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July 2008
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September 2008

Not Pure Enough

Aug 30, 2008

MSNBC:

"These are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them," Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, said Saturday. "Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid."

What might this tradition be?

The women, three of whom were teenagers, were first shot and then thrown into a ditch. They were still breathing as their bodies were covered with rocks and mud, according media reports and human rights activists, who said their only "crime" was that they wished to marry men of their own choosing.

Welcome to Pakistan.

Posted at 07:53 PM in World War III | | Comments (1)

Change!

Aug 29, 2008

The surprise choice of Palin seems like a smart move by McCain. I've read a little bit about her and so far she has impressed.

I'm looking forward to her debate with Biden.

Update
The Corner:

Biden, as you'll recall, is terrible on second amendment issues. Palin on the other hand — there's even video of her firing an M-16, which for a female vice-presidential candidate is pretty dang cool.

I'm in love!

Another Update
I can't disagree with Ferguson here.

Posted at 09:02 PM in Politics, USA | | Comments (4)

Dialing Down the Change

Aug 23, 2008

The Corner:

All politicians have sizable egos, but this may be the most self-loving ticket ever. There’s an old saying, “He’ll die in his own arms” — that can apply to both of them. (I’ve thought of it in connection with McCain, too.) And Obama and Biden are two of the gassiest politicians in all the land — they are rhetorically impossible.

What does Joe Biden think of Obama? Here's the answer.

Posted at 08:23 PM in Politics, USA | | Comments (1)

No Joke

Aug 12, 2008

Soon The Dark Knight shall topple Star Wars:

The latest haul by the film, which was directed by Christopher Nolan, also means it has now grossed a total of $441.5m (£232m) in the US, putting it behind only Titanic - $601m (£316m) - and the original Star Wars - $461m (£242m) - in the US all-time top ten.

By the way, if the movie was too dark for you, then you might want to check out this, er, lighter trailer.

Posted at 09:47 PM in Pop Culture, USA | | Comments (0)

A Little Light Hurts

Aug 12, 2008

Ummah Pulse:

The programme in question was "The Choice" - a series in which veteran reporter Michael Buerk interviews a person who has made some sort of life-altering decision. The subject in question for this week's interview was none other than Geert Wilders - the extreme right wing Dutch politician known for his exceptionally nasty views on Islam and Muslims that appear to have captured the popular imagination in the Netherlands.

Later:

Of course Wilders gets away with it all by deploying a simple yet effective tactic. Whilst your average bovver booted skinhead will tell you, as he stamps your face in, how much he hates Islam and all Muslims; Wilders is a bit more cunning. He lets it be known far and wide how much he hates Islam but despite continually quoting seemingly negative statistics about Muslim birth rates, Muslim crime rates, Muslim employment rates etc, Wilders says that he has nothing against Muslims... nothing of course except that which makes us Muslims - namely Islam. This sort of circular argument is a bit like saying to a black person that whilst you hate their skin colour, you have nothing against them personally.

[Emphasis mine.]

No, it isn't. One doesn't have the option of picking a skin color; religion, at least in the West, is a matter of choice. Islam in practice (see Saudi Arabia and Iran) brings gender apartheid, intolerance of the West and xenophobia to the table. A Muslim ought not be respected if s/he continues to believe in the "morality" of sharia.

And that's why most Muslims don't defend these aspects. Often, such as in this case, they react to the blunt criticism of Islam by yelling racism!

Posted at 09:10 PM in Politics, World War III | | Comments (5)

iConfusion

Aug 11, 2008

August 2007:

I still think Intel should have publicly called the new line they released in July 2006 as the 'Core' processors. They could have kept the 'Core 2' name for the epic Nehalem line which will come out in late 2008.

Instead, Intel has done the opposite! The present generation is called the Intel Core 2. The next will be called the Intel Core.

The Intel Core will have generic identifiers. For now, it's i7.

