Isaac Schrödinger

Whoa!

I heart America.

Nightmare on Ground Zero

John Derbyshire:

Through the kind offices of a friend at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, I have gained access to some draft discussion plans for the proposed International Freedom Center. The following are extracts from a fictional document titled “Outline Design Specification, IFC — Provisional (incomplete).” I am glad to be able to share them with NRO readers.

I found this part illuminating:

Mural at left wall:  Montage of images — religious buildings, worshippers, etc. Mosque prominent at center. Crowd scenes at Ganges festivals, Ka’aba, etc. Big head shot Dalai Lama. Continues to: Images of religious persecution — Salem burnings, Orange Riots, Holocaust. [Did RT have any luck finding images of Muslims beaten post-9/11? Wd. be real neat.]

Yeah, neat.

No Fairy Tale Ending Today

The Bangladeshis are actually making the Australians work for their precious runs. Unlike their last encounter when they were crushed by 10 wickets.

29 runs needed off 5 overs for the Australians. They'll make it with their pride intact.

VERY Ugly

Manchester United? Is that like a fruit company?

May As Well

Jordan or Syria go bye-bye soon. I am hoping it's Syria. I hate Baathists.

Dopes

Tim Blairs perfectly titles this post.

B.O. Suffers

Bruce Wayne failed to reverse this trend.

Another Brick in...

The Wall.

Damn straight.

The Dark Lord Speaketh

Darth Spencer spews his vitriol and makes it increasingly hard for Jihadists to be tolerated by the West. That bastard!

Don't You Dare Question his Patriotism

Even when he wants US soldiers to frag their comrades.

Link via Lorie Byrd.

The Fourth World War

A very apt analogy by a friend of Omar:

... he described this war in an interesting way, he said "this war is much like a fierce boxing match; you punch and you get punched but even if you're stronger than your opponent you should not allow him to catch his breath at any round because he might then give you a surprising punch when the next round begins and knocks you down".

Our present Great War will ebb and flow but we must be vigilant and persevere.

This is how not to fight this war.

Brief and to the Point

The Sun has earned my respect:

Good on ya.

Jonah's My Hero

He wrote a truly inspiring and heart-felt column.

*sniff*

I heart Jonah. Well, not in that way.

Islamism in Bangladesh

The caption of a ricksha art photo:

Jihad images from Comilla town (near Chittagong), spring 2004. Photo by Kazi Huq, He reported that these Jihad images are all over town.

You'll see the pious Osama bin Laden and the devout Saddam Hussein in that photo. Two good Muslim boys, that's all.

Here's another caption of a ricksha art photo:

Bin Laden Jihad image on backboard of Comilla ricksha, Spring 2004. Photo by Kazi Huq. The popularity of such images in the pious town of Comilla is evidence of growing Islamism in Bangladesh.

[Emphasis mine]

The photo from the previous link was displayed at this post titled 'Islamism in Bangladesh'. Israelpundit showed the photo with the same title.

Yet, Rezwan refers to Israelpundit's post as a typical Bangladesh bashing. It isn't. We're bashing Islamism. It just so happens that this ricksha art was from Bangladesh. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same, ahem, art in Pakistan.

View the entire gallery. It doesn't bode well for a society when the photos of actors, actresses, and landmarks are displayed alongside with a mass murderer and an Islamist terrorist. Let's take a look at this photo (caption mentioned above):

Who but an Islamist would find this kosher? The two monsters are shown as Islamic heroes. Note the mosque in the background and Saddam's open palms in prayer/dua. I think that a sizable number of Bangladeshis, dare I say a majority, view Osama and Saddam as victims of the US rather than as perpetrators of terror.

Rezwan might well know hundreds of Bangladeshis who are not Islamist but that doesn't change the fact that there is an ever-present influence of Islamism in Bangladesh.

For example, read this article on the torching of an Ahmadiyya mosque in Bangladesh. The article presents sane, non-Islamist, views from Bangladesh as well.

Appearances

Colin Meade:

It is a fact that very many people in both Europe and the Middle East are possessed by a burning need to annihilate the Jewish state of Israel. One of the most popular tactics used to prevent discussion of the reasons behind this bizarre obsession is the argument that "Yes, we are opposed to antisemitism, but we must also be opposed to Islamophobia".

