RagingCapitalist

You and the Pitchforks

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:02:27 GMT

In the midst of his busy schedule of selling out US sovereignty and putting us an additional half-trillion or so at the G20, President Hussein took time to meet with a group of bank CEOs and give them what was, basically, a shakedown speech:

The bankers struggled to make themselves clear to the president of the United States.

Arrayed around a long mahogany table in the White House state dining room last week, the CEOs of the most powerful financial institutions in the world offered several explanations for paying high salaries to their employees � and, by extension, to themselves.

"These are complicated companies," one CEO said. Offered another: "We're competing for talent on an international market."

But President Barack Obama wasn't in a mood to hear them out. He stopped the conversation and offered a blunt reminder of the public's reaction to such explanations. "Be careful how you make those statements, gentlemen. The public isn't buying that."

"My administration," the president added, "is the only thing between you and the pitchforks."

The fresh details of the meeting � some never before revealed � come from an account provided to POLITICO by one of the participants. A second source inside the meeting confirmed the details, and two other sources familiar with the meeting offered additional information.

The accounts demonstrate that despite the public comments on both sides that the meeting was cordial, the tone in the room was in fact one of mutual wariness. The titans of finance � men used to being the most powerful man in almost any room � sized up a new president who made clear in ways big and small that he expected them to change their ways.

There were signs from the outset that this was a business event, not a social gathering. At each place around the table sat a single glass of water. No ice. For those who finished their glass, no refills were offered. There was no group photograph taken of the CEOs with the president, which typically happens at ceremonial White House gatherings but not at serious strategy sessions.

"The only way they could have sent a more Spartan message is if they had served bread along with the water," says a person who attended the meeting. "The signal from Obama's body language and demeanor was, 'I'm the president, and you're not.'"

According to the accounts of sources inside the room, President Obama told the CEOs exactly what he expects from them, and pushed back forcefully when they attempted to defend Wall Street's legendarily high-paying ways.

Note imperious tone and the ritualized demonstration of relative power and status. Note as well the classic mafia-like combination of threat (whipped up by himself and his left-liberal allies) and promise of protection.

Despite his bumbling Carter-esque foreign policy, this man is very, very dangerous.

A Carter for the 21st Century

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:49:27 GMT

Obama's limp handshake of appeasement is being seen around the world for the sign of weakness it is. Consider the following opening paragraphs from a New York Times article that is, overall, meant to be PRO Obama...

By Helene Cooper

updated 8:37 p.m. MT, Sat., March. 28, 2009

WASHINGTON - President Obama is facing challenges to American power on multiple fronts as he prepares for his first trip overseas since taking office, with the nation�s economic woes emboldening allies and adversaries alike.

Despite his immense popularity around the world, Mr. Obama will confront resentment over American-style capitalism and resistance to his economic prescriptions when he lands in London on Tuesday for the Group of 20 summit meeting of industrial and emerging market nations plus the European Union.

The president will not even try to overcome NATO�s unwillingness to provide more troops in Afghanistan when he goes on later in the week to meet with the military alliance.

He seems unlikely to return home with any more to show for his attempts to open a dialogue with Iran�s leaders, who have, so far, responded with tough words, albeit not tough enough to persuade Russia to support the United States in tougher sanctions against Tehran. And he will be tested in face-to-face meetings by the leaders of China and Russia, who have been pondering the degree to which the power of the United States to dominate global affairs may be ebbing.

And this regarding a country that was supposedly just last year the terror of the world...

The writer tries to blame it on our economy, and later in the article, on Bush! How long will he have to be out of office before they get tired of blaming him for everything? My guess is 8 years. BUT the economic explanation doesn't cut it because almost the entire world is in the same situation. So, what has changed but the amount of backbone behind the diplomacy?

Wow. President Hussein is wasting no time.

Catch and Release

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:27:05 GMT

But not in the same pond...

The stupidity of the Obama administration truly appears to have no bounds.

From the Associated Press comes the following report on a news conference in which the ironically titled Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair outlines a plan by which Guantanamo Bay detainees - foreign-national fighters captured on FOREIGN SOIL would be released as free men INTO THE UNITED STATES and... as the icing on this excrement-cake, put on WELFARE.

Official: Mexico not in danger of collapse

By PAM HESS � 19 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) � The Mexican government is not on the verge of collapse, the top U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, seeking to tamp down increasing alarm over the powerful and violent drug cartels operating in the country that is the United States' southern neighbor.

"Mexico is in no danger of becoming a failed state," said National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair at his first news conference Thursday.

Echoing the assessment of Mexico's leaders, Blair said the dramatic increase in killings in Mexico is a result of that government's crackdown on drug cartels.

