Increasingly controversial actor and director Mel Gibson lies in the midst of an anti-Semitic uproar. Apparently, Gibson, who was recently arrested for drunk driving, went on an anti-Semitic tirade the night of his arrest.

Who knows if Gibson is biased against Jews (he probably is, after all alcohol only destroys inhibition, it doesn’t create prejudice), but does that mean he should be prosecuted for his thoughts? Apparently the answer is yes, according to members of the Jewish community, including the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL and others have called for criminal probe of Gibson. The ADL has been no fan of Gibson since the release of Passion of the Christ, which they contend was anti-Semitic, an assertion which is devoid of fact. Nonetheless, the ADL Director Abraham Foxman, says there should be “consequences to bigots and bigotry.” Apparently those consequences include prison time or some other extra-constitutional punishment for thought.

While Gibson’s tirade, if true, is quite disgusting and deplorable, Gibson is no less entitled to harbor such thoughts if he so desires. Freedom of expression extends to hateful expressions as well and there simply is no lawful justification to prosecute Gibson or any other bigot for such comments, which underline the fundamental flaw with hate crimes legislation that punish individuals for their thoughts, rather than their actions. If Gibson is prosecuted for his comments then the archivists at the National Archives should immediately remove the US Constitution from its hermetically sealed container and have a bonfire on the national mall.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1107012006

Recently an American expatriate in Britain wrote an article in a British Tabloid (the Daily Mail), describing how bored she is with motherhood.

Helen Kirwan-Taylor, who describes herself as a good mother, does not attend her children’s school functions, hates reading to her children and is sickened by the idea of watching her children play. Since Kirwan-Taylor’s article appeared she has been soundly trashed by the public in Britain, and rightly so.

By her own admission she became a workaholic solely to escape the tediousness of motherhood. This “mother” says she finds other mothers boring and doesn’t think being a mother should mean one’s life revolves around her children. She vilifies mothers who talk about their children rather than “the wars raging.” As if a person cannot have more than one interest at the same time.

Kirwan-Taylor, and others of like mind should no more have children than Cynthia McKinney should have boxing training. The premise that reading to your child is the pinnacle of boredom says a great deal about a person’s self-absorbed and self-centered lifestyle. Clearly such people should not have children if such tasks are beneath them.

Yes people should live their own lives but to such an extent that even watching their children play is a repulsive thought? By all means live your own life, but why bring others into a world where they learn from the onset that the very people entrusted with providing unconditional love and support would rather be surfing the internet or text messaging their friends? What filth…

If you are bored by your children, if you find their behavior less than desirable, if raising kids is akin to working in a prison labor camp, then guess who’s to blame…that’s right YOU. Parents of hellion children are deadbeat parents who, like Ms. Kirwan-Taylor, probably had no business raising children in the first place. Children learn from their parents, emulating the same slothful, lackadaisical, good-for-nothing attitudes of their beer guzzling, sports obsessed, workaholic, too busy to love, entitlement obsessed parents.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-30-bored-mom_x.htm

Much has been made in news accounts over the weekend of Israel’s pullback of ground troops in Lebanon. According to the Israeli Defense Force, their troops had accomplished their objectives and it was not their intention to occupy territory. To Hezbollah it was a sign of weakness, just as Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2000 was also seen as weakness.

Gone is the myth of Israeli invincibility, or so we have heard. In reality, gone are the rules of engagement. If Israel was fighting a conventional foe as in 1956, 67 or 73, there would be little doubt who would emerge victorious. Today, however, Israel is fighting an enemy that hides amidst the civilian population, an enemy that attacks using human shields and encourages civilian casualties. Israel must therefore risk civilian casualties or surrender the war to Hezbollah.

Much has been made of an Israeli attack over the weekend, which killed some 60 Lebanese civilians, a tragedy to be sure, but who is really to blame? Israel for striking at enemy combatants, where they launch attacks or Hezbollah for using men, women and children as shields from which to launch their deadly attacks on Israel?

Indeed as Israel launched its raid in Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah launched 150 rockets on the same day into Israel with the expressed purpose of killing Israeli civilians, yet where is the outrage? Where is the global condemnation? The one-sided nature of this development and the coverage that follows is without question.

Israel, unlike Hezbollah, is bound by certain restraints. Israel is not free to prosecute the war to the uttermost as Hezbollah has done. While Israel fights with one hand tied behind its back, Hezbollah is able to draw on the full technological and military prowess of its backers in Syria and Iran, the real threats in this war.
Link to CTV article

In spite overwhelming evidence, the House GOP has called for a raising of the minimum wage over the next three years from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. So why are the Republicans caving to leftist pressure. Why is the party that presumably supports a robust and sound economy instituting legislation which will drive up costs for businesses and consumers, reduce economic expansion and limit availability of low skilled jobs? Why? Because the GOP, like their Democratic counterparts are politicians first and foremost and its an election year and the faltering Republicans will try anything to win votes (as if it will matter).

With Republican support in the house for the wage hike, it is all but certain to pass with near universal support amongst the party of the “common man.” For their part the GOP has tied the wage increase to a corresponding decrease in the inheritance tax, a tax which should not exist in the first place, but then again neither should a minimum wage. The Republican effort, will fail, no one who is affected by this minimum wage bill (i.e., low skilled workers) is going to shift their vote to the GOP over this act, largely because these leftist constituents are bought and paid for by the Democratic Party, they owe their loyalty to the party, as the Democrats, being the party of the entitlement generation, are bound to support continued serf like initiatives which bind the electorate ever closer to the party and the state.

For the most part the public, which the left has groomed to accept such mandates from on-high, have supported an increase in the minimum wage. This is not surprising as the uneducated masses within the US electorate continue to grow, thus serving as easy prey for the smooth talking demagogues of the American left who argue that lack of skill and lack of training should not impede one’s ability to be a success in America, indeed, the leftist rallying cry is quite simple: once you are born you are entitled to a all the perks enjoyed by those who actually work hard.

Regardless of public opinion, neither the federal, state or local governments of this nation have any business in mandating the wages of this country’s workers. The marketplace is a more than adequate tool for regulating salaries. For the federal government to artificially increase the wages of low skilled workers does a great disservice to American consumers and the economy as a whole.

Individuals should be paid based upon the value of their work to the employer. A job requiring a person to man a cash register or stock a shelf is of minimal value, because such workers are easily replaceable and have no level of specialized skill or training. Thus their value to an employer is distinctly limited. Minimum wage laws strike at the very heart of the Free Enterprise system by removing the primary motivator for individuals to achieve success: incentive. If one can achieve without the requisite hard work, then what incentive is there to work in the first place? Why bother going to college why bother to study hard, why bother to put forth that extra effort, when the state will mandate a minimum salary, regardless of effort?

Then off course there are those who contend that the minimum wage is too low to raise a family, a dazzling deduction indeed. Given this knowledge, would it not be prudent to forgo having children until one is actually able to afford it? Perhaps that level of cognitive reasoning is lacking amongst the minimum skill crowd.

The Free Enterprise system allows for success based on merit and initiative. The Free Enterprise system does not reward sloth and those who frequently and persistently squander resources and opportunities. This minimum wage bill will succeed in two things: placating minimum skill workers and slowing the economy.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-07-28-minimumwage-vote_x.htm


Recent Posts:

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/05/minimum-wage-battles-rage-across.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/04/tomorrows-working-poor.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/12/wal-mart-bad-for-america.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/left-tries-again.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/10/wal-mart-playing-politics-and-pulling.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/10/left-bemoans-failure-of-minimum-wage.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/10/minimum-wage-for-minimum.html

At a time when the United States is fighting a war for its very survival the army is dismissing the very people who have the specialized skills needed to win this bloody savage war against Islamic extremist.

Sgt. Bleu Copas a 30 year old Arab linguist in the US Army was dismissed for the “offense” of being a homosexual. Copas apparently violated the equally nonsensical “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, even though Copas never spoke of his sexual orientation.

The Army spent 8 months investigating claims that originated with a series of anonymous emails, that Copas was gay. How is it that the US Army can justify spending so much time investigating the personal lives of a US citizen who has been accused of no crime nor was he derelict in his duty? Indeed, by some estimates the US Army, alone has wasted nearly $400 million dollars investigating and replacing gay servicemen and women, but then again what can we expect from a government that once employed professional tea tasters?

Unfortunately, Sgt. Copas’ experience is not unique. According to the General Accountability Office (GAO), the US military has dismissed hundreds of gay men and women in arms who possessed specialized skills, extremely valuable in war time, including a number who were skilled Arabic speakers.

Such actions defy logic or common sense. This from a country that employed avowed Nazis in the years after the Second World War in its efforts to gain an upper hand against the Soviets. Are we to believe that a Nazi, someone whose values are abhorrent to everything Americans profess to hold dear, are less of a threat than a homosexual? What garbage.
Link to Associated Press article

Perhaps it’s a bit nationalistic and perhaps it is motivated out of the need to preserve national security or the stability of electronic commerce, whatever the reason, the US government has again rejected calls to relinquish control of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and with it the principle control over the IP addresses and domain names which form the very foundations of the internet.

In recent years there have been a growing chorus of nations, who played no role whatsoever in the development of the internet, calling on the US to cede its authority to an as yet undetermined international body.

Most vocal among these critics have been the Chinese, the Europeans and various developing nations, none of which contributed financially or technologically to the research and development which led to the internet’s creation. There is no justifiable argument, beyond the nationalistic diatribes offered up by the Tyrants of Beijing and others for the US to turn over one of the most crucial tools in international commerce to corrupt bureaucrats in the UN or any other organization.

