An Inconvenient Truth - for Al Gore

Al Gore trying to scare people

The inconvenient truth is that Al Gore uses junk science in his new propaganda film. When he is not using junk science, he is just making stuff up.

Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe

"Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it," Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film "An Inconvenient Truth", showing at Cumberland 4 Cinemas in Toronto since Jun 2. With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie?

Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, in Australia gives what, for many Canadians, is a surprising assessment: "Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

But surely Carter is merely part of what most people regard as a tiny cadre of "climate change skeptics" who disagree with the "vast majority of scientists" Gore cites?

No; Carter is one of hundreds of highly qualified non-governmental, non-industry, non-lobby group climate experts who contest the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing significant global climate change. "Climate experts" is the operative term here. Why? Because what Gore's "majority of scientists" think is immaterial when only a very small fraction of them actually work in the climate field.

And even in that tiny fraction most of then are climate impact scientists, i.e. the impact of a change in tempurature on a plant or animal species or designers of computer models. He did not include the scientists who actually study global climate change over time.

Here is a small sample of the side of the debate we almost never hear:

Appearing before the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development last year, Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson testified, "There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth's temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years." Patterson asked the committee, "On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century's modest warming?"

Patterson concluded his testimony by explaining what his research and "hundreds of other studies" reveal: on all time scales, there is very good correlation between Earth's temperature and natural celestial phenomena such changes in the brightness of the Sun.

Dr. Boris Winterhalter, former marine researcher at the Geological Survey of Finland and professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, takes apart Gore's dramatic display of Antarctic glaciers collapsing into the sea. "The breaking glacier wall is a normally occurring phenomenon which is due to the normal advance of a glacier," says Winterhalter. "In Antarctica the temperature is low enough to prohibit melting of the ice front, so if the ice is grounded, it has to break off in beautiful ice cascades. If the water is deep enough icebergs will form."

Dr. Wibjörn Karlén, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden, admits, "Some small areas in the Antarctic Peninsula have broken up recently, just like it has done back in time. The temperature in this part of Antarctica has increased recently, probably because of a small change in the position of the low pressure systems."

But Karlén clarifies that the 'mass balance' of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, Ball explains, there is an increase in the 'calving' of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans. When Greenland and Antarctica are assessed together, "their mass balance is considered to possibly increase the sea level by 0.03 mm/year - not much of an effect," Karlén concludes.

The Antarctica has survived warm and cold events over millions of years. A meltdown is simply not a realistic scenario in the foreseeable future.

But...but...but..., what about the disappearing Arctic Ice Cap?

Gore tells us in the film, "Starting in 1970, there was a precipitous drop-off in the amount and extent and thickness of the Arctic ice cap." This is misleading, according to Ball: "The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology."

Karlén explains that a paper published in 2003 by University of Alaska professor Igor Polyakov shows that, the region of the Arctic where rising temperature is supposedly endangering polar bears showed fluctuations since 1940 but no overall temperature rise. "For several published records it is a decrease for the last 50 years," says Karlén

But, we see higher temperatures worldwide. And what about all of those cities that had record high temperatures last year?!?!?!?

Concerning Gore's beliefs about worldwide warming, Morgan points out that, in addition to the cooling in the NW Atlantic, massive areas of cooling are found in the North and South Pacific Ocean; the whole of the Amazon Valley; the north coast of South America and the Caribbean; the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caucasus and Red Sea; New Zealand and even the Ganges Valley in India. Morgan explains, "Had the IPCC used the standard parameter for climate change (the 30 year average) and used an equal area projection, instead of the Mercator (which doubled the area of warming in Alaska, Siberia and the Antarctic Ocean) warming and cooling would have been almost in balance."

Gore's point that 200 cities and towns in the American West set all time high temperature records is also misleading according to Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. "It is not unusual for some locations, out of the thousands of cities and towns in the U.S., to set all-time records," he says. "The actual data shows that overall, recent temperatures in the U.S. were not unusual."

Of course, this is liberal religion and politics. Dissenting views are not permitted and are shouted down when they are heard. The people who point out the failings of Mr. Gore's "science" are subjected to ad hominem attacks. The real truth is;

Carter does not pull his punches about Gore's activism, "The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

Al Gore and the Left™ would have us commit to the worthless Kyoto Accords even though they would have no efect but to damage the U.S. economy. Of course, weakening the United States is another goal of those politics.

An Explanation for North Korean Belligerence

Is there a purpose behind Kim's nuclear madness?

Economy root to N Korea crisis

The focus of the international community's alarm over North Korea is the isolated nation's nuclear arsenal, and its refusal to talk about it.

An aspect that is sometimes overlooked is the dire state of its economy, and yet this could be at the heart of the nuclear crisis.

The regime, with few allies in the world, cannot appeal to the sort of humanitarian emotions that African or South Asian nations have in the past.

To ensure the flow of food and oil, it must have a bargaining chip, and its nuclear arsenal is that chip.

Therefore Pyongyang's diplomatic bluster is inextricably linked to its need to keep what remains of its economy propped up by donations.

When you are a pariah, the only thing left is blackmail.

As for the economy today, it has to all intents and purposes collapsed.

The reforms were limited, and benefited just the elite of the country rather than ordinary people.

The basic structure remains in place and continues to erode the economy.

However, as long as the regime can keep the country isolated, it can survive on this drip-feed indefinitely.

The endgame is simple - regime survival. It is a long-term strategy using diplomatic belligerence and military threat to secure enough aid to maintain power and isolation.

The regime may survive, and may under pressure begin another round of tentative reform, but it seems unlikely that life will improve for ordinary North Koreans any time soon.

Holy Pentecost

Icon of the Feast of Holy Pentecost

Today is the Feast of Holy Pentecost. This day is the birthday of the Church. It is the day when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and gave then the ability to speak in all of the languages of the world, so that they may go out and teach the good news of Jesus the Christ. On that day, three thousand people were baptized into the Church, receiving forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The same is possible today for all who believe.

The event is described in Chapter 2 of The Acts of the Apostles (this from the Revised Standard Version)

¹ When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³ And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Par'thians and Medes and E'lamites and residents of Mesopota'mia, Judea and Cappado'cia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phryg'ia and Pamphyl'ia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyre'ne, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³ But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine."

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day; ¹⁶ but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ `And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; ¹⁸ yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; ²⁰ the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day.

²¹ And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

²² "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know -- ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him, `I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.

²⁷ For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption.

²⁸ Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.'

²⁹ "Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. ³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says,

`The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
³⁵ till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.'

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" ³⁸ And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him." ⁴⁰ And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. ⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

⁴³ And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵ and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Here are two excellent articles about Holy Pentecost.

From the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Feast of Holy Pentecost

From Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad; Pentecost, The day of descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.

I wish everyone a blessed and joyous Holy Pentecost.

Dutch Troops Kill Taliban

Commander of the Dutch Army, Lt. General Urlings, Visiting his Troops

The Dutch have troops? I thought that this war was an American unilateralist effort to oppress the peaceful Afghanis and extend American power for the benefit of the BushChimpyMcHilterHalliburtonites. So, why would the Dutch be involved? Maybe it has something to do with these guys (yes, we really are working with our allies).

Colonel says Dutch troops have killed "dozens" of Afghan militants in recent months

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch troops in Afghanistan's restive southern province of Uruzgan have killed "dozens" of suspected Taliban fighters in the past two months, the Dutch commander in the region said in an interview published Saturday.

Col. Henk Morsink, who is leading a task force preparing a camp for more than 1,000 troops who will travel to the region in August, told national daily the NRC Handelsblad that one of the victims of the fighting was believed to be a senior Taliban leader, but he gave no further details of the leader's identity and said that all figures for casualties were estimates that cannot be confirmed.

