On business trip to Europe ... [snip] Vienna's first annual "March Against Racism and Discrimination." Blazoned signs read; "Say No to Fascism!; No Racism/No Discrimination! [snip]
... back in the lobby, Middle Eastern men, comfortably attired for the summer weather in shorts and tee shirts, stood next to their wives dressed in full length, jet-black burqas... [snip]
... there are groups in the world that still segregate and discriminate on the basis of gender, religion and nationality. They say things like, "Israel is a one bomb state", or "Behead those who defame the prophet!" They throw deadly riots on the basis of satirical cartoons, they even go so far as to summarily execute innocent people and publicize the event on the Internet.
How's that for an enemy of tolerance? How's that for a fight worth fighting? How's that for a stand that takes some guts and moral courage?
In reality, what the Left defines as discrimination is largely extinct and what constitutes real discrimination today is - thanks to their morally relative worldview - is off limits to even discuss...
[Recommended > ]
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Imaginary Courage
French minister denounces burqa
[credit where due:]
A Muslim member of the French government has backed a court's decision to deny citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears the burqa. Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara said she hoped last month's ruling would "dissuade certain fanatics from imposing the burqa on their wives". She told the newspaper, Le Parisien, the head-to-toe garment was a "prison"...
[tres bien]
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Doomed to a fatal delusion over climate change
Writing in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Joshua Wolf and Robert Salo of our Royal Children's Hospital say this delusion was a "previously unreported phenomenon".
"A 17-year-old man ... developed the belief that, due to climate change, his own water consumption could lead within days to the deaths of millions of people through exhaustion of water supplies." [snip]
But never mind the poor boy. What's scarier is that people in charge of our Government seem to suffer from this "climate change delusion", too. Here is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday, with his own apocalyptic vision:
"Australians must pay more for petrol, food and energy or ultimately face a rising death toll . . ."
Wow. Pay more for food or die. Is that Rudd's next campaign slogan?
Of course, we can laugh at this -- and must -- but the price for such folly may soon be your job, or at least your cash... [snip]
Indeed, so fast are the world's emissions growing -- by 3.1 per cent a year thanks mostly to these two giants [India, China] -- that the 20 per cent cuts Rudd demands of Australians by 2020 would be swallowed up in just 28 days. That's how little our multi-billions of dollars in sacrifices will matter...
[it's about money and power. Recommended > ]
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Oil shale to the rescue
Oil shale just might be this country's energy salvation.
The cost begins to make economic sense in an era of $145 a barrel for oil, researchers are coming up with technologies that just might alleviate the cost, and there is enough oil shale out there to keep our "energy-intensive lifestyles cruising well into the next century."
The quoted material comes from a thoughtful article in a magazine put out by the Colorado School of Mines, a superb engineering and science institution that also happens to be located in Golden.
The writer, Paul Roberts, notes that the "three trillion barrels of recoverable oil" in shale deposits are equal to all the liquid oil "known to have (ever) existed on our planet." Half of all of this, he says, is in the United States...
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OPEN WIDE
A new contract for dentists in Great Britain's government-run health care system is failing to improve services for patients, Members of Parliament have warned. Changes in the way dentists are paid means they effectively have no financial incentive to give appropriate treatment, the Commons Health Select Committee said.
- Under the new contract, dentists receive an agreed annual sum rather than being paid for each individual treatment.
- The committee found the number of dentists extracting a decaying tooth rather than carrying out a more complicated procedure had increased.
- As a result, the volume of more complex work like crowns, bridges and dentures has fallen by 57 percent.
Figures released last month showed that almost a million fewer people are now seeing an NHS dentist than before the Government's 'reforms'...
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BOOM VS. GLOOM
According to the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union, Ill. Sen. Barack Obama's fiscal agenda will cost $344 billion a year. The Illinois senator's plans include:
• A government health care system that would likely cost more than $100 billion a year.In addition, Obama plans to spend:
• A $1.7 billion Community Development Block Grant program featuring a full range of housing, job training, and community development services.
• An "Affordable Housing Trust Fund" costing $2.7 billion over five years.
• A "Making Work Pay" tax credit to offset Social Security taxes costing $308 billion over five years.