A U.S. military planning report issued in January warned that the escalating violence is dangerously destabilizing Mexico and warned its government could collapse. But Blair said there is no danger of that.

Nevertheless, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it will dispatch nearly 500 more federal agents to the border, along with X-ray machines and drug-sniffing dogs, to stop the spillover of violence into the U.S. from Mexican drug smugglers and immigrant smugglers. National Guardsmen might also be sent.

"The Mexican campaign is our campaign," Blair said.

During his news conference, Blair also said the Obama administration is still wrestling with what to do with the remaining 240 detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which the president has ordered closed.

Some of the detainees, deemed non-threatening, may be released into the United States as free men, Blair confirmed.

That would happen when they can't be returned to their home countries, because the governments either won't take them or the U.S. fears they will be abused or tortured. That is the case with 17 Uighers (WEE'-gurz), Chinese Muslim separatists who were cleared for release from the jail long ago. The U.S. can't find a country willing to take them, and it will not turn them over to China.

Blair said the former prisoners would have get some sort of assistance to start their new lives in the United States.

"We can't put them out on the street," he said.(no OF COURSE NOT - poor babies!)

Blair said the U.S. government is building dossiers on each of the prisoners at Guantanamo and is still developing the process that will determine what happens to them. Some may face criminal trials in the U.S. civilian courts and be imprisoned in U.S. jails. Others will be remanded to their home governments for continued jailing or potential rehabilitation.

The Pentagon claims more than 60 former Guantanamo inmates have been released by their home governments and are believed to be engaged in militant activities. It has not released a list of those former prisoners. Two of the top al-Qaida leaders in Yemen are former inmates, according to both al-Qaida and U.S. intelligence officials. And the Taliban's top operations officer in southern Afghanistan was released from Guantanamo in 2007, according to U.S. intelligence and military officials.

On another matter, Blair said the United States will no longer waterboard prisoners_ a form of simulated drowning that was used against three alleged terrorists in 2002 and 2003. But other "enhanced interrogation techniques" are being considered for inclusion in the methods finally approved for use. He did not say what methods he would consider retaining. The CIA's enhanced interrogation program is classified. Blair is a key figure in the White House review of the CIA's interrogation program.

In what cracked alternate universe could an idea like this possibly make sense? How in the EFFING HELL could it make sense to ANYONE to take enemies captured on the battlefield, while under arms against the United States, and then release them free and clear INTO the United States?

What, seriously, is wrong with liberals? In my wilder flights of fancy I sometimes wonder if they have some very basic wiring, related to common sense, missing in their brains.

But, oh, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. It'll all be fine. Go back to sleep.

He who pays the piper...

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:20:18 GMT

The latest brilliant hopeful, changeful plan to save our economy comes in the form of a proposed bailout of the newspaper industry. As always with government money, there are certain... strings attached. So in other words, we are seeing the beginning of state control of the newspapers.

Not a good sign at all.

It is even more worrisome when combined with recent buzz about restarting the Orwellian-named Fairness Doctrine. Keep in mind as well that there are already restrictions in place, even if not much enforced, on political speech thanks to McCain-Feingold, AND that in the wake of the 2004 elections there was talk from the Democratic party of trying to regulate blogs as in-kind "campaign contributions". Rest assured that not EVERYONE in Washington has forgotten about the possibilities that would offer.

To save you the trouble of following a link, and me any accusations of quoting someone "out of context" (the favorite defense of liars these days), here is the Reuters article in full. Pay special attention to the highlighted points:

U.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.

"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.

A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.

Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible.

Because newspaper profits have been falling in recent years, "no substantial loss of federal revenue" was expected under the legislation, Cardin's office said in a statement.

Cardin's office said his bill was aimed at preserving local and community newspapers, not conglomerates which may also own radio and TV stations. His bill would also let a non-profit buy newspapers owned by a conglomerate.

"We are losing our newspaper industry," Cardin said. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.

Newspaper subscriptions and advertising have shrunk dramatically in the past few years as Americans have turned more and more to the Internet or television for information.

In recent months, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Rocky Mountain News, the Baltimore Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle have ceased daily publication or announced that they may have to stop publishing.

In December the Tribune Company, which owns a number of newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times filed for bankruptcy protection.

Two newspaper chains, Gannett Co Inc and Advance Publications, on Monday announced employee furloughs. It will be the second furlough this year at Gannett.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Abbott)

(Editing by David Storey)

Where your TARP funds are going

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:57:13 GMT

As if the ongoing rob-from-the-poor-give-to-the-rich scam of the various bailouts weren't bad enough, now comes the news that a portion of your tax dollars, via Citigroup, are being funneled to prop up the government of Dubai:

(from GovernmentExecutive.com 3/11/09)

The Treasury Department does not ask program recipients for a detailed list of TARP transactions. And, with some exceptions, such as limits on executive compensation, the government does not say how companies should spend bailout money.

