According to the State Department, over 14,500 people were killed in 2005 at the hands of terrorists, most of which were of the radical Islamic brand. We can only be fortunate that Islam is a religion of peace. Imagine the slaughter if Islamists were warlike, bloodthirsty murdering savages…
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a3vX8NFzDigM&refer=us

According to the US Department of Commerce, the US economy grew at rate of 4.8% during the first quarter of 2006. This figure represents the highest rate of growth in over 2 years, and lends further credence to the soundness of the president’s economic tax policies, contrary to the socialist diatribes of Bush’s detractors on the left.

In spite of this record growth and a recent boost in consumer confidence, the President’s approval ratings continue to slide. A number of factors contribute to this phenomenon. In the first place, Bush is largely blamed for recent increases in the price of gas, thanks largely in part to the ignorance of the masses of poorly educated citizenry. Bush has also failed to adequately rebut erroneous charges made by the left, who blame the president for any and everything.

In most cases, Bush has remained silent while leftists continue to set the political mood in Washington, thus many Americans believe the economy has been performing poorly, when in reality growth remains high, while unemployment remains low.

For 4 years the left has propagated the fantasy of economic decline, inspired solely by their desire to return to power, the president has been the principle target in this campaign and the president has done nothing to educate the public on the reality of America’s economic progress. Indeed, considering the obstacles this president has encountered including a recession when he took office, a major terror attack and rising gas prices, Bush should be commended for steering the American economy through one rough patch after another. The tax cuts have worked, even if Bush won’t tell you and the left won’t admit.

Bush’s silence has only emboldened his critics. This combined with his many missteps and reckless spending has ensured a Democratic victory in the fall.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13129-2156190,00.html

Very rarely does a movie come along that so accurately depicts the cataclysmic struggles of our time or those of the past. Movies like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler’s List" are notable exceptions, today, however, is another exception…This week “United 93” opens in theaters around the country. The movie depicts the final moments of that ill-fated flight on September 11, 2001 and the heroic efforts of the passengers, who upon learning of other terror attacks that day, vowed not to allow the murdering savages who took control of their plane to strike another target.

Those passengers succeeded in that goal, though they paid with their lives, making the passengers of United 93 actual martyrs, unlike the terrorists who were simply murderers, who died for nothing. No matter how difficult it may be to watch, no matter how troubling or sad it may make you feel, every American should see this film. Schools should have field trips to local theaters to witness the harrowing struggle of these valiant men and women, but perhaps the most important reason for watching this film is to remind each and every American what we are fighting for.

We are fighting for our homes, our communities, or businesses and the families we want to go home to. We are fighting for freedom, freedom to worship as we please, freedom to speak, freedom to do nothing if it pleases us and we are fighting against freedom’s oldest enemy (to borrow from Frank Capra): the passion of the few to rule the many. If we lose this fight as some appear determined to do either through complacency, indifference or treason, we will most certainly lose everything.

For too many Americans the war on terror has been forgotten…rest assured our enemies have not forgotten, each and everyday they plot and plan means to execute their vile and murderous credo: submit, convert or die. Each and every day around the world we see the consequences of inaction, we see the price of complacency and we also see how murderously efficient the purveyors of hate and terror can be, whether its in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Indonesia, Russia, Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Argentina, the United States, the Philippines or countless other nations where radical Islam has reared its ugly head.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/28/ew.mov.93/index.html

Perhaps the worse kept secret in the Middle East is Iran's nuclear intentions. Since it was revealed, over 2 years ago, that Iran was conducting secret nuclear research the US and Europe have tried, to no avail, to put an end to the Iranian program.

Since the existence of Iran's research was revealed, the Mullahs of Tehran have assured critics and contemporaries alike that their program was solely for peaceful power production, which defies logic.

Why would Iran invest billions in power production when it has one of the world's largest reserves of oil and natural gas? Why would Iran invest billions in a clandestine "peaceful" program?

Iran has consistenly obstructed the diplomatic process and its own officials have admitted that their strategy is primarily designed to buy time rather than a genuine effort to resolve the crisis. Even Russia, Iran's most vocal supporter on the UN Security Council, has stated as much.

If Iran acquires an indigenous nuclear capability it will most certainly proliferate. Before long other radical regimes and organizations will acquire this capability, ensuring generations of war and possibly the deaths of millions. The Iranians have all but admitted as much.

Just this week an Iranian official in Sudan told his Sudanese hosts that the Iranian regime would share its nuclear technology with other nations...when will the world recognize this danger for what it is? Compared to this crisis, oil prices are nothing more than spilled milk.

George Bush latest zinger is a doozy. In a move designed purely to placate leftists and kowtow to the ignorance of the American public, the president called for an investigation into price gouging and collusion among the nation’s oil companies. The president has been largely blamed by the left for the rise in prices at the gas pump, an act that in and of itself demonstrates the overwhelming stupidity of many American politicians and their constituents. Bush is no more responsible for high gas prices than Clinton was responsible for low prices during the mid-90s.

During the Clinton era, worldwide demand for petroleum was down. Many Asian and European countries were in recession and output was up, the inexorable logic of events would therefore dictate that prices would decline as supply increased, while demand decreased. Today the opposite is true, nations like China and India are growing by leaps and bounds, by most estimates both are growing at an annual rate of over 10%, This as there is increased volatility in oil rich regions including Iran and Nigeria, not to mention that US demand continues to far outpace supply. This has led to a continued rise in prices. Since most Americans and the hack politicians they elect know nothing of economics, this reality is lost in the rush to blame someone for the price of gasoline. Thus the left has chosen a convenient target, the president, the same individual they blame for all their troubles from causing Hurricane Katrina to Flu Vaccine shortages, even for the death of Christopher Reeve.

The president, rather than attempting to educate the American public (perhaps he is not up to the challenge) choose instead to join the fray calling for a full-scale investigation of gas prices to insure oil companies are not attempting to fix the price of gasoline a premise, which is quite simply devoid of logic. During the president’s speech yesterday, he also introduced other measures to lower the price of gas, including a halt to deposits in the strategic oil reserve (in order to increase supply). While an increase in supply will reduce prices, the amount is negligible. The president also called for waivers on environmental regulations concerning gasoline blends.

The president’s dishwatery speech does not begin to address the major issues concerning America’s 3rd energy crisis in as many decades, but only serves the left in the one track minded anti-free market socialist agenda. While Chuck Schumer and company call on the president to “get tough on Big Oil,” they do nothing to address the real issue. Schumer even called for a break up of big oil, implying there was a monopoly in the gasoline industry.

If anything an AT&T style breakup of the country’s major oil companies would likely increase prices given overlapping bureaucracies and diminished economies of scale, something Schumer and his democratic compatriots could not explain if their lives depended on it. Steps must be taken to encourage increased domestic production, while also encouraging research, development and consumption of petroleum alternatives. Indeed, the blindness of politicians and the gullibility of the population at large highlights the unabashed failure and disinterest of education in America.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-industry26apr26,0,3662010.story?coll=la-home-headlines

What does it say about a person when the highlight of their life is a high school prom? Next to a high school graduation, which is no great feat in and of itself, there is nothing sadder than a person who’s fondest memory, the pinnacle of their life, is a dance they attended at 17.

