It is ridiculous that the world seems to be standing around watching as this shapes up. To think of a parallel, the Iranians sending an aid ship to Gaza is the equivalent of the Russians sending an “aid ship” to Cuba in October of 1962.
Iran has sworn to “wipe Israel off of the map”. Israel has sworn to defend herself, and that includes the blockade of Gaza.
With Israel standing alone and surrounded by her Muslim enemies, and the rest of the world playing the part of two of three monkeys - seeing and hearing no evil in the intent of those who would break the blockade – does someone really need to point out that Israel is a nuclear capable nation and Iran is pushing toward that goal (while Obama, America’s Nero – fiddles with his foreign policy)?
Israel’s enemies continue to push. They launch rockets, they threaten, they cajole and so far all Israel’s appeasement has done has been to embolden them. Israel’s patience is not infinite however and when push comes to shove they will strike back to save their lives.
This is the point we are going to reach sooner rather than later if the Iranian “aid ships” steam for Gaza. Israel will push back, there will be blood. The Muslim world will condemn. The UN will condemn out of one side of its mouth while calling for an “impartial investigation” out of the other. The new American administration will lower its eyes, kick as the dirt beneath its feet like a shamed child and remain silent.
At that point, abandoned by all her allies implicitly if not explicitly, what option does Israel have?
Surely Israel will launch an attack on Iran to prevent that theocratic totalitarian state from ever achieving nuclear status, and from that act of self-preservation the entire set of dominoes may fall.
This single event, this largely ignored calculated provocation of Israel by her sworn enemies has the possibility of being this millenniums "shot heard round the world"..
And so far all the world has done is scold the victim and praise the assassin.
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
After the fall
Raphael Alexander has suggested that perhaps the best and only way to free the nation from parasitical public service unions and their unsustainable wage and benefit demands is to allow the process to go to the bitter end; let the economy collapse and rebuild on a new foundation.
While in some sense I agree (after all, this is in fact how the Strikers plan to rebuild the world at the end of "Atlas Shrugged"), history suggests that this is a huge reach of the imagination. After all, the end of the Res Publica Roma was marked by a massive civil war and the Imperium ended in a dark age that lasted centuries. Being the strongest warlord in the valley *might* ensure your survival and standard of living after the collapse, but is hardly the nucleus of a future Libertarian paradise. Warlords need to focus on the acquisition and maintenance of power; even the cultured and civilized lords of Renaissance Italian city states were still warlords, or they did not remain lords for long.
How civilization reached the Enlightenment is a subject historians still continue to debate, so unless there is a powerful nucleus of learning and culture like "Galt's Gulch" to rebuild, there are no garantees that ideals like Freedom of Speech, Property rights or the Rule of Law would ever regain their primacy in the world.
While in some sense I agree (after all, this is in fact how the Strikers plan to rebuild the world at the end of "Atlas Shrugged"), history suggests that this is a huge reach of the imagination. After all, the end of the Res Publica Roma was marked by a massive civil war and the Imperium ended in a dark age that lasted centuries. Being the strongest warlord in the valley *might* ensure your survival and standard of living after the collapse, but is hardly the nucleus of a future Libertarian paradise. Warlords need to focus on the acquisition and maintenance of power; even the cultured and civilized lords of Renaissance Italian city states were still warlords, or they did not remain lords for long.
How civilization reached the Enlightenment is a subject historians still continue to debate, so unless there is a powerful nucleus of learning and culture like "Galt's Gulch" to rebuild, there are no garantees that ideals like Freedom of Speech, Property rights or the Rule of Law would ever regain their primacy in the world.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
All the history that's fit to ignore
The MSM has been strangely silent on Iraq since the "Surge". The crushing of the insurgency in the "Tikrit triangle", the defeat of the Al-Sadr militia in Basra and the "Anabar Awakening" which drove out the Al Qaeda in Iraq's footholds in that promise were entirely at odds with the MSM narrative of defeat and dispair.
