International law gone amuck?
"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 (because, under Islamic law, they face beheading for murder or having a hand chopped off for theft.)
Warships patrolling pirate-infested waters, such as those off Somalia, have been warned that there is also a risk that captured pirates could claim asylum in Britain."
Thanks to Tigerhawk.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Britannia lost the waves...
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
The banality of evil - Continued.
There's a good article in Spiegel about the Nazis' horrors being brought about by ordinary Germans: From doctors to opera singers, teachers to truant schoolchildren, the extermination of European Jews was the work of roughly 200,000 ordinary Germans and their helpers. Years of research -- not yet complete -- reveal how sane members of a modern society committed murder for an evil regime.
More about the banality of evil here.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
"Love begins in the mind, not the eyes,"
These soldiers never cease to amaze me!
Photo by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky.Read the whole story here.
President Bush's warm reception in Croatia.
White House photo by Shealah CraigheadPresident Bush's speech to the Croatian people:
At this great moment in history, you have a vital role. There are many people who don't appear to understand why it takes so long to build a democracy. You can tell them how hard it is to put in place a new and complex system of government for the first time. There are those who actually wonder if people were better off under their old tyranny. You can tell them that freedom is the only real path to prosperity and security and peace. And there are those who ask whether the pain and sacrifices for freedom are worth the costs. And they should come to Croatia. And you can show them that freedom is worth fighting for.
The great church in this square has stood since the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, it has seen long, dark winters of occupation and tyranny and war. But the spring is here at last. This is an era in history that generations of Croatians have prayed for. It is an era that Pope John Paul the Second envisioned when he came to this land, and prayed with the Croatian people, and asked for "a culture of peace." Today in this square, before this great church, we can now proudly say: Those prayers have been answered.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)Aztec math deciphered.
Today's tax codes are complicated, but the ancient Aztecs likely shared your pain.
Fascinating.
To measure tracts of taxable land, Aztec mathematicians had to develop their own specialized arithmetic, which has only now been decoded.Tags: Aztec math decoded
Photographing Castro's revolution.
"When Fidel Castro asked for a show of hands in support of his new policies, an American journalist captured the response."
This same journalist left Cuba thoroughly disillusioned.
Read the whole article at The Smithsonian Magazine.
Racism in Germany.
From Der Spiegel: Insulted, spat at and attacked -- by ordinary Germans. Unable to bear the daily racism, a pastor's family fled from a small town in eastern Germany back to the their former home in the west.
Meet Lance Corporal Croucher , a Royal Marine and a hero:
[He] and his troop were on patrol last month near their base in Sangin, Helmand province, [Afghanistan] when he stepped into a tripwire that pulled the pin from a boobytrap grenade.Are men born heroes or made heroes?He said: “I thought, I’ve set this bloody thing off and I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect the others. I’m very tight with the three other guys. There have been a few times when they have saved my bacon.
“I knew a grenade like this has a killing circumference of about five metres. So I got down with my back to the grenade and used my body as a shield. It was a case of either having four of us as fatalities or badly wounded, or one.”
Thanks to Samizdata.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Kipling and Rick Rescorla.
Reading PowerLine's post on Kipling brought back the sadness, awe, and redemptory feelings I had after 9/11 when I discovered the man who was Rick Rescorla. Kipling is still relevant today as he ever was. Rick Rescorla is a man for all seasons. Go read the whole post. You won't regret it.Tags: Power Line Rick Rescorla
The "cold-eyed certainty of the fanatic".
These are the guys that managed to make it impossible for air passengers to carry water bottles, perfume, toothpaste, shampoos, contact lens solutions, etc., etc., on board.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Iraq documentary: Outside the Wire.
Below is the trailer of a new documentary about Iraq, Outside the Wire, directed by JD Johannes, who is "a former Marine, television news producer, US Senate staffer, political campaign manager and Assistant to Kansas' Attorney General."
Mr. Johannes explains the reason behind the documentary and asks for our support. In his own words:
Let's all help out!My documentaries take a different approach--actually showing Soldiers and Marines IN IRAQ . In 2007 I spent months living with Army paratroopers, grunts, Marines and Iraqi 'Neighborhood Watch' members.
In 2005 I covered one Marine infantry unit during their deployment .