Perhaps these nations are willing to compensate the US for its time and resources and objective management of the internet, something which one could not expect if left to the likes of China or other despots, then perhaps the US could entertain the notion of ceding its authority to an international internet body.

The US decision is the correct one.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060727-7366.html


Recent Posts:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/increasing-calls-for-global-internet.html

If you are Black and live in America, then you are represented by the once esteemed organization known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), such is the message the NAACP leadership would have the country believe.
Thus by refusing to address the NAACP as president, George W. Bush has slighted all Black people here and for all eternity, or so would the likes of Julian Bond and others lead us to believe.

In reality the NAACP does not speak for all Black Americans, nor does it represent their interests. Candidate George Bush addressed the NAACP convention in 2000, and vowed to reach out to Black America and vigorously enforce civil rights laws in this country. Shortly thereafter, the NAACP all but accused Bush of complicity in the dragging death of James Byrd in 1998. The assertion being that Bush supported lynching because he had opposed that state’s hate crimes statute. The correlation is preposterous, but easily accepted by those with limited analytical capability or with little appreciation for the US Constitution. People should be punished for their crimes, not their thoughts. Given the NAACP’s frosty treatment of Bush from inauguration day to the present, it comes as no surprise that he has not previously addressed the formerly august body, who would, given NAACP Chairman Julian Bond’s likening of the President to a Nazi, yearning to see the swastika wave along side Old Glory?

In spite of these slights, the President agreed to address the convention last week. Perhaps the president was hoping to extend an olive branch to the organization he had previously reached out to. The same organization which ousted its previous president, Kwesi Mfume, when he called for dialogue with the White House.

The President was greeted warmly, no one called Bush a terrorist, a Nazi or a Klansman, as has been asserted by NAACP representatives on occasions too numerous to count. Bush told the convention that he was committed to civil rights and equal opportunity. The president acknowledged that racism still existed in America (as if hate could ever truly be abolished) and he recognized that the GOP and the NAACP have not always seen eye to eye. The president’s message in many respects fell on deaf ears, though many embraced the president’s call to work together.

Judging by the response from Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson, there will continue to be a disconnect between the NAACP and other organizations and individuals who differ on addressing matters of race, with those differing simply being dismissed as Nazis.
The fact remains that organizations like the NAACP oppose genuine reform that renders genuine results. Most anyone can attest that the fastest route to success in America is through education, yet the NAACP opposes vouchers, charter schools and other efforts which give parents and their children a voice in education. The NAACP, instead, rejects any and all solutions that diverge from the tired government-centric public school model, rejecting competition and the premise that parents should have an opportunity to provide their children with the very best, rather than the very mediocre. The NAACP, like the NEA, rejects teacher accountability and instead yells for more money. The US already spends more money on education than most every other industrialized country in the world with little to show for it.

Derrick Jackson, like his contemporaries in the NAACP, also re-asserts the tired and baseless accusations that the 2000 election was rigged, claiming that, among all things Blacks were disenfranchised. The essential retort to such a ridiculous claim is where and when. There isn’t so much as a single shred of proof that even one Black person was “disenfranchised.” In truth the one individual who sought to gain office through fraud was Al Gore, through his surreptitious efforts to selectively count certain ballots that yielded the desired result (i.e., a vote for Al Gore)
NAACP convention attendees complained of disparities in health care coverage and a decline in manufacturing jobs, none of which is the responsibility of the president, having more to do with those who gambled poorly in the game of life. Are there those in America who remain in the grip of poverty? Yes, most certainly, this however is not racism. The state is not the cause of an individual’s lack of income, it is the decisions of that individual which have lead to their poor station in life. Poverty is a direct result of sloth and poor decision making, not racism, not the president and not the bogeyman.

In the past, segregation insofar as it relates to education, employment, housing and access to public services have contributed to high levels of poverty amongst minority groups, but those days have long faded and such factors no longer account for poverty today. Today, with a few exceptions, there simply is no rational basis for poverty in the United States. America’s poor are so because they are content to be so. The poor are lazy (yes LAZY) and refuse to take the steps necessary to find gainful employment. They disregard educational opportunities and continue to have child after child, having no ability to care for the first one, much less the third or the forth. Is it racism or even classism that causes some people to engage in casual sex, resulting in a new mouth to feed? Are the carnal pleasures of intercourse so important as to cast responsibility to the wind? Regardless of race, anyone in this country has an opportunity to succeed or fail.

A public education is available for those who seek it. Indeed, it isn’t the schools themselves that are the problem. Quite a number of children have received a well-rounded education in many of our country’s public schools. The deficiency emerges from the fact that so few place a value in their education and parents are unwilling to make sacrifices for their children. Parents are more concerned with how well their child does on the football and basketball team, than they are with academics. If a parent wants their child to succeed then they must take a direct role in that child’s education. According to officials, in response to the Brookings study, people don’t have access to jobs and education. Well if you are poor and for some reason choose to have kids (and that’s exactly what it is, a choice), then you have responsibility to provide for that child, before your own needs, even if it means working 10hrs a day at McDonalds, then that’s what must be done. There are plenty of jobs available for those who are willing to work, how else do we explain the steady flow of illegals into this country and the speed with which they are able to find employment? If an illegal, who isn’t familiar with the country and often unable to speak the language, can find employment, what excuse does an American have? Some people see certain jobs as beneath them and would rather subsist on welfare rather than perform an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.

Another gripe is that post-secondary education (i.e., college) isn’t available for the poor. This too is absolutely preposterous and just an excuse for sloth and failure. Anyone, and that’s anyone, can receive a student loan for vocational schools, junior college or university. In fact many junior colleges and vocational school don’t even require an entrance exam, such as the SAT or ACT. This country is filled with examples of people who have succeeded against all odds. Why? Because they persevere, they aren’t content with their station in life. They want something better for their children and they don’t have an expectation that someone else is going to provide for them. The left in this country has perpetuated the belief that it is the role of the state to care for the poor, to provide jobs, to feed and cloth them. Meanwhile, these dredges of society become nothing more than wards of the state, incapable of making decisions for themselves or even providing for their basic needs. Poverty is a direct byproduct of attitude. Those who have the right attitude, those who desire for success, those who aren’t content to subsist will and do succeed.
http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/10/why-is-johnny-so-poor-report-on.html

America is a great nation that holds vast opportunities for millions of people each and every day, sadly, for every success story there are those too slothful to give a damn, too lazy to try, too willing too look to others in expectation of handouts. Such people come in all shapes and sizes. There are just as many Whites as there are Blacks or Hispanics who cling to the entitlement mentality. While it is quite possible that many members of the NAACP embrace the philosophy of self motivation and individual responsibility, it is clear that many others are of the opinion that it is the duty of the state to guide them and provide for them.

In recent years the NAACP has increasingly called for state centric programs and state control. Such efforts succeed only in binding people to the state, inhibiting their ability (and desire) to succeed based on their own merits. Characters like Julian Bond have embraced a philosophy which entrenches racism and stereotypes. A philosophy of paternalism, which treats Blacks and other minorities as wards of the state, incapable of making decisions for themselves, forever tied to their political backers who, in exchange for a steady stream of handouts, provide a steady stream of unquestioning political supporters and votes.
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/26jackson_edit.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-07-20-bush-naacp_x.htm



Recent Posts:

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/12/bbc-says-equality-lacking-in-america.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/02/gop-like-nazis-says-naacp-chairman.html

Once again the nation of India has proven that it has little tolerance for some of the fundamental tenants of a democratic state, thus reject the principle of individual liberty.

Recently, the Indian government took steps to block access to certain websites and now the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has taken steps to suppress freedom of religion.

There, state authorities have passed a new law that would shame even the likes of George III. This law seeks to inhibit the ability of citizens to convert from Hinduism to another religion (though Christians are the principle target. If someone wants to convert, that person (and the officiating clergyman) must notify the state in advance. This law is clearly designed to hamper the free exercise of religion and in so doing raises other serious questions.

If one is convicted of violating the new law, they face up to a year in prison and an untold amount in fines. This law clearly has but one purpose, to intimidate and cajole citizens in a effort to prevent converts to Christianity or other faiths. With passage of this law, it is also clear that freedom has a long way to go in what is billed as the world’s largest democracy.

In many cultures it is assumed upon birth that a child is of the same religious faith as that of their parents, it is for this reason that demographic studies can show that over 80% of Americans are Christian, when clearly they are not. Does the Indian government therefore assume that if a person’s parents are Hindu, then they by extension are Hindu as well? Since infants have no ability to express a preference for a particular belief system can the government make such an assumption. Could not a person simply claim that they never were Hindu in the first place? This also begs the question of what happens if a person simply declares themselves to be a Christian. Christianity does not require a formal ceremony or ritual to be recognized as a Christian, simply a profession of faith in Christ is sufficient. In such a case would the convert serve two sentences?