As well, the crushing of the insurgency is a humiliating blow to the US anti war movement and totally overturns the narrative of Senator (now President elect) Barack Obama, who has constantly and consistently been against the Iraq war, and has publicly stated that the "Surge" was not effective and the US would be defeated in Iraq.
How much better if they simply pretend it never happened.
For those of you who do not have a personal memory hole, real reporting of the situation in Iraq has been provided by such independent "blog" journalists as Micheal Yon, and professionals like Robert Kaplan, and can be found on the web.
November 22 should become a new day of celebration for Americans: VI day. Since this conflicts with the "official" narratives and the new Administration, VI day will have to be a private memorial celebrated on November 22 each year by patriotic Americans and their friends throughout the world. Let the Administration and MSM know what you are doing, they may publicly ignore your celebrations but should be hanging their heads in shame (and will if they have any decency left).
Congratulations to the Bush Administration for seeing the conflict through to victory.
Congratulations to the American and Allied servicemembers who made such great sacrifices to bring about victory
Congratulations to the Government and people of Iraq for perservering against all the odds.
Congratulations to the American people who supported their troops during the hard times.
As well, the crushing of the insurgency is a humiliating blow to the US anti war movement and totally overturns the narrative of Senator (now President elect) Barack Obama, who has constantly and consistently been against the Iraq war, and has publicly stated that the "Surge" was not effective and the US would be defeated in Iraq.
How much better if they simply pretend it never happened.
For those of you who do not have a personal memory hole, real reporting of the situation in Iraq has been provided by such independent "blog" journalists as Micheal Yon, and professionals like Robert Kaplan, and can be found on the web.
November 22 should become a new day of celebration for Americans: VI day. Since this conflicts with the "official" narratives and the new Administration, VI day will have to be a private memorial celebrated on November 22 each year by patriotic Americans and their friends throughout the world. Let the Administration and MSM know what you are doing, they may publicly ignore your celebrations but should be hanging their heads in shame (and will if they have any decency left).
Congratulations to the Bush Administration for seeing the conflict through to victory.
Congratulations to the American and Allied servicemembers who made such great sacrifices to bring about victory
Congratulations to the Government and people of Iraq for perservering against all the odds.
Congratulations to the American people who supported their troops during the hard times.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A Short History of the Future
Not SF, but a series of predictions based on what I am seeing today:
Regardless of who is elected President, the United States will undergo internal turbulence which will cause them to take their eyes off the ball. If Senator Obama wins, expect a "tax whiplash" and a real economic meltdown, while if Senator McCain wins, expect paralysis as an obdurate Congress to obstruct him every step of the way. The looming financial difficulties faced by the United States (particularly Social Security and the runaway growth of "entitlements") cannot be addressed by the platforms advocated by either candidate.
Russia and China will move rapidly to fill the power vacuum. Expect them to use a combination of economic muscle and diplomatic hijacking of international fora like the UN and WTO to impose rules to their liking. (Imagine them coming to collect the bill for "Carbon Credits" from Kyoto, for example). Plundering Western treasuries through the guise of "cost sharing measures" for "International projects" is another possibility. They may also cooperate to a greater or lesser degree against the growth of Radical Islam in Central Asia, although their goals will diverge to a certain extent. The EU may well throw in with Russia in order to secure energy supplies and also to deal with unassimilated Islamic populations within Europe (i.e. by providing diplomatic cover and military muscle while the Europeans throw the immigrants out). China will work to secure energy supplies and resources from Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. Russia and China will have no qualms about imposing a "Roman" peace if that suits their aims.
Longer term, China will have demographic difficulties due to the one child policy (probably starting @ 2020) as large numbers of single men become the biggest demographic. The Chinese are notorious racists, so the idea of Han men intermarrying with other ethnic groups (even non Han Chinese) could be a big issue internally. Mark Styen points out one possible solution; "China could become the first gay superpower since Sparta". More likely a great deal of social and economic turbulance will occur.