What does it say about one’s accomplishments if the prom is the best memory they can muster? Unfortunately, for many children there are no subsequent accomplishments after the prom, what they have in store is a life of mediocrity, brought on by sloth and complacency.

For many teens, the prom has become the most important event in their high school lives, far more than the SAT, GPA or any other academic acronym. As such students and parents alike spend big money for the prom and prom related activities and accessories. We have heard stories of children arriving at proms in everything from Ferraris to helicopters; with girls wearing dresses costing in excess of several thousand dollars.

Does it really matter if children and their parents choose to waste their money on prom dresses and limousine rides? Certainly not, they have the freedom to spend their money however they see fit, its unfortunate, however, that these same teens and their equally washed up parents who live vicariously through their soon to be washed up children, choose not to focus on pursuing more worthwhile endeavors, ones which pay handsome dividends in the long run.

This phenomenon of lavish prom spending only highlights the failure of parents to entrench much needed values and an appreciation for hard work, such values have long since been replaced with an entitlement mentality by which parents seek to buy their children’s love.
ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/badie/entries/2006/04/25/showing_love_do.html
ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/gwinnett_44a42fc7e5aa91310034.html

Little has been written of the conflict in Sudan, where thousands of men women and children have been slaughtered by government forces backed by a violent militia. Africa is home to numerous civil wars and conflicts, perhaps that is the reason why the conflict in Sudan doesn’t garner much media attention, but then again perhaps the absence of media coverage has more to do with the nature of the war being waged the Dafur region of Sudan.

To call attention to this conflict would scuttle the leftist argument that terror began with the war in Iraq, is directed solely against the US and its Iraq war allies and is a direct result of Bush administration’s policies, all of which are nonsense.

For such a premise to hold water one must discount the countless Islamic terrorist acts that take place everyday that do not involve the US, dating back over 40 years, including the present day conflict in Sudan.

Today, thousands of Islamic radicals, including members of Al Qaeda, are flooding to that impoverished region to wage war. This war pits Muslim Arab Sudanese in the north against Black Africans in Southern Dafur, many of whom are Christian, Animists and other tribal faiths. Groups like the Janjaweed, an Arab militia, have swept through towns eradicating every last vestige of the town’s inhabitants. All in the name of ethnic cleansing. This conflict in Sudan highlights the inescapable reality of a world wide Pan-Islamic movement to wipe out infidels wherever they may be found, whether its on the streets of the United Kingdom, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, Spain, Sudan, the US or hundreds of other locations. This war is being fought along a 25,000 mile front, a reality the left conveniently ignores as they fight their own personal war against George Bush, regardless of the consequences.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4942026.stm

Unlike the decisive 1815 Battle of New Orleans, this year's battle pits two hack politicans against one another in a race for mayor of the city that poverty built.

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D) an inept politican in his own right, has forced incumbent mayor Ray Nagin into a runoff one month from now.

If Nagin is reelected it is further proof that popular democracy is a failure. If any political leader deserves censure (or defeat) it is Ray Nagin.

Nagin's incompetent leadership during Hurricane Katrina was disgraceful, made worse by his shameless attempt to blame others (i.e., Bush) for his failure to follow the city's own evacuation plan. That incompetence is epitomized in the hundreds of flooded buses that sat idle as the city's poor residents camped in the Super Dome.

Both Landrieu and Nagin have a month to vie for votes. Without question Ray "Chocolate City" Nagin will turn this campaign into a race matter, and sadly his message will resonate with New Orleans' sheeplike electorate.

This week the authoritarian Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin vowed to support sanctions against Iran if it is proven that Iran is indeed developing a nuclear weapons capacity.

This position runs counter to conventional wisdom. It is widely recognized that Iran is developing an indigenous nuclear weapons program, even Russia has acknowledged this truth. Yet the Russians stubbornly oppose any action to punish the Mullahs of Tehran, especially sanctions.

In one breath Russia warns that Iran is developing atomic weapons and calls on the radical regime to end nuclear enrichment activities and in the next it vows to continue supplying Iran with technical expertise and advanced weaponry. Very soon Russia will regret its double talk which serve only to protect its lucrative trade deals with Tehran.

Inevitably, Iran will develop a weapons capacity which will subsequently proliferate through the domain of Radical Islam, threatening the West and Russia alike. Meanwhile, the EU3 continue to call for fruitless negotiations.

In 1939 German émigré and noted scientist, Albert Einstein penned a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt. At the time Einstein was recognized as one of the world's foremost physicists, and unlike other prominent physicists such as Enrico Fermi or Leo Szilard, was well known among non-scientific circle. Einstein's letter came at the behest of several prominent physicists, including Szilard who recognized the destructive potential of atomic energy.

Einstein was a pacifist, but unlike today's modern leftists, recognized a threat when he saw one and to Einstein the Nazis represented a dangerous threat to the peace of the world. Einstein warned of the dangers of atomic energy and its potential as a weapon, something the Nazi, who had a penchant for experimental weaponry, had already grown to appreciate. There was much skepticism in DC and the Manhattan project didn't launch until the last days of 1941. After 3 years of secretive research and experimentation, at a cost of $2 billion ($20 billion in today's dollars), the US atomic bomb project was complete and ready for use.

That was over 60 years ago, today, nations like Iran have toiled for decades in pursuit of a bomb, with technology that is widely understood and freely accessible among military and civilian circles, so what is the hold up? If a country desires a bomb and has the financial resources, yet fails to deliver can we assume that they are more than 60 years behind the
times?

In Nepal, the monarchy has come under increasing pressure to renounce authoritarian rule, The country, long an absolute monarchy, embraced democratic reforms under then King Birendra, who was assassinated in 2001, by his son the crown prince.

Since that time Nepal has been ruled by Birendra’s brother King Gyanendra. Under his leadership the pace of democratic reform came to a screeching halt as Maoist rebels sought to overthrow the Nepalese regime. The King dissolved parliament and re-imposed authoritarian rule, ostensibly to counter the terrorist threat (sounds like the makings of an episode of 24).

While there is no question that Maoist terrorists pose a serious threat to Nepal’s stability and security, the actions of the country’s king only serve the interests of the terrorists. Just as Chiang Kai-shek’s, brutal and corrupt regime paved the way for the Maoists to seize power in China in 1949. As Nepal’s tyrannical authoritarian monarchy has continued to suppress individual liberties and denied its people their natural right to self-determination, a growing number of Nepalese subjects have taken to the streets in protests. These protests have led to violent clashes with Nepal’s security forces. In many cases, the very same Maoists whose actions prompted the return of authoritarian rule are among the most vocal, and violent, protestors, egging on the populace.