I've built a couple of systems for friends. It's a major headache to explain the differences between the Celerons, the Pentiums and the five dozen flavors of Core 2s. Intel just managed to make it even tougher.

Posted at 05:00 PM in Life, Web/Tech | | Comments (2)

Norwegian Twits

Aug 10, 2008

News from Norway via IBA:

"It's of course completely unacceptable not to reject the death sentence for homosexuals.  To take up this debate now is important, not least of consideration to young homosexual Muslim who struggle with their own identity," says the Children and Equality minister Anniken Huitfeldt to Dagsavisen.

More:

"I can understand that the homosexuality issue is difficult, but I don't accept that the Islamic Council can't reject the death sentence which conflicts with basic human rights," says Breen.

The Culture and Church minister Trond Giske decided last year that the Islamic Council will get half a million kroner in state support.

Two things:

1. Why is the Norwegian state giving money to a religious group?

2. It's silly for these politicians to think that they can bring out the softer side of Islam by dangling a few sacks of cash. Islam in its pure, supremely intolerant form has survived fourteen centuries. Words alone won't be enough.

Former Children and Equality Minister Karita Bekkemellem was in her time in the cabinet very clear that the government shouldn't support organization who carry on with what she thinks is clear discrimination and breaking the law.

The Islamic position on homosexuality is a minor issue. The core itself is rotten. Let's recap the finer details of Muhammad (remember, this man is infallible; one can be killed for saying otherwise):

(1) He banned interest on money.
(2) He objected to the use of pictures that depicted humans or animals and refused to enter the premises where such works were present.
(3) He married a six-years-old girl and had sex with her when she turned nine.
(4) He approved the killing of all the post-pubescent males of a Jewish tribe called Banu Quraiza.
(5) He then took all the young males and women of that tribe as slaves and distributed them among his companions.
(6) He married multiple times and kept sex-slaves.
(7) He loathed dogs and ordered that they be killed.

Pick your insanity/evil. The Norwegian state might as well ask the Muslims in Norway to leave Islam.

Posted at 12:10 AM in Politics, World War III | | Comments (2)

The Core What!?

Aug 08, 2008

Intel unveiled its best consumer processor two years ago. It was oddly called the Core 2 Duo. The next generation, code-named Nehalem, will soon be released. Intel has decided to call it the Core i7.

Why the i7? Maybe because it's the 7th iteration of the Pentium? Intel's naming schemes are becoming goofier by the year.

Posted at 09:14 PM in Web/Tech | | Comments (2)

Roaring Harley > German Noise

Aug 07, 2008

Yahoo News via Small Dead Animals:

Thousands of motorcyclists greeted Republican presidential candidate John McCain with an approving roar Monday as he sought blue-collar and heartland support by visiting a giant motorcycle rally.

"As you may know, not long ago a couple hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I'll take the roar of 50,000 Harleys any day," McCain said, referring to Democrat Barack Obama's recent visit to the German capital.

A nice line.

Posted at 05:24 PM in Politics, USA | | Comments (0)

Islamic Law in Action

Aug 05, 2008

Compass Direct:

A Pakistani couple has appealed a court decision to award custody of their two daughters, 10 and 13, to the children’s alleged kidnappers. The court based its custody decision on the girls’ conversion to Islam. Judge Main Naeem Sardar ruled Saturday (July 12) that Saba Masih, 13, and Aneela Masih, 10, had become Muslims, invalidating their Christian parents’ right to legal guardianship.

On the other hand, the kidnappers, who just happen to be Muslims (what are the odds?), are the model guardians for these girls.

Posted at 09:07 PM in World War III | | Comments (3)

The Epic Knight

Aug 05, 2008

E Online:

Eighteen days.

That's all it took for The Dark Knight to break $400 million.

The previous record:

The "old" record, set back in 2004, was held by Shrek 2, which reached $400 million in a then-swift—and still impressive—43 days.