That lack of guidance has led to "questionable transactions," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, during a hearing on TARP oversight.

For example, during the past several months, as credit markets in the United States worsened, TARP recipients spent at least $16 billion on loans or investments with foreign entities. This included an $8 billion December 2008 loan from Citigroup Inc. to Dubai public sector entities. Citigroup initially received $25 billion in TARP funds in October 2008, followed by another $25 billion through two other TARP programs.

"Are these ... large investments and loans to foreign entities among the kind of transactions American taxpayers should be supporting with TARP monies when we face significant credit problems here at home?," Kucinich asked. "How does a multibillion [dollar] financing deal to Dubai ease the liquidity crisis in the USA?"

Never thought I'd agree with Dennis Kucinich on anything related to money, but I'm with him on this one.

Where is the outcry?

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:51:45 GMT

Yet another reminder that the concern of the liberal-left over racism is as mono-directional and full of hypocrisy as their recent newfound "respect" for religion in the wake of jihadi murders of critics of Islam.

US Representative John Conyers is one of the most noisome sacks of maggots in the carcass of our body politic today. A consistent enemy of liberty in all forms, he has authored or supported bills at various times, in recent years, increasing the scope of governmental powers to seize private property, repressive "single-payer" nationalized health care, and in 2005 (and possibly in the works again now) an attempt at America's first tentative step towards a blasphemy law - one that gave special mention of and protection to of Islam and the Quran.

Conyers has also for decades used a tattered and dog-eared race card to silence opponents of his freedom-robbing schemes.

As it turns out, his wife is made of similar stuff.

Elected, I'm sure ENTIRELY on her own merits and having nothing to do with being the wife of a powerful senior congressman, to the Detroit City Council in 2006, she is now its President.

Detroit is not exactly known as a font of good government, but a recent raucous council featured Ms. Conyers leading something that more resembled a racist lynch mob (irony fully intended) than the deliberation of a democractic body.

From the Detroit Daily News, 3/1/09:

Commentary: Elect a crazy council, get crazy results

Nowhere is Michigan's brain drain on greater display than in the Detroit City Council chambers.

My hopes for Detroit's future faded as I watched the tape of last Tuesday's council meeting, the one that considered the Cobo Center expansion deal.

It was a tragic circus, a festival of ignorance that confirmed the No. 1 obstacle to Detroit's progress is the bargain basement leaders that city voters elect. The black nationalism that is now the dominant ideology of the council was on proud display, both at the table and in the audience.

Speakers advocating for the deal were taunted by the crowd and cut short by Council President Monica Conyers, who presided over the hearing like an angry bulldog; whites were advised by the citizens to, "Go home."

Opponents were allowed to rant and ramble on uninterrupted about "those people" who want to steal Detroit's assets and profit from the city's labors.

A pitiful Teamster official who practically crawled to the table on his knees expressing profuse respect for this disrespectful body was battered by both the crowd and the council.

When he dared suggest that an improved Cobo Center would create more good-paying jobs for union workers, Conyers reminded him, "Those workers look like you; they don't look like me."

Desperate, he invoked President Barack Obama's message of unity and was angrily warned, "Don't yousay his name here."

Juxtapose the place and the faces and imagine a white Livonia City Council treating a black union representative with such overt racial hostility. The Justice Department would swoop down like a hawk, and the Rev. Al Sharpton would clog Five Mile Road with protesters.

But in Detroit, dealing with the council's bigotry is part of the cost of doing business. As is dealing with its incompetence. (I'll pause here and excuse from that indictment Sheila Cockrel and Brenda Jones, who supported the Cobo deal, as did Kwame Kenyatta, who although he's an avowed nationalist, most often votes in the city's best interests.)

Emmet Moten, the developer who just opened the Fort Shelby Hotel downtown, was at the meeting and found it appalling. Moten went to Lansing in 1983 on behalf of Mayor Coleman Young to successfully lobby for a regional tax to support Cobo.

"And now we're saying, 'We don't want your money,'" Moten says. "If Coleman were alive today, he'd be outraged. It hurts, it really hurts."

Now, Moten says, "we Detroiters gotta be outraged."

Outraged enough to go to the polls in November and elect a brighter, more responsible council. Moten and others I talked with this week are encouraged that mayoral primary voters picked Dave Bing and Ken Cockrel Jr., the two most rational candidates on the ballot.