In reality monarchy, whether it is an authoritarian regime like that in Nepal or a relatively benign regime like that in Great Britain, monarchy anywhere is an affront to liberty and tramples upon a person’s natural right to determine and shape their own destiny. The premise that another human being has a hereditary right to rule over his fellow human beings is in conflict with logic and common sense. While a nation like Nepal’s regime may manifest its tyranny in a more obvious manner, all monarchies are essentially tyrannical. As long as a state recognizes someone or something, other than its people as sovereign the people do not have actual freedom.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/04/19/nepal.king.gyanendra/
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/04/20/nepal/index.html

A group of Pakistani brothers who migrated to Australia in the late 1990s have been convicted and jailed for rape, the criminals, whose names were not released by Aussie authorities raped several young girls in their home after luring the girls to the den of debauchery.

According to a report in the Sidney Morning Herald, the Pakistani brothers mounted an unusual and sickening line of defense:

MSK a married Australian citizen and one of seven brothers who migrated to Australia in 1997, blamed cultural misunderstanding for his actions, claiming his upbringing in a small Muslim village in Pakistan taught him he had the right to rape promiscuous girls. Wagner qualified as promiscuous, he told an earlier hearing, because she did not wear a headscarf and had come to his house unchaperoned.

Fortunately the Australian courts didn’t accept the unusual and grotest defsne argument, though it reaimas an open question whether some American leftist would accept the argument. It is in error to refer to any societal practice which condones such a shameless display of animal like behavior as culture. Indeed, it is the absence of culture, and sadly, all too common in societies where women are regarded as mere vessles for child rearing and objects of carnal lust.
http://smh.com.au/news/miranda-devine/the-moment-tegan-stood-up-for-herself-and-became-a-hero/2006/04/08/1143916764292.html

A strike is brewing in America’s largest and most cosmopolitan city. Apparently, doormen, porters and concierges are unionized employees and as such, they are planning a strike unless their employers provide a new contract.

On average these doormen earn nearly $40,000 a year. For opening a door? Couldn’t a well-trained monkey do the same thing for a few bananas, or better still…ever heard of an electric eye?

Building owners should dispense with doormen and install automated doors in their buildings, if their tenants lack the wherewithal to open a door for themselves. These doormen, who clearly excelled in their studies during high school and college, are angry, because their employers are proposing cuts in their health care coverage. Perhaps if these doormen had more lofty goals than to open doors for pampered elites then perhaps their predicament would be far more prosperous and rewarding.

If ever there were a ranking of unnecessary jobs in the 21st century, doorman and elevator operator would most certainly be high upon the list.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-19-doormen_x.htm

Today, Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with US President George W. Bush. Trade, Iraq, North Korea and the Iranian nuclear issue will likely dominant their discussions, but perhaps the most important topic they will broach concerns the matter of petroleum.

China’s insatiable need for energy resources is genuinely recognized by most (not including the sheep-like leftist easily brainwashed electorate) as a principle reason for the rise in oil prices (leftists blame George Bush, as they do for all their woes, many of which are self inflicted). China, recognizing this growing need has gone to great lengths to secure its future energy needs and has signed agreements with Russia, Iran, Venezuela and others to ensure a steady supply of oil.

Because of this oil need, China has been reluctant to confront nations like Iran over their nuclear weapons program, fearing any such confrontation will impede the flow of oil to the Middle Kingdom. US officials have decried China’s energy policy as mercantilistic in nature. China’s foreign policy is regularly regarded as benign and introverted, as such nations like Iran and Venezuela are more than happy to enter into exclusive contracts with that country, recognizing that China will pose no threat to their plans. Thus when radical Islam embarks on its plan for global domination, China will be last on the target list rather than first, like the US and Europe.

US planners have proposed initiatives to limit China’s mercantilistic expansion in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. China, however, is not one to be bullied and is unlikely to accept any conditions which it views as a threat to its ongoing economic expansion. So what is America to do, how will America compete for resources if China locks up those resources through exclusive trading agreements with tyrants and radical mullahs?

The solution is quite simple, while we can urge China not to cavort with tyrants simply to obtain a steady supply of energy resources, the US, must learn to cast off the shackles of dependence upon pariah states. To compete, America must exploit its scientific and technological prowess to end its dependence upon foreign oil and thus limit its susceptibility to the whims of tyrants and tin pan dictators. The US must embrace energy alternatives and must abandon a 19th century Standard Oil-esque mentality. Oil simply is not the only available option. With the government’s unique ability to provide a fertile field for the free market to innovate the US could again lead the way in energy innovation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/world/asia/19china.html?hp&ex=1145505600&en=29fb02287d721eda&ei=5094&partner=homepage

While comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam are frequent, particularly amongst the leftist, a more accurate comparison would liken Iraq and Korea. In both cases a proxy war was and is being fought between two much larger opposing camps: Communism vs. the Free World in Korea and Radical Islam vs. the Free World in Iraq.

In Korea a war nominally between North and South Korea was actually a war between the US and the Soviet Union. In Iraq, the Iraqis may be shouldering the lion's share of the fight, but the actual fight pits the US and Western freedom vs. Iran, Al Qaeda, and other radical Islamic elements. In both instances the forces of evil aim to impose a hard-line dictatorial regime that rules by oppression (though South Korea was hardly a model for democracy in the 1950s). In Iraq we see the opening salvo in radical Islam's quest for world domination, if we loose here the stage is set for a grand sweep across the globe. Though some may dismiss such talk as shear folly, the reality is inescapable.

Iran, for its part will become the arsenal of radical Islam. The Iranians are already supplying insurgents in Iraq with arms and equipment, and once they have developed an indigenous nuclear weapons program all bets are off. The Iranians will never formally use nuclear weapons in action against their neighbors, but once such weapons have been developed, proliferation will become a covert matter of state policy. Every terror cell from here to Hamburg will gain these weapons and will use them against the West and Israel with reckless abandon.

At this point the options available to the US and its allies are quite limited. Sanctions will never work, just as they have never worked with any regime in the annals of human history. An Iraq style invasion will never work. For all the carnage in Iraq it would not even begin to compare with the scale of slaughter to be visited upon an Iranian invader. A nuclear assault, unless designed to take out the entire Islamic world, would invite massive global terror, just imagine the hijackings and bombings of the 1970s and 1980s multiplied by 100,000.

Can diplomacy work? Possibly, but doubtful. Our best hope is to stand our ground in Iraq and defeat terror their before it can be exported. The domino theory dismissed by leftists then and now, is every bit as much true today as it was then. As then President Eisenhower noted 50 years ago, submission to these insurgent elements will encourage the spread of this virulent toxin, providing further momentum for expansion and further subjugation. Unless radical Islam is contained and subsequently crushed the west will face generations of terror. Unfortunately those willing to stand against these savages with deeds as well as words are few and far between. Or in the words of Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie following the Italian fascist invasion of his country shortly before WWII "I must still fight on until my tardy allies appear, and if they never come, I say to you without bitterness, the West will perish."

