Links From The Anglosphere

Today is links from our allies in the Anglosphere, all below the fold:
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Art: Conversation in a Park, Thomas Gainsborough, 1740

From North of the Border

Kateland at The Last Amazon blogs on the "second Inquisition." Palestinians are making use of Spanish courts to charge Israelis with war crimes. International law, just like the UN Human Rights commission, is subject to gross distortion.

The Covenant Zone sees China and Canada as going in opposite trajectories, the former towards greater freedom, the latter towards greater repression.

Halls of Macademia posts inarticulate commentary placed on his site from the left. Until recently, I was predisposed to ignore such folks, but I think we do so at our peril at this point.

The recent spate of Human Rights Commission cases in fact seems to be causing a lot of introspection on freedom of speech north of the border. Blazing Cat Fur has several good posts on this topic, including this one on articles addressing the topic by Nigel Hannaford and Ezra Levant in the Calgary Herald. But, as Five Feet of Fury notes, the Muslims who wish to silence speech in Canada and, for that matter, the HRC are determined to prevail. This really is grotesque.

Ezra Levant posts on his confrontation with his HRC accuser, radical Pakistani Imam Syed Soharwardy, on a radio show this week. He asked of Soharwardy when he was going to repay the half million taxpayers dollars wasted on the HRC inquisition of Mr. Levant.

From Down Under

Dr. John Ray posts at a Western Heart on how Kevin Rudd is using politicized science – evidence that is sounding ever more shrill as hard evidence of the falacy of anthropogenic global warming – to justify his massive assault on Australia’s economy.

Col. Robert Neville recounts the conversation of Derek & Clive as they contemplate Islam and anonymous commentor on the good Colonel’s blog. Interesting, the comment sounds very a lot like those from the loony left memorialized in the link to Halls of Macademia above.

KG is doing a bit of howling at Crusader Rabbit over a publicly funded meeting of NZ "bovines" and Islamics, apparently so the NZ ladies can brush up on their dhimmitude.

MK notes that, if you are travelling on the high seas, you had better go armed. Muslim piracy did not end with the Barbary pirates.

Aurora ponders the naked aggression of Russia and sees dangers for America’s allies if Obama is elected President and the world is left without any policeman.

From Across The Pond

Standards matter more than money. From an Englishman’s Castle: "The literacy and numeracy of new employees have tumbled over the past decade despite Labour’s £28 billion increase in education spending, according to research by a leading employers’ organisation."

Heh. At Biased BBC, the foxes are calling for a poultry protection act.

From Bishop Hill, the BBC – a snake pit of socialism, multiculturalism and post modernism – has now made its global warming bias official: "The BBC has held a high-level seminar with some of the best scientific experts, and has come to the view that the weight of evidence no longer justifies equal space being given to the opponents of the consensus [on anthropogenic climate change]."

Brits At Their Best notes that Brits retain their affinity for measuring distance in miles, not metric.

Burning Our Money spells out, . . . well, how Labour is burning through Britain’s money.

From the Centre for Social Cohesion, this is an interesting artifice. Radical Muslims in the UK want Sharia law recognized for Muslims and, in fact, are running Sharia law courts, though not recognized by the UK. So what the radicals have done now, to give their Islamic marriage a patina of fairness between the sexes, is to launch a new Muslim marriage contract that is, on its face, more fair to women. If that is their goal, why not simply rely on the law of marriage in the UK? Clearly they intend to use this to try and blunt the criticism of those reactionary, non-BBC watching BNP types who do not want to see a parallel legal system recognized in the UK.

The Winds of Jihad has the story of the British welfare system at work. Counting Cats has his fur up and is hissing loudly.

David Thompson bravely goes where few will willingly tread – into the indecipherable prose of the academic bull-shit artist. He appears to have found a few literary Picassos.

The Heresy Corner weighs whether Obama is the anti-Christ.

Hibernia Girl casts a jaundiced eye at some more of the many benefits of EU law – such as preventing enactment of common sense laws to tackle welfare fraud. The EU really is the penultimate socialist nightmare.

