Month: March 2006

Women go ‘missing’ by the millions

Women go 'missing' by the millions – Editorials & Commentary – International Herald Tribune

In the past two centuries, those in the West have gradually changed the way they treat women. As a result, the West enjoys greater peace and progress. It is my hope that the third world will embark on this effort. Just as we put an end to slavery, we must end the gendercide.

(Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch legislator, lives under 24-hour protection because of death threats against her by Islamic radicals since the murder of Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the film "Submission" about women and Islam.

Head of Arab League Pushes Nuke Programs

Head of Arab League Pushes Nuke Programs – Yahoo! News
KHARTOUM, Sudan – The head of the Arab League called on Arab states Tuesday to work toward “entering the nuclear club” by developing atomic energy

BERLIN (AFP) – Saudi Arabia is working secretly on a nuclear programme, with help from Pakistani experts, a German magazine reports in its latest edition, citing Western security sources.

This atavistic love of blood and death and, indeed, self-immolation in the name of God may not be new–medieval Europe had an abundance of millennial Christian sects–but until now it has never had the means to carry out its apocalyptic ends….If nothing is done, we face not proliferation but hyperproliferation.

Henry Kissinger said yesterday “ “We live in a period in which most of what we know from history is inapplicable or applicable in limited ways.”

Then he says, Asia today is like 19th C. Europe and the Middle East is like the 17th C. Then there’s globalization which both integrates economically and fragments politically. And somehow we need to synthesize this all in a way the public can understand.

NEW DELHI – Village elders ordered a Muslim man in eastern India to leave his wife after he accidentally divorced her in his sleep, a news report said Tuesday.

In the wake of the cartoon jihad and mosque-on-mosque violence in Iraq, most Americans now think Islam has more violent believers than any other faith. Yet many still view it as a “peaceful religion.”

Psychologists might call this cognitive dissonance — a state of mind where rational people essentially lie to themselves. But in this case, it’s understandable. In our politically correct culture, criticizing any religion, even one that plots our destruction, is still taboo. And no one wants to suggest the terrorists are driven by their holy text. Is Islam the only religion with a doctrine, theology and legal system that mandates warfare against unbelievers?

Chanting “God is Greatest” after the 71-to-36 vote, Hamas lawmakers hugged and kissed Ismail Haniyeh, their teary-eyed prime minister-designate who vowed to not to abandon the fight against Israel.

“The Koran is our constitution, Jihad is our way, and death for the sake of God is our highest aspiration,” Hamas lawmaker Hamed Bitawi said.”

To bolster its campaign, the Iranian government has one of the most extensive and sophisticated operations to censor and filter internet content of any country in the world — second only to China, Hopkins said.

It also is one of a growing number of Middle Eastern countries that rely on U.S. commercial software to do the filtering, according to a 2004 study by a group called the OpenNet Initiative

Earwax – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Earwax – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The person having their ears cleaned would lie down with their head in the lap of the person doing the cleaning, with this tool. It is generally considered a pleasant feeling for Japanese, like having one's back scratched. The cleaning of ears is thus considered an act of intimacy, often performed by a mother to a child or, among adults, by one's lover.

It is generally advised not to use cotton swabs (Q-Tips or cotton buds) as these will likely push the wax further down the ear canal and, if used carelessly, perforate the eardrum or worse. Cotton swabs should be used only to clean the external ear.

If you haven't discoverd Wikipedia before, let this be your introduction to the power of the internet. It is an open forum where the public contributes to the fact checking.

When Life Begins at 5: A New Wake-Up Call

WSJ.com – When Life Begins at 5: A New Wake-Up Call (Subscription Required)
By a wide variety of indicators, from electricity usage to water consumption, more U.S. households are starting their days before dawn.

Of course, for the sleep-deprived, becoming a morning person can be an uphill battle — 70% of us are not naturally alert and active in the morning, according to the National Sleep Foundation, an educational organization…."It's like these people are a different species,"

The shift to sunrise comes thanks to everything from heavier rush-hour traffic to BlackBerry overload that has left predawn as the last refuge for many people.

Reconquista of Aztlan

Just as there is a movement among European Muslims, who carry banners proclaiming “2030 we take over”, there is a comparable movement in the South West of the U.S. This quote is taken from the conclusion of a Mexican Government sponsored forum:

Is there a common destiny? Is there a common destiny for Aztlan and Mexico? Will Mexico recover its lost territories? There is a Mexican-American activist that use to be a radio talk host that would broadcast in English, “Wake up and smell the refried beans!” and “We are reconquering Aztlan without firing a shot, house by house, block by block!” Y que?

This student maifesto from UCLA gives a feel for the sentiments expressed in this photo.

Overstating Jewish Power

Overstating Jewish Power By Christopher Hitchens

The essay, which Christopher Hitchens savages in Slate, has been trumpeted front page worldwide in the Muslim press, with very little coverage in this country.

Mearsheimer and Walt belong to that vapid school that essentially wishes that the war with jihadism had never started. Their wish is father to the thought that there must be some way, short of a fight, to get around this confrontation. Wishfulness has led them to seriously mischaracterize the origins of the problem and to produce an article that is redeemed from complete dullness and mediocrity only by being slightly but unmistakably smelly.

Here is some more of the controversy from the Washington Post 

North Korea Exporting Fake $100 Bills

North Korea Might Be Exporting Fake $100 Bills
China’s central bank warned its lenders about an influx of high-quality counterfeit American $100 bills — which the United States alleges are made by North Korea — as the spread of the forgeries moves toward the center of a standoff between Washington and Pyongyang.

Governments around Asia are stepping up surveillance for the bogus currency, which law-enforcement officials have dubbed supernotes because they are so difficult to distinguish from genuine money