What is the one subject in high school and college that students take the least? What is the one subject that would give real meaning and understanding to day-to-day events and circumstance that affect every family? No…not political science, not algebra, not biology, not literature, its economics, a subjects most teachers and students avoid like the plague, a fact which is clearly evident in society’s rush to socialism. Most recently America’s economic ignorance has been exposed in the howls over the price of oil.

Who’s to blame for sky rocketing oil prices? The answer to that question depends on the respondent’s economic proficiency. Those with a rudimentary understanding of Economics 101 can attest to the fact that the rise in oil prices is an inevitable byproduct of fluctuations in supply in demand. As demand increases price will inevitably increase, especially with regard to a commodity that cannot be produced in excessive quantities given limitations in production and refining capacity, not to mention the volatility in many oil rich regions, like the Middle East.

Today, more and more Americans are driving and many of these cars are inefficient in terms of fuel economy, particularly large SUVs. This coupled with the fact that both China and India are in the midst of an economic boom, means greater demand for oil.

Oils supplies, however, have not been able to keep up with demand, hurricanes, a lack of domestic refining capacity, environmental regulation and so on have led to constraints on that supply, applying further pressure to price. To the uneducated mind, of which there are many in this country, an increase in price simply means the oil companies are looking to increase their profits, in reality the profit margins (proportion of revenue and costs) are miniscule when compared to other industries.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/18/news/economy/gas_prices_ethanol/index.htm?cnn=yes

Just today it was announced that two Duke University Lacrosse players have been charged with forcible rape (as if there is another type) and kidnapping, among other charges.

The story of the 27 year old stripper who was allegedly raped while performing for the Duke Lacrosse team at an off campus party has galvanized Durham, North Carolina. There have been allegations of racism and economic privilege with both sides playing out this case in the media. But one question has not be asked, why are we hearing about this on a daily basis in the national news?

Is this the first college rape in American history? Is it the first rape in North Carolina or the first rape in Durham? One could safely bet that this probably isn’t the first rape at Duke University
either (or any other high profile school), considering the proliferation of alcohol, women and men with loose morals and idiotic jocks it probably occurs weekly.

Exactly why is it that this story has garnered such national headlines is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Is it because the accuser is black and the alleged perpetrators are white, this certainly isn’t the first crime committed by whites against a black person, especially in North Carolina. If a rape has occurred, then most certainly these men should be punished to the fullest extent of the law and then some, but does it require daily headlines on Fox and CNN, no certainly not any more than the disappearance of Natalie Holloway. No offense to the victim, if she was indeed a victim and no offense to the accused if they are indeed innocent, but who cares?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/18/duke.rape/

If there was any doubt that China is a force to be reckoned with that doubt was erased with this week’s latest economic figures. China has now surpassed the UK to become the world’s 4th largest economy, falling behind the US, Japan and Germany. Within a few years, China with a population of over 1.2 billion will possess the world’s largest economy.

Since 2003, China’s growth rate has averaged 10% per year, which is down from its peak levels in the 1990s. In practically every field Chinese industry has prospered and businesses continue to flock to China in the hopes of exploiting that burgeoning market. With China’s rapid expansion, coupled with news of a growing trade surplus with the United States, American lawmakers have spoken about a loss of American jobs due to increased Chinese competition. While China’s growth should raise concern in America, the concern should not be over China as a threat, but over America’s increasing inability to compete on a global scale. This failure is mirrored in the fact that American students lag behind most of the industrialized world with regarding academic skill, given the lackluster state of American education, it should come as no surprise that American industry is fining it difficult to compete as well.

In a country where over half of high school seniors in LA County can’t pass a 9th grade algebra skills test, what hope is there to lead and innovate in various high tech fields? Is China to blame for our trade deficit with that nation? Is the devaluation of the Yuan, affecting our trade imbalance with that nation? Hardly and empirical evidence will support that claim. Devaluation may have some minor affect, but it is hardly the cure-all American politicians would have us believe, just as devaluation has nothing to do with our trade imbalance with Japan or Germany. America’s trade imbalance and any subsequent loss of American jobs is directly attributable to complacent industries and workers. These industries have failed to anticipate changes and adapt, they have failed to meet consumer demand and failed to produce at maximum efficiency with minimum costs.

Not all American industries are reeling from Chinese competition. Companies like Microsoft, IBM, Kodak and Motorola are dominant in their fields not only at home but abroad as well. Indeed, even the faltering GM is the number one carmaker in mainland China with 18% marketshare, recently surpassing VW, highlighting the fact that US firms can compete anywhere anytime. Why is it that a company like GM can consistently loose marketshare in the US while gaining in a fiercely competitive market like China? For the same reason that any other company succeeds or fails. In China, GM has gone to great lengths to understand the Chinese market giving consumers a product they want and not at exceptionally reduced rates, in fact, the average Buick sold in China, sells for 50% than its American counterpart. Also in China, GM is not burdening with high production related costs. This GM experienced has been repeated in India where sales are up by nearly 20%.

Rather than blaming China for our woes, we should look to the Chinese market as a model for reform in America. Rather than looking for foreign scapegoats, we as Americans should highlight the real problem plaguing our industry, that being complacency. We must also address a growing cultural phenomenon that will prove devastating for future American business endeavors: the ongoing decline in the value of, appreciation for and progress of education in this country. Then and only then will American industry be able to compete as they clearly can.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13132-2137778,00.html

Quick, name a French technological innovation in the last 100 years, how about in the last 300, or perhaps 3000. No matter the barometer, one isn’t likely to find a lengthy example French technological prowess or forward thinking ideas. This view naturally contrasts sharply with the views of French Trade Minister Christine Lagarde, in responding to questions about a recently passed French law on interoperability for digital music downloads. "It annoys me when France is portrayed as an awkward, backward country. It is not," Ms. Lagarde said.

While France may not be in the same category as the Neanderthals, France isn’t exactly a haven for scientific breakthroughs. French culture is one, which suppresses innovative thought, this is evident in the country's draconian approach to free enterprise, which stifles business competition and leads to economic stagnation. This characterization of France, however, is not entirely new, nor is it inaccurate

Whereas the British, the Dutch the Germans and so one, were well regarded for their early embrace of freemarket ideas on competition and capitalism, spurring economic growth and innovation, France languished hopelessly in a backward agrarian stupor for much of the modern era. French roads remained hopelessly impassable for months at a time, French manufacturing was small, inefficient and unappreciated by the population at large. French businesses were notoriously slow to adapt, a reality, which drastically weakened France during the industrial era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this same period, France increasingly adopted a socialist model beginning with the Paris Commune in 1871, with a full embrace of the entitlement mentality that so cripples society.

Socialism is the death knell for innovation and progress, as well as threatening representative government. Socialism is a system based upon the notion that inequalities should be abolished and it is the responsibility of the state to plan and control this socio-economic structure. Socialism, however, is inherently unequal. Rooted in the primacy of the state, the rights of the individual become secondary to that of the state, thereby laying the foundation for authoritarianism.