Heh. The House of Dumb notes that the left has ferreted out an insidious plot by right wingers.

Mediocracy diagnoses the root causes of the difference in popularity between Gordon the Leper and Tony the Annointed.

One of the most hypocritical aspects of modern feminism is the utter failure to support Muslim women. Mick Hartley notes at least one feminist who justifies that by projecting onto veiled Muslim women the belief that they are making a conscious choice to go veiled so as "a way to register protest against the sexual objectification of women and express solidarity against Western colonialism." There is some post modern thought at its finest.

When I read this story at Pub Philosopher, all I could think was that I did not realize a Clockwork Orange was a documentary.

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Interesting Posts From Around The Web - 21 April 2008

The interesting posts from around the web, all below the fold:

Art: The Martyrdom of St. Maurice, El Greco, 1581

Stanley Kurtz is on the trail of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons. "[T]he texts already uncovered raise serious questions about what Barack Obama heard, what he thought of it, and why he remained so close to Reverend Wright." Confederate Yankee paraphrases another bigoted Obama supporter asking "Hey Cracker, who do you hate most?" From the Truth, in Oregon, a twist on the few weeks old story of the locals taking classes in "how to talk to black people."

Q&O asks a prescient question, do you want a third term of George Bush or a second term of Jimmy Carter?

Seraphic Secret blogs that Hamas is "all out for Obama." Stop the ACLU looks at how CNN is trying to spin the Hamas endorsement of Obama into a negative story about McCain. As Redstate notes, CNN is having a real problem with agenda journalism.

From Jammie Wearing Fools, the number of Palestinians who support attacks against Israelis continues to rise and more than half of them favor suicide bombings, according to a poll published this weekend. The Midnight Sun has a post on the utter barbarity of Taliban supporters. The Velevet Hammer has a video on "Islam, why they hate." At Dinah Lord, video of a woman’s rights activist in Bahrain criticizing clerics for issuing fatwas that support the sexual abuse of children. And Sheik Yer’mami has an exceptional post on London’s Mayoral election and the march towards a British mini-caliphate. The Fulham Reactionary believes that whomever wins the London election, the Brits will lose.

Villagers with Torches finds some disturbing news. China is in the process of vastly increasing its stockpile of nuclear warheads. From Barking Moonbat, a massive Chinese arms shipment headed for Zimbawbwe cannot offload in South Africa, so it heads towards Mozambique.

From MK, blogging on the death penalty, recent research shows that each execution carried out is correlated with about 74 fewer murders the following year.

Heh: From American Digest, see if you can spot the second person in this photo. I admit it took me awhile . . . .

At Five Feet of Fury, Ezra Levant discusses the incredible extra-judicial powers of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Omar Fadhil analyzes al Qaeda’s desperate attempts to regain ground in Iraq. They have turned from exhortation to threats and their actions are not likely to make any headway, though much blood is likely yet to be spilled. At 4RightWingWackos, an apache eye view of the last moments of some al Qaeda types. And from Consul at Arms, al Qaeda’s desperation translates into attempting to cause indiscriminate casualties on a grand scale.

A look at TIZA, the Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers, from Blonde Sagacity, reporting from the bitter hinterlands. While in London, the Saudi school acts as if it is not a part of Britain. From Political Insecurity, the local Saudi school is teaching their kids "we are pigs and monkeys."

From Ankle Biting Pundits, the intersection of greedy unions and populist politicians.

From This Ain’t Hell, attempts by a Wahhabi organization in America to have John McCain stop making the connection between Islam and terrorism – like his Democratic opponents have.

Debbie at Right Truth discusses Time’s desecration of an American icon – the raising of the flag after the incredibly brutal battle to take Iwo Jima.

From the Jawa Report, give a British CNN reporter enough rope, and apparently he will hang himself.

The frozen north, where men are men and the sheep are scared. (H/T Transterrestrial Musings)

A great weekend roundup of world news from milblogger The Shield of Achilles. And Soob has an equally good post, rolling up his own "suggested wisdom."