The test now will be whether it's those primary voters or the angry council crowd who represent the real Detroit.

As Moten notes, "You can't fix this for us. We have to fix it ourselves."

Nobody can help Detroit if voters again elect a City Council composed of separatists, clueless dowagers and the apparently insane

Note the overt racism on display. As has been noted elsewhere, the left, whether "liberal" or "progressive" is generally incapable of calling this what it is when it comes from anyone other than anglo whites. While it is deeply hypocritical when compared with their own stated views, it IS in fact consistent with rarely stated, but deeply rooted on the left, Marxist structural theories of justice in which what is just depends entirely on who is doing it and who is on the receiving end. That is - if an "oppressed" person does something, it can be OK even if it would be wrong for an "oppressor" to do the same thing. Or, in other words, it is a form of ends-justifying-means thinking.

Don't believe me? How much have you heard about this in the media? How much do you think you would hear if the racial lines were, as mentioned by the writer of the article above, reversed - and to make a better analogy, if it were say, Cindy McCain presiding over and egging it on.

Also - note the sacerdotal treatment of Obama: "Don't YOU say HIS name here". Yes, let we unbelievers and folk of impure blood be barred from saying HIS name in vain. It is going to be a long four years.

There is an old saying that people get the government they deserve. That may be true of those who vote for, fight for, or otherwise support said government. Unfortunately, the rest of us get that government too.

To hell with the Kennedys

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:08:39 GMT

I've known about this for a while, but can no longer refrain from posting SOMETHING about it...

The verminous descendants of the bootlegging thug and mafia boss Joe Kennedy continue to swindle their retarded dutiful serfs, the voters of Massachusetts:

BOSTON � More than one out of every five dollars of the $126 million Massachusetts is receiving in earmarks from a $410 billion federal spending package is going to help preserve the legacy of the Kennedys.

The bill includes $5.8 million for the planning and design of a building to house a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate. The funding may also help support an endowment for the institute.

The $22 million JFK library earmark was sponsored by fellow Massachusetts Democrat Sen. John Kerry, who is also a top sponsor for the money for the Kennedy Senate Institute. Kerry defended the library project, which he said is needed to upgrade the facility.

Massachusetts voters, you lefty idiots, you deserve exactly what you get for keeping your royal family, the Kennedys, pinworms in the rectum of democracy that they are, in power for generation after generation. I have a problem with this because I, and the rest of the innocent, non-Kennedy-voting population of America are in part subsidizing this collection of monuments to the collosal egos of a pack of pestilential filth. To hell with the Kennedys and their "legacy" of theft, patronage, sexual molestation, and psuedo-aristocratic pretention. Oh, and to every single Democrat voter in Massachussets: to hell with you too.

Minnesota goes Dhimmi

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:28:10 GMT

From Minnesota comes WONDERFUL news. The state, yes the state government will be buying homes on behalf of Muslims and then arranging sharia-compliant (ie non-interest) payment plans on their behalf:

New Islamic mortgages now available in Minnesota

by Jessica Mador, Minnesota Public Radio

March 1, 2009

For many Minnesota Muslims, it's been virtually impossible to buy a home, because Islamic law forbids the paying or charging of interest. To help close the home ownership gap among Muslim immigrants, the state's housing agency is launching a new program offering Islamic mortgages.

Minneapolis, Minn. � Islamic law does make exceptions to the ban on interest, if one's family is at stake. But the exceptions are open to interpretation and for many observant Muslims, conventional mortgages are strictly taboo.

Nawawi Sheikh is one of them. The Somali-American says he and his wife just couldn't go against their beliefs, even if it meant giving up their dream of owning a home. Still, he grew tired of moving from one rented apartment to another.

"One thing I hated was moving. I don't like to move all the time," he says.

He has no plans to move again anytime soon. Sheikh is the first home buyer to get a loan through the state's New Markets Mortgage Program. That's because, program manager Nimo Farah says, he has all the makings of a successful homeowner.

"I had lots of applications, but he's the first one, because really, he was ready. He has been working at the same job for quite a while; he took care of his credit; he had the right size family, and he had all his documents together," she said. "He was basically ready to go."

The program is targeted at low-to-moderate income families. Qualified applicants have to complete first-time home buyer education classes. The goal is to help Muslim home buyers build wealth and reap the benefits of home ownership.

Here's how the mortgage, known as Murabaha financing or "cost plus sale," works:

The state buys a home and resells it to the buyer at a higher price. The down payment and monthly installments are agreed to up front at current mortgage rates.

The deal is identical to a thirty-year fixed-rate loan, except there's no additional interest, because the higher up front price factors in payments that would have been made over the life of a traditional mortgage.