Morsink told the paper that Dutch patrols had been involved in six firefights with suspected Taliban insurgents, including one on May 30 when Apache helicopters were called to open fire on the attackers.

So far the Netherlands has suffered no casualties in the region.

"We've had a guardian angel watching over us a few times," Morsink said. (AP)

Good for them.

Nudity, Profanity, and ... Faith?

Yes, these are the things that can get a movie a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Narrow focus draws 'PG' rating for Baptist-backed film

What is the PG rating?

The Motion Picture Association of America is crystal clear when it describes why its "PG" rating exists _ it's a warning flag.

"The theme of a PG-rated film may itself call for parental guidance," states the online explanation of the rating system. "There may be some profanity in these films. There may be some violence or brief nudity. ... The PG rating, suggesting parental guidance, is thus an alert for examination of a film by parents before deciding on its viewing by their children. Obviously such a line is difficult to draw."

A movie titled "Facing the Giants" has earned a PG rating. This came as a surprise to the moviemakers as this movie is "squeaky clean". So what is it that would be dangerous enough to caution parents about letting their children see it?

Disagreements are a given. The Christian moviemakers behind a low-budget film called "Facing the Giants" were stunned when the MPAA pinned a PG rating on their gentle movie about a burned-out, depressed football coach whose life _ on and off the field _ takes a miraculous turn for the better.

"What the MPAA said is that the movie contained strong 'thematic elements' that might disturb some parents," said Kris Fuhr, vice president for marketing at Provident Films, which is owned by Sony Pictures. Provident plans to open the film next fall in 380 theaters nationwide with the help of Samuel Goldwyn Films, which has worked with indie movies like "The Squid and the Whale."

Which "thematic elements" earned this squeaky-clean movie its PG?

"Facing the Giants" is too evangelistic.

Yep, that's it. Just too much for Hollywood to let it go by.

The movie includes waves of answered prayers, a medical miracle, a mysterious silver-haired mystic who delivers a message from God and a bench-warmer who kicks a 51-yard field goal to win the big game when his handicapped father pulls himself out of a wheelchair and stands under the goal post to inspire his son's faith. There's a prayer-driven gust of wind in there, too.

But the scene that caught the MPAA's attention may have been the chat between football coach Grant Taylor _ played by Alex Kendrick _ and a rich brat named Matt Prader. The coach says that he needs to stop bad-mouthing his bossy father and get right with God.

The boy replies: "You really believe in all that honoring God and following Jesus stuff? ... Well, I ain't trying to be disrespectful, but not everybody believes in that."

The coach replies: "Matt, nobody's forcing anything on you. Following Jesus Christ is the decision that you're going to have to make for yourself. You may not want to accept it, because it'll change your life. You'll never be the same."

That kind of talk may be too blunt for some moviegoers, said Kendrick, but that's the way real people actually talk in Christian high schools in Georgia. Sherwood Baptist isn't going to apologize for making the kinds of movies that it wants to make.

Too blunt and too dangerous for liberal, amoral Hollywood.

I Wonder If They Read This

I discovered that I have been linked to on a blog that is written by communist anti-semites.

I have to wonder if they actually read the post that they linked, or if they know where I stand with regard to the Dear Murderer-Freak Kim Jong-Il and the cruelty of the enormous concentration camp that he calls a "country"

U.S. Oppression of Religion Criticized

The government of North Korea (that is, Kim Jong-Il) has criticized persecution of Muslims, citing themselves as the model of religious freedom [see this, this, and this, - ed.].

From AsiaNews.it;

Pyongyang hits out as US "religious repression"

Rome (AsiaNews) - The US war on terrorism "is a hideous war aimed to abuse human rights of Iraqi and Afghan people" as well as being a "ruthless way to destroy religious freedom of Muslims". The charge was made today by the Korean Central News Agency, the official press agency of North Korea, one of the most oppressive and anti-liberal regimes in the world.

"The United States is contemplating expanding the theatre of the war of aggression to such Islamic countries as Iran and Syria, under the pretexts of development of nuclear weapons and support to terrorism, but its only aim is to arrest, imprison and persecute blameless Muslims."

The document continues: "The marines throw Muslims into detention camps reminiscent of the concentration camp operated by Nazi fascists. Not content, they commit such blasphemy as throwing a Koran into a chamber pot." The dispatch ends with a "warning" to Washington against pressing ahead with the war, given that "the international community is beginning to realize its true intentions: religious repression and clash of civilizations under the pretext of democracy". [The same international community that wants the North Korea to stop building nuclear weapons. - ed.]

So how does this paragon of virtue do with regard to religious freedom?

In North Korea, only the cult of the leader Kim Jong-Il and his father Kim Il-Sung is allowed. The regime has always sought to hinder the practice of religion and forces believers to register with organizations controlled by the party. Brutal and violent persecution of believers who do not register, and of those who undertake missionary activities, is frequent.

For its part, Pyongyang says religious freedom is present in the country and guaranteed by the Constitution: according to official government estimates, there are around 10,000 Buddhists, 10,000 Protestants and 4,000 Catholics. Government estimates only take into account those believers enrolled in recognized associations.

Since the Communist regime was installed in 1953, around 300,000 Christians have disappeared and there are no longer any priests or sisters, who may well have been killed during the persecutions. Currently there are around 80,000 in work camps, subjected to hunger, torture and even death.

So when is the "international community" going to hold North Korea to account?

Conservatives Win in South Korea

Park Geun-hye

And, Kim Jong-Il is not liking it. This spells real trouble for the North, as it is unlikey that the Grand National Party (GNP) will continue the "sunshine" policy or offer continued massive support.

Conservatives Enjoy Landslide in Korea

(CNSNews.com) - South Korea's liberal ruling party has suffered a stunning defeat in nationwide local elections, and that could have implications for the government's sensitive policy of engagement with its Stalinist northern neighbor.

Chung Dong-young, chairman of the Uri Party, resigned Thursday, after Uri won just one of 16 posts up for grabs for nine provincial governors and mayors of seven major cities.

The pro-U.S. conservative Grand National Party (GNP), which is reviled by the North Korean regime, took 12 of the 16.

At a lower level, results were equally devastating for Uri, which won only 19 out of 230 contests for heads of smaller city councils and wards, compared to the GNP's 155.

North Korea and its Dear Murderer have relied heavily on the South,

Uri backs the "sunshine" policy of engagement with North Korea, formulated by former President Kim Dae-jung and pursued by Roh.

As the three-and-a-half year crisis over Kim Jong-il's nuclear programs has dragged on, Roh has repeatedly disagreed with any calls for the U.S. to take punitive steps against the North, saying it was not in the South's interests for the communist regime to collapse.

Uri has also taken issue with Washington's handling of the nuclear standoff. Senior party members were especially critical of the passage of legislation promoting freedom in North Korea, and of the U.S. decision late last year to impose financial sanctions on banks linked to counterfeiting and other illicit North Korean activity.

The GNP, by contrast, has been skeptical of the sunshine policy, accusing the government of being too willing to make concessions to Pyongyang that aren't reciprocated.

Conservatives were appalled when Roh, during a visit to Mongolia earlier this month, said he was willing to provide the North with more aid, without conditions, and make "many concessions." He also said he was ready to meet with Kim Jong-il "anytime, anywhere."

Wednesday's election result comes as a blow not just to Roh, but to Pyongyang too.

...

"For Kim Jong-il and his regime, the possibility that a conservative government will take over after the next election is the worst-case scenario," a columnist wrote in the conservative Chosun Ilbo newspaper last week.

