Teenager killed his sister for living a Western life – World – Times Online
AYHAN SURUCU was so angry when his sister started to wear make-up and date German men that he put a gun to her head at a bus stop and killed her. Kids at a nearby school, attended mainly by the children of immigrant Muslim families, cheered and applauded when news of the murder reached them
Category: philosophy & politics
Globalizing Good Government
Globalizing Good Government – New York Times
Globalization's critics argue that a more open world economy sets off a race to the bottom by encouraging countries to jettison protections for consumers, workers and the environment. In reality, the opposite is true. If our data demonstrate anything, it is that globalization prompts a race to the top by pushing countries to abandon policies that burden their economies in favor of those that fuel growth and economic opportunity
Make Mexico Rich
Jonah Goldberg on Mexico on National Review Online
You want to solve the illegal-immigration problem? Well, here's the answer: Make Mexico rich.
For all the talk about coming up with "comprehensive" immigration reform, the root causes of the supply are left out of the debate about immigrant supply and demand. If we're going to be "comprehensive," why not tie a fixed but significant level of legal Mexican immigration to greater free-market and anti-corruption reforms at home. Mexico's government feels increasingly free to lecture us about our domestic and economic priorities; it seems only fitting for us to take a more active interest in theirs as well.
America’s Real Assimilation Problem
What we really ought to be worried about is a group of 75 million people who desperately need to be assimilated into America's culture of individualism, taught the essential facts about America's history, and encouraged to appreciate the virtues of our political system.I am talking about 75 million people who are, you might say, on an automatic track to citizenship, and all of whom will become newly eligible to vote in the next two decades.
I am speaking of the 75 million Americans under the age of 18.
Robert Tracinski is the editor of The Intellectual Activist and TIA Daily.
Militancy in Pakistan
Reuters AlertNet – FACTBOX-Militancy in Pakistan
Here are few facts about religious strife in Pakistan.
The Muslim group percentages are just the reverse of Iraq.
* Most Pakistanis are Sunnis — who regard Abu Bakr, one of the companions of Prophet Mohammad, as his successor. Shi’ites, who account for 15 percent of Pakistan’s 150 million people, revere Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of Mohammad, as his successor.
Rebuilding needs, here and there
Rebuilding needs, here and there – Commentary – The Washington Times,
In Los Angeles, 95 percent of outstanding homicide warrants are for illegal aliens. The lethal 18th Street Gang has an estimated 20,000 members, over half illegal aliens, according to a ranking member of LAPD, speaking not for attribution. The LA-based MS-13 (Mara Salvatruchka), whose membership was originally limited to street-tough Salvadorans, now numbers 50,000 (10,000 in Los Angeles alone). These gangs thrive where infrastructure decays.
While I think it is a bit of strech to blame crumbling infrastructure for criminal gangs, De Borchgrave's commentary is alarming. Continue reading “Rebuilding needs, here and there”
Kissinger’s World View
Insightful comments from Henry Kissinger at the recent Baker Center conference on Winston Churchill:(thanks to Tom Barnett’s blog)
We live in a period in which most of what we know from history is inapplicable or applicable in limited ways.”
“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.”
The Iran Plans
Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker:
One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues for the Bush Administration, told me that the military planning was premised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government.” He added, “I was shocked when I heard it, and asked myself, ‘What are they smoking?’ ”
The ‘Let Us Eat Cake’ Generation
Foreign Policy: The ‘Let Us Eat Cake’ Generation
When Marie Antoinette purportedly said, “let them eat cake,” it showed how out of touch the French aristocracy was with the people. Now, it’s the people who are out of touch with the world beyond France. The new generation wants what their parents had: jobs guaranteed for life, complete with five-weeks of vacation every year.
Europe – Thy Name is Cowardice
Davids Medienkritik: Europe – Thy Name is Cowardice
It's fascinating that this should come out of Europe. Matthias Dapfner, Chief Executive of the huge German publisher Axel Springer AG, wrote a blistering Nov. 20th, 2004 attack in DIE WELT, Germany's largest daily paper, against the timid reaction of Europe in the face of the Islamic threat. Since then, Germany has elected their 1st woman leader, who appears to recognize the danger.
For his policies, Bush risks the fall of the dollar, huge amounts of additional national debt and a massive and persistent burden on the American economy—because everything is at stake. While the alleged capitalistic robber barons in American know their priorities, we timidly defend our social welfare systems. Stay out of it! It could get expensive. We’d rather discuss the 35-hour workweek or our dental health plan coverage. Or listen to TV pastors preach about "reaching out to murderers." These days, Europe reminds me of an elderly aunt who hides her last pieces of jewelry with shaking hands when she notices a robber has broken into a neighbor’s house. Europe, thy name is cowardice. (Original in German)