Bizarro World Becomes Marginally More Bizarre

Worshipping Hitler and founding the infamous white-supremacist outfit Combat 18? You can get pretty unpopular doing that, yes. Preaching the violent overthrow of Western/liberal/”cosmopolitan” civilization and the establishment of Islamic rule? Also good for the unpopularity, sir. But if even these tantalizing options aren’t going to get you the mixture of hatred and head-scratching that you so clearly desire, may we venture to suggest… both?

He is also believed to be the author of several anti-semitic and anti-West articles entitled ‘The Crusader War Against Islam and The Zionist Quest for World Domination’, written under the name Abdul Aziz ibn Myatt. It is a far cry from his previous literary works which included the 1997 fascist terrorist handbook ‘The Practical Guide to Aryan Revolution’.

Dear oh dear. Worth noting, also, that the Sheikh Omar Bakri alluded to in this article is a recurring character in Jon Ronson‘s marvellous and often-referenced-by-me Them.

Holy jeezus, check out this revolver. I don’t think people will be shooting cans off fenceposts with this puppy. Kegs, more likely.

I’m a little bored at work right now, which affords me plenty of time to peruse my favorite news sources. The always excellent VodkaPundit has an open letter of thank you from a Brit to all Americans that offers encouragement, thanks, and a bit of wry humor. Quality reading.

Left Out???

Andrew Sullivan has a link to an excellent article by a British leftist criticizing the British left. He suggests that holier-than-thou war protests are trivializing a large part of the Iraqis who want independence and democracy. In it he quotes Barham Salih, the leader of the democratic Kurds in the North, as saying:

“So to those who say “No War”, I say, of course “yes”, but we can only have “No War” if there is “No Dictatorship” and “No Genocide.”

While this quote is the best part, its an interesting article, and not that long.

Also, did anyone here the joke that was told in a congressional session this morning?

Q. How many frenchmen does it take to defend Paris???

A. No one knows. It’s never been tried.

I can’t wait to here the French response to this.

“Winston Blair“:

Tony Blair, who ought now be considered a leading fighter for American security concerns gaving a rousing speech to his Labour Party, a small bit of which is mentioned and commented upon by InstaPundit. Good shtuff. The French and Germans said on CNN today that the problem at hand is only a disagreement and not evidence that our “friends” have abandoned us. It is now appropriate to say that should the French-German alliance successfully forestall and eventually vote against an American war with terrorist-supporting Saddam, it should constitute the formal end of NATO. That body cannot exist with member-states actively disobeying by-laws requiring for the common defense in a case in which America is clearly the main target in an ongoing war with radical Islamists.

The Greatest Story Ever Told?

I want to repeat this: In terms of sheer anti-Semitism-inspiring power, the New Testament makes Mein Kampf look like The Nanny. I’ve read Mein Kampf, and I gotta tell ya, I was expecting that book to be a lot more evil than it was. Hitler comes off as just a whiny fag; if he were born today, he’d have a Robert Smith hairdo and a stack of Depeche Mode records.

The always entertaining Mark Ames reviews the Bible, and he isn’t impressed.

If Only Two Things Happened In Washington Today…

I.

II.

From Weatherbug and Drudge Report, respectively.

True, False, Uncertain

From Andrew Sullivan It seems that President Bush isn’t slaughtering millions of kids in Afghanistan, but rather spending bunches of money to help them.

If these war protests in Austrailia are a sign of things to come, it’s just going to be another long day of listening to kids compare the US government to National Socialism. I really hate these anti-war protesters. In and of itself disagreeing with going to war on Iraq is potentially defensible position. I believe it to be a misguided, incorrect position, but there are certainly reasonable ways to hold it and such opinions, held for valid reasons, are vital to civic discourse and the war of ideas. But, the anti-war “movement” is being run by Stalinists. Unapologetic, unreconstructed Stalinists. Not Trotskyites, not Leninists, not Marxists…Stalinists. A group that has supported the regimes of Kim-Jong Il, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein and Slobidan Milosevic. Not to mention the WWP’s whole-hearted support for the use of tanks at Tienamen Square. These organizers hate America and like totalitarian regimes. A group such as this cannot pass moral judgement on a nation that, as far as things go, has a pretty clean record regarding the freedoms of its citizens and the world. In its relatively short history, America has made progress toward the goals of true equality under the law and the right of self-determination faster than the rest of the civilized world. Are there blemishes on American history? Most certainly, but the good that we have done over the past 227 years far outweighs the ill. It’s a pretty good place to live where the rate at which you are taxed can take primary concern in politics, we’re not worrying about being run over by tanks in the street, or being spirited away to be tortured or starving in the streets. The tact that these anti-war kiddies have taken is ungrateful and foolish. They would sing a different tune had they lived in Baghdad, Beijing, or under the bootheel of any tyrannical madman. This is long, but these protesters are really starting to irk me.