From KG at Crusader Rabbit a Goracle acolytes lament. "Anti-greens . . . appear to be more willing to comment, more structured, more able to quote peer reviewed research, more apparently rational and apparently wider read and better informed." At Red Alerts, survivalists are closely watching the world food crisis being created by green policies. And at Englishman’s Castle, pondering Britain’s own "environmental madness" and its effect on the local environment.

A short and poignant post on Patriot’s Day at the Irish Elk.

I completely concur with Discriminations in their post on affirmative action and how to combat discrimination.

TNOY has an exclusive on Keith Olbermann’s interview with former President Carter about his multiple meetings with "with some moderate Arab groups including the leadership of Hamas."

Scott Ott reports on his conversation with an Obama spokesman who told him that they viewed Hamas’s decision to endorse Obama as "tantamount to picking up a superdelegate vote. But with Hamas, Sen. Obama didn’t have to compromise his principles or positions, or make any commitments beyond what he has already promised."

The Deleware Curumdgeon observes that the phrase "do whatever you want" should not always be taken literally.

On Sunday, the NYT published a massive piece of pseudo-investigative journalism suggesting that the Pentagon was unduly influencing military analysts. Having spent two hours of my life dissecting it, I came to find others, including Max Boot and Bruce Kessler, had already done it more expertly. Powerline, for their part, says that it reminds them of the "illegal acts of genuine subversion committed by the Times in the course of the war.’ Dave in Boca has taken stock of the NYT's agenda journalism and there stock prices. He is taking enjoyment in watching the Sulzberger family jewels ever shrink.

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Interesting Posts From Around The Web - 14 April 2008

The interesting posts of the day, below the fold.

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Art: The Martyrdom of St. Livinus, Rubens, 1633

The most eloquent post of the day is at Belmont Club, with Wretchard discussing the significance of the Pope’s visit to ground zero. ". . . Bin Laden knows that Benedict will call to each of the hijackers by their name; not as an accuser but as shepherd looking for a long-long flock. He will bid them come forth into the light, for his staff is meant for wolves." (H/T Consul at Arms). Perhaps we just need more interfaith dialogue.

Democrats are attempting to sue John McCain out of the presidential race.

There is trouble ahead for transatlantic relations with our old NATO allies.

Bookworm Room has a superb essay asking whether we can try Jimmy Carter for treason, discussing all of the reasons distilled from history why engaging fanatics rather than challenging then – or killing them – is disasterous. Also a good post on this at JoshuaPundit. And as Seraphic Secret notes, Former President Jimmy Carter not only enables Jew-haters and terrorists, he props ups tyrannies that would murder every Jew on the face of the earth.

From the Barking Moonbat: Extremist ideas are being spread by Islamic study centers linked to British universities and backed by multi-million-pound donations from Saudi Arabia and Muslim organizations. And at Fulham Reactionary, dhimmi children taken on a propaganda tour of a Mosque are given a bit of reality: "A primary school in Amsterdam wished to provide its pupils with an understanding for other cultures. But during a visit to a mosque, the children were told they were dogs."

Religion, politics and our biased media at JammieWearing Fool.

From Investors Business Daily (H/T Right Truth), a truly damning indictment of Pelosi over her refusal to allow a vote on the Colombian Free Trade deal.

The New Mexico Human Rights Commission fine of a photographer for refusing to accept a job photographing a gay wedding is documented by Blonde Sagacity. This has got to be a First Amendment violation. I do hope it makes its way up the court system.

A superb post from Panday’s Gazette (H/T KG at A Western Heart) pointing out how the progressive members of our Supreme Court are ready to throw our nation’s sovereignty out and make our laws subservient to decisions of the UN’s World Court. More on this issue at No Oil For Pacifists.

From the Midnight Sun: The EU quietly reinstates the death penalty – for enemies of the state.

Mil-blogger Shield of Achilles on Iraq: Let’s get this thing done now.