• Some $2.5 billion over 10 years in trade adjustment assistance for service workers.All this federal "assistance" will be of little aid to those it seeks to help if we have an economy crushed under the weight of hundreds of billions in new taxes, especially taxes on those who invest in the private sector, says Investor's Business Daily.
• Some $90 billion over five years for early and K-12 education.
• Some $29 billion over five years for a new college tax credit program.
• Some $35 billion to expand Pell grants for poor college students.
That will mean the have-nots will not have jobs.
[that's a boat load of billions. Evidently those too young to recall the disastrous consequences of Carter's fiscal policies will have to learn of them the painful way under an Obama presidency. Wouldn't it be cheaper to teach our children history?]READ MORE
CBS: ‘Coffers Are Not Full,’ Need More Taxes
At one point, Smith asked Fiorina:
"How do we do all of this stuff? And we're not making more money, the tax rolls are not growing, the coffers are not full. We're just talking about deficit -- if nobody's going to get taxed, isn't this just going to be deficit city?"In reality, government tax revenue has tripled since 1965 and since the Bush tax cuts took effect in 2003, corporate income tax revenue has reached its highest level in over 20 years.
Smith began the segment by touting a new CBS poll:
"a recent CBS News poll shows 78% of Americans think the economy is in bad shape."Considering the "Early Show’s" declaration of a recession last week it’s easy to understand such poll results.
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Immigrants find ways to detour license law
A month after Oregon's new driver's license rules went into
effect, illegal immigrants and their advocates are talking about ways to
get around it, and to get around.
One approach: Relocate to Vancouver or
elsewhere in Washington, where getting a driver's license is easier.
Others are carpooling, using public transit or getting rides from
friends and family, driving without a license or remaining in Oregon
until current licenses expire and then returning to their native
country...
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Media stars will accompany Obama overseas
[HT:ML]
Senator John McCain's trip to Iraq last spring was a low-key affair: With his ordinary retinue of reporters following him abroad, the NBC News anchor Brian Williams reported on his arrival in Baghdad from New York, with just two sentences tacked onto the "in other political news" portion of his newscast.
But when Obama heads for Iraq and other locations overseas this summer, Williams is planning to catch up with him in person, as are the other two evening news anchors, Charles Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, who, like Williams, are far along in discussions to interview Obama on successive nights.
[what bias?]
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ALTAMONT PASS SETTLEMENT FAILS TO REDUCE BIRD KILLS
California
A January 2007 settlement agreement intended to reduce the number of bird deaths from wind turbines at Altamont Pass, California is failing, say scientists who reported that the thousands of wind turbines at Altamont Pass are killing raptors and other birds at approximately the same pace as before the settlement.
- In the lawsuit, environmentalists cited a 2004 California Energy Commission report estimating between 1,766 and 4,721 birds were killed by Altamont wind turbines each year, equaling 47,682 to 127,467 birds over the 27-year life of the wind farm.
- The Audubon Society, a party to the lawsuit settled last year, noted among the birds deaths are between 456 and 1,129 raptors killed each year, including 75 to 116 golden eagles killed annually.
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One Nation No More?
The takeoff point for the argument is an observation about the uniqueness of America that was made by Thomas Jefferson -- and by myriad other worthies in the centuries since. They all have drawn attention to the fact that the national identity of America, unlike that of other countries, rests "not on a common ethnicity, but on a set of ideas."
And so, the Bradley scholars say, "knowing what America stands for is not a genetic inheritance. It must be learned, both by the next generation and by those who come to this country. In this way, a nation founded on an idea is inherently fragile." [snip]
What disturbs the Bradley scholars is evidence that our generation is failing to educate the next one on the essentials of the American experiment. "On the 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Civics Test," the report notes, "the majority of eighth graders could not explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. Only 5 percent of seniors could accurately describe the way presidential power can be checked by Congress and the Supreme Court." The authors also decry the fact that most colleges and universities allow students to graduate without ever taking a comprehensive course in American history and government. [snip]
When it comes to the treatment of immigrants, the Bradley team sees a real threat in such things as multilingual ballots and bilingual classes. Such accommodations to the growing diversity of the population could lead to "many Americas, or even no America at all," they maintain. "Historical ignorance, civic neglect and social fragmentation might achieve what a foreign invader could not..."