A handful of private banks and lending institutions offer Islamic mortgages in the U.S., but Minnesota Housing is the first state agency to offer such a product. The program is the brainchild of Hussein Samatar, director of the African Development Center in Minneapolis.

"The process is different, but the outcome will look the same," Samatar says. "We wanted to be as conventional as possible, while respecting the tenets of Islam."

Samatar, who used to work for Wells Fargo, tried for years to launch Islamic financing. He says the fact that Minnesota Housing has agreed to participate is a nod to the Muslim community's growing economic power.

Chicago-based Devon Bank is underwriting the loans for the New Markets program. Devon is one of the largest Islamic lenders in the country. Corporate Counsel David Loundy says he expects the demand for Islamic financing to grow as more Muslims make their home in the U.S. Loundy says Muslims tend to be good risks.

"If they worked so hard to get to this country, they don't want to screw it up now that they are here, so they tend to pay their debts pretty promptly," said Loundy. "In addition, you have a population that is religiously and culturally predisposed against having debt, so they want to pay down their debts as quickly as they can."

The numbers back this up. In its five and a half years offering Islamic lending, Loundy says Devon Bank hasn't lost a penny, though he admits the recession could make that record difficult to sustain as more borrowers face job loss.

But the bad economy is also offering opportunity. With housing prices at rock bottom, officials say the timing couldn't be better to match first time Muslim buyers with foreclosures that need new owners.

Nawawi Sheikh's new three-bedroom South Minneapolis home is a former foreclosure. The African Development Center's Hussein Samatar says there are thousands more potential buyers like Sheikh out there. He says the New Markets Mortgage Program will help the Minnesota Muslims community put down strong roots.

"It is great news for the country, and it really sends a great signal that the United States is our country," he said, "and we would love to make it better."

Samatar says he has 10 more qualified buyers already lined up. He plans to close on two or three more homes with Islamic financing over the next few months.

So now, based on their religion, a particular class of citizens (one HOPES they have to be citizens) gets special and more favorable treatment including direct intervention for their benefit by a state government.

WTF! No really, what the fucking fuck?!?!?

If it were the Feds trying this, one would hope that the Establishment Clause would prevent it from going through, but it seems that whatever passes for Minnesota's constitution has no such provisions.

This kind of active discrimination in favor of Muslims is one of the main injustices that has been antagonizing native populations in Europe, and now it seems it is here.

Good to see that liberals great concern for the separation of church and state only applies to Christians. Where is the effing ACLU? Oh wait, busy trying to get nativity scenes banned and other oh-so crucial battles for the future of our country... never mind.

More Equal than Others

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:34:28 GMT

More sad news from dhimmi Britain:

Inspector Tom Galbraith, of Lothian and Borders Police�s diversity unit, says that �you have to consider cases according to need. The idea of treating people all the same is a bit naive and we have to remember that there are vulnerable individuals who can be put on the path of radicalism.�

POLICE IN RACE BIAS OUTRAGE

Scottish forces ordered to give priority to crimes against Muslims

by Dean Herbert

Police in Scotland have been ordered to give special priority to crimes where the victims are Muslim.

In a move that last night sparked a fresh row over political correctness, a senior officer revealed that the race and religion of a victim has now become a crucial factor in how police respond to crime.

Inspector Tom Galbraith, of Lothian and Borders Police�s diversity unit, told a conference on tackling terrorism that it was important to stop Scottish Muslims feeling �vulnerable� in case they were driven towards radicalism.

Mr. Galbraith said the force encouraged officers to consider the religious or ethnic backgrounds of victims to assess their needs in dealing with hate crimes.

He said that both an attack and a perceived lack of action by police could turn Islamic youths into future terrorists.

Mr. Galbraith also revealed that police officers, Special Branch and BAA security staff were being given special lessons about Islamic culture after Muslims complained that being questioned when entering the country about whether they pray and attend mosques was offensive to their faith.

Speaking at a national security conference in Edinburgh on Thursday, Mr. Galbraith said, �It is not about treating everybody the same.

If I have a young Asian man who has been subjected to a hate crime, I would rather put more resources into that than if it had happened to a white male because the white male is far less likely to end up becoming radicalised.�

Alas, when you combine

(1) The endless capacity for rationalization of cultural illiterates who have become completely separated from the intellectual and moral roots of Western civilization

(2) Abject cowardice

This is what you get. It is unfortunately the next logical step in the "hate crime" meme in modern Western legal thinking.

Generations fought and many died to obtain equality before the law, and now the spineless politically correct ignorant worms of today are willing, eager in fact, to throw it all away.

All Hail Obama!