Beyond that, Russia will cease to be a "Great Power" in the 2030's, as their demographic crash cuts the population of ethnic Russians in half. The EU will be suffering from the same problem (and so will Canada and Japan, but these are second and third tier powers in the big picture)
So look for a decade of artificially imposed stability by the "Big Two" (or possibly "Big Three" if the EU gets a Mussolini in charge; the set up is a jumbo sized version of the "Fascist Corporate State" and a little ruthless organization might actually make the trains run on time...), followed by turmoil as the demographic rugs get pulled out from under them.
What is less clear is how the United States will fare during this period. It is quite clear they will pull in their horns for part of the time, and the Big Two/Three will certainly see international relations and organizations are tilted to the disadvantage of the Americans. On the other hand, the Americans are very clever and resiliant (from a cultural perspective. The DC Beltway seems to mark a cultural boundary line inside of which the opposite applies), and no doubt the appeal of America will continue as a destination for the clever and ambitious people of the world. As well, the United States does not have either of the demographic issues their competitors have. They also have the unique strength of being an Oceanic power, capable of projecting trade and force on a global scale, something that the other powers lack. India is a potential Oceanic power in the Indian Ocean basin, linkage with the United States should be encouraged and exploited in all areas.
This is hardly the future envisioned by Fukyama in "The End of History", nor the "Road Warrior" future Robert Kaplan portrayed in "The Coming Anarchy".....
I'm not liking this future........
Regardless of who is elected President, the United States will undergo internal turbulence which will cause them to take their eyes off the ball. If Senator Obama wins, expect a "tax whiplash" and a real economic meltdown, while if Senator McCain wins, expect paralysis as an obdurate Congress to obstruct him every step of the way. The looming financial difficulties faced by the United States (particularly Social Security and the runaway growth of "entitlements") cannot be addressed by the platforms advocated by either candidate.
Russia and China will move rapidly to fill the power vacuum. Expect them to use a combination of economic muscle and diplomatic hijacking of international fora like the UN and WTO to impose rules to their liking. (Imagine them coming to collect the bill for "Carbon Credits" from Kyoto, for example). Plundering Western treasuries through the guise of "cost sharing measures" for "International projects" is another possibility. They may also cooperate to a greater or lesser degree against the growth of Radical Islam in Central Asia, although their goals will diverge to a certain extent. The EU may well throw in with Russia in order to secure energy supplies and also to deal with unassimilated Islamic populations within Europe (i.e. by providing diplomatic cover and military muscle while the Europeans throw the immigrants out). China will work to secure energy supplies and resources from Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. Russia and China will have no qualms about imposing a "Roman" peace if that suits their aims.
Longer term, China will have demographic difficulties due to the one child policy (probably starting @ 2020) as large numbers of single men become the biggest demographic. The Chinese are notorious racists, so the idea of Han men intermarrying with other ethnic groups (even non Han Chinese) could be a big issue internally. Mark Styen points out one possible solution; "China could become the first gay superpower since Sparta". More likely a great deal of social and economic turbulance will occur.
Beyond that, Russia will cease to be a "Great Power" in the 2030's, as their demographic crash cuts the population of ethnic Russians in half. The EU will be suffering from the same problem (and so will Canada and Japan, but these are second and third tier powers in the big picture)
So look for a decade of artificially imposed stability by the "Big Two" (or possibly "Big Three" if the EU gets a Mussolini in charge; the set up is a jumbo sized version of the "Fascist Corporate State" and a little ruthless organization might actually make the trains run on time...), followed by turmoil as the demographic rugs get pulled out from under them.
What is less clear is how the United States will fare during this period. It is quite clear they will pull in their horns for part of the time, and the Big Two/Three will certainly see international relations and organizations are tilted to the disadvantage of the Americans. On the other hand, the Americans are very clever and resiliant (from a cultural perspective. The DC Beltway seems to mark a cultural boundary line inside of which the opposite applies), and no doubt the appeal of America will continue as a destination for the clever and ambitious people of the world. As well, the United States does not have either of the demographic issues their competitors have. They also have the unique strength of being an Oceanic power, capable of projecting trade and force on a global scale, something that the other powers lack. India is a potential Oceanic power in the Indian Ocean basin, linkage with the United States should be encouraged and exploited in all areas.