This false equivalence confuses rational criticism of and comment on things which really exist - Islam and the behaviour of individuals and regimes claiming to act on its behalf - with the exposure and rejection of paranoid fantasies about Jews and Israel.

[Emphasis mine]

Another word for this flavor of blunt talk would be Orientalism. MSM tries to be balanced by referring to Islamist terrorists as insurgents or rebels. While most academics praise the Islamic civilization of the past so as not to appear as Orientalist. That is extremely pathetic and dangerous. The very institutions and people who should be illuminating the Muslim world are, de facto, helping the Islamists.

The Islamists have the will to fight but have limited means. The situation is reversed for the West.

Read the last lucid paragraph.

Sweeet

Just look at the Thinkpad.

[Holding back tears]

It's a work of art.

Reality and Perspective

I linked about this Aussie earlier. Now, Michael Totten has a few words for Andrew Jaspan who was offended by Douglas Wood. What was the heinous crime committed by Wood? He called his terrorist kidnappers, who beat him up and killed Iraqis in front of him, 'assholes'.

Michael links to this post where Callimachus talks about the state of journalism over the years. Quite sad really.

Total Suckage

Engadget:

Owners of DTLA 307-015, 020, 030, 045, 060, or the 075 are entitled to a Benny thanks to a nationwide class action settlement enacted today—you’ve got until August 29, 2005 to file, fools.

Damn it! This only applies to the US. I live in (d)oh Canada. I had the misfortune of not one but two IBM Deathstars. A 45GB and a 75GB model died on me. Bloody hell!

I want ma gravy!

Telstra Customer Service

I downloaded this mp3 [342 KB] two days ago; unfortunately, I don't remember* the site/blog. Anyway it's short and good.

* Where credit is Jew.

Spontaneous Suffering

Julia Gorin:

I am now also open to the possibility that Palestinians aren't responsible for exploding Jews at all. Just look at the disparity between these two Reuters headlines: "Israel Kills Three Militants" vs. "Bus Blows Up in Central Jerusalem." In other words, the Jews are suffering too, but apparently what they suffer from is spontaneous combustion.

That explains it! Allah is not happy with them.

Scary

Washington Times:

The FBI has been unable to find out who in the U.S. government supplied China with secrets on every deployed nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, including the W-88, the small warhead used on U.S. submarine-launched nuclear missiles.

[Emphasis mine]

How could anyone even get access to all of this information?

Also see this article. I wrote a small research paper on the Chinese economy in 2001. I was surprised by the massive difference in the workings of the economy in 1978 and in 2000. Over the course of two decades the Communists had transformed the whole country from communism to fascism. An Interesting tidbit: the Chinese regime allowed small private businesses called getihu from 1978 but with a small caveat. A maximum of 8 people could work in a getihu. Of course, this asinine law was modified later.

Yet, I still read of people referring to China as communist over the past few years. Finally, it's being acknowledged openly that China is no longer a communist state. It's a fascist one. In my book that's more dangerous because we have a combination of unaccountable regime elites and a rapidly growing economy. Add a dash of nationalism and we get a disaster-in-the-making.

The Japanese and Australians must be viewing China with great concern. Of the Western nations, these two will bear the brunt of Chinese aggression.

A Lileks Screed

The Unbearable Absence of Perspective.

Raising Sissies

No kidding:

“I often get students who say, ‘I feel that you are stupid.’ ”

I wonder why. On second thought, I don't. Reason #3462 for home schooling.

The plot gets thicker:

What the hell is this pedophile doing anywhere near schoolkids?

And why the f' does PBS inflict this no-talent douche-band's horrific music on us in "very special" concerts three f'n' times a year?

Come on Ace, stop it with the ridicule. You might hurt someone's feelings. That's like the worst thing ever.

Links via Michelle Malkin.

Thank You

President Bush:

“In this time of testing, our troops can know: The American people are behind you. Next week, our Nation has an opportunity to make sure that support is felt by every soldier, sailor, airman, coast guardsman, and Marine at every outpost across the world. This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom — by flying the flag … sending letters to our troops in the field … or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a website — AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about private efforts in your own community. At this time when we celebrate our freedom, let us stand with the men and women who defend us all.”