"Pyongyang has had enormous help from the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations," he wrote. "If the [GNP] conservatives come to power and the Bush administration's and Japan's efforts against the North persisted, it would rock the Kim Jong-il regime to the core."

The next President of South Korea is almost certain to be Park Geun-hye.

Islamic Honor-Murder Embarrassing

All this honor killing is just soooooo embarrassing.

Pakistanis try confronting shame of honor killing

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Ayesha Baloch was dragged to a field, her brother-in-law held the 18-year-old down, her husband sat astride her legs and slit her upper lip and nostril with a knife.

They call such assaults on women a matter of "honor" in some Pakistani communities, but for the majority it is a source of national shame.

Married less than two months ago in Pakistan's central district of Dera Ghazi Khan, Baloch was accused of having sexual relations with another man before marriage.

"First they tortured me and beat me. I started screaming. Akbar then caught my hands and pulled me to the ground. Essa sat on my legs and cut my nose and lips," Baloch mumbled through her bandages at hospital in the city of Multan.

"I was bleeding and started screaming after they fled on a motorcycle. People heard me and rescued me and took me to my mother's home."

At least she wasn't killed.

...

The same week, a world away from Baloch's village, social activists, parliamentarians and community leaders gathered in the suburban, leafy capital of Islamabad to launch a campaign -- "We Can End Honor Killing."

Farhana Faruqi Stocker, country director of international aid agency Oxfam, said some 10,000 people called "change-makers" had signed up so far.

But Stocker knows two constituencies will be vital to the campaign's success.

"The mindset of legislators has to be changed in order for good legislation to come out," Stocker told Reuters.

But she is well aware that there are many remote rural areas of Pakistan where maulvis, or clerics, exert more influence than local government and federal law.

"In order to bring change, we have to engage with clerics."

Since, of course, honor killing is so important a part of the religious practice of Islam.

Honor killings are known as "karo-kari" killings.

A woman is deemed a "black woman," a "kari," once she is accused of having sex outside of marriage and is liable to be killed. "Karo" is the male version.

The custom is rooted in tribalism, although a strict interpretation of Islam's hudood penal code also rules that adulterers should be stoned to death.

For more on this see Religion of Mercy.This happens everywhere in Pakistan, and in Islamic populations generally, but is particularly bad in the rural areas. That is a lot of area.

Mukhtaran Mai, an icon for oppressed women and herself the victim of a gang rape in 2002, said police should enforce the law without bias, but getting more girls into school was crucial, too.

"Until women are allowed to get educated ... these crimes will continue," said Mai, whose rape was ordered by village elders after her 12-year-old brother was accused of having sexual relations with a woman of another tribe.

Some 70 percent of Pakistanis live in rural areas where feudalism and tribalism still thrive and traditional codes apply.

Is there a chance of success in any effort to end honor-murder? No.

Police face an uphill battle even to stop an increase in honor killings, never mind eradicate the crime, according to Fida Hussain Mastoi, assistant inspector-general of police in the southern province of Sindh.

Days earlier, Nur Jehan died in Karachi, a month after being shot four times by relatives who accused her of loose morals.

They tracked her down in the city, having traveled from a village in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, then seized her, shot her and left her for dead in a ditch. She survived for a month in hospital, until a stomach wound became infected.

She was 14.

Malay Muslims Become Christians

While the Christian faith is denigrated in the West, and Christians are persecuted in the rest of the world (see the earlier post), still, the Faith is on the march. Good people worldwide see the evil that is Islam, Communism, Secularism, etc., and search for the Truth. And, they are finding it.

From Malaysia:
Hundreds of thousands of Malay Muslims have filed for apostasy

Tue | Feb 14, 06 | 06:15:44 PM
Oleh Ekmal Yusof IPOH, 14 Feb (Hrkh)

Head of the Malaysian State of Perak Mufti (religious head) Dato' Seri Haji Harussani Haji Zakaria announced that there are close to 250,000 Muslim apostates in Malaysia .

This figure includes about 100,000 Malay Muslims who have declared themselves Christians.

This announcement was made on a TV Forum entitled "Pekerti Islam" in the Malaysian State of Kedah recently which was aired by RTM (Malaysian TV & Radio Department) at 2 pm this evening.

Another 100,000 Muslims are in the process of filing for apostasy while the rest are filing to have their Muslim name changed to "other religion name"

"This figure does not include individuals who don't do salat, doesn't fast and breaks all the tenets of Islam" he said.

According to the Perak Mufti he has personally received a letter from the American Christian Missionary Association which accuses the Malaysian (?) / Perak (?) religious authorities of being cruel (or mean) for not allowing about 30,000 Malay Muslims to convert out to Christianity.

Even in a religion where the penalty for apostasy is death, and in a predominately Muslim country where one must publicly file with the government to apostasize, Christianity is growing.

Islam is evil. It cannot prevail.

Christians, a Subversive Threat

North Korea, The Worst Violator Of Religious Rights In The World

This speaks for itself, requiring no further comment from me.

A call to prayer for North Korea

'Subversive, threat to the position of the Great Leader' - these words do not refer to dangerous villains, but to Christians in North Korea who are not considered as normal people.

"In North Korea, Christians are regarded as political criminals and in the prison camps, they are treated as political prisoners," according to the refugee Soon Ok Lee and author of the book Eyes of the Tailless Animals.

Kang Chol Hwan, a North Korean defector, was imprisoned in North Korea at the age of 10 because his grandfather was branded a political dissident, Often the North Korean government will try to purge three generations of a religious or political dissident's family. He describes the conditions he experienced:

"At the camp I witnessed public executions, forced labour and other inhumane atrocities. New prisoners in the North Korean political prison camps are taught not to consider themselves as human beings. The prisoners cannot complain of beatings or even murders.

"Even the children are subject to forced labour, and about a third of them die of malnutrition and from heavy labour. I also suffered from malnutrition three months after being imprisoned, lacking even the strength to walk.

"Because we were not given any source of protein, we would catch and eat snakes, frogs or even worms in order to survive. At first, I did not want to taste these things. One day my friends caught some rats while working in the fields and roasted them on an open fire.

"That was the first time I tasted rat meat, and that one piece of rat meat sustained me. From then on I ate anything to survive: rats, frogs, snakes and worms. Prisoners who do not do this could die in less than a year. People like me who are able to eat anything can survive longer."

It is estimated that 200,000 are suffering in North Korean prison camps where they face cruel abuses. According to a contact, Brother Peter*, an estimated 50,000-70,000 are Christians. Some think the hermit regime has detained more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world.

For the fourth year in a row, Open Doors' World Watch List ranked North Korea as the worst violator of religious rights in the world. Christianity is treated as one of the greatest threats to the regime's power.

Go read the whole thing.

Mexico Moves to the U.S.

The migration from Mexico to the United States is now constitutes the largest diaspora in the history of humankind. The numbers are staggering, and Mexico needs it. A nearly failed country, mired in corruption and political incompetence, Mexico's economy is now based on the few dollar each of her citizens sends from the United States. This is one reason why the Mexican government has such open contempt for our border.

Give and take across the border - 1 in 7 Mexican workers migrates

Washington -- The current migration of Mexicans and Central Americans to the United States is one of the largest diasporas in modern history, experts say.

Roughly 10 percent of Mexico's population of about 107 million is now living in the United States, estimates show. About 15 percent of Mexico's labor force is working in the United States. One in every 7 Mexican workers migrates to the United States.

This, and Mexico looks as if it may become unstable.

What happens in Mexico, by turn, has a big effect on immigration flows to the United States. Those events include a hotly contested election six weeks away that pits a leftist populist against a market-oriented heir to President Vicente Fox.