Some real problems across the pond flagged by MK at Crusader Rabbit: One in every five murders or manslaughters in England and Wales is committed by a foreigner, police figures revealed. In one area of London, the figure is one in three. This is despite the fact that foreigners represent only around one in 16 of the general population. The UK is just so screwed. And from Dinah Lord: The Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights.

At the Liberty Corner, a black female prosecutor speaks out: "Race does not enter the equation for me. My question to these black people who believe me to be a traitor is, when will you connect the dots?"

Background on the nightmare that is Zimbabwe at the Transatlantic Conservative.

Tort reform, Islamic style at the Dhivehistan Report.

Philosophical pondering about rhetoric as magic at Soob.

The Whited Sephelcure captures the logic of the farm bill.

The Glittering Eye notes the Robot Hall of Fame.

Heh: A pint and a fag at the 13 mile mark keep the 101 year old marathon runner pumping.

Heh: TNOY has the latest Absolut ad campaign appealing to special interest groups for land grabs – or total world domination. Hillbilly White Trash has a more cautionary ad.

Heh: From Hillbilly Politics, an explanation of the pricing plan for calls to God.

An Obama Round-Up

Obama commits the mother of all gaffes: Letting on that you think rural Americans are straight out of Deliverance. As Discrminations calls it in an excellent post: What a load of Marxist rubbish.

Victor David Hanson at NRO deconstructs Obama’s attempt to explain away his comments.

And at This Ain’t Hell, its Obama versus Madison.

Soccer Dad, in an excellent post, notes the left’s attempts to deflect criticism as "painting" Obama’s remarks as elitist, suggesting it is an unfair assessment.

Classical Values points out that the dust has far from settled on Obama’s remarks, and that the remarks themselves sound far too redolent of Karl Marx’s infamous assertion that "religion is the opiate of the masses."

I personally find it hard to imagine a more obnoxious or elitist view than that Senator Obama espoused when he tied small town values, including religion, a belief in individual rights in gun ownership, and secure borders, to bitterness over a lack of economic opportunities in the hinterlands. As the Politico writes, there are 12 reasons "bitter is bad" for Obama. Obama is a tabula rosa no more, and I have yet to find a single thing filled in on that formerly blank slate that is either genuine or admirable.

Obama’s mainstream pastor of 20 years, the Rev. Wright – he who only gave outrageously racist sermons on days that Obama did not attend church with his family – has done it again. Gateway Pundit provides the information:

the Rev. Jeremiah Wright lashed out at the media, FOX News, America, O'Reilly, Hannity, Thomas Jefferson, Founding Fathers... This is what Wright said about the Founding Fathers of America, a group he sometimes refers to as the "Fondling Fathers", during his eulogy:

America’s founding fathers "planted slavery and white supremacy in the DNA of this republic," and adding that Thomas Jefferson wrote, " ‘God would punish America for the sin of slavery.’ I guess that makes Thomas Jefferson unpatriotic."

Obama's mentor Wright also said Thomas Jefferson, partook in "pedophilia."

And about Obama’s "grass roots" funding and his refusal to take money from PAC’s . . .

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Interesting News & Posts - 26 February 2008

The interesting news and posts from across the blogoshpere, all below the fold.
















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Art: Bouguereau, The Rapture of Psyche, 1895

A porkbuster’s update from Instapundit: Senator Jim DeMint is proposing a one year moratorium in the Senate on bills containing earmarks.

Democrats trying to tag McCain as a friend of lobbyists may make for a sound bite today, but it is very far from the reality of the Real McCain.

From Gateway Pundit, free speech under fire in New Mexico as a Christian photographer is hauled before the Human Rights Commission for refusing to accept a job that would have required her to photograph a same-sex wedding.

"Death to . . . the Islamic Regime of Iran." Not the usual crowd chant in Tehran, but it was the one being shouted during a riot after the modesty police attempted to arrest a young woman for not dressing modestly enough to suit Ahmedinejad and his cronies. PJM has the story.

The Irish Elk weighs in on the NYT hit piece on McCain, providing an interesting historical anecdote. And TNOY has the scoop on new bombshell facts the NYT intends to expose in their next McCain piece.