One could expect such behavior from a so-called representative government like Russia, where freedom is a four letter word, but not from a nation with a 60 year track record democratic governance, but then again one needn’t look any further than to the US where individual freedoms are constantly under assault from the left and right.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5215696.stm

Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda, PFLP, Abu Sayyaf, Black September, Abu Nidal, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, DFLP, Fatah and so on. All of these terror organizations have one thing in common: Islam. Throughout history, these organizations have been responsible for the wholesale slaughter of thousands of people in every corner of the globe. These organizations have brought down a reign of terror for decades in pursuit of their fascist goals. There can be no doubt that they are the enemies of the West, the enemies of peace, the enemies of progress, the enemies of freedom, and the enemies of all non-Muslims. In spite of efforts by leftists and the media to understand, placate and negotiate with these extremists, one fact remains, their goal is our destruction. They seek to kill every last man, woman and child who is not willing to submit or convert. Their stated aims are to expand the reach of Islam across the globe.

These groups are experts at playing both ends against the middle. To this end they have won sympathy among leftists, anti-Semites and the peace at any price crowd. Constantly these Islamists use the strategy of divide and conquer to forestall a unified effort to defeat them. The case of Iran is a perfect example. Iran an Islamist regime, whose president has stated openly that Islam will inevitably engulf the world, has made fools of the EU and nations like Russia and China who because of their economic links with Tehran, are unwilling to stand against the inevitable onslaught.

Even in the United States, in the wake of September 11th and hundreds of earlier attacks by Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists, countless Americans blame George Bush or Iraq for the current war on terror, ignoring the fact that these Islamists have stated long before Bush was elected president that their goal is global conquest.

Those who do not submit must die. This is no fairy tale, but the inescapable facts. Facts, which are ignored by those who view peace as simply the absence of conflict. Such a peace is one on our knees in submission to Allah. Naturally, there are those who believe the Islamists have legitimate grievances. The Islamists contend they are at war with those who support Israel and use this tired excuse as justification for the slaughter of thousands around the globe.

Such an argument, however, is devoid of fact. These revisionists have had numerous opportunities to establish a homeland, yet they rejected countless initiatives since 1948 and as recently as 2000 when Ehud Barak offered everything but the kitchen sink to form a so-called Palestinian state, an entity which never existed in history.

For the last 2000 years, the disputed territories in question were controlled by the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turks, and the British. At no point were these so-called Palestinians in sole possession of this land and at no point was there an absence of a sizable Jewish community. Indeed, much is made of Palestinian refugees leaving Israeli territory but what of the nearly 1 million Jews who fled Arab lands in the 1940s to escape Islamic persecution? Many of these communities had existed for centuries. Yet the Palestinians claim they alone are the victims of a merciless land grab and the Jews the offenders. Did Jewish immigrants commit terror and other despicable acts? Yes, but as history has shown the conflict over “Palestine” is little more than a smoke screen design to hide the true ambitions of Islamists around the globe.

Indeed. If the entire conflict with the Islamic world was rooting in the war over Israel then what accounts for the numerous acts of Islamic terror is lands far removed from the Israel? From the Sudan to Nigeria, to Thailand, to China, to Russia, to Spain, to France, to Argentina, to Canada, to the Philippines, to India and beyond Islamic fascists continue to murder and slaughter innocent people in the name of Allah. Given such a reality true peace will elude the world until either we, the non-Muslim world have been eliminated or the Islamic fascist of the world have been crushed once and for all, just as the European Fascists were.

It comes as no surprise that House Speaker Hastert may challenge a recent court ruling sanctioning the FBI search of Rep William Jefferson's house office.

From the onset Hastert has clung to the foolish notion that the FBI has no legal authority to execute search warrants on members of the Tub-o-lard class ruling class Congress. Hastert being of the opinion that the House is entitled to police itself with no external investigations from criminality being permitted.

A federal judge ruled that the search of Jefferson’s office was entirely above board. Indeed, as Judge Thomas Hogan noted, the objections to the search would be tantamount to creating zones in which crime could fester without fear of prosecution. Hastert's assertion that House members are above the law simply because of their office, flies in the face of our Constitution and the spirit of representative government. The premise that separation of powers grants immunity from criminal investigations is without precedent or merit and has no legal basis as Hogan pointed out.

Members are bound by the same rules and legal restrictions as any citizen. To assert otherwise is to create a caste system within the United States. The executive branch is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the laws of this country. When that branch follows the established legal procedures to conduct criminal investigations, such as obtaining a search warrant, it goes without saying that such investigations should not be impeded by the nation's ruling class in their insatiable lust for power and privilege.

According to his highness Hastert, the US Justice Department cannot “randomly and wantonly” search lawmakers' offices. The search of Jefferson's office, however, was neither wanton nor random. What is wanton and random however, is Hastert cherry picking method of defending the rights of congressmen while ignoring the Constitution, where was Hastert’s outrage when the Kelo decision was handed down? A fair weather patriot such as Hastert is no patriot at all and an enemy to the Constitution, such as Hastert and company should be hastily removed from power.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4066009.html


Recent Posts:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/07/raid-was-constitutional-as-we-already.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/05/bush-buckles-to-pressure.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/05/speaker-objects-to-fbi-raid.html

Protestors in Pakistan burned a replica of the US flag, voicing their frustration with US policies. The flag with 25 stars represents the United States in 1836 when Arkansas entered the union.

Who knew Andrew Jackson was as disliked by the Pakistanis as he was by the Whigs.

So it seems Israel is planning a full scale invasion of Lebanon, their 3rd since the 1970s. Israel launched separate invasions in 1978 and 1982. Ostensibly, the move is designed to drive out Hezbollah terrorists who have frequently launched attacks into northern Israel, just as their previous invasions were designed to drive out PLO terrorists who launched attacks into northern Israel.

Just as with the previous invasions, Israel’s move will likely have two results: The terror threat from southern Lebanon will be briefly contained and the Lebanese government will be severely weakened. Israel as every right to defend itself and those who criticize the government for confronting Hezbollah extremists when others refuse to do so clearly demonstrate an anti-Israel bias.

Israel’s retaliation however, does come with risks. Lebanon was well on its way to recovery after the devastating civil war of the 70s and 80s and finally managed to expel Syrian forces last year. Its government and military are both extremely weak and have been unable to exert control over the entire country, especially in the south. Israel’s attack and expected ground invasion will further weaken the government, which is one of the few pro-Western governments in that region. If the Lebanese government falls, it will create yet another Lebanese power vacuum, opening the door for Syrian re-occupation, which would prove even more devastating for Israel.

While Israel certainly has a right to defend itself, it would be wise for the IDF to consider a more strategic and covert plan of attack rather than the all out assault that is likely to occur within days, if not hours. Truth be told, Hezbollah must be destroyed along with its backers in Iran and Syria. Confronting Hezbollah by destroying Lebanon is in many ways a distraction, the real threat lies in Tehran.

The threat of a wider conflict is becoming very real and if it does Israel’s security situation will be vastly deteriorated and even the presence of a nuclear deterrent is meaningless when the enemy is within your midst.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-21-lebanon-israel_x.htm

Some tales are so far fetched as to defy imagination and the ability of even the most devious of minds to dream up. Such is the case with leftist extremist and liberal firebrand Dick Gregory, who makes Howard Dean seem like George Bush.

Gregory who spoke at this week’s NAACP convention told his audience that blacks who become criminals do so because of white racists. Apparently these white racists are poisoning the food and water, which in turn transforms upstanding law abiding citizens into degenerate criminals.

Like moth leftists who take an ounce of truth to create a Big Lie in the fashion of Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Gregory sites an FBI report showing that in areas with high crime there is a high degree of lead and manganese pollution. Naturally, Gregory postulates that such correlation is the byproduct of a sinister white racist plan to destroy Blacks.

What Gregory fails to mention is the fact that areas with high pollution levels tend to be low income communities which in turn are more apt to have higher levels of criminal activity. This goes hand in hand with the mentality of the poor (white or black) in this country. Those poor, for the most part, find themselves in such circumstances because of equally poor decisions they have made in the course of their lives and into such uneducated, entitlement focused minds is born the seeds of the criminal.

What Gregory also fails to mention is the fact that low income communities without such pollution levels are also plagued by high levels of crime. Gregory went on to claim that Beer companies “White” Beer companies market Malt Liquor (laced with manganese) only in Black communities, an assertion that defies both logic and common sense. An assertion, which also lacks any concrete facts to support it.

One has to question how seriously Dick Gregory takes himself, surely no rational human being could possibly believe Gregory’s utterances, but sadly the less educated one is, the more one is apt to believe such drivel which serves only those who seek to create a subservient class of citizens, beholden to an entitlement mentality (i.e., the leftist elites)
www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200607/CUL20060720b.html

Exactly why is it that we pay taxes? Aside from the bloated government and ineffectual speeding programs, taxes enable government on the local, state and federal level to provide certain services to protect its citizens. Services such as police and fire as well as the courts and even the military are provided through exorbitant taxes we pay to multiple levels of government.

If one’s house burns to the ground, the local fire department does not send a bill to residents for rescuing them.

If a citizen calls 911, they aren’t required to pay a user fee for police services.

But apparently if the US military has to rescue one of its citizens from a war torn region of the world prepare to get your credit card ready. At present the US and other western countries are evacuating its citizens from Lebanon as war rages (again) between Israel and Hezbollah militants. Initially, the US announced that it was preparing to charge those rescued for the cost incurred during the air and sea operation.

The US government is airlifting its citizens to Cyprus (for which they were to be charged $150), where they must then find they’re own means back to the US. How is it that the US government who spends billions each year in aid to Egypt and Israel and billions more wasted in Iraq cannot come up with the sums needed to save its own citizens?

If charged, are these citizens entitled to an income tax refund equal to cost incurred due to the US airlift? Such a formula would seem entirely proper.