"We want Mexico to look like Canada," said Stephen Haber, director of Stanford University's Social Science History Institute and a Latin America specialist at the Hoover Institution. "That's the optimal for the United States. We never talk about instability in Canada. We're never concerned about a Canadian security problem. Because Canada is wealthy and stable. It's so wealthy and stable we barely know it's there most of the time. That's the optimal for Mexico: a wealthy and stable country."

What isn't wanted, Haber said, "is an unstable country on your border, especially an unstable country that hates you."

Imagine Hugo Chavez on our southern border.

This migration is so large that areas of Mexico are being depopulated. Mexico's most important economic activity is the illegal migration of people that have no future in Mexico. This is a country that is so corrupt and managed with such complete incompetence that virtually the entire population of working people wants to leave, indeed must leave. What kind of country is this?

Migration is profoundly altering Mexico and Central America. Entire rural communities are nearly bereft of working-age men. The town of Tendeparacua, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, had 6,000 residents in 1985, and now has 600, according to news reports. In five Mexican states, the money migrants send home exceeds locally generated income, one study found.

Read the entire article, it is a real eye-opener.

UPDATE:
It would be nice if our own government would get serious about this for a change;

Lawmakers call for border 'tipping' inquiry

North Korea to Win War

The Taepo-dong 2-s Missile

As both of my faithful readers know, the Korean War has not yet ended. Hostilities came to an end in 1953 with the signing of an armistice between the United States (who sign on behalf of the now worse than worthless United Nations), North Korea, and China. The state of war between the United Nations (fought for them by the United States) and South Korea, and North Korea still exists.

It seems like someone the the US government thinks that it is a good idea to just go ahead and hand the victory to the DPRK.

U.S. Said to Weigh a New Approach on North Korea

WASHINGTON, May 17 - President Bush's top advisers have recommended a broad new approach to dealing with North Korea that would include beginning negotiations on a peace treaty, even while efforts to dismantle the country's nuclear program are still under way, senior administration officials and Asian diplomats say.

Aides say Mr. Bush is very likely to approve the new approach, which has been hotly debated among different factions within the administration. But he will not do so unless North Korea returns to multinational negotiations over its nuclear program. The talks have been stalled since September.

North Koreans have long demanded a peace treaty, which would replace the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War.

It is tempting to try anything that will end the current deadlock with North Korea and there is a recognition that dealing with them is too dangerous and difficult.

Now, said one official who has participated in the recent internal debate, "I think it is fair to say that many in the administration have come to the conclusion that dealing head-on with the nuclear problem is simply too difficult."

The official added, "So the question is whether it would help to try to end the perpetual state of war" that has existed, at least on paper, for 53 years. "It may be another way to get there."

We have already seen in negotiations with other tyrannies (Iran or the Palestinian Authority for instance) that giving them what they want only validates their tactics. A peace treaty with North Korea will give them something that they dearly want, and that can only reinforce them in their behavior. They act the way that they do because it gets them what they want.

Still,

As described by administration officials, none of whom would speak on the record about deliberations inside the White House, Mr. Bush's aides envision starting negotiations over a formal peace treaty that would include the original signatories of the armistice - China, North Korea and the United States, which signed on behalf of the United Nations. They would also add South Korea, now the world's 11th-largest economy, which declined to sign the original armistice.

Japan, Korea's colonial ruler in the first half of the 20th century, would be excluded, as would Russia.

And this at a time when North Korea may well be preparing to test a long range missle capable of striking all of the US.

North Korea missile site under observation

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Activity detected this month at a North Korean missile site was being closely watched yesterday, but officials in northeast Asia expressed doubts that a test launch was imminent.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said the North has transported a missile to the facility, without specifying what kind.

Media in Japan reported it was a ballistic type that some analysts believe could reach the United States.

"In fact, we understand that it (the missile) has been brought to the site," Aso said in Parliament. "But we are not sure about any subsequent moves."

While North Korea's intentions remained unclear, any test-firing would escalate tension in the region and could deal a blow to international efforts to get the communist state to disarm, analysts said [which is no doubt what they want. - ed.].

As to the missile in question,

NHK said if the missile is an advanced version of the Taepodong 2, it would have a firing range of 15,000 kilometres (9,300 miles) that could reach as far as the US mainland, [in fact it would cover all of the US. - ed.] citing unidentified US government officials. Japan's Kyodo News agency had a similar report.

An official at South Korea's Foreign Ministry said on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy, that the government was "closely monitoring and making many-sided efforts to confirm, but (such signs) haven't reached a credible level."

I think that giving North Korea what they want, a peace treaty, is a huge mistake.

New Orthodox Christian Links

I received a very nice email from JamesoftheNorthwest. He is publishing an excellent blog, PARADOSIS, and an excellent web site, Paradosis. These are now listed in my sidebar.

See also the Chronicles of Mary by Dawn.

Go, read, and learn.

Politically Correct Textbooks Hurt US

It is about time that the MSM has noticed this. A textbook case of failure, Politically driven adoption system yields shallow, misleading materials.

Although the author, Alex Johnson, disingenuously suggests that the forces politicizing school textbooks are as much the fault of the Right as the Left, he still points up a very serious problem and even offers a solution.

At its core, the economic surge in India and China comes down to brains. The industries driving the region's challenge to American leadership - communications, information technology, biotech and the like - can't thrive without a steady supply of highly educated, intellectually flexible workers.

This is where the United States is falling behind. "“Most U.S. high school students don't take advanced science; they opt out, with only one-quarter enrolling in physics, one-half in chemistry,"” the National Science Foundation found. The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century concluded that U.S. students were "devastatingly far"” from leading the world in science and math.

...

If America'’s textbooks were systematically graded, Wang and other scholars say, they would fail abysmally.

American textbooks are both grotesquely bloated (so much so that some state legislatures are considering mandating lighter books to save students from back injuries) and light as a feather intellectually, flitting briefly over too many topics without examining any of them in detail. Worse, too many of them are pedagogically dishonest, so thoroughly massaged to mollify competing political and identity-group interests as to paint a startlingly misleading picture of America and its history.

Textbooks have become so bland and watered-down that they are "“a scandal and an outrage," the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit education think tank in Washington, charged in a scathing report issued a year and a half ago.

Read it all. This is very important.

USS Hawaii to be Christened

From Electric Boat Public Affairs:

The third ship of the Virginia class, Hawaii (SSN-776), will be christened at Electric Boat’s Groton shipyard Saturday, June 17, at 11 AM.

The ship sponsor is the Hon. Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii.

Roe v Wade - The Legalization as Liberation Lie

It cannot be said more clearly that this:

Roots of the 'Roe Effect'
Commentary: Beauty and Controversy

SOMERVILLE, May 8 (UPI) -— During my junior year of college, a friend invited me over to her apartment to meet her visiting family. For reasons I never understood, she mentioned in casual conversation that I ran the university's pro-life group. A history of abortion existed in her family. She told me so, many times. I knew her stepmother aborted her sibling at her father's insistence. When my friend mentioned my pro-life views, her father reacted fiercely.

"A woman should have an abortion if she gets pregnant when she's not supposed to," he said. I sat dumbstruck.

"A woman should get an abortion if she gets pregnant when she shouldn't," he repeated. His wife silently slipped into the bathroom.

"I think abortion hurts women," I replied and awkwardly changed the topic. My friend's stepmother wiped away her tears before she returned, but the moisture and redness around her eyes were still visible.

...

What Fran Dahl and so many other baby boomers fail to grasp is that post-Roe children are far more aware of the realities of abortion, legal or otherwise, than the generations before us. Recall the '70s episode of the television sitcom "Maude," in which the main character chooses an abortion. Her daughter actually compares the procedure to "going to the dentist." Nobody in their right mind would write such dialogue today. After 30 years of Roe, the legalization as liberation lie is lost in the image of women crying in the bathroom.

