Oh, Ye Of Little Faith

Some people think we are kidding about the Animal Uprising™. Other people, like TC's vegan friend, think we here in the Crabitat are insane. We hasten to point out that the overly-long sleeved white coats are very stylish. The nice men who fitted us assured us of that. The only drawback is that it is very difficult - and painful - to type with one's nose. And don't get us started about how ugly the resultant nose tip callous is. But now, we have video proof about the menace of the animals. This is not for the weak of heart or the overly soft-headed animal lovers. Sleep well after watching this, my pretties!

Um….

Nice marketing ploy. Meaningless, if you bother to read the article, however:

Group begins 'terror-free' oil sales

OMAHA, Neb. - Claiming U.S. dollars used to purchase gasoline made from Middle East oil funds terrorism, a group called the Terror-Free Oil Initiative opened the nation's first "terror-free" gas station.

The Coral Springs, Fla.-based group opened its first station Thursday in west Omaha, seeking to sell only gas that originates from countries that do not support terrorism and from oil companies that don't do business in the Middle East.

Sinclair Oil Corp., which operates truck stops and gas stations throughout the Midwest and the West, will be the initial supplier, said Terror-Free Oil spokesman Joe Kaufman.

Dalton Kehlbeck, a regional manager for Salt Lake City-based Sinclair, said most of the company's oil comes from the U.S. or Canada, but some is bought on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where oil from all over the world is traded.

"It's a basket of crude oil," he said of the exchange oil. "We cannot be sure where the conglomeration of the product comes from."

I'm all for not sending money to terror supporting states, believe me. But this is kind of silly, isn't it? Oil is fungible. What we do not use from terror supporting states will be purchased by other nations. If everyone stopped buying any crude oil product from the Middle East, the price of "non-terror"oil would skyrocket. And if the "non-terror" gas stations take off, who is to say the suppliers wont meet demand with "terror" oil? 

Liberalism?

I have not touched base with Klein Verzet in a while. I actually am kind of wishing I hadn't after reading about this. (It is not Klein Verzet's fault).

Gert Hekma teaches gay and lesbian studies in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He also organizes this years Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam, where for the first time ever, there will be a float for children between the ages of 12-17. And he has some strong views on adult-child sexual relations (NL):

I think children need to be forced. Children are obnoxious creatures one needs to set straight once every while, including about sex

I really do not know how to respond to this. Just when you think the Netherlands has hit rock bottom, somebody like Hekma is coming out of the woodworks and does a little digging of his own.

Never mind the obvious regressive thinking in a society where boys from an early age learn that 'No means no'. The quote given above is so blatantly predatory, it so openly justifies childmolesting, that it beggars belief. Especially in light of the position of this 'man'.

To get the full view of the thinking of Hekma (how on Gods sweet Earth did a creature like this EVER attain tenure. I think we can disqualify UvA as a serious institution of learning if they continue to throw money away on the likes of Hekma) take a gander at this here, A long lament Hekma made at Harvard U. about the Netherlands not being liberal enough (to his taste, anyway).

Charming person, no? How do you say "waste of oxygen" in Dutch? Does the left in this country even bother to think where they are heading?

This Might Interest Regular Readers

I don't think I have ever pointed back to an earlier post in quite this way. Regular readers might be interested in the update to an earlier post, however. I did the update just to address an incoming link from a left-leaning site.

Damage Control

William Arkin, whether on his own or under pressure from the outcry he caused or from his editors has made a sort of apology for the storm he brought down on himself. Actually, had he written this post in place of the first one, he would never have ignited the entire thing in the first place. Does he have some valid points worthy of discussion? Sure. But his first post called the troops "mercenaries." His second post called anyone who took exception to that as "arrogant and intolerant." He has apologized for the first but not the second.