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:49:10 GMT

Long live the Messiah!
He leads us to the new promised land
He is the bringer of light
He is the measure of right and wrong
We'll never defy him
We must deify him
And failure to do so is racist

La Trahison des Clercs, Part MCMLXXXIX

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:25:01 GMT

Recently in my web wanderings I came across mention of the 2004 documentary film "Born Into Brothels", by Zana Briski about her experiences working with children in the worst depths of the Calcutta slums. She, the filmmaker, put quite a lot of work into trying to improve the lives of the children she studied, but in the wake of the film's moderate success was attacked by both Indian and politically correct Western intellectuals for supposed racism in exposing the underbelly of Indian society, and daring to be a Westerner while trying to do something about it.

One of the kids in her film, Avijit Halder, is now a freshman at NYU.

It seems no good deed goes unpunished.

Meanwhile, a similar defensive reaction from the same stripe of academics has appeared in the wake of the spectacular critical and financial success of the fictional Slumdog Millionaire, which also depicts the harshness of slum life, this time in Mumbai. The same pattern emerged: nationalistic Indian academics wanted to pretend that their society had no problems, other than perhaps those imposed by evil Westerners, and a few anti-nationalistic westerners wanted to do the same.

Where am I going with this?

I am reminded by all this that in most times and places, the majority of intellectuals are curses upon their own societies. This is tragic, or perhaps farcical, since intellectuals of all sorts are also vital to a healthy civilization. Unfortunately, far too many are drawn to bad ideas, vast in their range of details, yet most sharing certain universal threads. International Marxist socialism, national fascist socialism, luddite agrarianism, blood-and-soil tribal nationalism, neo-primitive environmentalism, and religious theocracy all share a common hostility towards the traits associated with success in any society: freedom of word and deed, integrity of person and property, individual initiative and reward for individual effort.

What do bad ideas offer the intellectuals?

Generally either the prospect of power (what is the Iranian theocracy but the ultimate modern triumph of an unworldly intellectual class?), or barring that, the vengeful destruction of those who fail to conform to whatever utopia a particular visionary imagines would be superior to the actual messy, constantly renegotiated and renewed world people build when left to their own devices.

So as we round the bend and return to our starting point...

By and large, those with collectivist-utopian ideas about how the problems of the world can be solved have no idea how to get there, and in fact likely doubt that they ever can, because their ideas have failed when tried in the past. Their ideas don't work, in fact CAN'T work. Rather than face this, how much easier to cover things up and deny there are any problems?

Really, what would the defensive sniffy critics have done for Avijit, or anyone like him? What have they ever done but create and reward dependency? The pitiful and grateful are after all much more gratifying than self-made upstarts.

Whether nationalistic third-worlders attacking a woman who did some small good in their country, or American left-liberals trying to defend some disastrously failed government program while pitching for more of the same, it is the same pattern.

One brave woman, on her own initiative and faced with traditional social inertia, bureaucratic indifference, and the disdainful criticism of largely upper class "advocates" for the poor, opened a door for one talented young man, a door which all the collectivist utopias of the world would have kept shut, and thereafter his abilities and initiative took, and are taking him, far, in living disproof of the critic's ideas.

The Adventures of Muhammad: Part II

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:44:22 GMT

From the Sirat Rasul Allah, or Life of the Messenger of God, the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad and another component of the Sunnah, come insights into the style of warfare favored by the religion of peace:

"Our onslaught will not be a weak faltering affair. We shall fight as long as we live. We will fight until you turn to Islam, humbly seeking refuge. We will fight not caring whom we meet. We will fight whether we destroy ancient holdings or newly gotten gains. We have mutilated every opponent. We have driven them violently before us at the command of Allah and Islam. We will fight until our religion is established. And we will plunder them, for they must suffer disgrace."

Which as a whole, is a sort of Churchilian "We shall never surrender" speech, except inverted, as if given by Goering while preparing for the attack.

And:

"The Apostle prepared for war in pursuance of Allah's command to fight his enemies and to fight the infidels who Allah commanded him to fight."

"Get out of his way, you infidel unbelievers. Every good thing goes with the Apostle. Lord, I believe in his word. We will fight you about its interpretations as we have fought you about its revelation with strokes that will remove heads from shoulders and make enemies of friends."

"Crushing the heads of the infidels and splitting their skulls with sharp swords, we continually thrust and cut at the enemy. Blood gushed from their deep wounds as the battle wore them down. We conquered bearing the Prophet's fluttering war banner. Our cavalry was submerged in rising dust, and our spears quivered, but by us the Prophet gained victory."

Feel the love.