Apparently, however, the White House has decided to back down. Secretary of State Rice has ordered the fees to be waved in this particular scenario (how sweet), our fellow Americans are still on their own for the journey back to the US however.
Link to New York Newsday article

Read more at the Hammer of Truth
http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/07/17/us-to-bill-americans-evacuating-lebanon/

Today many Indians are openly questioning their country’s commitment to an open and free society.

This week the Indian government, without warning or explanation, ordered the country’s Internet Service Providers to block access to several weblog hosting sites, including Google’s Blogspot, the largest weblog hosting site on the internet. Fortunately, Phalanx readers have been unaffected by this ban.

For the most part, India’s commitment to representative government has been relatively untarnished over the past 50 years, with this latest move that commitment now comes in to question.

According to the Indian government, it has the authority to ban certain sites insofar as they relate to:

· sovereignty or integrity of India
· security of the state
· friendly relations with foreign states public order
· preventing incitement to commissioning of any cognizable offences.

Now where have we heard language like that before?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5194172.stm

Yesterday Georgia voters decided the fate of two well known national figures, one a right winger and the other a leftist. Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition and partner of disgraced felon, Jack Abramoff, was vying for the state’s second highest office. Reed was soundly defeated in his bid to become the state’s next Lieutenant Governor and rightly so. Reed’s brand of politics is unsuitable for anyone but the most ignorant amongst us, those easily swayed by a smooth talking politician.

Leftist Cynthia McKinney, perhaps the greatest embarrassment on Capitol Hill now faces an August 8th run-off in order to maintain her seat in Congress. McKinney, who as gained frequent notoriety for all the wrong reasons, most recently striking a capitol police officer has only two options: Go on welfare or run for Congress, her level of ineptitude is that high as render her unfit for any job with even the slightest degree of responsibility, which perhaps explains why she feels so at home in the halls of Congress.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-18-reed-georgia_x.htm

Ninety-two years ago Serbian terrorists, Gravilo Princip set off a chain of events from which the world is still reeling.

On June 28, 1914, Princip a member of the Black Hand gunned down the Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austo-Hungarian thrown. This single act set off a chain of events leading the start of the First World War, a war which cost millions their lives. This war and the unresolved manner in which it ended set the stage for the rise of Hitler and the start of the Second World War, cost many millions more their lives as well.

Had there been no WWII, there would have been no Cold War and thus no Korean or Vietnam Wars. Had there been no Holocaust there would have been no massive Jewish exodus to British Palestine, leading to the present Arab-Israeli conflict.

Thanks a lot Princip, you sure did a number on this planet.

During this election season it isn’t difficult to notice the contempt that many politicians have for their constituents. Clearly these men and women seek to fully capitalize on the ignorance (or perceived ignorance) of the electorate. Such lofty promises aren’t new and they begin early. One need only visit a local school and listen to the foolish promises made by candidates vying for student council to see that hack politicians begin at an early age.

Sample of recent claims by local hack politicians:

“Tired of high gas prices? I have a plan.”

Unless the plan involves encouraging domestic fuel alternatives through tax incentives, I’m not interested.

“We’re loosing military bases, I have a plan.”

What exactly would this plan entail, reviving the Soviet Union in order to re-start the Cold War?

“Auto plants are closing, I have a plan.”

Perhaps the plan is to visit Detroit and give the Big Three and crash course in how to properly market their products and produce them more efficiently.

Another tired line from many politicians begins with the phrase “I passed…” as in “I passed this piece of legislation, and I passed that piece of legislation.”

To my understanding there isn’t a single state with a one-man legislature, so I am at a loss to explain how one man (or woman) can pass anything.

One candidate here in Georgia even asserts that he “created the DNA database that has solved over 400 previously unsolved cases, most of which are rapes and armed robberies.”

That’s an amazing feat for one man to single-handedly create a DNA database for a state with nearly 10 million people. It’s amazing he has time to sleep.

Another candidate asserts that she would make a good governor because she’s a woman, which means she can “get things done.”

What things? Exactly what does biology naturally qualify a woman to do that a man can’t? Is she planning to ovulate bills through the legislature or make use of her vast stores of estrogen?

The claim, like that of most politicians here and around the country, is nonsense in the highest sense and like these other ridiculous claims and assertions, will be believed by many voters, further demonstrating that some people simply are too ignorant to cast a ballot for dog catcher…much less higher elective office.

It has been ten years since President Clinton signed into law the first major overhaul of the nation’s welfare system in decades. The new law replaced the AFDC entitlement program with a new program which emphasized job readiness with a time limit on those benefits received. Since that time, the number of people living on public assistance has declined sharply. Some leftists, however, have bemoaned the law from the get go and still maintain that Temporary Assistance for Needy families (TANF) leaves the poor out in the cold.

In a recent feature story, USA Today highlights the plight of several families who continue to face obstacles ten years after “welfare reform” was enacted.

Michelle Gordon was 30, a poor, single mother with four kids between 5 and 13, when the federal government decided in 1996 that parents on welfare should go to work… Between her many jobs, she used up her cash benefits under the five-year time limit imposed by the welfare overhaul. Without work, she lost her federal housing subsidy, which helped pay her rent. So in October, she and three of her kids moved in with her mother. Her oldest son is in jail; she cares for his 6-year-old daughter. The three fathers of her children pay no child support. She gets about $500 a month in food stamps.

If Michelle Gordon’s story is typical of most people on welfare then it should come as no surprise that this woman is in the position she now finds herself. Multiple jobs in a ten year period, four children with three different fathers, relying on welfare and food stamps, if anything this woman’s actions are criminal and rise to the level of child neglect.

Poverty in this country remains a problem because so many of this nation’s so-called “working poor” continue to make poor decisions and lifestyle choices. In the case of Michelle Gordon, her priority was not education, not investing in her future and not in finding gainful employment, her priority was intercourse, and as a result she has four children with one in jail and no reliable means to provide for those children, ensuring that they too will likely grow up in squalor. Are these the actions of a responsible adult? Gordon’s story is not unique, across the country, there are millions of Michelle Gordons, each of them relying on handouts or meager earnings to care for multiple children with multiple fathers.

As USA Today reported, the job requirements imposed under welfare reform have led many former AFDC recipients to find employment, but many more continue to make the same poor decisions that brought them to this juncture in the first place.

Leftists site the fact that many families still struggle. Are we to assume that the state has a responsibility to reward slothful behavior or placate those who use their bodies as a human assembly lines? Certainly not! Harsh? Perhaps, but at what point are we expected to exhibit personal responsibility? We must be willing to accept consequences for our actions, only then will certain individuals come to realize that life requires hard work and responsibility not complacency and an entitlement mentality. Welfare reform is a good first start, but true reform would assume the characteristic of welfare abolition.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-17-welfare-reform-cover_x.htm

Last week, New Yorker Nicholas Bartha, decided to exact revenge on his wife for the pending divorce and the planned sale of their 4 story building in an upscale Manhattan neighborhood.

Bartha was faced with significant financial loss because of the divorce and opted for the cowards way out by committing suicide, unfortunately, Bartha, like most cowards cared nothing for others and how they might be affected by his manner of suicide. As such Bartha sent a suicide message to his estranged wife then detonated the gas in the building destroying the $6 million townhouse as well as severely damaging neighboring buildings.

Bartha, who had been in a coma since the explosion, finally succumbed to his injuries and died. And now the joke’s on Bartha, according to residents and neighbors the building he owned with his wife was in a state of disrepair, now with the building gone, the land is estimated to be worth more…

Perhaps the good doctor forgot he was living in New York City and not Cleveland. Easy comeuppance, easy go.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5186150.stm

A headline that could have been written in any decade since the fall of Germany in 1945 and would have the same meaning. Today, that on going mid-east conflict continues as Israel does battle with Hezbollah in the North and Hamas in the South, and by extension: Iran and Syria. In many ways the war now being waged with Israel is indicative of what we have in store on a much larger scale in the war on terror. For over 40 years, radical Islam has waged war in varying scales against the West.

The current unpleasantness began with raids and kidnappings conducted by Hamas and Hezbollah. In the case of Hezbollah the raids were conducted from bases within the sovereign nation of Lebanon, who foolishly argue that they have no involvement with or control over Hezbollah. If that is truly the case, if it is true that Lebanon cannot prevent forces within its territory from attacking a neighboring country then for all intents and purposes Lebanon is not sovereign, but a puppet regime, just as Afghanistan was. Israel, for its part, responded as any nation would when a neighbor continues to allow its territory to be used to harbor violent radicals intent on waging war: it acted with a reign of destruction, for which Lebanon is now paying the price. Naturally, the Iranian kowtowers of Europe and the tyrant enablers in Moscow and Beijing have come out in opposition to Israel’s actions, calling the response disproportionate to the threat. Perhaps for country’s like Russia and China, where human life has no value, the response is disproportionate but for tiny Israel the kidnapping and murder of its soldiers isn’t likely to go unnoticed.

Israel is very much within its rights to defend its self, especially when its neighbors fail to take responsibility for controlling their own territory. Regardless of this, Israel’s current military campaign is unlikely to meet with the desired outcome. Israel’s aim is to destroy Hezbollah and the infrastructure that supports them. While destroying infrastructure may be possible in the short term, bridges, roads, arms depots, and communications can be repaired and rebuilt, but Hezbollah can’t be destroyed. Short of atomizing the entire Islamic world, Islamic terrorists as a whole can never be truly wiped out. Israel’s heavy handed military approach may have the opposite affect, as it serves as a perfectly scripted recruitment tool for radicals in training. The same can be said of US operations in Iraq, one should not use a sledge hammer to kill a mosquito.