Competition and profit motive, rejected in socialist philosophy, allows for success or failure based upon the merits of ingenuity, initiative and hard work. Inevitably, there will be those who will not prosper, as they have not employed the qualities essential for success (these individuals have chosen the path of least resistance, opting to squander opportunities and waste resources). The free market does not reward sloth, and it is not kind to those averse to hard work, which for those who embrace an entitlement mentality, is threatening, witness the riots over the French jobs law.

Socialism offers no incentive for creativity or initiative, without which there can be no great innovations or advances in science, technology or medicine. Socialism is the path for those averse to progress. It is the refuge of the unproductive, the unimaginative, the indolent and those who have a sense of entitlement, regardless of merit. Such individuals are perfectly willing to give up their rights and their liberty, as long as someone else (i.e., the state) is willing to provide for their needs. Those who embrace such a mentality are very much backward and deserving of the moniker.
http://www.physorg.com/news64202864.html

American labor history is filled with examples where unionized employees demands came to be so unreasonable that the end result was bankruptcy and unemployment. Such a fate was averted today as Delta Airline pilots and the firm came to a tentative agreement on wage and benefit cuts. The details of the plan remain unclear, but one thing is for certain, if agreed to, the deal will avert a strike, which most certainly would have destroyed Delta airlines, leaving thousands of people out of work and more still stranded at airports around the country.

Delta airlines, like 2 of the Big Three automakers and several fellow airlines, have been reeling from increased competition from more nimble and efficient competitors, meanwhile Delta continued to embrace wasteful practices, ill suited for today’s post 9/11 world. The airline’s management must assume a large, large, large share of the responsibility for Delta’s woes, but the airline’s union employees, especially its pilots are also culpable in Delta’s decline, now faced with looming losses, the airline, now under bankruptcy, has asked its pilots to take on greater pay cuts and benefit reductions.

The pilots, accustomed to being the highest paid in the industry, balked at the cuts and threatened to strike, a move that would have spelled certain doom for the airline. These pilots would rather loose their jobs than take a pay cut? By what measure of logic is this…to say nothing of their co-workers whose jobs are at risk. Fortunately it appears cooler heads have prevailed.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Finance_General/Delta_Pilots.html

Imagine a world where to offend someone is the kiss of death. Wearing white after Labor Day is a death sentence, cutting someone off in traffic and you’re slaughtered, call someone stupid and start planning your funeral.

While such outlandish scenarios are the work of fiction in most regions of the world, such is not the case in the Middle East. Indeed for some, their very existence is deemed offensive. In a story that is all too common in Egypt, worshippers at several Coptic Churches were attacked after Friday services. Coptic Christians make up 10% of Egypt’s population, they have resided their since the Apostle Mark journeyed to the region in the years following Christ’s death, long before Muhammad’s marauders invaded, yet the Copts are frequently the victims of Islamic radicals seeking to eradicate Christianity in the area and attempting to deny non-Muslims them their right to exercise their faith.

Such attacks represent the archetypical response of radical Islam to variety and difference, quite simply it is not tolerated and the very existence of such people is offensive and thus they must die in accordance with the credo of radical Islam: submit, convert or die. Their presence is especially offensive in the heart of Muslim Egypt, where minorities are already discriminated against, denied free and unfettered access to government services, presumed at fault in matters of civil conflict and denied access to jobs.

Intolerance is such a matter of course for such purveyors of hate, that even their fellow Muslims are not immune from the slaughter, witness the constant and almost daily attacks on Muslims and Mosques in Iraq. Such is our fate with the war on terror is lost.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6FB2E8EA-4D3A-431C-8A44-EC89C950843F.htm

The premise that terrorism began with the war in Iraq or has been in response to the policies of George W. Bush or are directed solely against the United States is laughable to say the least. The list below outlines over 80 major Islamic terror attacks since the 1960s; they involve numerous hijackings and bombings, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people around the globe. This brief list, however is only the tip of the iceberg and doesn’t even include the daily attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and dozens of other hotspots around the world. To say nothing of the fact that most of the worlds armed conflicts currently raging (well over 100), involve armed Islamic radicals.

2004 Christmas bombing in the Phillipines
2004 Bombing on Australian embassy in Indonesia
2004 Downing of two Russia airliners
2003 Bombing of Russian passenger train
2003 Mumbai bombings
2003 Attack on Jews in Casablanca
2003 Attack on resort in Davao, Phillipines
2002 Attack on Kenyan resort hotel
2002 Attack on Moscow theater
2002 Bus bombing in Manila
2002 Car bombing of Moscow McDonalds
2002 Bombing of Bali tourist resort in Indonesia
2002 Attack on Hindu temple in Ahmedabad, India
2002 Attack at LAX ticket counter
2002 Murder of French tour bus in Pakistan
2002 Bombing of synagogue in Tunisia
2001 Attack on Indian Parliament Building
2001 Attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon
2001 Bombing of Moscow subway
2000 Bombing of USS Cole
1999 Hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814
1999 Bombing of Russian Apartment Buildings
1998 Bombing of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
1997 Murder of tourists at Luxor Pyramid complex in Egypt
1996 Bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia
1995 Bombing of Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad
1995 Bombing of US barracks in Saudi Arabia
1995 Series of transport bombings in France
1994 Attack on Israeli embassy in London and Jewish charity group
1994 Bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434
1994 Bombing of Air France Flight 8969
1994 Bombing of Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901
1994 Bombing of Jewish Center in Buenos Aires
1993 Mumbai car bombings
1993 Attack on World Trade Center in New York
1992 Bombing of Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires
1989 Bombing of UTA Flight UT-772
1988 Bombing of Pan Am 103
1986 Bombing of Paris restaurant, bar, and police station
1986 Bombing of Paris Post Office
1986 Hijacking of Pan Am 73
1986 Bombing of TWA 840
1986 Bombing of Berlin disco
1986 Bombing of French passenger train
1986 Bombing of Paris sporting goods store (FNAC)
1986 Bombing on Paris street (Champs Élysées)
1985 Simultaenous attacks on Rome and Vienna airports
1985 Bombing of Paris shopping center
1985 Hijacking of EgyptAir 648
1985 Hijacking of oceanliner Achille Lauro
1985 Hijacking of TWA 847
1983 Bombing of Gulf Air 771
1983 Bombing of US embassy in Lebanon
1982 Bombing of Goldenberg restaurant in Paris
1982 Attack on French passenger train enroute to Toulouse
1981 Assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
1980 Attack on Copernic synagogue in Paris
1980 Attack on Antwerp synagogue
1979 Seizure of US embassy in Tehran
1977 Attack on Lufthansa LH 181
1976 Hijacking of AirFrance 139
1975 Attack on OPEC Headquarters
1974 Bombing of TWA 841
1974 Attack on Singapore Oil Refinery and subsquent ferryboat hijacking
1973 Bombing of Pan Am 110
1973 Attack on Saudi embassy in Sudan
1972 Murder of Israeli Olympic atheletes
1970 Black September Hijacking of four airliners simultaneously
1970 Bombing of Swissair 330
1969 Hijacking of TWA 840
1968 Hijacking of El Al flight
1961 Bombing of oveanliner MV Dara

According to a recent poll, less than 1/5th of all Americans have a favorable view of Islam, a sharp increase over the past few years. In 2002, with the September 11th attacks fresh in most minds fully 1/3rd of Americans had a favorable impression of Islam. Since that time however, views of Muslims has been on a downward spiral. According to the poll, Americans are more apt to believe that Islam encourages and condones violence, particularly when compared to other faiths.