But in neither of my two responses was I particularly hard on Arkin. Others were. Oh, I poked him pretty hard and had some fun at his expense, but I didn't want him to shut up. His opinion is as valid as anyone else's. I frankly think he should be able to speak his mind and not have to fear being "silenced", as he put it. Nor do I think the troops he criticized earlier wanted to silence him, despite his taking their words to mean that. In his latest post he tries, rather more clearly and without as much of the venom, to get his points across. Good for him, that is what discourse is supposed to be. Not shouting down those who disagree with you. Not trying to enforce your view as a stone tablet handed down from on high that cannot be argued with. Not insulting, in vitriolic terms, the very people who guarantee your right to say what you do.

To be very clear here, some folks are calling for Arkin's head (figuratively, of course - anyone doing so literally should be jailed). That is wrong. If you think he's being an ass, call him on it. Argue with him, beat his points down one by one and give him a chance to defend himself and beat your points down in turn. I do not particularly think Arkin did himself proud with his last two posts, but he has a right to express himself. We all have a right to express our complete disgust, dismay, anger or contempt for his words. That is part of what the troops, through the years, have purchased for us with their very blood. That is the thing we all benefit from.

Now, Arkin, in his latest post, simply takes the position that he is right because the war has failed. He does not even admit the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he is wrong. Now is that human nature: to believe your beliefs are right and others are misguided? Sure. Is his presumption on the state of the war also disagreed with - vehemently - by others? Sure. And do those others think that their opinions are correct? Oh yeah. I happen to be one of them. Do I believe the media has made dragging the administration down job one, no matter what the cost to the nation? Hell, yes I do.

But Arkin has, at least, backed off from the worst of his rhetoric. It is probably a good time to let the matter drop rather than look like a virtual lynch mob.

UPDATE: Blackfive himself taking on the whole controversy on Fox News. And he does a great job of pointing out why Arkin is dead wrong on a lot of things. And addressing and defeating the arguments of people like Arkin are the best solution.

Update: Should have done a H/T to AllahPundit for the video.

Gore Makes His Play, Part Two

Al Gore nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

"A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference," Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

Brende said he joined political opponent Heidi Soerensen of the Socialist Left Party to nominate Gore as well as Canadian Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier before the nomination deadline expired Thursday.

"Al Gore, like no other, has put climate change on the agenda. Gore uses his position to get politicians to understand, while Sheila works from the ground up," Brende said.

Yep, nothing whatsoever to do with peace. But then, that isn't at all unusual for the Nobel committee, is it?

UPDATE: Others equally impressed: EU Referendum, Brutally Honest, Jay Currie, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Texas Rainmaker, Brandywine Books, Sister Toldjah, Say Anything, Suitably Flip, My Dog's Nose, Jules Crittenden,

An Update On Freddy

We closely followed the heartwarming story of Freddy, the severed human hand last year, bringing our readers timely updates as the saga unfolded in New Jersey. To recap briefly, police visited the home of a stripper exotic dancer terpsichorean ecdysiast named Linda Kay. She wasn't home, but several of her friends were. Six human skulls and Freddy, to be exact. Freddy was kept in a jar of formaldehyde on the dresser in a bedroom. The police, naturally, were interested in talking to the person who had provided Ms. Kay with Freddy. That person was just convicted of stealing the hand and handing it out to Ms. Kay.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A doctor pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing a severed hand, which he gave to a stripper who displayed it in her New Jersey apartment.

Ahmed Rashed faces five years probation for stealing the hand in 2002 from a cadaver at a New Jersey medical school, an assistant prosecutor for Middlesex County said on Thursday.

No word on the terpsichorean ecdysiast with the odd hobby, though. We'll keep you posted.

Wings Of Plague!

The British, already under siege by rats are now under siege by rats. But these are the amphibious flying rats sometimes incorrectly called "Gulls". The Animal Uprising has big, big plans for Truro. They have unleashed a campaign of winged terror the likes of which the residents have ever seen.

A CAMPAIGN to tackle the problem of urban gulls has been launched by a city councillor who says the flying menace is a plague on the streets of Truro.

Rob Nolan says the gull's are becoming increasingly more daring and are now snatching pasties out of people's hands.