In the case of Israel, a more covert method of confronting terrorism is required, one which they should never speak of and one which should be both relentless and merciless in delivering justice to such murdering savages as the killers of Hezbollah. If there is any country in the world that has the ability to wage such a campaign, it is Israel. Its intelligence service, the Mossad, has a wealth of experience in this regard, such initiatives such as Operation Wrath of God, serve as an example to Israel for the kind of operations the Jewish State should be conducting. When a new enemy or enemy leader emerges Israel should move quickly to have them taken out, rather than sit idly by waiting for the next attack. When terror sponsoring states maneuver to supply Israel’s enemies with weapons, Israel should act on that, any act should be met with an appropriate reaction and above all these operations should be conducted in secret. No, the terrorist won’t be eliminated, but Israel can make their very existence so dangerous that they will think long and hard before exposing themselves through any operation which could inevitably lead to their extermination.
http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=56262&r=1

Recent Post and the truth about Islamic Terror:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/04/islamic-terrorisma-reality-check.html

French President Jacque Chirac spoke recently about the prospects for Europe if Africa’s economic fortunes do not improve. According to Chirac roughly ½ of Africa’s nearly 1 billion people are under age 17 and the population is expected to more than double by 2050. Those two statistics alone highlight Africa’s principle problem: population.

The continent, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa is bursting at the seams. Such a population explosion would place considerable strain on a vibrant economy, to say nothing of the damage such reckless birthrates pose on 3rd world economies like many African nations. The fact that many Sub-Saharan countries also have relatively young populations poses additional strain. These combined population scenarios, place a heavy responsibility on the adult aged population in Africa to produce more and more efficiently to support a population not yet ready to enter the work force.

As Chirac correctly points out, with such problems, those who have the ability will flee their homes for better opportunities in Europe, just as is the case with Mexico vis-à-vis the United States. Those who remain behind, will generally be the feeble and the very young, leaving Africa in even worse shape.

As if these population problems weren’t bad enough, Africa has and continues to be plagued by internal conflicts, famine, AIDS and most tragic of all: bad governance. For these reasons it would be a misnomer to categorize many of these countries as developing, as they are more accurately chronicled as stagnant.

Not all the news is bad from Africa, those countries who have commitment to true representative government with respect for the rule of law, stand out as models for change. As a result of this commitment, they have seen massive increases in foreign direct investment and tourism, leading to improved economic outlooks and democratic stability. Countries like Senegal, Ghana, Uganda and Mauritius. Nation’s like Mauritius, for example, have an unemployment rate lower than many European nations.

While Chirac didn’t provide his usual laundry list of socialist solutions to Africa’s poverty crisis, he has in the past spoke of world wide tax schemes and other wealth transfer measures to offset African poverty, such initiatives will inevitably fail. Over the course of the past 20 years, billions of dollars have been poured into these countries with little in the way of measurable results. This is primarily due to the fact that such aid schemes do not address Africa’s systemic problems. Such problems like tyrannical governments and leaders who loot their countries for personal gain. It does not address skyrocketing birth rates and the absence of the rule of law.

Simply transferring wealth from the developed to the developing world is a prescription for stagnation. If Africa is to prosper they must embrace change on their own, rather than expecting the US or other western nations to finance their reform efforts. The world is filled with examples were nations have emerging from the clutches of poverty (on their own initiative), to become major contenders on the world stage. Taiwan, Korea, India, Panama have all either become fully developed or are well along that path and they have accomplished this feat on their own, not through handouts. The fact that many of these African nations are resource rich is all the more reason to expect success from those who are truly committed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5181080.stm

Recent Posts:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/un-hunger-kills-millions-of-children.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/digital-solidarity-fund-or-simply-tax.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/11/16-of-worlds-nations-face-shortages-of.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/10/big-surprisethe-most-corrupt-countries.html

In 1964, Klansman, Edgar Ray Killen (a fitting name) murdered 3 civil rights workers who were assisting the local black population in registering to vote. The murders galvanized the nation (not that they were in any way the first such killings) and prompted President Lyndon Johnson to flood the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi with FBI agents in search of the victims and subsequently, their killers.

For 40 years Killen remained a free man, free to run his sawmill, to preach his hate and relish in the fact that he had gotten away with murder. Last year, however, that oversight was corrected when a Philadelphia jury found Killen guilty of murder. Killen was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his crimes, which amounts to only 20 years for each life taken (hardly appropriate).

Now it seems Judge Marcus Gordon, the same judge who sentenced Killen, is having second thoughts. Killen’s defense team is asking that he be freed from jail pending his appeal, allowing Killen to “die at home” amongst family and friends, a fate James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were not afforded.

Exactly why should the state show mercy to a ruthless murderer such as Killen, a man who to this day has expressed no remorse for his bloody acts of murder? Defense lawyers, his family and townspeople alike contend that Killen is old and in poor health and should be allowed to return, a proposition that is ludicrous. Even the town’s former mayor, Harlan Majure, has called on the court to release Killen. Majure testified on Killen’s behalf during his trial last year, he even contended that the Klan wasn’t a violent organization, which says a great deal about the Philadelphia electorate.

Above all Killen is a murderer and there is one place for such people: prison or the morgue and those are the only places Killen should be allowed to return to.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-13-mississippi-killings_x.htm

Periodically, the Phalanx has regaled you with latest in the on going “anti-trust” shenanigans involving the European Union and Microsoft. Microsoft, like most large successful business enterprises, has been targeted by failures who have proven unsuccessful in their ability to compete within the free enterprise system.

The European Union, like the US government before them, took up the cause of these failed companies accusing Microsoft of unfairly abusing its Monopoly, which is essentially nonsense.

In the first place Microsoft is not a monopoly, contrary to popular myth (for example the Phalanx is published daily without the use of a Windows PC) and secondly Microsoft has every right to design its Windows OS in any manner it so chooses, and should not be obligated to provide rivals and competitors with a competitive advantage. Regardless of this, the EU has levied a $357 million fine on Microsoft for supposed “anti-trust” violations.

There simply is no rationale for the EU desire to compel Microsoft to relinquish control of its trade secrets (Windows Source Code), in order to enhance the bottom line of its rivals.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0607130279jul13,1,2356699.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Recent Posts on this topic:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/06/judgement-day-for-microsoft.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/stroll-down-lets-suppose-lane.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/01/microsoft-caves-to-eu-strong-arm.html

http://www.thephalanx.com/2005/12/microsoft-in-hot-water-with-euagain.html

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has condemned Israel’s military response to terrorists raids and kidnappings as a “disproportionate” use of force.

This from a nation that lays waste to the entire Caucuses region and abolishes democratic government in the name of combating terror.

This from a country that uses poison case to free hostages, killing more of them than the terrorists.

This from a country that uses oil as a weapon and supports tyrannical regimes, regardless of fraud or corruption.

This from a country that freely supports the development of nuclear technology for known terror sponsoring states.

This from a country that storms a school where hundreds of children are being held hostage firing indiscriminately at child and hostage taker alike.

This from a country that wouldn’t even allow a site such as The Phalanx to function, jailing its creator and anyone so affiliated.

If ever there was a blatant example of a hypocrite, the Russia foreign minister would be that man.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-07-13T123149Z_01_L13833873_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-REACTION.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

When Gavrilo Princip gunned down the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, the Austria-Hungary government held Serbia accountable for their involvement in and support for the Serbian terrorist group known as the Black Hand.

When Islamic Terrorists killed thousands of Americans in the 9/11 attacks, the US held Afghanistan’s Taleban government accountable for harboring these terrorists and allowing them the use of their country as a base of operations. Thus when Hezbollah extremists launch attacks into Israel from Lebanon and the Lebanese government does nothing to stop them it should come as no surprise when the Israelis hold Lebanon accountable for allowing this terrorist organization to operate unmolested within its borders.

For years Hezbollah has operated with absolute freedom within Lebanon, while the Lebanese government continues to maintain that they have not and do not support the terror group’s actions, but this statement is untrue. As a sovereign nation, Lebanon is entirely responsible when someone or something uses its territory to attack another.

As with most things Israeli, however, there is a double standard, Israel is expected to turn an indefinite number of cheeks when murdering savages launch wave after wave of rocket attacks, kidnappings, raids, and suicide bombings. To be sure Israel has made many, many, many mistakes, but such mistakes do not justify the actions of these terror groups nor do they give carte blanche for Israel’s neighbors to turn a blind eye as such terror groups operate freely within their midst. Any other nation, be it Britain, France, China or Russia, would do no less in response to an aggressor.

As went the Blank Hand and the Taleban so to must go Hezbollah. To that end Israel has stepped up operations in Lebanon, bombing the airport to prevent the flow of supplies to Hezbollah and targeting terror camps within that country. There is a growing fear of a widening regional war and such predictions are very much with the realm of possibility, all the more reason for the US to end its dependence of Middle Eastern energy resources and to hasten the transfer of authority to Iraqi Security Forces in that nation, thus allowing the US to avoid being entangled in yet another Arab Israeli War.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/13/mideast/index.html

Scientists at Macquarie University in Australia recently published a study in which mothers with infants were asked to rank the smell of various diapers (or "nappies" as the Aussies call them) soiled by various infants, including their own.