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Obama's Hypocrisy on School Vouchers
This New York Sun editorial today "Obama and the AFT" is an eye opener regarding the candidate's hypocritical stance on school vouchers.
The editorial points out that while Obama has said in the past that he would support school vouchers "if empirical research showed that they improved educational outcomes," now that he is the Democratic party nominee he has flipped another flop and said that he is against the idea of giving parents of poor kids the same chance to send their children to private schools as rich folk.
Obama said in prepared remarks before the American Federation of Teachers convention "What I do oppose is using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools; not throwing our hands up and walking away from them."
Obama himself has thrown up his hands and walked away from public schools because he sends his own two daughters to private schools.
Besides, there is plenty of "empirical research" as the editorial points out, that confirms the fact that vouchers improve public schools in areas where they are used by creating competitive pressure. But don't hold your breath waiting for Obama to change his position now that his criteria for supporting vouchers has been met.
Not as long as Democratic candidates are beholden to the teacher's unions for their support.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger under the gun to terminate California trans fat
FIRST cigarettes, now flaky pastry: Arnold Schwarzenegger is being asked to attack another health hazard by outlawing trans fat in California restaurants. There is rising concern that trans fat - a key ingredient in biscuits, crisps and other snacks - poses a public health risk on the scale of smoking...
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THE SWEDISH PARADOX
Sweden's exorbitant tax rates and extensive welfare system are well know throughout the world. Even low-and-middle-income earners in Sweden pay 60 to 70 percent in taxes.
Indeed, the culture of opportunity which rose out of lowered taxes, deregulation and the country's move away from socialism in the 1980s has given way to a debilitating "culture of entitlement." Yet, there is a compelling way to reform Sweden's welfare system - as is being proven with the free-market being used to reform Sweden's school system:
- Sweden introduced school vouchers in 1992 and almost 10 percent of Swedish students in compulsory schools are now in independent schools.
- After the establishment of independent schools, Sweden has seen an increase in overall efficiency in the school system.
- Academic studies have measured higher grades and downward costs within the system.
New sport combines boxing and chess
BERLIN - Nikolay Sazhin almost knocked out his opponent with a blow to the chin in the second round. But he had to take the queen to win the match. In front of 1,000 cheering fans one recent Saturday night, Sazhin moved his bishop to go in for the kill and won the world championship of chess boxing, a weird hybrid sport that combines as many as five rounds of pugilism with a game of chess...
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Foreign Courts Take Aim at Our Free Speech
Action
... Under American law, a libel plaintiff must prove that defamatory material is false. In England, the burden is reversed. Disputed statements are presumed to be false unless proven otherwise. And the loser in the case must pay the winner's legal fees. Consequently, English courts have become a popular destination for libel suits against American authors.
In 2003, U.S. scholar Rachel Ehrenfeld asserted in her book, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It," that Saudi banker Khalid Bin Mahfouz helped fund Osama bin Laden. The book was published in the U.S. by a U.S. company. But 23 copies were bought online by English residents, so English courts permitted the Saudi to file a libel suit there.
Ms. Ehrenfeld did not appear in court, so Mr. Bin Mahfouz won a $250,000 default judgment against her. He has filed or threatened to file at least 30 other suits in England.
Fear of a similar lawsuit forced Random House U.K. in 2004 to cancel publication of "House of Bush, House of Saud," a best seller in the U.S. that was written by an American author. In 2007, the threat of a lawsuit compelled Cambridge University Press to apologize and destroy all available copies of "Alms for Jihad," a book on terrorism funding by American authors. The publisher even sent letters to libraries demanding that they destroy their copies, though some refused to do so... [snip]
To counter this lawsuit trend, we [Specter, R. Pennsylvania, Lieberman, ID Connecticut] have introduced the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008, a Senate companion to a House bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete King (R., N.Y.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.)...
[Recomended >
READ MORE then >
"Free Speech Protection Act of 2008"
Your Senator http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