"Local government can't ignore the gulls forever," he said. "They've resorted to getting a trained falcon in at St Ives, but that doesn't appear to be working."

From the shop-fronts, where keeping the windows clean is proving to be impossible, to the piazza, where Coun Nolan has heard protests about gulls "repeatedly snatching pasties off people," the marauding birds are becoming more than just a nuisance.

Coun Nolan is asking for a focus on education. "The idea is to find out how they're dealing with the problem up country. There's no quick fix," he said. "We could just go around shooting all the gulls in Truro - but within a month, all the birds from Falmouth will have moved in."

The problems are bad enough around the town - but if a seagull chooses to make its nest in your home, there's no escape, said Coun Nolan.

"The gulls in St Ives are worst. They'll stand up to you there. But some people love them! They'll stand there feeding them in the garden. Often people are unaware of the problems they cause to others. The council needs to sit down and take specific action."

In 1996 Bristol had 2,000 breeding pairs. In 2006, 22,000. They forecast 218,000 by 2014. This is more than the current total UK gull population.

Successful Gaza Ceasefire Claims Six Lives, 70 Wounded

You have got to be working at it to be this obtuse:

Gaza truce in jeopardy as six Palestinians killed

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Six Palestinians were killed as new clashes threatened to destroy a three-day truce between warring factions Fatah and Hamas and shooting spread like wildfire through the Gaza Strip.

The trouble erupted outside the entrance to the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in the heart of the territory, where a presidential guardsman loyal to Fatah was shot dead when Hamas gunmen ambushed a supply convoy from Egypt.

The man was identified as 24-year-old Ramadan al-Mushallah from Force 17, loyal to Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmud Abbas.

Three more presidential guard members were killed in continued fighting in Nuseirat and altogether 70 people were wounded in Gaza, medical sources said.

A fifth Palestinian was killed in the northern town of Jabaliya where shooting broke out between Hamas militants and intelligence officers loyal to Fatah as violence spread elsewhere across the radicalised Gaza Strip.

The sixth, a member of Hamas's security forces, was killed in a gunbattle in Gaza City.

Six dead and 70 wounded and the ceasefire is "in jeopardy". Gee, you think? This new media speak is so confusing. Like the new AP definition of "destroyed".

On Arrogance And Intolerance

It would appear that William Arkin simply cannot resist digging himself a deeper hole after hitting bottom. I purposely did not pile on him yesterday as so many had already done a grand job of it. Arkin does one decent thing in today's post, that is to withdraw and apologize for his use of the word "mercenary" to describe American soldiers. From there, however, he is off and excavating like a gopher on crack.

Well, one thing's abundantly clear about who will actually defend our rights to say what we believe: It isn't the hundreds who have written me saying they are soldiers or veterans or war supporters or real Americans — who also advise me to move to another country, to get f@##d, or to die a painful, violent death.

Contrary to the typically inaccurate and overstated assertion in dozens of blogs, hundreds of comments, and thousands of e-mails I've received, I've never written that soldiers should "shut up," quit whining, be spit upon, or that they have no right to an opinion.

I said I was bothered by the notion that "the troops" were somehow becoming hallowed beings above society, that they had an attitude that only they had the means - or the right - to judge the worthiness of the Iraq endeavor.

I was dead wrong in using the word mercenary to describe the American soldier today.

These men and women are not fighting for money with little regard for the nation. The situation might be much worse than that: Evidently, far too many in uniform believe that they are the one true nation. They hide behind the constitution and the flag and then spew an anti-Democrat, anti-liberal, anti-journalism, anti-dissent, and anti-citizen message that reflects a certain contempt for the American people.

What I've heard ever since my article "The Troops Also Need to Support the American People" was published on Tuesday are a lot of people telling ME to shut up and be grateful for the sacrifices others are making.

I never said we shouldn't support the troops. I just lamented that "we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?"