The study found that mothers were less revolted by the smell of their own child's feces as opposed to those by unrelated babies.

Is this for real, exactly why was this study needed? Naturally scientists offered an explanation as to why mothers had this reaction, but does it really matter? In what way does this information contribute scientifically to anything of importance? If this is the best researchers can find to fund, then society is in dire straits indeed...
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060712_baby_poop.html

In 1979, the tyrannical regime of the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in hopes of propping up a much reviled communist government in Kabul. The massive offensive prompted fierce opposition amongst the western powers, who soon sent aid to anti-Soviet forces including the Mujahideen, an anti-Soviet group that including noted Islamists like Osama Ben Laden. The Mujahideen was financed by the US beginning with the Carter Administration, but also received support from China, Pakistan and others.

Once the Soviets were finally driven from Afghanistan in 1989, these Islamist forces soon fought amongst themselves. Some eventually became the basis for the Taleban and Al-Qaeda movements. This ironic twist of fate has not gone unnoticed by leftist around the world, though President Carter has been noticeably absent from this debate. Now the Authoritarian Putin, in the lead up to the G8 Summit of Western Leaders (and Russia) has taken it upon himself to take the West to task for creating the Islamist threat.

Putin in yet another move to distract the world and his own subjects citizens from his increasingly authoritarian rule, chose this occasion to revise history. Naturally Putin ignores the fundamental cause of the Islamist movement in Afghanistan, the Soviet invasion in the first place and their attempts to plant Soviet satellites states in South Asia.

If anyone is to blame for the current threat it’s the Soviets, the west, it can be argued were in a no win scenario: oppose communism and allow Islamist to gain a foothold or do nothing and allow another nation to fall to communist tyranny.
Link to Globe and Mail Article

With each passing day the forces of “inaction at any cost” (i.e., Russia and China) grow more flagrant in their opposition to any serious consequences for North Korea’s latest round of missile tests. Of all nations, Japan has been the most decisive in demanding that North Korea be held accountable for its latest transgressions. Unfortunately for the Japanese, they continue to cling to the belief that the solution to this problem with Pyongyang lies with the United Nations. As the UN has demonstrated throughout the course of history, it is not the solution, but the problem. The UN gives nations false hope of peace while coddling tyrants and dictators allowing those regimes to grow stronger and more difficult to confront.

Japan must come to the realization that if anything is to be done in confronting the North Koreas it must begin in Tokyo and Seoul, not in Washington and certainly not in New York. Given the fact that the South Korean government is paralyzed by fear, the only option is for Japan to remilitarize on a massive scale. The Japanese can’t in perpetuity rely on the US for security and they certainly can’t pin their hopes on the United Nations.

The Japanese government should work closely with the US to expand its self-defense force allowing it the capability to confront threats outside its border, with a heavy investment in anti-missile technology, satellite surveillance (both of which they have already begun to do), but also a greater investment in offensive military capability, which would give the Japanese the ability to strike North Korea missile and nuclear facilities before they can be mobilized against the US, Japan or South Korea.

It is quite possible that simply investing in this technology would compel the Russians and Chinese to assume a more assertive role in confronting the North Korean crisis, for fear of facing a new military power in Asia. Even if Russia and China remain firm in their opposition to confronting such threats to peace, Japan’s remilitarization would demand that the North respond in kind, leading to a Soviet style collapse as the North lacks the ability to finance such a strategy in the long term.
Link to Reuters article

In 1999, the US and Europe could not have appeared more different when it came to the subject of cellular communications. In that year roughly 30% of Americans owned a cell phone, in Europe by contrast most countries had already reached the saturation point with some nations like Luxembourg and Sweden with market penetration rates well in excess of 70%. In Europe there was one unified standard for digital wireless communications: GSM. The industry was highly regulated by the EU governments and also highly taxed.

In the US, the story was quite different, not only were there several competing digital standards: TDMA, GSM, CDMA and iDEN but service was relatively expensive and there was an absence of any players with a genuine national presence, though Sprint and the then AT&T Wireless would challenge that argument. Nonetheless, the wireless landscape at the dawn of the 21st century highlights the contrasting approaches of the US and Europe to Free Enterprise.

In Europe industries are highly taxes and tightly regulated, in the US there is a greater emphasis on de-centralization allowing market forces to work. At the time the US model for the wireless industry was denigrated, we had far fewer subscribers and it was quite difficult to travel from one end of the country to another and maintain wireless service. To add to that Europe was on the verge of ushering in the 3G (Third Generation) era of wireless telephony, this would enable cell phone users to transmit data using their phones, Blackberries and PDAs and high rates of speed, the US was far behind in that regard as well.

As Elliott Drucker of Wireless Week noted, much has changed since that time. Today, through consolidation and increased competition in the wireless market, roughly 72% of Americans now own cell phones with significantly lower prices than in 1999 and even less than what European consumers now pay. Where as Europe was on the verge of a 3g wireless revolution at the turn of the century, Drucker notes that European operators are settled with huge debts and have been slow to roll out new data services, while US operators focused on growing their business and reducing costs, allowing them to allocate resources more efficiently and thus enabling the industry to roll out new data services without a mountain of debt to boot.

As a result of these developments American consumers are far better off for choosing a different course rather than opting for the European model. Through a steady application of free market principles prices are lower, quality is greater and access is more pervasive, serving as a testament to free market capitalism and decentralization.
http://www.ctia.org/
http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA6316224.html?spacedesc=Features

A local school system in Arlington, Texas has updated its dress code to include items like mouth jewelry (grills) and earlobe-stretching gauging earrings. The school contends the items are a distraction and hence the reason for adding the items to the school dress code, naturally many of the students affected object to the ban. They argue the “jewelry” is a matter of self expression, which is correct.

The federal courts, however, have ruled that schools have the legal authority to ban such items deemed to be distracting to the school environment. It is certainly true that such items are a form of self-expression, just has a giant tattoo on one’s forward reading “I’m a moron” is a form of self-expression (both have the same meaning in this case and both can be restricted or banned in a public school setting).

The school however, errs when arguing that they: “…want to instill in them [students] a sense of modesty and a sense of community.” The public schools have no place teaching modesty or immodesty for that matter; perhaps they should stick with the “three Rs” and leave the values lesson to parents.

We can surely bet that some parent, more concerned with befriending their child rather than ensuring they receive a quality education, will take up their mutilated child’s cause in the form of a lawsuit, meanwhile young mutilated and self-defaced Johnny continues to fail
http://www.nbc5i.com/education/9493327/detail.html?rss=dfw&psp=news


Other related articles:
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/03/stoking-secessionist-flamescan-schools.html

Two months ago the US government faced a so-called “Constitutional Crisis” after the FBI raided the Congressional offices of Representative William Jefferson. The congressman had been accused of taking bribes. Federal authorities, armed with a search warrant raided Jefferson’s office on Capitol Hill, seizing documents and equipment in the process. Following the raid, the princely politicians of Washington, on both sides of the aisle, came out in opposition to the raid. They argued, erroneously, that such searches violated the principle of separation of powers. Perhaps no one was more vocal than House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The Speaker, whose voice had probably never been heard by the American public before, chose this occasion to enter the national spotlight, after all insulating members of congress from the laws they are bound to uphold is a noble cause for a hack politician. The Speaker and other hacks on the left and right rushed to Williams’ defense arguing the FBI had no ground to search a member of congress’ office, how dare they. They also contened that any search would have required advanced notice and should be left to capitol police, all of which is nonsense.

As stated earlier:

The position of the Speaker is groundless; perhaps Hastert is concerned that the equally corrupt Republicans will be targeted next. The FBI followed proper procedure in securing a warrant and the subsequent raid was completely constitutional. Hastert’s concerns over Separation of Powers is a poor attempt to change the meaning of the term. The constitution does not protect members of congress from being investigating for criminal activity.Execution of search warrants do not require advanced notice to the speaker or any other party, indeed that is the very nature of a search warrant and members of congress are not immune from the laws they are sworn to protect. These objections raised by members of congress represent a congressional usurpation in an of itself as they seek to reserve for themselves special treatment, to which ordinary Americans are not entitled…
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/05/speaker-objects-to-fbi-raid.html

Members of Congress have portrayed this issue as a constitutional matter. Nothing could be farther from the truth; this matter has nothing to do with the concept of separation of powers. Indeed, under the principle of separation of powers, it is the responsibility of the executive branch of government to investigate and prosecute criminal activity; the constitution makes no distinction between John Q. Public and Congressman John Q. Thus the principle of separation of powers does not apply and furthermore the principle of separation of powers does not absolve give certain individuals immunity from a criminal investigation, nor does it grant the extra-legal authority to usurp due process.
http://www.thephalanx.com/2006/05/bush-buckles-to-pressure.html

Now those sentiments have been reiterated by a Federal Judge. U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan ruled Monday that the FBI raid of Rep Jefferson’s office was very much in keeping with the spirit of the constitution, unlike Jefferson’s willingness to accept bribes. Judge Hogan further noted that "Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the Speech or Debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime." Naturally Jefferson has announced he will appeal the ruling, but no amount of appeals will result in a ruling that will declare members of Congress above the law.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003119015_jefferson11.html

By no means is the No Child Left Behind Act a cure-all for what ails the nation’s public school system, if anything the NCLB Act is a grotesque burdensome manifestation of federal authority that does nothing to improve America’s disgraceful academic standing among industrialized nations. While the concept of teacher accountability and academic progress are noble, it should not be the domain of the federal government to institute heavy-handed, top-down, one-size-fits-all approaches, when what is needed is a local effort. Schools need greater autonomy and greater community involvement; schools also need competition in order to weed out poor performing schools that serve only to punish children, provisions which are distinctly ignored in the NCLB.