Actually going to Iraq, living down in the dirt with the grunts and making documentaries about what is happening on the ground appears to be a rather novel concept, but I think the best way to understand Iraq is to see it from 5'10" off the ground .
Yesterday I was asked "what will you do if you beat 'Redacted'?"
Short answer: Go back and make another series of documentaries .
But the more pertinent question is what happens on May 7th if we have not beaten 'Redacted'?
My guess is the diarists on Kos, Dem Underground, etc. will herald the rejection of my documentaries.
The Hollywood types who rationalize away the failure of anti-war films saying things like....
No one wants to see Iraq war movies. No matter what we put out there in terms of great cast or trailers, people were completely turned off. It's a function of the marketplace not being ready to address this conflict in a dramatic way because the war itself is something that's unresolved yet. It's a shame because it's a good movie that's just ahead of its time.....Will take the failure of 'Outside The Wire' to beat 'Redacted' as confirming their spin.
But I think there is a market for a pro-troop, pro-victory documentary. And if Hollywood is about anything--it is about making money.
My thesis is this: If it can be demonstrated that a pro-troop, pro-victory documentary can succeed in the market place by beating the domestic box office gross of an anti-war film like 'Redacted' the money loving side of Hollywood will back a pro-troop movie.
If 2,900 documentaries sell , Hollywood's spin of "No one wants to see Iraq war movies" will be exposed and blame for the failure of movies like 'Redacted' and 'Home of the Brave' will be recognized: the public doesn't want to see anti-war, anti-troop crap.
Then we can test Allahpundit's theory :
"They keep making 'em even though we keep not watching 'em, which shows you how committed they are to the message and/or fearful of testing that "America's not ready yet" hypothesis with a pro-war flick."
So, what would you like to see happen on May 7th? Hollywood's 'America's not ready yet' spin confirmed or exposed?
If you would like to see it exposed, here is what you can do:
- If you can afford to, buy a DVD
- If you are a blogger, blog about the movie
- If you are a show host, have me on your show and/or talk about the movie
This is a real Army of Davids approach.
I don't have any money to run TV ads or radio ads. I don't have the backing of an agency or a PR firm. I don't get invited on the Today Show to promote my documentaries *.
I only have you...and I have a question for you: How much do you want to prove Hollywood wrong?
Thanks to Instapundit.
To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence, is a serious crime is like suggesting force-feeding a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence
Good to hear that the author of these vile words has been sacked.
Thanks to LGF.Tags: misogynist woman hater
Gateway Pundit: Drink Absolut Vodka-- Bring Back Mythical Aztlan
"...You may become so drunk you might even imagine you're in Aztlan. *Hic*"Tags: Absolut vodka Aztlan
Homosexual revenge in Iraq.
When abused by his Al Qaeda lovers, one gay man told the Americans about his terrorist tormentors. Our boys quickly dispatched them.
Thanks to Instapundit.Tags: homosexuals gays in Iraq
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Video: Jihad USA: Homegrown Terror
One of the tragedies of not learning history...and being oblivious as to what goes on around us.
Watch the 4-part report and pass it on.
Thanks to The Jawa Report.Tags: homegrown terror jihad USA
Church leader calls for building of mosques to be banned because of risk 'Britain will become an 'Islamic state'.
Strange times we live in...A senior Church of England member called yesterday for the building of mosques to be banned.
Alison Ruoff said more construction would lead to Islamic no go areas dominated by exclusively Muslim populations living under sharia law.
Food for thought...
"Botulinum neurotoxin type A, sold as Allergan Inc.'s Botox remedy for wrinkles, can move from its injection site to the brain, a study shows."Tags: botox
Lying
Christopher Hitchens: "There are two kinds of deliberate and premeditated deceit, commonly known as suggestio falsi and suppressio veri. (Neither of them is covered by the additionally lying claim of having "misspoken.") The first involves what seems to be most obvious in the present case: the putting forward of a bogus or misleading account of events. But the second, and often the more serious, means that the liar in question has also attempted to bury or to obscure something that actually is true. Let us examine how Sen. Clinton has managed to commit both of these offenses to veracity and decency and how in doing so she has rivaled, if not indeed surpassed, the disbarred and perjured hack who is her husband and tutor."Tags: Hillary Clinton Bosnia
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