This blog supports the US military.

The Cycle of Lunacy

The strip via JWR:

Submission

Victor Charlie:

I’ve spent some time clicking through the various American-based message boards where Muslims can submit their queries to muftis and await a fatwa. I find the questions to be fascinating. As far as I know, there is no equivalent for Theravada Buddhists. The questions asked speak to how much Islam is a part of the lives of devout followers and of the lives of those seeking to be more devout. I am nominally Buddhist, I would say, having grown up in secular nations. Most of the questions asked on the Islamic message boards would never occur to me; I do some of the things asked about without any thought to the religious implications. They are not moral questions for me in the way that they are for some of these Muslims.

[Italics mine]

Do read the entire post to view a few questions. Now, good Muslims follow these rules very well. Note that this is in the US. Imagine on top of these restrictions, the various laws in the Middle East and other Islamist regimes. For example, the complete covering up of women, death for alcohol consumption, chopping off of hands for stealing, etc. It is truly insane.

Islam, like any other religion, provides not only a moral compass but completely controls a person's behavior and preferences. Of course, most Muslims don't follow all the rules. For example, sports were banned in the purely Islamic Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Yet, even wretched regimes like Saudi Arabia don't ban soccer or tennis or cricket. Of course, women are barred from participation in any sport. As hard as it may seem, modern Islam is less restricted as it used to be. Though, it's still centuries behind the West.

I understand how Victor Charlie feels since I have read countless number of these questions in magazines and newspapers in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Here are a few samples with some answers from memory. These questions were in Urdu:

• My wife's mother gave me a gold ring. Isn't it haraam (forbidden) for men to wear gold? What should I do?
• I got a job last year. I'm going to be making a healthy living in the future (Inshallah). I want to deposit my money in the bank but the bank loans out money and charges interest. Is it still alright for me to deposit money in that bank? (Charging interest is forbidden in Islam)
• My son is into computers. He likes to take pictures and edits them. I know it's haraam to take pictures. But since he doesn't print the pictures but only uses them on the computer, is that okay?
• Is the celebration of birthdays allowed? (The answer: NO. Reason: celebrating a birthday is an infidel tradition; it has no basis in Islam)
• My son wants to get a dog as a pet. Is that allowed? (The answer: NO. Reason: the tradition of infidel; a dog can be used for watching over property)
• My boss is very happy with my performance and gave me a gift: silk ties. Should I return them or sell them? (For men, wearing silk is haraam)

And on and on it goes. Decisions, that have absolutely nothing to do with morality, are made by self-appointed Maulvis, Muftis, and Mullahs. There might be a new and innovative business or a promising technology which is DOA because it's haraam. An aspiring youngster who loves photography or plays a musical instrument or likes to draw people (gasp) has tremendous pressure to not pursue his/her dreams. Why? Because Islam doesn't permit it. Such restrictions murder individual growth and societal dynamism.

Yet, there are fools who think that all cultures are equal.

Hindi Movies and Computers

The following is a parody of Hindi movie titles. If you're not familiar with Hindi, then don't bother reading further. Now, the fun begins:

HAMARAH HARDISK APP KE PAAS HAI
HUM APP KI MEMORY MAIN RAHTAY HAIN
HUM HAIN PROGRAMMER ORACLE KE
PROGRAMMER NO. 1
JAVA WALAY JOB LAY JAIN GAY
LOGIN KAROO SAJNA
FIREWALL(BORDER)
DOWN TO HONA HI THA
KAHO NA VIRUS HAI

More good stuff at this blog.

Net Trouble

This has got to suck:

Internet in Pakistan is facing problems as accoridng to PTCL an undersea Optic Fibre Cable has been damaged.

Businesses and geeks hit the hardest.

Quoting Koran = Inciting Hatred

"UK: Quoting Koran Could Be Illegal Under Proposed UK Bill, Lawmaker Says," is the title of this post at Dhimmi Watch.