Opposition to the No Child Left Behind Act has been fierce in some sectors, though not all oppose the act because of its centralized approach to education reform. Some organizations like the National Education Association (NEA) oppose the NCLB for very different reasons. The NEA is the largest labor union in the United States, and like most labor unions, its primary goal is self preservation: maintaining the union itself and that of its members. Its name, the National Education Association, is misleading as education is of secondary importance to the union. This is evident in its vocal opposition to any measure that requires greater accountability for teachers or threatens the job of any teacher, even an inept one.

The NCLB includes provisions on teacher accountability and requires certain levels of training and education for all teachers, such provisions threaten teacher jobs and thus the NEA opposes such provision. The NEA and the like minded and equally leftist American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has opposed these measures along with attempts to introduce school choice or vouchers, arguing such efforts would undermine public education. In reality the only ones who are harmed in competition are those firms or organizations who offer an inferior product, those who win are consumers through enhanced quality and lower costs.

In education the consumers are the children and their parents, who are now forced, thanks to organizations like the NEA, to choose an inferior product and the costs are indeed astronomical as they are measured in terms of a child’s future or lack thereof in many cases.

America is hopelessly adrift when it comes to public education. Soon these short comings will begin to manifest themselves in diminished productivity, inefficiency and a reduced standing on the world stage. Statists who firmly embrace the government monopoly on education serve only to protect their own interest while children suffer in the process, teacher’s organizations, as well, are self serving with the interest of children again taking a back seat to professional babysitters afraid of competition. Sadly, even many parents aren’t looking out for the interest of their children, caring more about their child’s popularity or success on the ball field rather than their academic prowess, small wonder that the status quo has been maintained for so long.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-07-10-nea-no-child_x.htm
http://www.nea.org/index.html

Contrary to what Europe and the rest of the world has said with regard to the Bush Doctrine of pre-emption, every nation on Earth has and will consider such a move when it is regarded as being in their best strategic interest. From Russia, to France, to Britain to Israel, to India, pre-emption is not revolutionary, contrary to the President’s detractors. Japan is no exception to this premise. Last week the Phalanx warned of a re-militarized Japan and today Japanese politicians are openly speaking of pre-emption with regard to North Korea.

At present Japan’s constitution forbids the use of force as a means of solving international disputes, just as the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928. With the furor over Kim Jong Il’s recent missile tests, however, the Japanese are vocally considering a change. Presently Japan has no offensive military capability. Its weapons and standing military are purely for self-defense, thus any preemptive strike would require not only a political change but a change in military hardware as well. Given Japan’s technological prowess, it’s doubtful the world would have to wait long for a resurgent Japan to develop such a capability.

The prospects for a re-militarized Japan are even greater when one considers the ineptitude of organizations like the UN, where tyrannical regimes like Russia and China, under the guise of diplomacy, take every opportunity to derail collective action against North Korea, just as they have done with the Mullahs of Tehran.

Perhaps only one nation has been more of an obstacle to international efforts to contain the North Koreans, and that nation, perhaps surprisingly is South Korea. Historically, the South Koreans have been far less bellicose than the Japanese with regard to confronting the North. The Koreans, blindly downplay the North Korean threat, in reality, the South’s moves are purely strategic. The South fully realizes that over half of their population lies within less than 100 miles of the North Korean border, and any assault on the North would surely bring down Kim’s wrath on Seoul. Thus the South can be excused for playing it cool, the Russians and Chinese, on the other hand, have another agenda entirely.

Now the ball is in China’s court, if they wish to avoid a scenario with Japan as a major military power in Asia then Beijing will have to reign in its wayward ally. If the Chinese fail to do so, as they surely will, look for Japan to take further steps toward re-militarization, which would be their right.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-10-north-korea-japan_x.htm

The leftist mind is no different whether its synapses fire in Spanish or in English? To the leftist, defeat is inconceivable…and if by some misalignment of the planets, they lose it is a result of chicanery and fraud, not a lack of appeal.

That was the message of Al Gore after his electoral defeat in 2000 and it is the message of Lopez Obrador in Mexico today. The premise that a leftist could actually lose a democratic election is laughable to the leftist mind. Just as it is laughable that the wealthy are well off because of hard work, rather than luck.

Given this mental block that most leftists have, they frequently turn to the same tactic: the voice of mob. A strategy which relies of shouting down an opponent. Today in Mexico, thousands of leftists have converged upon the ruins of Tecnochtitlan, to call for the installation of Lopez Obrador as the next president of Mexico.

The mob in Mexico is using lies and untruths to taint the success of their main conservative rival, just as the left has down in this country. The first casualty in this strategy is the truth.

As we have heard from the UN and EU election observers, the Mexican elections were fair and transparent, nonetheless the left charges fraud and in the spirit of Al Gore and the Nazis before him, they believe that if you shout these accusations loud enough they will be embraced as truth, thus even if the conservative candidate holds on to his victory, he will be forever tainted and regarded as illegitimate, further limiting his influence.

To some exist this strategy has proven quite successful in the US and in other places where it has been tried, ensuring the left will continue to follow the Gore De-legitimization Endgame (GDE) model for the foreseeable future.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/08/mexico.elex.ap/index.html

For sometime now, the inept, the ignorant and the lazy have jumped on the Big Tobacco gravy train in an attempt to extract vast financial sums from the much maligned and hated Tobacco companies.

Howard Engle of Miami, Florida was no exception when he filed his lawsuit against the Liggett Group. Plaintiffs like Engle have frequently claimed that they were misled by the Tobacco industry into believing that smoking poses no health risks for its users. They claim that the Tobacco concealed this information from their customers in a bid to maintain and grow their customer base, and thus their profits.

Howard Engle sued and won a record $195 billion in a Florida court. The award and the case itself has no basis in fact. While, there is no debate that smoking poses a serious health risk for those to take up the habit, but to claim that this reality was unknown to the general public is ludicrous. Its even far more ridiculous when one considers the fact that Howard Engle is a doctor.

Since 1964, the dangers of smoking have been well documented. In that year the US Surgeon General documented the health risks posed by smoking. Even before that report the dangers of smoking were well known, especially in the medical community. In 1957, the Surgeon General reported that there was clearly a link between smoking and Lung Cancer, this sharp increase in cancer among smokers had been noted as early as the 1920s. If anything Dr. Engle should be condemned for being ignorant of medical history. Certainly he was not entitled to this grotesque award and it was indeed fitting that the Florida Supreme Court has now thrown out the ridiculous award.

Engle, like the rest of society must accept that there are consequences for poor decision making. Engle chose to smoke, fully aware of the risks and as a result he now has emphysema. He is to blame not the cigarette makers, no more than an obese person has a legitimate grounds to sue a fast food maker. Personal responsibility is the principle cause for Mr. Engle’s problems and he and he alone should pay for them.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/florida-judges-crush-195b-tobacco-payout/2006/07/07/1152240494069.html

Basketball great Michael Jordan and Nike founder are being sued for the astounding sum of $832 million dollars. Why are they being sued? Perhaps Jordan and Nike reneged on a contract or were negligent in some regard…no they are being sued because, according to Allen Heckard of Portland, Jordan bares an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Heckard, which has caused a great deal of stress for Heckard throughout the course of his adult life. If ever there were legitimate grounds to adopt a looser pays system in the US, this would be the case. To call Heckard case frivolous would be a gross understatement.

“I'm constantly being accused of looking like Michael and it makes it very uncomfortable for me,” Heckard said.

While its unclear whether Heckard will represent himself in this case, considering he filed the suit himself, one thing is for certain, this case will never reach trial and if it does, we might as well scrap the entire system and start anew. When questioned about the $832 million figure, Heckard could offer no valid basis for the estimate but went on to say it was difficult to place a value on a man’s life as if his life is threatened by the occasional misidentification, which in and of itself is doubtful.

This case represents the latest in a growing litigious trend where individuals seek monetary reward for little or no offense whatsoever and with no legal basis, beyond that which is imagined. The premise that a person can be sued for their genetics (i.e., how they look) is preposterous, and what exactly was Nike’s role in this grand conspiracy to ruin the life of Allen Heckard? In reality Heckard is either a fool or simply wants attention.
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_070606_news_jordan_lookalike.314c6e50.html

If there is one country in the world that has a legitimate reason to develop an indigenous ballistic missile and WMD program its Taiwan. Here is a nation that is only one national referendum or legislative act away from complete annihilation. If the Republic of China (i.e., Taiwan) were ever to formalize its defacto independence, it would face a reign of ruin from neighboring China.

While the US has supported Taiwan in the past, it is unlikely that the US would come to its aid in the midst of a full scale assault by the People’s Liberation Army [sic]. If, however, the US were willing to intercede on the behalf of Taiwan, it shouldn’t. As one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, Taiwan has the wherewithal, if not the willingness to meet its own defensive needs.

For decades the US has supplied Taiwan with advanced weaponry such as the Aegis cruiser, but Taiwan would be better served defensively if it inaugurated the development more advanced medium and long range missiles, ones capable of striking any and every target in China. Taiwan would also be remised if it did not re-establish its now defunct nuclear weapons program. Presently Taiwan has contented itself to develop meager short range missiles which would hardly deter a nation of 1.2 billion which places little value on human life and would simply regard the deaths of those on its SE coast as acceptable casualties of war.