Read the whole thing and have compassion for the women who have been the victims of this insanity.

Murderer Kim Jong-Il Feels Pressure

There are ongoing protests outside the London embassy in an effort to stop this;
North Korea Christian Faces Imminent Execution

PYONGYANG/SEOUL (BosNewsLife) -- Family members and human rights activists urged the international community Saturday, April 22, to pressure North Korea not to execute a Christian man who has been accused of "betrayal" and "espionage" by the Communist government.

Advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which has closely monitored the case, told BosNewsLife that the public execution of Son Jong Nam, 48, was imminent unless the world intervenes.

In a statement CSW and other activists said Son has been imprisoned in the basement of the National Security Agency in the North Korean capital Pyongyang and is "practically dead from horrible torture."

There is so much more. North Korean evil goes on and on;

Korean Reds Targeting Christians

WASHINGTON - A woman in her 20s executed by a firing squad after being caught with a Bible. Five Christian church leaders punished by being run over by a steamroller before a crowd of spectators who "cried, screamed out, or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were crushed."

These and other "horrifying" violations of human rights and religious freedom in North Korea are reported in a new study by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, titled "'Thank You, Father Kim Il Sung': Eyewitness Accounts of Severe Violations of Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion in North Korea."

Yet, the American Left™ continues to support this evil regime.

Hey Kim! People Are Starting to Notice

N. Korea Freedom Day Rally Features Persecuted Church

WASHINGTON -– As one of the most anticipated events planned for North Korea Freedom Week, the rally on Friday not only echoed the calls of abductees, defectors, human rights advocates, and congressmen to achieve human rights for North Koreans and return abductees, but it also spotlighted the issue of the persecuted church.

How bad is it?

"It is believed that thousands of Christians are currently suffering in North Korean prison camps," said Moeller in the article On North Korea, a Country Spotlighted During the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, handed out during the rally. "The country is suspected of detaining more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world."

"The government will arrest not only the suspected dissident but also three generations of his or her family to root out the bad influence. Kim Jong Il is the 'Dear Leader' and has been exalted and revered as a god to be followed with unquestioned obedience."

Reports have indicated that Koreans and tourists are expected to bow to the portraits and statues of Kim Il Sung. Moreover, the Communist government has created its own "trinity" - Kim Il Sung (the father), Kim Jong Il (the son) and the Juche ideology, according to Open Doors USA.

In the 2006 Open Doors World Watch List, North Korea was ranked the country with the world'’s worst persecution of Christians for the fourth straight year.

Kim Jong-Il has long said that there is no persecution in North Korea, that they have no political prisoners, and that there are no executions. He is losing his ability to maintain these fictions. Knowing this, the murderous freaks who run the DPRK continue to hold themselves up as the paragon of human rights.

Pascha Polyglotta

It is a tradition in the Orthodox Church that, beginning during the Resurrection Liturgy through Pentecost, we greet someone with the words, "Christ is Risen". When greeted in this way, we respond,"Truely He is Risen".

We do this in as many languages as possible.
Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!
Christos Voskrese! Voistinou Voskrese!
Al'Masiah qam! haqqan qam!

Here is a site where you, my beloved readers, can find the greeting in 250 languages.

Pascha polyglotta - Paschal Greetings in 250 Languages.

Having this blog, a web site, formerly having two Orthodox Groups, and having been in many other places on the internet, I have friends everywhere, including some in difficult circumstances. For those and everyone, have courage, hope, and faith.

Issah Ghi-yam kard! dar vagheh ou barkhasteh ast!

The Easter Sermon of St. John Chrysostom

If any be pious and a lover of God, let him rejoice in this fair and radiant festival.
If any be a faithful servant let him enter into the joy of his Lord.
If any be weary with fasting, let him now enjoy his payment.

If anyone has labored from the first hour, let him receive today his just reward.
If anyone has come after the third hour, let him now be thankful that the feast is at hand,
If anyone has waited until after the sixth hour, let him not be anxious, no loss shall be his own.
If anyone has tarried until the ninth hour, let him draw near also, shedding all his doubts.
If anyone has come only at the eleventh hour, let him not be fearful because of his delay.

For the Master is bountiful and receives the last even as the first.
He gives repose to him who came at the eleventh hour just as to one who labored from the first.
The tardy are shown mercy and the timely are made whole.
To the one he gives, on the other he bestows.
He honors the deed and praises the intention.

Let all therefore enter into the joy of our Lord, (let both the first and those who came later receive their wages)
Let rich and poor dance with one another. You sober and you heedless celebrate the day.
You who have fasted and you who have not rejoice in this occasion.

The table is full-laden let all enjoy the feast.
The calf is fatted, let no one go forth hungry.
Let all partake of the banquet of faith, let all partake of the riches of goodness.

Let none mourn his poverty, for the kingdom stands before us.
Let none lament his failings, forgiveness has risen from the tomb.
Let none fear death, for the death of the Savior has set us free.

He quenched death when it had tasted his flesh.
He despoiled Hades when he descended thereto
Foreseeing this, Isaiah cried:
'Hell was embittered when it met you face to face.'

It was embittered for it was made void,
It was embittered for it was mocked,
It was embittered for it was slain,
It was embittered for it was despoiled.
It was embittered for it was led off in chains.

It received a body and encountered God,
It received earth and came face to face with heaven.
It received what it saw and fell where it could not see.

Death where is thy sting,
Hades where is thy victory?

Christ is risen and you are cast down,
Christ is risen and the demons are fallen,
Christ is risen and the angels rejoice,
Christ is risen and life is made free.
Christ is risen and there is none dead in the tomb.

For Christ is risen from the dead as the first fruits of those that fell asleep.

To him be glory and power forever and ever, Amen.


Translated by Frank Dobbs

God bless all of you, my dear readers.

Daily History Lesson

I received this in my email;

Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer & would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in winter.

The 2 most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into 2 distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as "the Conservative movement."

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girliemen.'

Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.

Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, Marines, athletes and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tame and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:
It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to respond to the above before simply laughing and forwarding it. A Conservative will be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately.

Despicable Lies for Peace

Cindy Sheehan, the hate-America-first "Peace Mom" uses her own heroic son's death to tell despicable lies.
Charles has the story over at Little Green Footballs.

The Lies of a Peace Mom

Read it. He does it much better that I can, and this is stunning.

Religion of Peace and Forgiveness

Islamists Post Hit List of 'Apostates';

An Egyptian group calling itself the "al-Jama’ah Consultative Council" has sent an e-mail hit list to people deemed 'apostates' yesterday. The group warned that those people on the list who had left the faith would have three days (as of yesterday) to repent or they would be killed. The group also warned that the wives and children of the Muslim apostates were being followed & would be killed.

Under Islamic Law, the maximum penalty for apostasy is death.

The list includes prominent Muslims living in the West who have spoken out against violent Islamic extremism and intolerance, some still living in Muslim countries, as well as Coptic Christians who have advocated equal treatment in Egypt.

I have a friend in Egypt, a Coptic Christian, who may be on that list.

Hillary Two Ways

Hillary goes conservative on immigration

In an interview last month on Fox News, Mrs. Clinton said she does not "think that we have protected our borders or our ports or provided our first responders with the resources they need, so we can do more and we can do better."

In an interview on WABC radio, she said: "I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants."