What the poll does not answer is why? But then again that’s why there’s the Phalanx. Understandably a few generations ago, most Americans were distinctly unfamiliar with Islam. That began to change in the 1970s. In the name of Islam, radicals poured in to the West spreading violence and mayhem. While terrorism has existed for as long as man, Islamic terrorism has been particularly brutal.

Indeed, since its inception Islamic radicals have called for global domination of Islam, a plan put into action centuries ago as Islam expanded beyond its routes in Arabia to engulf the entire Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Europe. Only stiff resistance in Europe prevented Islam’s continued violent encroachment.

For centuries, Islam lived in relative peace with its neighbors. Today, however, radical Islam has reemerged more committed than ever to enforce its radical credo: submit, convert or die. This credo is not propagated by anti-Islamic Westerners but by the radicals themselves. And not just renowned terrorists like Ben Laden and Al Zarqawi but respected clerics in the Arab world and the West.

In the name of Islam, radicals have advanced this mantra and while detractors of the war on terror may argue that Islamic terrorism is directed against the US and its allies fighting in Iraq, history and contemporary reality conflict with this statement. Since the 1970s there have been countless acts of terror in every corner of the globe, the bulk of which have been caused by radicals in the name of Islam. Countless hijackings and airport killings in the 1970s from Rome to Athens were followed by hotel, night club and embassy bombings in the 1980s as well as a rash of hijackings, including the Achille Lauro. Not to mention numerous terror strikes during the 1990s, including the first World Trade Center attacks and countless attacks in the Middle East. Islamic terror has not been restricted to Americans, since the early 1990s radicals have repeatedly attacked and killed hundreds upon hundreds of tourists in Egypt, many of whom were European. Islamists have slaughtered Buddhists in Thailand, killed women and children in the Philippines, beheaded Christian school children in Indonesia, bombed the Indian Parliament, brutalized non-Muslims in Sudan and Nigeria, gunned down school kids in Russia, flattened Apartment buildings in Moscow, killed hundreds in Kenya and Tanzania, not to mention the slaughter of hundreds, if not thousands of their fellow Muslims.

In reality the low opinion of Islam is well deserved as radicals in the name of this supposedly peaceful religion have declared it their duty and goal to establish Islamic rule on a global scale.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/12/national/main1494697.shtml?source=RSS&attr=U.S._1494697

Yesterday before a national audience Iranian strongman (and president) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced that his regime had enriched uranium and was joining the nuclear club of nations. This can mean only one thing: its too late to stop Iran. Iran’s nuclear weapons program continues to proceed unabated, while nations in Europe, North America and Asia sit back twiddling their thumps. The irresolute response of the international community serves as yet another victory for tyrants everywhere. First North Korea, then Iran and soon another rogue state with designs on expansion and conquest.

The Iranian situation is all but lost, short of a massive assault, the Iranian program simply cannot be stopped given its scale and pervasiveness. No amount of “diplomacy” will convince the Iranians to withdraw from the precipice, especially considering that developing nuclear weapons was their ultimate goal in the first place. Even if the US and its “allies” resolved to attack Iran, the result would be massive terror the likes of which the world has never known. This combined with the fact that the backers of the Iraq war have been racked across the coals has leftists have employed the “Goebbels effect” to its fullest potential perpetuating the Big Lie that Iraq was not pursuing WMDs. In fact, it is the Iraq war, which most likely hastened Iran’s nuclear development as a deterrent against regime change in that nation. No doubt the Benedict Arnold-esque response to the war in this country has given new inspiration to the Iranians, as fear of a US attack subsides.

Even today in the wake of Iran’s latest nuclear revelations, there is no consistency or commitment to take action among the so-called international community. China and Russia remain steadfast opponents of any punitive action taken against Iran while the EU3’s credibility has been all but destroyed after over 2 years of meaningless, appeasement centered negotiations. The Iranians have all but admitted that their strategy in ongoing negotiations with the EU had been to stall for time as it continued its nuclear research, now we see the fruit of those negotiations and soon to be nuclear armed Iran with the capability of proliferation on a massive scale. The world will soon regret this day.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/12/iran.nuclear/index.html


http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/iran-not-threat.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/security-council-agrees-on-tough.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/bush-sets-sights-on-iran.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/iran-conspires-with-russia-and-laughs.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/russia-back-pedalsas-expected.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/big-surprise-tyrants-think-alike.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/iranians-admit-to-chicanery-in-nuclear.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/02/irans-nuclear-program-is-military-says.html
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/02/why-china-will-never-cooperate-vis-vis.htmlhttp://www.thephalanx.com/2006/02/what-do-saburo-kurusu-and-ali.html

LATEST ENTRIES

Pampered Princes of Riyadh (PPR): The waffling, undemocratic, fence sitting leadership of Saudi Arabia

Future Failures of America (FFA): Today’s teens and young adults already set on the path to failure in their future lives thanks to a host of poor decisions

Too little, too late blues: The sense of uselessness that emerges when politicians make grandiose pledges long after they have lost their ability to fulfill such promises (See President Bush)

Pure Democracy: Nation whose laws and policies are determined by mob rule (see France)

Let’s suppose Lane: An analogy designed to explain a real world phenomenon (as in to take a journey down let's suppose lane)

Porous border blues: The realization that America’s port and border security is a weakness just waiting to be exploited

Child Porn Perverts (CPP): The dregs of modern society who exploit children for their perverse sexual desires.



PREVIOUS ENTRIES

Pulling a Mussolini: the act of drawing attention away from one action (such as a personal failure) through deception and distraction (i.e., Hugo Chavez or the Democratic Party leadership)

Mussolini-esque: Having the characteristics of pulling a Mussolini.

Dredges of Society: (Not to be confused with the dregs of society). The dredges represent the sediment (as in to dredge the Savannah River) that has settled to the bottom of the barrel. Those in society who prey on others, who have accomplished little in life and aren’t likely to do so in the foreseeable future.

LCD (i.e., Lowest Common Denominator): see Dredges of Society, those who represent the very least humanity has to offer.

Kangarooiest: Having the extreme characteristics of a Kangaroo Court, a show trial (as in the Trial of Saddam Hussein).

Entitlement Generation: Those in society who expect the state to provide for their every need, with little thought given to individual responsibility

The Left: Those who advocate socialist leaning principles in an ongoing effort to enhance the primacy of the state, while diminishing personal responsibility (i.e., the Democratic Party)

Tyrants of Beijing: The tyrannical, distraction obsessed leaders of China.