UPDATE: You Might Find This Interesting

There’s clear evidence that American support for Europe is no longer desired by our client states. I think we should make a concerted and intelligent plan to get out of Western Europe, save Britain. Colin Powell has had it up to here. Osama’s kid is hanging out in Iran.

Daily dose of armedprophet: Bill has a really good piece on the French idea of justice, in which thought crimes seem to be defined quite vaguely.

For those about to read…

For those of you who are here because of the ODE banner ad, we welcome you. You’ll find our current issue and archive bin to the left, our blog down below and our wit and humor all over. Dorothy, you never have to go home again.

Those Who Do Not Learn The Lessons of History Are Probably Also Failing Political Science

Apologies to PJ O’Rourke (I think) for the headline.

Read this. Then read this. Then gently knock your head against the table a few times.

Americans, riddle me this: A Modest Proposal isn’t taught in college much, is it? Or maybe it is, and the professor can have endless hours of fun watching people read it literally and become comically outraged. “Well, I happen to think eating babies is wrong, even if they are Irish!”

Or rather:

And one more thing. Your ideas aren’t all that revolutionary. Not too long ago, a man with similar ideas came to power and started “cleaning” his nation of useless people in order to get rid of population and economic problems.[Pause for dramatic emphasis inserted here – O.R.] His name was Hitler.

A zinger, that one. Call Mike Godwin!

NRO is running a guest column from a former East Bloc spy who says the Berlin-Moscow-Paris Axis was predictable. Pretty interesting. A little self-serving, but there’s some great insight to be had and great stories about former household name terrorists. Since I did most of my online shopping at NRO, quickly check out a VDH column on the UN meeting. PLUS: OHSU in $200M bid to create one of America’s top biodefense institutes.

And — to all my OC fellers out there — I just wanna say, Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you all, in your own (variegated and disturbing) ways.

(Out like Trout?)

The Saddest Thing Ever

Is Right Here

MAKING THE GRADE

Just barely. A former OC associate (whose attempt at anonymity I will respect until he declares proprietorship) reviews the anti-war protest in Portland late last month. He’s got some pretty good pictures, too.

If D’s earn degrees, then the PDX peaceniks just barely made it. But grading on the curve, it hardly passes muster.

(Also: Check out the URL. If it was a .com suffix, he’d be probably be in court by now.)

Looks like Iraq will have an American military leader overseeing its reconstruction after a potential US invasion. As far as I can see, this is good news considering that Gerrmany and Japan had American leaders, like Gen. MacArthur, keep the peace for several years after the end of WWII. The American military paved the way for both of these countries to become the democratic superpowers they are today and hopefully with the same can happen to Iraq.

And speaking of MacArthur, if the US had pushed into Chinese territory during the Korean War like he insisted (and which Truman argued against), perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation today. Of course, MacArthur was willing to use nukes, so who knows what would have happened.

THE WHITE HOUSE, February 10, 2007 — President Arianna Huffington resigned today amid controversy over revelations that she had once passed the butter to schoolboy basketball phenomenon LeBron James during a dinner. “I received bad legal advice,” President Huffington complained, noting she consulted three attorneys before passing the butter to James at a charity event in Ohio in February 2003. Two of the lawyers told her that handing butter to a high-school athlete would not violate Ohio amateur athletic rules, while the third advised her to consult a federal judge before touching the salt or pepper.

Funny article by Gregg Easterbrook. Check it out…