Her view is much softer now. From her own Senate web page, IMMIGRATION

This administration has failed to provide the resources to protect our borders, or a better system to keep track of entrants to this country. I welcome the addition of more border security, particularly on the Northern Border, with passage of the Intelligence Reform bill in December of 2004 – but it should not have taken more than 3 years after 9/11 to make this needed change, and there is still much more that must be done to keep America safe, including stronger inspection of cargo on ships and airplanes. Moreover, just two months after signing the Intelligence Reform bill with great fanfare, President Bush refused to provide the necessary funding in his Fiscal Year 2006 proposed budget sufficient to hire all of the border patrol agents that had been authorized. Fortunately, during the Senate’s debate on the budget in March of 2005, we passed an amendment to provide increased funding for border patrol agents. I hope the Republican leadership will support the maintenance of this funding, to provide the resources necessary to properly protect our borders.

So, how about the Southern Border, Hillary?

There Really IS a Problem with Global Warming

There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998

For many years now, human-caused climate change has been viewed as a large and urgent problem. In truth, however, the biggest part of the problem is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco. Consider the simple fact, drawn from the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, that for the years 1998-2005 global average temperature did not increase (there was actually a slight decrease, though not at a rate that differs significantly from zero).

Yes, you did read that right. And also, yes, this eight-year period of temperature stasis did coincide with society's continued power station and SUV-inspired pumping of yet more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In response to these facts, a global warming devotee will chuckle and say "how silly to judge climate change over such a short period". Yet in the next breath, the same person will assure you that the 28-year-long period of warming which occurred between 1970 and 1998 constitutes a dangerous (and man-made) warming. Tosh. Our devotee will also pass by the curious additional facts that a period of similar warming occurred between 1918 and 1940, well prior to the greatest phase of world industrialisation, and that cooling occurred between 1940 and 1965, at precisely the time that human emissions were increasing at their greatest rate.

This is controversial because what should be science is actually politics.

Since the early 1990s, the columns of many leading newspapers and magazines, worldwide, have carried an increasing stream of alarmist letters and articles on hypothetical, human-caused climate change. Each such alarmist article is larded with words such as "if", "might", "could", "probably", "perhaps", "expected", "projected" or "modelled" - and many involve such deep dreaming, or ignorance of scientific facts and principles, that they are akin to nonsense.

The problem here is not that of climate change per se, but rather that of the sophisticated scientific brainwashing that has been inflicted on the public, bureaucrats and politicians alike. Governments generally choose not to receive policy advice on climate from independent scientists. Rather, they seek guidance from their own self-interested science bureaucracies and senior advisers, or from the IPCC itself. No matter how accurate it may be, cautious and politically non-correct science advice is not welcomed in Westminster [or in Washington D.C. - ed.], and nor is it widely reported.

This is an excellent piece by Bob Carter, who provides good support for his thesis. Go and read the whole thing.

Dry Dock 2 is Empty

Looking out of the window by my desk on Pier 4 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard I saw a barge slip by with a cylindrical canister on in. This canister was 32 feet in diameter and just slightly longer than that.

Dry Dock 2 is flooded and otherwise empty.

Its previous occupant exists now only in the memory of her heroic crew.

Illegals to Get In-State Tuition

In another fit of liberal™ idiocy and America-hatred the liberal™ members of Congress have decided that, if you are in the United States illegally, then you should be able to get in-state tuition at every public college and university in the country. Of course, U.S. citizens can't do that.

Immigration bill proposes in-state tuition for illegals

"This means that while American citizens from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Massachusetts have to pay out-of-state tuition rates if they send their kids to the University of Virginia or the University of Alabama, people who have illegally immigrated into the country do not," Mr. Sessions said. "How much sense does that make, to have people here illegally and they have more benefits than those who are here legally?"

Despite the National Leadership's effort to jam this down the national throat, the people do not like it.

But voters, even in liberal states such as Massachusetts, overwhelmingly oppose providing in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts legislature was poised to approve such a measure. But after a statewide groundswell of opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, the state House voted it down by a 96-57 vote.

The bill in the Senate, Mr. Session said, also would make illegals eligible for financial aid.

The financial-aid provision has been removed.

It's a good thing that this bill is failing. Bad legislation is worse than no legislation at all.

The EU is Shocked, Shocked

EU hears the plight of North Korea's refugees

BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament held its first public hearing on the North Korean human rights issue in Brussels, Belgium on March 23. About 100 participants including European Parliament members, NGO representatives and journalists attended the hearing. Three defectors from North Korea also attended, and their stark testimonies shocked the participants.

Istvan Szent-Ivany, a Hungarian member of the European Parliament who presided over the hearing, emphasized that "human rights are universal rights," and passionately requested North Korea to respect these rights.

Murderous tyrannical regimes have always responded well to begging, and that is good because that is all that the UN, the EU and other liberal western European organizations do.

In an even more amazing development, the EU members seems puzzled at liberal self destructive self loathing.

Meanwhile, some 100 South Korean civil activists and students held demonstrations and rallies in Brussels fiercely criticizing the hearing for "assisting the United States in using the human rights issue as mean to gain hegemony."

Some puzzled members of the European Parliament who attended the hearing asked, "Why do South Koreans oppose the hearing, rather than criticizing North Koreans for committing human rights violations?" Professor Yoo Sae Hee, who attended the hearing as a South Korean representative said, "I feel ashamed as a South Korean. Those who are demonstrating against the hearing are not representatives of South Korea."

Read the whole thing. There is some interesting political interplay described there. Sadly, the upshot of the whole thing is that, although shocked, the EU wants more conferences, discussion, etc.

In Memoriam - USS Thresher (SSN 593)

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN 593).

The men lost aboard USS Thresher.

Officers
Harvey, John W.     LCDR, Commanding Officer
Garner, Pat M.     LCDR, Executive Officer
Di Nola, Michael J.     Lieutenant Commander
Lyman, John S., Jr.     Lieutenant Commander
Collier, Merrill F.     Lieutenant
Smarz, John, Jr.     Lieutenant
Babcock, Ronald C.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Grafton, John G.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Henry, James. J., Jr.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Parsons, Guy C., Jr.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Wiley, John J.     Lieutenant (Junior Grade)