Mullahs of Tehran: The tyrannical, distraction obsessed leaders of Iran.

Islamic Radical: Muslim extremist who live by a simple credo (submit, convert or die.). Their goal is the complete subordination and destruction of the west and its people.

Welfare: Handout, something which destroys the will of an individual creating a subject class of citizens, we need not hesitate to call them slaves (i.e., slaves to, and dependent upon, the state)

Kyoto Protocol: A failed effort by the anti-American nations of Europe and their leftist allies to undermine the US economy by creating a faulty, one-sided "treaty to protect the environment" thru drastic cuts in emissions, while ignoring two of the world’s largest polluters (China and India).

Chicanery: Dubious tricks and deception, designed to distract or fool an audience to achieve a outcome favorable to one’s self.

The Nit Pick method: The gradual wearing down of opponent, through excessive demands, forcing a rival to concede greater and greater amounts (akin to appeasement)

Litigious Curse: Growing tendency in America to sue for the most trivial of offenses.
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006_03_01_phalanx_archive.html

The oft-repeated leftist rallying cry is a moniker for all who can and want to be successful. The rich get richer as they continue to make appropriate decisions to ensure their long-term prosperity, unlike the poor who consistently make poor decisions and look to the government (and the Democrats in particular) to support their failed decisions.

Poverty is simply a synonym for failure. Most of today’s poor are in their present situation due to the many failed decisions they have made during the course of their lives. For many such poor failures, the first mistake was most likely the decision to either drop out of school or to ignore the importance of an education during their school years. This decision was soon followed by the equally damaging decision to have children they couldn’t afford, a decision that was likely repeated many more times.

These Future Failures of America then decided not to take certain jobs because it was “beneath” them and the jobs they do take, if any, are performed haphazardly ensuring long term job insecurity. Contrary to Democratic myth, those who are successful are not the beneficiaries of luck. Luck itself is a myth. Those who are successful have made appropriate decisions, such as staying in school, developing marketable skills, and working fastidiously toward an objective.

The poor are simply slothful failures who look to others, (i.e., the left) to make decisions on their behalf. Leftist leaders, principally the Democratic Party, exploit these failures by telling them exactly what they want to hear: “its not your fault,” or “blame the rich” and then the old standard, recently championed by Hillary Clinton “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Such mantras are devoid of logic and while leftists elites know full well the fallacy of this myth, they exploit it for political advantage, catering to the petty jealousies of these failures, turning such pandering into votes which forms the basis of leftist power: demagoguery.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/11/iran.nuclear.ap/index.html

Last week, the US Ambassador to Fascist Italy Venezuela, was chased through the streets of Caracas by supporters of Benito Mussolini Hugo Chavez after visiting a low income neighborhood to give out baseball equipment to local children.

As Ambassador William Brownfield's convoy left the charity event, he was confronted by angry protestors throwing eggs, hitting the cars and shouting anti-American slogans. The police “escort,” simply looked on as Chavez’s cronies threatened the Ambassador and his staff. Naturally the US embassy complained to the Chavez government and naturally Chavez used the incident to blame the victim, in the latest Venezuelan example of pulling a Mussolini.

Chavez accused the Americans of provoking the event, furthermore he threatened that if the US ambassador did not stop provoking such attacks he would be expelled from the country. This blame the victim mentality is not unlike the circumstances surrounding Kristallnacht when Hitler’s cronies blamed the Jews for fanning the flames of violence and murder on that inauspicious day in 1938. [No we are not saying the destruction of Jewish owned businesses or the murder of hundreds is equal to the injuries sustained by the US Ambassador, it is simply an analogy likening the mindset of Hitler and Chavez]

In a nationally televised speech, designed to exploit the incident to its fullest potential, Chavez noted to Brownfield, "I'm going to throw you out of Venezuela if you continue provoking the Venezuelan people." To his credit, Chavez is the consummate politician and has a keen sense of propaganda, no one, save Joseph Goebbels has ever been more adept at manipulating the public to his own ends. The people of Venezuela have been so swayed by the magic of Hugo Chavez that they have graciously accepted the fact that under Chavez press freedom and electoral choice have been eliminated while poverty and unemployment have increased.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4894478.stm

Always the curmudgeon, the Phalanx offers advice to the world’s largest automaker.

This week, General Motors, announced that it was selling its stake in Japanese truck maker, Isuzu. To call Isuzu a truck maker is the height of irony. The company sells two products in the US market, both of which are little more than rebranded Chevrolets. According to officials with GM, the $300 million sale of Isuzu was necessary to finance the company’s North American turnaround.

GM continues to reel from intense competition and a product line that has been lackluster in many respects with some notable exceptions, particularly Cadillac. GM like fellow Detroit automaker Ford, has failed to adapt in the rapidly evolving auto market. In the 1980s and 90s, the firm failed to capitalize on the need for increased automation to hold down costs, attributable in many ways to the yoke of big labor, and today the company has been slow to embrace new design concepts and develop new technologies. Whereas Toyota and Honda, for example, have accelerated production of small and hybrid cars to offset high fuel costs, GM remains dependent on truck and SUV sales. And while GM’s products certainly are every bit as reliable as their Japanese counterparts many simply don’t connect with consumers either due to product confusion, saturation or poor marketing.

GM has made some improvements, but as the world’s largest automaker, it is far too slow to adapt and must become more nimble like its foreign competitors. Toyota, for example can design develop and produce a new concept within 1 year’s time, something GM simply cannot due, perhaps there are too many cooks in the kitchen. GM clearly has the capability; its Cadillac division has been completely revamped gaining in both market share and in youthful appeal. Today, Mercedes Benz is seen more as the luxury brand for the Geritol set, where as this was once Cadillac’s domain.

GM should exploit this Cadillac experience and heed the lessons of other successful business revivals. Two examples include: Chrysler and Apple Computer. Chrysler, unlike Ford and GM has been gaining market share in recent years as it continues to develop products that connect with the customer. Chrysler’s innovation has enhanced its marketing potential and its bottom line. Apple Computer, like Chrysler has followed a similar path working to develop products that appeal to the market and eliminating dead weight. In the Mid 1990s, Apple sold dozens of computer products, which only confused potential customers, today the company has dispensed with the dead weight and streamlined its product offerings.

This was a strategy Chrysler also followed when dissolving the Eagle and Plymouth brands. GM must do the same. GM simply produces far too many vehicles that serve only to cannibalize the various GM divisions, while exhausting valuable resources. GM should radically streamline its product offerings and eliminate certain divisions. First to go should be GMC, whose entire product line is Chevrolet with a different moniker. Saturn, the once noble experiment, should also be dissolved. Pontiac and Chevrolet should merge with overlapping products eliminated, leaving GM with 3 solid North American brands: Chevrolet (for moderately priced cars, heavy and light duty trucks and SUVs), Buick (for mid-level luxury sedans and SUVs) and Cadillac (for high end luxury vehicles). Other niche brands, like Hummer (which is technically produced by AM General for GM), should be left untouched, as their market strategy has proven successful. The once vibrant Saab should be made an autonomous subsidiary and perhaps should no longer market its products in the United States.