The Dark Knight will soon become only the second movie to cross the $500 million mark. The other is, of course, Titanic.

Posted at 07:42 PM in Pop Culture, USA | | Comments (0)

Dating for Infidels

Aug 04, 2008

Right Wing News: Interviews With 3 Professional Dating Gurus.

I was asking a buddy of mine for a question and she asked, "Why do nice guys finish last in dating?" Why is...

Because nice guys are weak guys. They wear their heart on their sleeve and they don't make the girl work for it. ...What happens is that the guy says, "I had a good time, did you? Can I see you again? You're really a nice girl! You're sure good looking." This girl is 28, she's good looking, and ever since she was 12, guys have been telling her she's beautiful. So, what effect does that compliment have? It's a negative.

...The nice guy is too happy to be there and when she walks away from the first date she says, "Here's another one I own," versus "I don't know where I stand with this guy." When you start tweaking that detective in her mind, she goes bonkers and her interest level goes through the roof.

...As soon as a disagreement comes up, the nice guy says, "Ok dear, whatever you say, I'm just happy to be here." As she notices he has no backbone, I call it "Wimpus Americanus," and what happens is that she doesn't respect him. If she doesn't respect a man, she falls out of love.

True.

Posted at 11:15 PM in USA | | Comments (2)

The Magic Dissipates

Aug 04, 2008

Classical Values via Instapundit:

Obama might not know math, science, economics, or any number of other things. He does know race and so does his base.

Racist!

A few months ago, a colleague saw that I was reading a print out of American political news. She volunteered on odd statement. "I think it's time for a black president."

I thought but didn't ask, "What does that mean? Just curious, when will it be time for an Asian president?"

Obama's skin color has taken him quite far. Now, Americans will choose the better of the two and it won't be him.

Also: In the comments there, Andrew X August 4, 2008 04:41 PM, sincerely thanks Obama for his post-racial candidacy.

Posted at 07:18 PM in Life, Politics, USA | | Comments (3)

The Unnecessary Book

Aug 04, 2008

Uncommon Knowledge:

Victor Davis Hanson and Christopher Hitchens take on the WWII revisionists, centering on Patrick J. Buchanan, the author, most recently, of Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. In terms of the origins of the conflict, Buchanan says essentially that Britain’s guarantee to protect Poland in the event of a German invasion made the war inevitable.

Apparently allowing Germany to gobble up Europe, and likely the beyond, would have avoided a war. Hanson and Hitchens offer lessons in five videos. Here are the links to the rest of them:

Posted at 06:33 PM in History | | Comments (0)

Exposing Lies

Aug 03, 2008

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has passed away.

Read this:

Following is the full text of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's essay "Live Not By Lies." It is perhaps the last thing he wrote on his native soil [before the collapse of the Soviet Union] and circulated among Moscow's intellectuals [at that time]. The essay is dated Feb. 12, the day that secret police broke into his apartment and arrested him. The next day he was exiled to West Germany.

Posted at 11:09 PM in History | | Comments (0)

The Islamist ISI

Aug 01, 2008

What I wrote about the Pakistani spy agency two years ago:

Speculation Alert: It's important to note that the ISI cares about its self-interest -- it doesn't give a fig about Pakistan. The ISI has provided funds for Islamists in Jammu and Kashmir. It has even been accused of terrorist activities in mainland India. Plus, it provided support for the Taliban. This group has a flamethrower policy for practically every neighbor of Pakistan.

ISI would ideally not want a non-Islamist and a US-supporting government in Kabul. If it couldn't succeed at preventing that, then, at the very least, it would want to make life for the Allies utterly miserable. Ultimately, it's about making the cost of democracy high -- in terms of blood and treasure. Of course, the ISI would only do such a thing covertly.

Today comes this news via Instapundit:

American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan’s powerful spy service helped plan the deadly July 7 bombing of India’s embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to United States government officials.

Par for the course.

Posted at 10:32 PM in World War III | | Comments (0)