Enlisted Crew
Arenault, Tilmon J.     ENCA (SS)
Bain, Ronald E.     EN2 (SS)
Bell, John E.     MM1
Bobbitt, Edgar S.     EM2 (SS)
Boster, Gerald C.     EM3 (SS)
Bracey, George     SD3 (SS)
Brann, Richard P.     EN2 (SS)
Carkoski, Richard J.     EN2 (SS)
Cayey, Steven G.     TM2 (SS)
Christiansen, Edward     SN (SS)
Claussen, Larry W.     EM2 (SS)
Clements, Thomas E.     ETR3 (SS)
Cummings, Francis M.     SOS2 (SS)
Carmody, Patrick W.     SK2
Dabruzzi, Samuel J.     ETN2 (SS)
Davison, Clyde E., III     ETR3
Day, Donald C.     EN3 (SS)
Denny, Roy O., Jr.     EM1 (SS)
DiBella, Peter J.     SN
Dundas, Don R.     ENT2 (SS)
Dyer, Troy E.     ET1 (SS)
Forni, Ellwod H.     SOCA (SS)
Foti, Raymond P.     ET1 (SS)
Freeman, Larry W.     FTM2 (SS)
Fusco, Gregory J.     EM2 (SS)
Gallant, Andrew J., Jr.     HMC (SS)
Garcia, Napoleon T.     SD1 (SS)
Garner, John E.     YNSN (SS)
Gaynor, Robert W.     EN2 (SS)
Gosnell, Robert H.     SA (SS)
Graham, William E.     SOC (SS)
Gunter, Aaron J.     QM1 (SS)
Hall, Richard C.     ETR2 (SS)
Hayes, Norman T.     EM1
Heiser, Laird, G.     MM1
Helsius, Marvin T.     MM2
Hewitt, Leonard H.     EMCA (SS)
Hoague, Joseph H.     TM2 (SS)
Hodge, James P.     EM2
Hudson, John F.     EN2 (SS)
Inglis, John F.     FN
Johnson, Brewner G.     FTG1 (SS)
Johnson, Edward A.     ENCA (SS)
Johnson, Richard L.     RMSA
Johnson, Robert E.     TMC (SS)
Johnson, Thomas B.     ET1 (SS)
Jones, Richard W.     EM2 (SS)
Kaluza, Edmund J., Jr.     SOS2 (SS)
Kantz, Thomas C.     ETR2 (SS)
Kearney, Robert D.     MM3
Keiler, Ronald D.     IC2 (SS)
Kiesecker, George J.     MM2 (SS)
Klier, Billy M.     EN1 (SS)
Kroner, George R.     CS3
Lanouette, Norman G.     QM1 (SS)
Lavoie, Wayne W.     YN1 (SS)
Mabry, Templeman N., Jr.     EN2 (SS)
Mann, Richard H., Jr.     IC2 (SS)
Marullo, Julius F., Jr.     QM1 (SS)
McClelland, Douglas R.     EM2 (SS)
McCord, Donald J.     MM1 (SS)
McDonough, Karl P.     TM3 (SS)
Middleton, Sidney L.     MM1 (SS)
Muise, Ronald A.     CS2
Musselwhite, James A.     ETN2 (SS)
Nault, Donald E.     CS1 (SS)
Noonis, Walter J.     RMC (SS)
Norris, John D.     ET1 (SS)
Oetting, Chesley C.     EM2
Pennington, Roscoe C.     EMCA (SS)
Peters, James G.     EMCS
Phillippi, James F.     SOS2 (SS)
Philput, Dan A.     EN2 (SS)
Podwell, Richard     MM2
Regan, John S.     MM1 (SS)
Ritchie, James P.     RM2
Robison, Pervis, Jr.     SN
Rountree, Glenn A.     QM2 (SS)
Rushetski, Anthony A.     ETN2
Schiewe, James M.     EM1 (SS)
Shafer, Benjamin N.     EMCM (SS)
Shafer, John D.     EMCS (SS)
Shimko, Joseph T.     MM1
Shotwell, Burnett, M.     ETRSN
Sinnett, Alan D.     FTG2 (SS)
Smith, William H., Jr.     BT12
Solomon, Ronald H.     EM1
Steinel, Robert E.     SO1 (SS)
Snider, James L.     MM1
Van Pelt, Rodger E.     IC1 (SS)
Wasel, David A.     RMSN
Walski, Joseph A.     RM1 (SS)
Wiggins, Charles L.     FTG1
Wise, Donald E.     MMCA (SS)
Wolf, Ronald E.     QMSN (SS)
Zweifel, Jay H.     EM2

Naval Observers
Krag, Robert L.     Lieutenant Commander Staff, Deputy Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet
Allen, Phillip H.     Lieutenant Commander Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Billings, John H.     Lieutenant Commander Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Biederman, Robert D.     Lieutenant Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Civilian Technicians
Abrams, Fred P.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Beal, Daniel W., Jr.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Charron, Robert E.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Critchley, Kenneth J.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Currier, Paul C.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Des Jardins, Richard R.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Dineen, George J.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Fisher, Richard R.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Guerette, Paul A.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Moreau, Henry C.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Palmer, Franklin J.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Prescott, Robert D.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Whitten Laurence E.     Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Corcoran, Kenneth R.     Sperry Corporation
Keuster, Donald W.     Sperry Corporation
Stademuller, Donald T.     Sperry Corporation
Jaquay, Maurice F.     Raytheon Corporation

May they all be resting in the presence of God.

And, pray for all for those who go to sea in ships. God bless them all.

When Naked, Safety First!

The Deadly Funnel Web Spider

Ok, I appreciate getting naked as well as the next guy, but one thing NOT to do is mess around with gasoline and matches at the same time. Actually, one should not do this when clothed, either

Nudist's spider-killing stunt backfires

A naked man suffered burns to one-fifth of his body when he tried to set fire to a spider at a nudist resort in the NSW southern highlands.

The 56-year-old Sydney man tried to kill what he thought was a funnel web spider by pouring petrol down the spider's burrow and igniting it with a match, the NRMA CareFlight service said.

But the fuel exploded and the man was left with burns to 18 per cent of his body, on the upper leg and buttocks.

The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Sidney. He will be ok.

But, to add insult to injury,

Resort guests told emergency crews it was probably a harmless trapdoor spider and not a deadly funnel web, CareFlight said.

The man's lack of clothing probably contributed to the extent of his burns, the rescue chopper service said.

Gee, do ya think?

Trap Door Spider

Charles from the Planetoid Aidemydni

As both of my beloved readers know, I am a big fan of Charles Johnson, author of Little Green Footballs (LGF). You can probably tell by my badge.

Since he is an influence on me, in fact the influence that got me started in blogging, I thought it only proper to let you know a little more about him.

Two old posts from LGF that identify Charles.

"Charles" and The Truth about LFG. This is one of his funniest threads.

A drawing of "Charles" - The Terrible Secret of LFG

NOTE: I am, in fact, a member of the lizardoid army.
(Pssst, Charles, where's my check?)

Stupid Criminal Discovers Sumo

Crime weighs heavy;

What’s the worst that could happen if you’ve been caught stealing? That your crime weighs heavy on your conscience, and leaves you wrestling with your morals?

Or this: Your crime weighs heavy on your middle-aged body, and leaves you wrestling with Sumos?

HUNGH? Strange but true – it’s exactly what happened to Konoshin Kawabata in Osaka, Japan.

He stumbled upon a perfect opportunity to burglarize a building on the Shounji temple premises. A door was unlocked, the lights were off, and it was the wee hours of the morning. The Japanese man, who’s pushing 50, must’ve thought: lucky.

Damn, did he think too soon. As he started rummaging for loot, he felt himself being “caught by a massive man” whom he could not make out in the dark.

The lights were then turned on, showing Kawabata what the hell sort of mondo bizaaro was really going on. A freakin’ Sumo wrestler had tackled him – bear-hugged, in the wrestler’s own words – whilst over a dozen other Sumo wrestlers had him surrounded.

Dewanosato (real name: Hideyuki Kawahara) was the Sumo wrestler who pinned down the burglar. Don’t deadpan now: this dude just happens to stand 5′10” (180 cm) and weigh 289 lbs (131 kg).

Since the Japanese cannot legally keep a gun in the house, perhaps they should keep a Sumo wrestler. Perhaps an "Adopt a Sumo" program.

More Torture at Guantanamo Bay

The anti-American, openly Leftist™ paper, The Guardian, has the story. A big thank you to Charles for this.

Cuba? It was great, say boys freed from US prison camp

Asadullah strives to make his point, switching to English lest there be any mistaking him. "I am lucky I went there, and now I miss it. Cuba was great," said the 14-year-old, knotting his brow in the effort to make sure he is understood.

Not that Asadullah saw much of the Caribbean island. During his 14-month stay, he went to the beach only a couple of times - a shame, as he loved to snorkel. And though he learned a few words of Spanish, Asadullah had zero contact with the locals.

He spent a typical day watching movies, going to class and playing football. He was fascinated to learn about the solar system, and now enjoys reciting the names of the planets, starting with Earth. Less diverting were the twice-monthly interrogations about his knowledge of al-Qaida and the Taliban. But, as Asadullah's answer was always the same - "I don't know anything about these people" - these sessions were merely a bore: an inevitably tedious consequence, Asadullah suggests with a shrug, of being held captive in Guantanamo Bay.