Arkin presents a lot of hand picked quotes from a number of people who have left him comments or sent emails. I will only say this about his complaints about those people's words: some were harsh, ill considered or needlessly nasty. Welcome to the blogosphere, Mr. Arkin. That is not an uncommon occurrence. It isn't a particularly good side of this medium sometimes, but the ones he quoted were significantly less abusive than some that I get here if I happen to skewer one of the left's sacred cows. I presume he left off the obscene ones. I am quite sure he got a few of those.

But regardless of whatever points Arkin's original post made, some of which are legitimate points to discuss, he chose to use an inflammatory, ill considered and outright hostile term against the troops. And it surprises him that the use of that word incites extreme reactions? How long has he been in the journalism field? Yes a few people went overboard in replying to him. That does not negate the criticism of those who did not go to extremes. I notice he did not try to quote some of the people who methodically destroyed the bulk of his original post. He only mentioned people who were extremely angry with him.

Arkin has an obvious and blatant dislike for the administration as he again shows in the close of his post. That's his right, one which the soldiers he maligned have secured for him. But that does not give him the right to shut down other people who do not share his opinion. Nor does his opinion bear one bit more legitimacy than other's opinions. He appears to be arguing that his opinion is correct because many people share it. Many people once thought the Earth to be flat, too. There is also the fresh, overbearing insult he levels at the troops in the last sentence of his post. That one will elicit even more abuse, that I am quite sure of.

I again invite readers to peruse Arkin's latest screed and then compare it to the words of my son, who is serving his second, extended tour in Iraq. Readers may judge for themselves who is arrogant and intolerant.

UPDATE: Oh, man. If Arkin thought he'd gotten bashed around before, this one just poured a tanker full of gasoline on the fire. Others, already (Note: I tried pretty hard to round up a lot of different blogs on this and the last post, some are new to me, but quite interesting. Take a look if you get a chance.): Simply Kimberly, Blackfive, Sister Toldjah, Andrew Olmsted, AJ Strata, PJM, How Deserted Lies The City,  Java Zen, Candy Slice of Life, Rick Moran, LGF, A Jacksonian, Villainous Company, bRight and Early, CDR Salamander, QandO, Zen Pundit, Brandodojo, Confederate Yankee, Jules Crittenden, Pink Flamingo Bar, Urban Grounds, Transterrestrial Musings, Leaning Straight Up, Don Surber, Redstate, Mac's Mind, GTL, Wake Up America, Ray Robison, Jammie Wearing Fool, 7.62mm Justice, Texas Rainmaker, STACLU, Winds of Change, Blue Star Chronicles, Decision 08, American Pundit, The Eyrie,

Fabulous Management!

The New York Times is reporting the amazing results of its fabulous management team. It is absolutely stunning how well their strategy is working out! Why, at this rate, the Grey Lady will sink completely within a year!

A $648 MILLION dollar loss in the 4th quarter. Alone.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times Co. posted a $648 million loss for the fourth quarter on Wednesday as it absorbed an $814.4 million charge to write down the value of its struggling New England properties, The Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
The company said the non-cash charge reflected declines in current and projected results at the newspapers, which have been hit hard by the consolidations of key advertisers in the New England area as well as greater competition from online media.

The company originally paid $1.1 billion for the Globe in 1993 and $296 million for the Worcester paper in 2000.

The Times reported a loss amounting to $4.50 a share for the October- December period. It earned $63.1 million, or 43 cents a share, a year ago.

Yup, that is some good management there.

Swedish Police Foil Plot

Swedish police have broken up the latest terror plot from the Animal Uprising™. The Animal warlords had planned to duplicate their recent success in Britain. In that case, two swans were able to stop a commuter train long enough for the rats to board it to carry out a robbery. The Swedes found eleven swans hiding out with their human accomplice in downtown Stockholm. Imagine the damage they could have wrought had they carried through with their plans.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - An elderly Swedish woman has taken animal protection too far by sheltering 11 full grown swans in her small, city centre apartment, police said on Thursday.