The Adventures of Muhammad: Part I

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:51:05 GMT

From the Hadith of Bukhari, part of the core of the Sunnah and generally seen in Sunni Islam as the second most authoritative text after the Quran itself, comes this series of traditions regarding the prophet's conquest of the Khaybar oasis in Northwest Arabia in 629 AD, and his treatment of the Jews who lived there:

"The Prophet offered the Fajr Prayer near Khaybar when it was still dark. He said, 'Allahu-Akbar.' Khaybar is destroyed, for whenever we approach a hostile nation to fight, then evil will be the morning for those who have been warned.' Then the inhabitants of Khaybar came out running on their roads. The Prophet had their men killed; their children and woman were taken as captives."

"So Muhammad began seizing their herds and their property bit by bit. He conquered Khaybar home by home. The first stronghold defeated was Naim. Next was Qamus, the community of Abi Huqayq. The Messenger took some of its people captive, including Safiyah bt. Huyayy, the wife of Kinanah and her two cousins. The Prophet chose Safiyah for himself."

"The Prophet had their men killed, their children and woman taken as captives. Safiyah was amongst the captives, She first came in the share of Dihyah but later on she came to belong to the Prophet. Muhammad made her manumission. The captives of Khaybar were divided among the Muslims. Then the Messenger began taking the homes and property that were closest to him."

Equally as important as the events themselves are that unlike some of the less pleasant incidents in the Old Testament and the Talmud, these and other similar actions by Muhammad are still seen as guides for behavior today and worthy of emulation by serious Muslim scholars today as well as a not insubstantial portion of the general Islamic populace. Nor is this a new development, but rather has been ithe case for the entirety of Muslim history, even if not always with equal intensity.

Back From the Grave

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:20:57 GMT

Ok... so maybe this blog WAS dead, for a time, but now it rises again from the depths, called from its eons-long slumber by the powers of the the Obamessiah. It lives, still dreaming of getting its own fatwa, it shambles forth craving the taste of living flesh... well, of pork - so richly available with the passage of the Porkulus package. Now it must FEED!

Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Nope, not Dead

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:49:39 GMT

Just very, very busy. On the off chance I GET some time, I'll type up a real post.

Saddam-loving leftists

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:44:21 GMT

Being my loveable self, I've engaged in quite a few internet political flame wars over the past couple of years. One of the things lefties were always especially touchy about was anything that implied that their opposition to regime change in Iraq meant that they loved or supported Saddam.

Well, on the day of the Saddam verdict (DEATH! - yes) here is what the lefties at the Huffington Post REALLY think:

(courtesy of Little Green Footballs)

* * *

Saddam is a far better man than George W. Bush ever thought about being.

By: shrike on November 05, 2006 at 07:58am

[...]

wow are bush, cheney, rumsfield and rice next?seems to me the killed about as many innocent iraqis as saddam did, and about as many innocent , trusting troops as civilians we lost on 9/11

By: stamper on November 05, 2006 at 07:35am

[...]

Now how about going after George Bush.

By: waxxx on November 05, 2006 at 07:36am

[...]

The number of innocents massacred by the neo-con zionist regime directing the Bush administration dwarfs those attributed to Saddam

By: FUBush on November 05, 2006 at 07:41am

[...]

I don�t know of anyone who thinks this was a �fair trial�.

By: Dillon on November 05, 2006 at 07:58am

[...]

If Bush was hung side by side with Saddam it would certainly help the cause of a better Iraq. Add Cheney and Rumsfeld and that would placate everyone.

By: BushCoSatanIncarnate on November 05, 2006 at 08:44am

* * *

And (also via LGF) is what they thought of a group of families of fallen Iraq war GIs going on a fairly secret (for security reasons) visit to Iraq itself:

* * *

�psst...it ain�t a secret anymore. i�m posting this article on every islamist and anti-coalition message board i can find.�

-> Posted by jar jar / Nov 04, 2006

�it would be such an ironic tragedy if these hacks died on their trip...hahaa�

-> Posted by jar jar / Nov 04, 2006

* * *

But, oh yes, they "support the troops"...

As I've pointed out before, today's left has become so intellectually moribund and morally corrupt that they will support anyone, literally ANYONE who hates and wants to destroy this country, and will attack anyone who tries to suppor or defend it. There are a very few exceptions... old-style FDR liberals like Joe Lieberman... but most of the left have become traitors at heart, and gone completely bonkers as well.

The Other Shoe Drops

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:03:23 GMT

Remember the Thai Coup? A few perceptive commentators noted that it was lead by Thailand's first Muslim army chief, and wondered whether that fact would prove significant.