Extreme Respect

I remember once we had to cut our cricket game short in Saudi Arabia. I would go out with my friends at around 8am to play the game. But on this one day, the temperature soared to 50^oC (122^oF) by 10am. Add to that over 90% humidity. Now, we could still play cricket at around 46^oC (115^oF) but this was too much. The vigor and stamina just seeped out of our bodies. We unanimously decided to call it a day at 10am.

My home was two blocks away from the ground, yet on the way I stopped sweating. I felt incredibly dizzy by the time I got home. My mother saw me and knew right away that something was wrong. I was burning up. She quickly got some water, added glucose to it and had me drink it. I laid on my bed with the air conditioner on for about half an hour before I got enough energy to get up.

I could still go out in that extreme temperature to buy groceries, get a haircut or wash the car but any real physical activity was out of the question. That's why it's truly amazing to see the American soldiers in Iraq wear their helmet and kevlar and carry around their weapons and ammo in such inhumane conditions. Add to that waking up in a pool of sweat. The American soldier takes a lot of heat for us.

Highly Innovative

Tom's Hardware:

Each team in the F1 uses a different, custom-developed steering wheel. The similarities usually end with the fact that they all are detachable, built out of carbon fiber and integrate a small, PDA-like PC. For example, Ferrari uses one of the most complex devices, integrating 26 different buttons and switches plus a display. Sauber's steering wheel shows "just" 18 buttons and switches plus a display. The teams declined to comment on the exact cost of such a steering wheel, but a Sauber spokesperson told us that "you could buy a small Mercedes for it."

I couldn't help but be mighty impressed by the advanced level of technology used in F1 cars. There is also an AMD vs. Intel angle. Plus, Michael Schumacher makes an appearance. Read the article from the start.

The Meaning of Freedom

Mark Steyn is against the flag burning amendment in the US. I agree with him. Though, I'm not an American citizen, I do own a US flag. Every single time I see a US flag burned or torn apart, I initially cringe. Old Glory means a lot to me. It's a shining symbol of sacrifice, strength, honor, and a proud history. Men far better than I have died over the centuries for that flag. Yet, callous creatures take pleasure in destroying it. Should they not be thrown in jail or at least fined for the gross offense?

No.

I can list a litany of events, gestures, and manners that are offensive to me. But that doesn't mean that they should be illegal. Take a recent example. Flushing or attempting to flush a Koran is revoltingly offensive to some Americans. What good can come out of such behavior? None, really. That doesn't imply that such activity should be unlawful.

Similarly, as long as a jackass burns his/her own flag, the activity should be legal. That's in essence what freedom is: allowing people to do what you yourself abhor.

I wince at the sight of a burning US flag. Then, I mull over the deprave scene and the whole situation somewhat soothes the pain. After 9/11, the US sent their finest over 7000 miles of ocean and land. They destroyed the Islamist regime in Afghanistan. The sadistic reign of Saddam is history. His two sons rot in the eternal inferno. Inch by inch the US military and the Iraqi forces are gaining back Iraq from terrorists. Abrams flow in Baghdad and the Marines took care of Fallujah.

How do anti-American dopes and Islamist morons respond to this? They get together, chant death to America, and burn the US flag. It's a true demonstration of the gulf of might that exists between America and hate-the-US groups. America is healthy, thriving, growing, and killing Islamist thugs everyday whereas her opponents are utterly impotent. Let them burn.

Watering Down

It is painful and sadly not-so-shocking to read the conclusion of this post.

Greatness Abounds

On June 21, a commenter on this earlier post of mine said that Mark Twain belongs on the greatest Americans list. Today, John makes the case for William F. Buckley and says that Bill deserves to be judged as one of the greatest Americans.

I plead ignorance. After living in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for two-thirds of my life, I simply didn't have the option of learning about Americans, great or otherwise. Though, over the past 4 years, I've read a little US history and the 20 greatest Americans according to myself represents that limited knowledge.

Sad to say but I haven't read any work of Mark Twain. I have seen him quoted on many occasions. That's about it. When it comes to modern conservatives, I mainly read JWR, NRO, and FrontPage. Therefore, I do not know much about many older conservatives or conservative writers who had a big influence in recorded history.