This is hardly the future envisioned by Fukyama in "The End of History", nor the "Road Warrior" future Robert Kaplan portrayed in "The Coming Anarchy".....
I'm not liking this future........
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Cake Eaters
Let there be no question what this is all about. The reason this is an open letter is to encourage what I will call the Cake Eaters who wish to “have their cake and eat it too”.
The Cake Eaters are those appeasers who see no conflict between on one hand supporting the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and simultaneously call for us to abandon Afghans to a brutal theocratic dictatorship that executes women for being raped or stones homosexuals to death. Cake eaters are the useful idiots who though honestly saddened by our military losses call to bring the boys home, and blank out the reasons for the deployment and the end state of such a withdrawal, namely an Afghanistan ruled by terror and by terrorists. They are the 5th columnists, media whores to whom the phrase “If it bleeds, it leads” is a mantra and the so called experts who, armed with a degree and some limited facts use this pedestrian knowledge to maximize their political power and capitalize with media face time.
This letter (an ultimatum to the weak) is specifically designed to extol the efforts of the cake eaters. With the Taliban facing a troop surge, and becoming less and less effective they have switched tactics like besieged politicians the world over and turned from taking action in war to waging war through the media.
The attack on aid workers was a three pronged attack. It was designed to terrorize the aid workers, to restrict the aid getting to the poor, thus allowing the Taliban to then claim that the West doesn’t care about Afghans and finally it was used to stir the cake eaters into a frenzy of horror, righteous indignation and useless pontification.
I will not go more into the reasons for the attack, the purpose of this post is to expose the Cake Eaters.
By the way, for those that would disagree that the Media cake eaters act as a 5th column here in
“It happened about two weeks after Canadian troops accidentally shot two children to death in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar, fearing the vehicle they were riding in was going to attack them.”
What does this tragedy have to do with the Taliban ultimatum? Nothing.
What is the parallel the writer wants to draw? That Taliban kill innocents but Canadians do to. (This isn’t a case of tit for tat, the Taliban are too weak and scared to attack soldiers that fight back, every time they do they DIE.)
What is the salient point that we are supposed to forget? That the Taliban TARGET innocents but that Canadians do their best, each and every time to avoid such accidents.
Cake Eaters… Watch out for them.
Friday, June 13, 2008
SOTCA
Never mind human rights violations, torture, executions, mass murder, extremist jihadists or totalitarianism... That little old lady in Windsor Castle is the real concern.
Eliminating freedom and prosperity, one industry at a time.
Filed under "credible source"; Seriously, anyone paying attention to our casualty rate in Afghanistan or to the effectiveness of the Taliban resistance knows that this is the Taliban begging for their lives from the bottoms of their little rat caves. The Mujahideen these losers are not.
Google Couillard, now tell me we'd still be paying attention to this crap if she looked like this.
"Mr. Poilievre also suggested aboriginals need to work harder rather than receive more money." The first casualty of politics is truth.
And Canada's status as a totalitarian banana munching state without free speech, castrated by corrupt star chambers, fed by pompous petty bureaucrats who have never really fought for a right in their lives grows... Fire. Them. All.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Signs of the Collectivist Apocalypse (SOTCA)
It is obvious to anyone who reads Atlas Shrugged, that throughout it, the policies and programs undertaken by the ubiquitous Thompson government and the so called Like the canary in the mineshaft I seek to warn you all that we may be looking at the same fate somewhere down the road.