Well, now it has:

By RUNGRAWEE C. PINYORAT, Associated Press Writer Thu Nov 2, 10:23 AM ET

PATTANI, Thailand - Thailand's interim prime minister publicly apologized Thursday for the former government's hard-line policies against an Islamic insurgency, promising an investigation into allegations of human rights abuses by the administration deposed in a recent coup.

In an unexpected initiative, Chulanont Surayud also said he would urge the limited use of Islamic law in Thailand's Muslim-majority south to settle some disputes, especially over inheritance and family affairs, he said.

Surayud was accompanied by army chief Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, a practicing Muslim who led the Sept. 19 coup. Previous governments have shown little acceptance of Muslim culture.

In other words, after overthrowing the democratically elected government of Thailand, the new government, overshadowed by a Muslim general, is going to apologize to the murderous Muslim insurgency in the South, punish those who resisted it, and give in to some of the demands of the insurgents.

There is a warning for the rest of us in these events.

Great Moments in Bullshit

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 02:34:35 GMT

Another claim of a methodology to rank the states by intelligence has appeared on the scene. I quote the following bubbly little Foxnews article in its entirety:

The fine folks at Morgan Quitno Press are out to prove what many of us have suspected for a long, long time: some of this country's great states are just a few sandwiches short of an intellectual picnic basket.

According to the private research and publishing company's new survey, when they were handing out smarts, Arizona (dead last for the second year in a row, no less) was hanging out with California, Mississippi and Nevada at the back of the line, Central Florida's Local 6 reports.

Beg to differ?

The folks in Vermont probably don't. The Green Mountain State was ranked the smartest of them all, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Maine.

The survey has Texas as the Lone Star of mediocrity at No. 25, New York making an appearance at No. 16 and Florida chilling with the other underachievers at No. 29.

The annual rankings are based on 21 elementary and secondary education indicators, ranging from test scores and graduation rates to class size and teacher's salaries.

Want to see where your state ranks?

Click here for the complete list.

As one would, cynically, expect, some of the deepest blue states rank near the top. Though not as blatant, this is similar to the state IQ hoax that appeared shortly after the 2004 elections.

However, note that two of the "indicators" are class size and teacher's salaries.

Teachers SALARIES?

As if the relative success of a state teacher's mafia, er... union had anything to do with how intelligent the inhabitants are.

In fact, even graduation rates are useless as an "indicator" since administrators can increase them simply by diluting standards. Only test scores might partially approximate a measurement of intelligence. In the end, however, only a nationally administered IQ test with large, representative, and proportional (to overall state population) sample sizes could come close to measuring the relative "smarts" of the states.

However, IQ tests are quite politically incorrect and have long been out of favor as a tool of research or public policy.

So, those who want to claim that their favorite parts of the nation are "smarter" than those they dislike will continue to have to rely on bullshit.

Yipee.

L'il Kim Jong il

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 04:08:04 GMT

As evidence begins to mount that the North Korean nuclear test was a tad bit... er, smaller... than initially thought, let us consider the dear leader, the great one, the man behind the magic himself... KIM JONG-IL!!!

Although his official biography official biography claims that he was born in 1941, the son of North Korean dictator Kim il-Sung, we know better. After all, his official biography also claims that "his birth at Mount Paektu was foretold by a swallow, and that his birth was heralded by the appearance of a double rainbow over the mountain and a new star in the heavens."

The crack investigative team at the Raging Capitalist has discovered that Kim Jong-il is in fact the result of experimental genetic splicing between Henry "Eraserhead" Spencer and Leisure Suit Larry.

Given his obvious superb qualifications as the boss's son, Kim was rapidly promoted through the ranks of the North Korean communist party. By the 1970s (see above) he was a powerful official second only to his father, and had, as befits a holder of absolute power, acquired a number of concubines. We can be sure they were attracted to his stunning good looks and charm. These rakish qualities were put to good use after the death of his father and his own ascension to power... as even former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright was unable to resist him.

He, being a man of honor, gave her his word that he wouldn't continue to pursue nuclear weapons... in return for a few concessions from America of course. Secretary Albright and her boss (rumored to be quite a ladies man himself) were impressed. After all, if you can't trust the word of an isolationist communist dictator, who can you trust?

In addition to ensuring that his socialist worker's paradise is prosperous and well fed, Kim has also found time to become the world's greatest military strategist and it's most prolific author. He rides a noble white stallion wherever he goes and the heavens shake when he shouts! If you doubt his achievements, just ask brilliant, well-informed western progressives.

Let us congratulate glorious comrade Kim Jong-il, hero of all socialist revolutions everywhere!

Right on schedule...

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:43:24 GMT

The Democratic party, these days devoid of any ideas other than the lust for power, chimes in on the Nork Nukes. I think you can guess what they have to say...

All too predictable.