of crap?

Feel unhappy ya?

Well check this out- this dude (claimed) he got cheated on ebay- bought a computer that had the wrong specs and also wasn't working.

Unfortunately for the seller- the dude took out the hard drive and got it working- and lo and behold he struck paydirt- and promptly posted it on the internet for all to see.

Check it out here. Warning: Doesn't contain anything too terrible. But might not be safe for office or children's eyes.

Anyhow two things we can learn from this:

NEVER buy thing off an eBay Seller who has a poor (in this case 50%) or zero rating score. That's the ratings sellers/buyers give everytime u buy or sell stuff off eBay.

Preferably deal only with eBayers who have a large (50 or more) perfect or near perfect score (95 - 100%).

So far touch wood- I've had a pretty ok run with eBay. No dramas.

The other thing- if u are intent to sell your computer- make sure you format the hard drive - then load it up with files (junk stuff) to 100%. Then format it again. That way you guarantee that the important data gets scrubbed. But considering that most HDs are now 100+gig it might be simpler and fun to smash it or dump it into a bucket of oil/dirty water and throw it onto the floor several times.

Got another chess set

I indulged my passion for chess sets by buying another antique or vintage chess set. I think it dates from the 1960s. I think I paid too much for it- $41. I bought a similar set at a market for $15.

Then I noticed in ebay- another identical set that sold for $10. Even with air freight- it would have probably come under $30.

Ah well.

Fallaci, freedom fighter, war correspondent, speaks out

Seems like quite a remarkable woman. She really does speak her mind in an articulate, sensible manner. Read it here: New Yorker

Here's an excerpt:

Fallaci’s New York residence is a handsome nineteenth-century brownstone, painted white, with a walled garden in the back. She had longed for such a house since childhood; as a young girl in Italy during the Second World War, she’d found a Collier’s magazine in a care package dropped by U.S. military pilots, and fallen in love with a photo essay about American houses. “It’s funny to say that, with the marvellous architecture we have in Italy, I desired a house like this,” she said. “I grew up with this obsession of a white house with a black door.” Inside, the second-floor rooms, where we talked, had a scholarly, slightly worn elegance. The bookshelves held translations of Fallaci’s books and leather-bound early editions of Dickens, Voltaire, and Shakespeare. There were eighteenth- and nineteenth-century oil paintings on the walls; an old-fashioned cream-colored dial phone sat on a small table with a stained-glass lamp. It was the sort of setting where you could imagine retired professors sipping port and sparring genially over Greek participles. It was not the sort of setting where you expected to find a woman of Fallaci’s age yelling “Mamma mia! ” and threatening to break various people’s heads and blow things up.

I’d always thought of Fallaci as an icon of the nineteen-sixties—one of those women who had lived an emancipated life without ever calling herself a feminist. She denigrated marriage, got thrown out of nice restaurants for wearing slacks, and hung out with Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman. Her great love, the Greek resistance fighter Alexandros Panagoulis, died in a suspicious automobile accident in Athens three years after they met. Panagoulis had been imprisoned, and endured torture, for his failed attempt on the life of the Greek junta leader George Papadopoulos, in 1968. “I didn’t want to kill a man,” he told Fallaci. “I’m not capable of killing a man. I wanted to kill a tyrant.”

She proudly told a story about her mother, “When my father was arrested, we didn’t know where they had him, so she went everywhere for two days and finally she found him, at the house of torture. It was called Villa Triste. They killed people there. And the Fascist major was named Mario Carità—Major Charity. Mother—I don’t know how she did it—she went to the office of Major Charity, passing a room that was full of blood on the floor, the blood of three men who had been arrested and tied together, and one of them was my father. Carità says, ‘Madam. I have no time to lose. Your husband will be executed tomorrow morning at six. You can dress in black.’ My mother got up, as if she were the Statue of Liberty—and my mother said, ‘Mario Carità, tomorrow morning I shall dress in black, like you said. But if you are born from the womb of a woman, ask your mother to do the same, because your day will come very soon.’ You could think for a year before you came up with something like that—to her, it came.”

Her mother was pregnant at the time, Fallaci went on. “She mounted on her bicycle, and all at once she had pains so terrible. She entered into a beautiful building and, in the atrium, she lost the child. She put it in, I don’t know, a handkerchief or something. She mounted the bicycle again. She rode home. I opened the door, and there was mother, as pale as snow. And before she entered she said, ‘Father will be executed tomorrow morning at six, and Elena’—that was the name she had given the baby—‘is dead.’ No tears.”

Quite a story. So read it here: New Yorker magazine.

Noritake China

Here's a sample of what I like to collect- beautiful china.