At BizzyBlog, reporting on state government financial woes ignores the woeful over-spending that led to the problems in the first place.

Jules Crittenden’s site is unique in combining biting sarcasm with thoughtful commentary. And he is at it today with Gunga Din.

That said, as Rick Moran rightly states, "Enough with all this "Obama is a Muslim" crap." I concur, though I strongly disagree with Rick’s suggestion that the use of the word "Crusades" by Bush was a major faux pas. I refuse to bow down or rewrite history to serve anyone’s sensibilities – be they Muslim, Catholic or whatever. And the Crusades were merely the first time Christianity fought back against a Muslim onslaught that had been on-going for centuries.

The UN has finally identified the source of Palestinian terrorism. If you thought it might be Salafi Islam or Arab nationalism, think again. Its Israel, of course.

The Conservative Beach Girl still thinks that Hillary is in the race. But, she notes, if you want real Socialism in a hurry and not incrementally, Obama's your man.

From the Intergalactic Source of Truth, is supporting Kosovo independence a wise idea? I have not thought so. IGST offers some thoughtful commentary.

Victor David Hanson ponders whether the ailing Europe wants a President Obama. As he so eloquently puts it: Europe is in a classic paradox. Emotionally and culturally, Europeans are invested in a leftist such as Obama who reflects their soft socialist values and fuzzy multilateralism. But given their inherent military weakness and rough neighborhood, they have grown to count on an antithetical America — religious, conservative, militarily strong — that is not afraid to use force to fulfill its obligations to preserve the shared Western globalized system from its constant multifarious challenges.

Siggy needs to start doing stand-up. See his proposal for the new government seal.

Soccer Dad does an exceptional job of taking a semantic scalpel to the MSM’s agenda journalism.

From JoshuaPundit – Obama gets caught in another whopper. He does seem clueless about the military. Having led an infantry platoon and commanded an infantry company, I can assure you that Obama’s pronouncement gets just about ever possible wrong – all of which JP does a good job of cataloging.

From the Jawa Report, arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyah’s widow is blaming Syria for his assassination.

The Fulham Reactionary discusses the characteristics deemed by Child Services to make a parent unfit in a world dominated by socialists and multiculturalists. MK tells us the same socialists are planning on sex education for five year olds. Meanwhile, at Shield of Achilles, Hamas shows us a different message for children – its Bugs, the psychopathic bunny.

Dinah Lord examines the problem of pedophilia in the Maldives.

Seraphic Secret notes the power of movies to motivate, and the power of movies to in the hands of people with an agenda to spread lies. It is a double edged sword – but the answer to lies is a determination to make the truth known.

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Freedom of Speech North of the Border

Ezra Levant is a Canadian publisher who published the Danish cartoons. For that act, a Saudi cleric living in Canada made a complaint to Canada's HRC which Mr. Levant was hauled into the commission to answer. He was kind enough to videotape these proceedings and post them to the net.


















You can find Ezra Lavant's website here.

And do see these post's from the Volokh conspiracy on freedom of speech in Canada:

Canada Restricts Freedom of Speech.

Canadian Islamic Congress Website Reveals Its Views.

Free Speech Challenged in Canada.

The Strange Canadian Human Rights Statute Might Have a Loophole.

Another Attempt to Restrict Speech in Canada

Calling Speech Restrictors "Enemies of Free Speech" Can Now Lead to Legal Liability in Canada

And lastly, there is this rather amazing exchange chronicled by Mark Steyn at NRO:

. . . .this exchange from the Warman vs Lemire hearing before the Canadian Human Rights Commission (page 4793 of the transcript). Dean Steacy is the principal "anti-hate" investigator of the HRC:"

MS KULASZKA: Mr. Steacy, you were talking before about context and how important it is when you do your investigation. What value do you give freedom of speech when you investigate one of these complaints?

MR. STEACY: Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value.

MS KULASZKA: Okay. That was a clear answer.

MR. STEACY: It's not my job to give value to an American concept.

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