GM should also take clues from its Japanese rivals and boost research and development capabilities, eliminate costly production obstacles and offer non-monetary incentives to consumers, particularly enhanced warranties, which boost the company’s image and a developer of high quality products. All in all, GM executives should head the advice of the Phalanx; once we are nominated to the GM board we will notify our readers.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-04-11-isuzu-sale_x.htm

“Working poor” is a term devoid of any real meaning or intrinsic value. Today’s poor aren’t serious about working by any leap of the imagination, if they were indeed serious, their fortunes would be dramatically different, beginning with their school career. Nonetheless, a new generation of “working poor” are emerging each and every day as more an more teens leave high school without a diploma.

The figures are alarming regardless of who you believe, where as some researchers argue the high school drop out rate hovers around 15-20%, others say its closer to 30%. In either case the numbers are far too high. Compare this with 9% in Canada or only 2% in Japan.

Across this country, tomorrow’s “working poor” are setting themselves up for inevitable failure. A life of minimum wage minimum skill jobs with little hope for advancement destined to die in poverty alone, worthless, underappreciated and having contributed nothing to the betterment of humanity. This is the life for today’s high school dropouts. In some communities the drop out rates even exceed the alarmingly high 30% mark.

Over the past 2 decades, researchers argue, the dropout rate has remained unchanged. This, in spite of numerous “stay in school” efforts and educational reform initiatives. Regardless of these government-centered, top down programs, the problem of teenagers dropping out of school remains fairly constant.

Researchers, politicians and educators all have theories on the continuing problem, and so too does the Phalanx, the problem is culture and an overwhelming disinterest in the value of education, coupled by the fact that today’s school’s barometers for achievement are so low a high school education has no more value than that of a junior high diploma 30 years ago.

For many parents, school is little more than a weigh station or baby sitter for their youngsters to get out of their hair. Many parents take little or no interest in the progress of their children. And when they do its to fight for frivolous things, like their child’s right to wear miniskirts in the 4th grade or confederate t-shirts. Where are these same parents when they are discussing curriculum at the monthly school board meetings? Nowhere to be seen, that’s where! These high school dropouts have been done a disservice by their parents who have failed to instill an appreciation for hard work, giving rise to the next entitlement generation.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/09/time.cover/index.html

Public servants in LA resort to extortion in lue of serving the public. Mayvis Coyle, an 82 year old Los Angeles woman was recently fined $114 for crossing the street too slowly. Apparently Coyle entered a Los Angeles crosswalk on a green, but the light turned before she was completely across, a local LA police officer watched Coyle as she crossed and when the light turned red he cajoled her for obstructing traffic.

So much for “protect and serve” as the LA police claim, no it seems extortion is the order of the day as Coyle was fined for not being 25 years old any more. Rather than offer assistance to a citizen in need, this officer chose to exploit Ms. Coyle’s weakness.
http://www.10news.com/news/8594363/detail.html

No sooner was the ink dry on the new French labor law, were we convinced that the law was not long for this world. The French government, reeling from double digit unemployment, especially among the nation’s youth, implemented the new law to give firms an incentive to hire young, untested workers. The proposed solution was the First Jobs Contract, under the auspices of the bill, employers could hire employees under age 26 on a trial basis. If for whatever reason the employee was deemed unacceptable he or she could be terminated at will.

French employers are hesitant to hire untested workers whose commitment to hard work may be lacking. Young employees therefore would be obliged to demonstrate their abilities forthwith to prove their value and worth to the firm. Such a concept however was quite novel in socialist, entitlement obsessed France, where employment is guaranteed for life, regardless of the ineptitude of the French worker. Almost as soon as Dominique de Villepin proposed the law it was met with fierce resistance from French “students.”

De Villepin, once the darling of the left because of his hard-line opposition to the war in Iraq, was soon burned in effigy by those very same leftists. France, unlike, most western nations is a pure democracy in the highest sense, rather than a representative republic. While the parliament and the president may decide on what matters become law, it is the French mob that determines the viability of legal statutes or whether or not such laws will ever be enforced. France has long been governed by mob rule…when the government institutes new laws, reforms or policies, it is unclear whether or not they will truly become law until the man on the street has had its say.

Mob rule and violent rioting is a matter of course for French politics, but then again what is to be expected from a country that reveres as revolutionaries those who stormed a prison freeing murderers and rapists in 1789? This mob mentality has also manifested itself in French foreign policy, where capitulation to terrorists, communists and fascists is accepted as a matter of routine. Today, French President Jacques Chirac has caved to the will of the mob, vowing to scrap the First Jobs Contract (CPE), as the new French labor law was known. While the French leadership simply said the jobs law would be replaced, there is no question that this act is a clear victory for the students, trade unionist and other radicals who caused widespread destruction and chaos on French streets, such capitulation on the part of the French government only emboldens future mobs and will ensure that mob rule will remain a fact of life in French society.

Invariably France will have to come to grips with staggering unemployment, economic stagnation and most importantly: impending bankruptcy as the French population ages and more and more French draw from cushy government pensions. Mob rule, however, will ensure that any proposal will likely fail, dooming French society in the long term.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-04-10T113139Z_01_L09541867_RTRUKOC_0_UK-FRANCE.xml

As if the thought of a nuclear armed Iran wasn’t troubling enough, there is now talk that Saudi Arabia is considering the development of its own indigenous nuclear weapons program. According to reports out of the Middle East, Saudi scientists have called upon the government to begin work on a nuclear weapons research project. It remains unclear, however, how the Pampered Princes of Riyadh will act on this matter. While the Saudis have vigourously denied such reports, internal sources appear to conflict with such reports, just as they did iin the case of Iran and now Iran is just steps away from a full nuclear cpability.

Just as Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear wepaon, nor can Saudi Arabia. While Iran’s embrace of radical Islam is more overt, the radical posion that originates from the mosques and schools of Arabia is no less virulent, lest we forget than most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis.

And while Saudi Arabia may spend millions on public relations in the United States, it is no less clear that Saudi Arabia is no friend of the United States and only our oil dependence gives the Saudis a pretext for civility. There can be no mistaking the fact that a nuclear armed Saudi Arabia will spell certain doom for millions of Americans, but here again we witness the fruits of appeasement, just as with North Korea, so went Iran and now Saudi Arabia? Who’s next, what nation of tyrants will soon learn that threats from the west are hollow promises, caring no consequiences whatsoever? Thus ensuring a world of nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060409-074231-9704r

In a move that reeks of the “too little-too late” blues, president Bush has vowed to veto any spending bills, which do not cut federal spending. If there is one president who has no business speaking about budgetary restraint it’s George W. Bush. According to the president, spending has gotten out of control and he has called on Congress to reign in the purse strings.

I