Shabbat Shalom

No posting tonight or tomorrow; I'll be back online tomorrow night or Sunday. Have a good one.

Comments

I'm toying with comments, it'll take a while to get everything ironed out and working - hopefully they'll be more or less functional by the end of the weekend.

Yummy Lunchtime blogging

Perry at Samizdata has a downright nationalist moment, and tries to spin it as a libertarian experience. I think he's right, but his uncomfortability illustrates a great weakness in the libertarian movement. We shouldn't be afraid to espouse particular beliefs - national, religeous, cultural. So long as we ensure the fundamental freedoms, there's no reason why we shouldn't enjoy them. So if you want to paint yourself blue and white and tell me in Spanish how great Argentina is, go ahead. I'll just sing Rule Brittania.

UPDATE: Texas correspondent Deej has been pestering me about this, and I realise I should clarify. For "in the libertarian movement" above, read "among some in the libertarian movement." And my hope is that these some will become fewer and fewer.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

My Texas correspondent points out that Mary Robinson's real cluelessness [see below] is displayed in her grouping of "Islamophobia" and resurgent anti-Semitism. "They are," he writes, "complete oppisites." He's right; the resurgence of anti-Semitism in the past few years has been fueled more by Islamofascism than anything else. The "Islamophobia" Robinson identifies is more or less a reaction to this hostility, and to the import of this hostility into the West. (Native European anti-Semitism is another matter, I think).

Ms Robinson groups anti-Semitism and "Islamophobia" together because they are, to her, two different forms of prejudice. She's not wrong, but failing to understand the nature of each undermines her argument and raises questions about her grasp of her portfolio.

Land of Hope and Glory

Read this story about the Argentines 'mixing war and football.' Then read this story about the results of today's match. Then remember that the Union Jack still flies over the Falkland Islands. Then laugh at Argentina.

UPDATE: My Texas correspondent reports that the BBC interviewed an English fan who made a remark to the effect that Argentina "went down like the Belgrano." Indeed.

Coo-coo-ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson

Mary Robinson is off her tree:

1. "The [Geneva Conventions] were drawn up to avoid recurrences of World War II atrocities and were intended to regulate wars between nations and rebellions or insurgencies within a nation. Under them, the neutral, Swiss-run international Red Cross is to oversee protection of POWs and other victims of war." What this shows is that the naive utopianism of the latter half of the twentieth century is gone. It was hopelessly idealistic, it was useless, and it is dead.

2. "Across Europe, right-wing parties have surged at the polls by exploiting fears of a rising tide of immigrants and refugees and mainstream politicians are echoing their concerns and their rhetoric." Or something. I'll be returning quite often to this fallacy, don't you worry.

3. "Robinson said the best memorial for the victims of Sept. 11 in New York and Washington would be for world leaders to do more to fight the global problems of endemic poverty and conflict, which sometimes leave victims more susceptible to terrorist groups." No. No they don't 'often.' In fact, the opposite may very well be true. See Pipes, Daniel. "God and Mammon: Does Poverty Cause Militant Islam?" National Interest No. 66, Winter 2001/02. 14.

UPDATE: The Pipes article can be read online here. You'd think I'd bother to check danielpipes.org, wouldn't you? Ah, but it was late.

What happened to Robert Blake?

I can't make up my mind about the Winona Ryder case. I'm not jumping to her defense or anything - it seems quite possible to me that she did intend to shoplift. What I can't figure out is why the case hasn't settled. There must be more for the courts to do (though maybe not in Bev), and I'd imagine a great number of similar cases are settled through a plea or private settlement. I won't be shedding many tears if Ms Ryder is found guilty; nevertheless, the celebrity-bloodlust of Saks and the DA does little to enhance the cause or reputation of law enforcement. That's what I think.

UPDATE: It will be interesting to compare Ms Ryder's prosecution with that of Woody Harrelson - if the Crown decides to press charges.

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land...

I'm often asked - by Canadians and Americans alike - why I want to move to the U-S-of-A. Vodkapundit gives a primer.

Will they lose their EU funding?

Here's a misleading article from the BBC. The Palestinians have executed two men for raping and murduring a 7-year old girl. The article points out there has been "International outcry" over Palestinian executions in the past few years.

But hold on a moment. The outcry has been over the summary execution of 'collaborators' who enjoy a sham trial at best, and more often are simply murdered in the street. It may be that these two men had a similarly worthless hearing - I don't put any stock in the Palestinian 'Justice System.' But there's a huge difference between the two types of 'execution.'

It seems to me the BBC is using past criticisms to illustrate their own distaste for the death penalty, especially in the absence of any outcry after this latest execution. After all - pedophilic murderers? That's one death sentence most of us can live with.

Son of a...


Now what are we to make of this? ABC bleeped the word 'Jesus' in a left-coast broadcast of the waste of time known as The View. They felt, in context, it could be offensive. This has the hosts, not to mention Jerry Falwell, all riled up. Says one host, "They let us say all kinds of things on TV, but they beep Jesus? That makes no sense."

Except it does make sense - it makes perfect sense. The word was bleeped because it had been used in vain. Now I'm no Jerry Falwell, but (therefore?) I'm pretty sure taking the Lord's name in vain is against the third commandment. I don't hold Jesus to be one of the names of the Lord, and neither, I'd guess, do many left-coasters. But many others do, and it was entirely appropriate to bleep out this little bit of daytime blasphemy.

Falwell doesn't know what the bejes-- I mean, uh, what the hell he's talking about.

Am I Missing Something?

Memorial day was last Monday, and for the occasion the NYPost printed the St. Crispin's Day Speech from Henry V. Today is D-Day, and no paper I can find has anything worthwhile to mark the occasion. I know it's not a national holiday. Still, as President Reagan's speech shows, we are fighting the same battle today as we were fifty-eight years ago. Am I alone in this?

It's D-Day...

...so read this. The President gave two speeches on June 6, 1984. This is the one that brought tears to the eyes of his Secret Service men.

The New Neoconservatism

Yet another link in the chain of events that should swing the Jewish community to the right. This little-noted press release from Gov. Pataki illustrates the divergent attitudes towards Israel among Republicans and Democrats. Note especially the differences between the two versions of the statement.

It's great that Israel has so much support among America's governors. It's also clear that the support among Republicans is muchs stronger than that among Democrats.

Just goes to show who our real friends are.

How About A Headline?

Provided, you know, it works.

First Post Test Thingy