So just to keep tabs on the situation I introduce a recurring theme to Uncommon Sense, a chirp here and there which I will call…
Signs of the Collectivist Apocalypse (SOTCA)
My first entry is about the US Treasury and a sweeping power grab by its new Head
The regulatory blueprint proposes eventually vesting new powers in the Federal Reserve as a "market stability regulator" -- effectively formalizing a role the central bank already has adopted recently by expanding the list of financial firms which can borrow directly.
It would give the Fed authority to demand that all financial system participants supply it with full information on their activities and grant the Fed a right to collaborate with other regulators in setting rules for their behavior.
Woosh!!! Super Finance Cop to the rescue!
Hold on a sec... Weren't these the same guys that were at least partially responsible for the sub-prime fiasco? Foxes in Hen houses anyone?
The great Cash and Cars Giveaway
WINDSOR, Ont. - Ford of Canada will use a $17-million investment from the Ontario government as part of a $168-million plan to reopen the Essex engine plant in southwestern Ontario, but the company warned Monday it will not expand the project further without direct participation from the federal government.
Excellent Dalton McSquirmy throwing good money after bad, just to be threatened by the Ford company that it will all be for naught if they don't get more!!!
It's almost like he wants to be the Premier of a have not province...
Sunday, March 16, 2008
It's All About The Oil!!!
Yes it is. There, feel better?
I do.
Now for the truly dense I’ll explain why. Bear with me, this next part involves actual principals of international relations, not just clichés and utopian cravings.
In this world there exists a concept we call sovereignty. The simple explanation of that notion for the purpose of this post is that nations have the right to act in and with their national self-interest in mind. There is nothing, no law, and no power that can usurp the ability of nations to exercise this self determination. The only thing limiting the ability of each nation to exert this sovereign power is their individual ability to back up their sovereignty with that other weapon in the arsenal of the modern state, the use of force.
Now, back to the war in Iraq. Yes, it is all about the oil. Eight out of the US’s top 15 oil suppliers hail from the Middle East. Those nations represent approximately 40% of the US’s oil supply. You do the math.
Oil is black gold, and in this case it is most certainly a major reason for the war. It is in the USA’s national self-interest to ensure that it has all the resources necessary to maintain the growth and stability of its economy. Today, tomorrow and always.
The US, acting in its self-interest needed to send a straightforward message to the nations of the Middle East. That message was “Do not screw with our supply”. It was delivered with shock and awe aforethought, it was not a mistake, there was no confusion, there was no failure of intelligence. The weapon of mass destruction that America feared was a threat to America’s supply of oil.
The preceding may have offended some sensibilities but I’m not done yet. You see America’s rough and ready pursuit of rational self-interest is also in our self interest. The US economy is the world’s largest economy; it is the engine of the world’s economy and our largest trading partner by far. If the cost to ensure the safety of that economy is one murderous dictator or one hundred it is well worth it.
So the next time some greasy utopian moron complains that it’s all about the oil, stop equivocating, repeat after me…
Yes it is.
Now for the truly dense I’ll explain why. Bear with me, this next part involves actual principals of international relations, not just clichés and utopian cravings.
In this world there exists a concept we call sovereignty. The simple explanation of that notion for the purpose of this post is that nations have the right to act in and with their national self-interest in mind. There is nothing, no law, and no power that can usurp the ability of nations to exercise this self determination. The only thing limiting the ability of each nation to exert this sovereign power is their individual ability to back up their sovereignty with that other weapon in the arsenal of the modern state, the use of force.
Now, back to the war in Iraq. Yes, it is all about the oil. Eight out of the US’s top 15 oil suppliers hail from the Middle East. Those nations represent approximately 40% of the US’s oil supply. You do the math.
Oil is black gold, and in this case it is most certainly a major reason for the war. It is in the USA’s national self-interest to ensure that it has all the resources necessary to maintain the growth and stability of its economy. Today, tomorrow and always.
The US, acting in its self-interest needed to send a straightforward message to the nations of the Middle East. That message was “Do not screw with our supply”. It was delivered with shock and awe aforethought, it was not a mistake, there was no confusion, there was no failure of intelligence. The weapon of mass destruction that America feared was a threat to America’s supply of oil.