Further thoughts: William F. Buckley could be likened to Grant and Sherman. Hear me out. We, well most of us, don't doubt the greatness of Lincoln or Reagan. But, their ultimate victory mainly depended on other distinguished men. In Lincoln's case, the successes of the Northern armies commanded by Grant and Sherman, gave Lincoln political capital. In Reagan's case, the conservative movement's sharpest pen and the founder of NR gave Reagan intellectual and political capital.

I am not saying that Lincoln was politically dumb or that Reagan was stupid. I am simply giving proper credit to those who ensured the ascendancy of great men.

Innovation

One Day International (ODI) cricket just got a little exciting. Don't laugh.

Whoa!

You DO NOT mess with an Aussie.

Perception and Reality

Glenn Reynolds:

It's interesting that retention seems to be going much better than recruitment. Perhaps the view of what's going on that the troops get in the field is more positive than the view that potential recruits get from the media.

The US military knows they're fighting for the betterment of the Afghanis and the Iraqis. The MSM and by and large the Democratic Party is, shall we say, painting the situation in more darker tones.

Pushing the Frontiers

eWeek.com:

Intel researchers are shedding some light on a potential new application for chip photonics: upping the performance of multicore processors.

The processor giant's research labs are exploring ways to use silicon photonics—on-chip components that use light to transmit data—to replace electrical interconnects using copper wiring and simultaneously speed up vital connections that move data into and out of processors.

Here's some mind-blowing information:

Silicon photonics could be an ideal because of its potential to offer very high bandwidth—Intel's already got gear running at 10 gigabits per second in its labs—and its ability to be designed directly into the chip itself, Vara said.

That's a theoretical bandwidth of 1.25 GB/s. The future is lovely.

Link via Tom's Hardware.

Ethical Treatment

Debra J. Saunders:

PETA always has been about killing animals. A 2003 New Yorker profile included PETA top dog Ingrid Newkirk's story of how she became involved in animal rights after a shelter put down stray kittens she brought there. So she went to work for an animal shelter in the 1970s, where, she explained: "I would go to work early, before anyone got there, and I would just kill the animals myself. Because I couldn't stand to let them go through (other workers abusing the animals). I must have killed a thousand of them, sometimes dozens every day."

That's right. PETA assails other parties for killing animals for food or research. Then it kills animals — but for really important reasons, like because it has run out of room.

So compassionate of them.

I Love eBay

pwned!!! OMG, I laughed so hard.

RSS and I

Tyler Cowen:

I have long resisted RSS feeds.  I like the visual feel of a well-designed blog, I like to see how one post follows another...

I've felt the same way. I understand the convenience of RSS but I still individually visit all my favorite and notable blogs to read them. It's aesthetically pleasing to view a blog as it was meant to be. Well, that's true for most blogs that I read.

Modest Monkeys

Ahmad writes about Wahhabi propaganda. Plus, we get a link to some monkey action. It seems the Islamists are running low on supposedly human recruits.

Aiding Thugs

The title of this post is very apt. Read the entire post and realize that the West has been played like a violin by these dictators. Will we, and our politicians, ever learn?

Most Disturbing

For a guy who is supposed to be the Lord of the Dark Side, he looks like a harmless bunny. The glasses and the beard have got to go! Pump up the evil, Kufr!

Got Conscience?

Ann Coulter on Gitmo:

... at least liberals have finally found a group of people in Cuba whom they think deserve to be rescued.

Ouch.

Epitome of Cool

A historical and personal story about a symbol of strength.

Fun with Captions

Hail the Colonel! (ONLY halaal chicken, infidel).

Zing!

Gene Weingarten:

In a promotional video for Independence Air, he does spontaneous interviews with passengers at Dulles. At one point, he encounters a very attractive young woman and asks her what she does for a living. She says she is a model and an actress.

Dave asks: "Have you done any pilots?"

She says: "No, not yet."

Dave says: "Well, I can introduce you to some."

Gene is good, vewy good.

Mmm

Whale burgers. They likely taste like chicken.

Link via the Blogosphere's favorite Aussie.

No Misunderestimation Here

More praise for the Dark Lord.