On January 29, Asadullah and two other juvenile prisoners were returned home to Afghanistan. The three boys are not sure of their ages. But, according to the estimate of the Red Cross, Asadullah is the youngest, aged 12 at the time of his arrest. The second youngest, Naqibullah, was arrested with him, aged perhaps 13, while the third boy, Mohammed Ismail, was a child at the time of his separate arrest, but probably isn't now.

Tracked down to his remote village in south-eastern Afghanistan, Naqibullah has memories of Guantanamo that are almost identical to Asadullah's. Prison life was good, he said shyly, nervous to be receiving a foreigner to his family's mud-fortress home.

The food in the camp was delicious, the teaching was excellent, and his warders were kind. "Americans are good people, they were always friendly, I don't have anything against them," he said. "If my father didn't need me, I would want to live in America."

Asadullah is even more sure of this. "Americans are great people, better than anyone else," he said, when found at his elder brother's tiny fruit and nut shop in a muddy backstreet of Kabul. "Americans are polite and friendly when you speak to them. They are not rude like Afghans. If I could be anywhere, I would be in America. I would like to be a doctor, an engineer, or an American soldier."

...

Naqibullah, Asadullah and Mohammed Ismail were moved into one large room, which was never locked. They were taught Pashto (their own language), English, Arabic, maths, science, art and, for two months, Islam. "The American soldiers ate pork but they said we must never do that because we were Muslim," said Naqibullah. "They were very strict about Islam."

To bad that the Americans were strict about Islam, but these are now probably the best educated people in their local area.

Sadly for the Left™, now there are at least three children in the world who have been un-taught how to hate Americans.

So ... What Are You Choosing?

All of those of you who are "pro-choice" and believe that a fetus is just a clump of cells need to read this. From the very liberal BBC, Premature babies 'feel true pain'

Experts have never been sure how a premature baby responds to pain, the Journal of Neuroscience reported.

But a team from University College London found that they do feel pain after analysing brain scans taken when blood samples were being drawn.

They hope the findings will lead to more formal plans for managing pain in premature babies.

Lead researcher Professor Maria Fitzgerald said: "We have shown for the first time that the information about pain reaches the brain in premature babies.

"Beforehand, although we could assume it, we did not know for sure that these babies could feel pain.

"These babies' brains are so immature that it was difficult to genuinely know that the pain was going to their brain."

Previous research had shown that premature babies are capable of displaying behavioural, physiological and metabolic signs of pain and distress.

This makes clear exactly what abortion is.

Basic Instinct #2 does Poorly, Bush Blamed

And no, that is not a pun.

Erotic thrillers lose steam at box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The last time "Basic Instinct" man-eater Catherine Tramell prowled the big screen, the studio erotic thriller was hitting box office heights. The first "Instinct" took the top spot when it debuted in 1992, with an opening weekend of $15.1 million, the equivalent of $20.45 million in today's dollars.

By comparison, "Basic Instinct 2" limped into 10th place upon its arrival this weekend, grossing just $3.2 million.

And why would that be?

Paul Verhoeven, director of the first "Basic Instinct" (which scored $353 million worldwide) as well as the widely ridiculed "Showgirls" (now regarded as something of a camp classic), attributes the genre's demise to the current American political climate.

"Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native. "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends."

Scribe Nicholas Meyer, who was an uncredited writer on 1987's seminal sex-fueled cautionary tale "Fatal Attraction," agrees, noting that the genre's downfall coincides with the ascent of the conservative political movement.

"We're in a big puritanical mode," he said. "Now, it's like the McCarthy era, except it's not 'Are you a communist?' but 'Have you ever put sex in a movie?'"

I'm sure that you all remember the recent Congressional hearings where large numbers of movie producers and directors were angrily asked "Have you ever put sex in a movie?", threatened with imprisonment in Branson, Missouri. [Note to liberals, this didn't really happen. - ed.]

Even rich liberals like these assume an entitlement for themselves. They believe that they are entitled to business success, and if they don't get it, it is the fault of the government (read GWB).

From Mere Comments, Erotic Thrillers Unexciting

What are these guys smoking? Who is chasing them? Christians--no, those nasty Puritans are back--are banning sex in the movies? Gads, sex not only in the movies, it's on prime-time television and cable, the internet--you don't have to go to the movies to see erotic thrills.

Has it every occurred to them that lust, after multiple viewings, isn't all that interesting? Maybe "pure" eroticism is just one-dimensional and boring? I mean, how much can you say about it? And is the following comment unintentionally admitting this?

Mark Damon, once dubbed the king of eroticism for producing such steamy classics as 1986's "9 1/2 Weeks" and 1990's "Wild Orchid," said he stopped producing sex-steeped dramas because "I didn't find any scripts that were worth producing. The genre had exhausted itself."

There is nothing there, it is just the same thing over and over again.

The problem that Paul Verhoeven and Nicholas Meyer have is that they are Leftists™ who cannot image that market forces have any effect on attendance. Sort of like not seeing an elephant in the living room.

Gun Control

I am an expert in this weapon and have the medal for it - the M1911A .45 Caliber Pistol

Liberals have made a big issue of restricting private gun ownership. The idea runs like this; if law abiding citizens had no guns, then the gun carrying criminals will not harm us, resulting in fewer violent crimes.

There is some sound reasoning for you.

The people do not agree.

Everyone not previously convicted of a serious crime should be permitted to carry a sidearm. Criminals are less likely to attack someone if that someone might shoot back.

See also;

Gun control doesn't reduce crime, violence, say studies

WASHINGTON – While it is an article of faith among gun-control proponents that government restrictions on firearms reduces violence and crime, two new U.S. studies could find no evidence to support such a conclusion.

The National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, a survey of 80 different gun-control laws and some of its own independent study. In short, the panel could find no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or even accidents with guns.

The panel was established during the Clinton administration and all but one of its members were known to favor gun control.

Bush Was Right

Yeah, baby!

Rock and Roll!

I agree with the review at Wizbang. A protest song for the Right.

Drunk Blogging

Ok, I admit that I have been drinking for the past few...well, it doesn't matter. I just finished bottling some wine that I made (from a kit).

I was going to post my outrage over a human rights issue that I have just run across, but I'll do that later.

I am now watching Carousel on DVD. This is excellent music in the best American tradition. If you haven't seen it, get it and watch. It is exceptional. American musical theater is a uniquely American art form of great value, and this is one of the best examples of it.

I'll do the serious stuff later. Now is the time to enjoy something splendid.

Sharon Stone Tells Children - Give Oral Sex

And you think that I am making this up.

From Mere Comments, Teenage Girls, Oral Sex, and the New Feminism

Stone talks about watching a mother and daughter trying on clothing in a department store. The mother was concerned about the daughter showing her stomach in the outfit she wanted to buy. When the mother walked away, Stone approached the teenager and gave her some tips on sex and avoiding diseases such as AIDS. Her advice to teenagers is simple:

Young people talk to me about what to do if they're being pressed for sex? I tell them (what I believe): oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex. If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer [oral sex]. I'm not embarrassed to tell them.

This advice is astounding. Not because a Hollywood actress opposes Christian understandings of sexual morality. That is nothing new. What's astounding is how resigned this feminist activist actress is to a patriarchy of the most predatory kind.

There are two things that I find astounding here;
1. That Sharon Stone would simply walk up to another woman's child and say this.

2. That she thinks that she is virtuous for doing so is not surprising, being the arrogant elitist liberal that she is, but that exactly no one in the press thinks this is noteworthy. See the original news article.

Speech Freedom Protected?

Proposed FEC Rules Would Exempt Most Political Activity on Internet

I'm not ready to remove my Gadsden Flag yet.