The preceding may have offended some sensibilities but I’m not done yet. You see America’s rough and ready pursuit of rational self-interest is also in our self interest. The US economy is the world’s largest economy; it is the engine of the world’s economy and our largest trading partner by far. If the cost to ensure the safety of that economy is one murderous dictator or one hundred it is well worth it.
So the next time some greasy utopian moron complains that it’s all about the oil, stop equivocating, repeat after me…
Yes it is.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Shirlene You Jest...
"But what is more marvelous still is the bovine indifference of the hearing officer."And with reporting like that it is little wonder that Ezra Levant's verbal bolt gun has claimed its first victim...
c/o Lee Duigon @ MitchNews.com
Coming at it from Another Angle
As I was reading this, and planning to share it here, the thought occurred to me that some might find this opinion at odds with the proceeding post and the scorched earth ideal in general, but that is not necessarily so. Just as there is more than one strategy at play in our current shooting war in Afghanistan, then we too must use more than one strategy to win the cultural one at home.
J.S. Mill argued vocally that in order to understand any freedom or belief, we must allow those who do not to voice even the most odorous of thoughts in order, not only that we would have a better understanding of our beliefs through confrontation and argument but that the stupidity, ignorance and even evil of the other persons belief or position could be made apparent to them.
To that end, I finally bring you to the quote I wanted to show...
thanks to The Gods of the Copybook Headings
J.S. Mill argued vocally that in order to understand any freedom or belief, we must allow those who do not to voice even the most odorous of thoughts in order, not only that we would have a better understanding of our beliefs through confrontation and argument but that the stupidity, ignorance and even evil of the other persons belief or position could be made apparent to them.
To that end, I finally bring you to the quote I wanted to show...
thanks to The Gods of the Copybook Headings
"To win the war against Islamism we need only be ourselves and proclaim it loudly. At every turn denounce the violation of liberties and basic humanity. Every author censored, every women beaten, every daughter denied an education, in Karachi, in Tehran and in Mississauga. Speak loudly, speak boldly, have no fear of causing offense. The truth will set us and them free."
Friday, February 8, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Preemptive Solidarity
Let me be the first to express my support for David Warren in his upcoming Canadian Human Rights Commission inquisition.
No, it hasn't happened yet, I'm just hedging my bets over this.
It's spot on by the way.
No, it hasn't happened yet, I'm just hedging my bets over this.
It's spot on by the way.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Hubris or Horse Hooey?
Sometimes when I read things printed in and taken as news, and therefore gospel, in this myopic country of ours I wonder if the people writing it really believe the shit they shovel.
A prime example of the self-aggrandizing Canadian navel gazing graced the pages of the Ottawa Citizen today.
Oh, by the way NATO is headquartered in Brussels not Paris.
A prime example of the self-aggrandizing Canadian navel gazing graced the pages of the Ottawa Citizen today.
"The European media responded to the report with a yawn. At a downtown Paris newsstand, only the London-based Financial Times mentioned the report."Does Peter O'Neil really believe that when the Canadian government commissions a study about what WE as a nation should do in Afghanistan, that Europe in whole or in part should stand up and take notice? Bullshit. There's a better chance that if Canada as a nation passed gas that it would be noticed by Europe .
Oh, by the way NATO is headquartered in Brussels not Paris.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Liberal Newspeak 101: Withdrawal = Invasion
"Mr. Dion can't be serious to suggest NATO "intervene," in another country while
simultaneously saying Canada should abandon its United Nations-mandated NATO
mission in Afghanistan," he said in an e-mail.
"He has to explain to Canadians why he wants an "intervention" but wants to turn his back on
Afghanistan, which has asked and continues to ask for Canada's help. It's inane."
There you have it folks, an all too close look at the workings of Uncle Steph’s brain, where the moral imperative of removing our troops from harms way leads to the invasion of a nuclear power.
Friday, December 14, 2007
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