She said she had been looking after the birds in her 25 square metre (270 sq ft) apartment in Stockholm since 2001 after they had been injured. Police took the swans to a shelter and the woman could face charges under animal protection laws.

Eleven swans in a 270 square foot apartment? We don't want to know how deep it was in there.

Party Like It’s 1979

Iran kicked off ten days of celebrations commemorating Jimmy Carter's withdrawal of support for the Shah of Iran, thereby kicking the props out from under the government. Oh, they phrased it a bit differently, calling it the victory of Khomeini's revolution. But they are promising a really big announcement about their nuclear program in ten days to wrap up the festivities.

Iranian officials have promised a major announcement of progress in its controversial programme during the 10-day celebration, but leaders first focused on emphasising Iran's defiance in the nuclear standoff and its position of strength.

"The language of sanctions belongs to the past," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said as he paid tribute at the shrine of the 1979 revolution's late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

"Iran is a powerful nation with extensive ties and other nations will support us even if they are pressured," he added, flanked by Khomeini's grandson Hassan.

Sanctions "will not affect a great nation. We have expanding economic ties and they can, at most, be just an irritation to our people.

"Our nation has always moved in a lawful, peaceful direction and it seeks to exercise its definitive inalienable rights," said Ahmadinejad, referring to Iran's oft-repeated insistence that it will not halt uranium enrichment.

Tehran has defied calls to suspend enrichment, rejecting US allegations it wants nuclear weapons and insisting its atomic drive is solely aimed at producing energy.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December imposing sanctions on Iran for its refusal to freeze enrichment although the measures are not seen as far-reaching enough to hurt Iran's wider economy.

Unfortunately, all the reported political unrest with Iran recently doesn't appear to have changed much in that country's attitudes or policies.

Forming The Betting Pool

Joe Biden launched his bid for the presidency yesterday. It was, how shall we put this delicately, a freaking disaster for him. And the media is kicking the crap out of him today for his remarks about their new messiah,  Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON - Blowhard Sen. Joe Biden yesterday damaged his long-shot presidential bid on the day he launched it by making inflammatory comments about Barack Obama - and slapping Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards.

Biden, a six-term Delaware Democrat who formally became a presidential contender yesterday, made a controversial remark, claiming Obama was the first "clean" black presidential candidate.

Obama is the "first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man," Biden told the New York Observer.

He also said Clinton's Iraq plan is a "disaster" and that Edwards doesn't know "what the heck he is talking about."

But it was the derisive slap at Obama's race that set Capitol Hill abuzz, and prompted the normally verbose Biden to button up.

So, how long do you think it will be before Biden formally bows out? Any guesses? The pool is open!

The Crisis In Courage

John Kyl, US Senator from Arizona, has an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor that I highly recommend reading completely. It captures the essential failure that is happening in the West today as we confront islamists and rogue states. It is something that has been seen and commented on in the past as well.

WASHINGTON - In a speech to Harvard University's graduating class of 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn attacked the West's weak confrontation of communism. His words remain instructive today as we face a different ideological threat.

Mr. Solzhenitsyn warned that "The Western world has lost its civil courage…" and rhetorically asked, "Should one point out that from ancient times decline in courage has been considered the beginning of the end?" He lamented that "[N]o weapons, no matter how powerful, can help the West until it overcomes its loss of willpower."

Solzhenitsyn's beliefs in faith and courage undoubtedly drew the attention of a new generation of leaders. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II – like the giants of America's founding – came to their positions of authority at a historically propitious time and helped supply the essential willpower of which Solzhenitsyn spoke. Under their strong leadership, communism collapsed, democracy and free-market economies gained currency, and liberty seemed to be on the march worldwide.

I think that is why history has been so kind to Reagan and Thatcher. They stood against that tide of defeatism that the Carter presidency epitomizes. That is why voters so resoundingly threw Carter out of office. It would be a really, really good thing for our politicians to remember. Please read the whole thing, it is well worth your time.