A WMD program would be the only effective deterrent against a Chinese invasion. In addition to having one of the largest standing armies in the world, China has deployed over 800 short range missiles targeted at Taiwan. If China were under the impression that cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong would disappear were they to launch those missiles they would surely think again. Unfortunately, Taiwan has pursued a different course, one that could involve the US in a war that is not its own, nor in our strategic interest. If anything given our ever growing economic ties with China, the US would be foolhardy to wage war with that nation. Taiwan must recognize that its defense is up to its own economic and military prowess.

If the leaders of Taiwan were to adopt such a weapons program it would have to be undertaken in the utmost secrecy, if China were to catch wind of such a scheme, they would surely launch a preemptive invasion. Either way, Taiwan and its people live in perpetual fear thanks to the farce of the one China policy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR2006070600180.html

In an eerily similar position to American leftist politicians…Mexican leftist leader Lopez Obrador, has vowed to fight the outcome of the recount in court, if the election goes against him.

According to Obrador, there was fraud and other electoral irregularities in the July 2nd poll. Irregularities, in Mexico? Surely Obrador is mistaken…there can be little doubt that Lopez Obrador will not lift a finger to investigate these supposed irregularities if he turns out to be the winner. Indeed he would move to cement those irregularities to ensure his party remains in power.

Obrador’s position is textbook leftist behavior, they are never willing to accept defeat, if they are defeated then it must be fraud or corruption, this was the position of Al Gore, who to this day insists that he won the 2000 vote in Florida, which is contradicted by all the evidence. If Gore was inclined to believe such a farce, why did he oppose a statewide recount, rather than recount votes only in Democratic strongholds and why did several independent newspapers confirm his defeat in a privately funded recount of the Florida ballot? Why because leftists are all cut from the same cloth and Lopez Obrador is no exception.

The one thing in Obrador’s favor is the fact that this election took place in Mexico, not Florida and as such Obrador’s claims of fraud are therefore far more believable than Gore’s leap of fantasy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5154896.stm

At this moment, Mexico is in the midst of a recount to determine who will be the next president, with leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon vying for the top job. A final outcome is expected later this week.

Naturally this election is being watched by concerned parties in the US and throughout the Americas, especially in Venezuela, where the Latin American Mussolini himself, Hugo Chavez, has overtly supported Obrador’s candidacy.

While the conservative Calderon’s candidacy may be preferred by those who adopt a Phalanxian view of the world, in reality it makes little difference. Irrespective of the outcome of these elections, certain factors will remain unchanged in Mexico…the flow of illegals into this country will continue unabated, the Mexican government will continue to be corrupt and inefficient and Mexican police will continue to serve as the principle criminals in that country.

As long as Mexico refuses to embrace true systemic change, the country will continue to grapple with high crime and poverty, as it has for decades.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=amNiHLVNdgkA&refer=

Less than a day after North Korea launched a series of missiles over the Sea of Japan, the supposed unity of the international community has already faded. It should come as no surpise that both Russia and China have resisted calls for a stern response to Pyongyang's latest agressive acts.

So much for Japan's call for swift action from the UN...the position of Russia and China should shock no one, here we have two countries that oppose just about every proposal made by the the US, Europe or Japan.

If Japan truly feels threatened by the latest North Korean move (as they should) they should take steps to defend themselves, including but not limited to full scale re-militarization, a move that would certainly open the eyes of the tyrants in Beijing.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13719649/

Yesterday, the United States of America celebrated 230 years of existence. In 1776, the American colonies, cast off the shackles of tyranny and oppression when they adopted the Declaration of Independence, that declaration, however, would be meaningless if victory wasn’t secured on the battlefield. With Cornwallis’s surrender in 1781, independence was all but assured as the British Parliament called for an end to hostilities. At the time, the revolution was not particularly popular, roughly 1/3rd of the American public supported the cause of independence, while most Americans either remained loyal to George III or harbored no position one way or the other, nonetheless the patriots persevered, securing freedom for themselves and descendents.

Sadly, today most American haven’t the foggiest clue of what those early patriots were fighting for nor what failure would have meant, in that ignorance lies the understanding of the increasing government intrusion upon our personal liberties in the present day.

At the time of the revolution, Americans were angry over an ever growing tax burden. Efforts by Parliament to pay off the staggering war debt from the French and Indian War led to a series of new laws that placed previously unheard of financial strains on the colonists or somehow undercut domestic industry or personal liberty. Efforts like the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, and Tea Act sparked the ire of many colonists who soundly objected to such government interference without parliamentary representation. In reality these and other more intrusive government acts, such as the Coercive Acts (known as the Intolerable Acts in the colonies), hardly differed from the treatment of subjects in the mother country. In reality the colonial tax burden remained one of the lowest in the world and many British subjects in England did not have direct parliamentary representation either (and would not for a century or more).

Today our repression is far greater with an ever growing tax burden and a government bent on total authority with regard to our financial, social and spiritual existence. Today even our right to property is in question, yet most Americans ignore such intrusions or call on the government to increase its involvement in the daily lives of citizens. With an increasingly corrupt Congress that has no problem in violating the very Constitution they are sworn to uphold in order to rubber stamp one pay raise after another, or frequent revelations of domestic spying, eminent domain abuse, mismanagement of public funds through the farce of Social Security and countless other intrusions, it is very likely that the founders of this nation would not recognize the modern United States. Comparatively, yes we are free, when compared with other bastions of socialism, tyranny or modern fascist regimes, but we have a long way to go to secure the freedoms that so many Americans have fought and died for.

The case of Steven Green is a shameful example of all that which is wrong in society.

Green a former soldier who recently returned from Iraq, has been charged with rape and murder. Apparently Green, who recently left the military with a “Personality Disorder,” raped an Iraqi woman then killed her, after killing the rest of her family in the Iraqi city of Mahmudiya.

Green and his accomplices allegedly committed the brutal act last March, but it only came to light when another soldier revealed the incident while undergoing therapy. Apparently the rape and murder was premeditated. This incident is only the latest in a serious of crimes committed against civilians in Iraq and is certain to make life more difficult for the 99.9% of US soldiers in Iraq who do the right thing day in and day out. Insurgents will certainly use such incidents as justification for additional attacks and to spur recruitment into their murderous ranks.

These criminals have complicated matters in a region where complications lead to casualties and should be held accountable for their actions. Perhaps it would be wise to turn Green over to Iraqi authorities for trial, while some may balk at the idea of an American soldier being tried in a foreign court, keep in mind two things: in the first place such an action would not be unprecedented, in cases in Japan US soldiers have been tried in Japanese courts for infractions such as rape and in the second place Green and is partners, weren’t acting in their capacity as soldiers when the crime allegedly was committed. Green and his co-conspirators used non-government issued weapons to murder the Iraqis and were dressed in civilian garb.

In any case, if it is revealed that Green is indeed guilty of these crimes, no mercy should be shown, just as no mercy was shown for the victims he brutalized, his punishment should also serve as a lesson to others that such barbarism will be dealt with swiftly and harshly as that is the only way to confront such savagery.
www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/07/04/ex_soldier_charged_in_rape_killings
seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107AP_Iraq_Rape_Slaying.html?source=mypi

That’s the message from the tyrants of Pyongyang in the wake of yesterday’s fireworks on the Korean peninsula.

The North Korean government test fired 6 missiles yesterday, and another missile today, the test included both short range and long range missiles, including the much talked about Taepodong-2, which failed. The Taepodong-2 is rumored to have the ability to strike at targets within the US, but this capability was not realized by the missile’s utter failure yesterday.

This multiple missile launch hardly resembles a test and is more akin to warning, particularly to the US and Japan. The North Koreans have watched as their fellow tyrants in Iran have garnered much media attention and interests since the revelation of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran, unlike North Korea has yet to develop a workable nuclear weapon and the world has clamored to prevent this from transpiring.

In reality, Iran would be a far more dangerous foe if it were to acquire nuclear weapons. While North Korea is certainly dangerous, it could be argued that for all his foolhardiness, Kim Jong Il is far more rational than the Mullahs of Tehran. The Iranians have a long history of state sponsored terrorism and would most certainly proliferate once they develop an indigenous weapons capability. A war with Iran would also be far more devastating to the world economy, as such Iran has garnered much attention, while the 6 – party talks over North Korea have languished in obscurity. The realization that North Korea (as with most nations) is unlikely to relinquish its nuclear capability has also ensured that North Korea has taken a back seat, unlike Iran where some political leaders feel there is hope (in reality the Iranian situation is just as hopeless).

In light of this situation, North Korea has decided to up the ante and refocus attention on its nuclear program. Clearly Kim and company are eyeing the appeasement package that the West recently offered to Iran, including a host of financial incentives and technology transfers. With its economy in a shambles and mass starvation only a few rain drops away, Pyongyang desperately needs western aid. What they may get however, is far different.

Japan, in particular regards North Korea as a preeminent threat, and may move toward full scale re-militarization to counter that threat. After yesterday’s missile “tests” Japan has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to coordinate its response…Japan might as well call a meeting of the Little Rascals for all the good it will do…in any case look for an increasingly volatile situation on the Korean Peninsula.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5149868.stm

Well independence day is actually tomorrow...but the Phalanx is celebrating early. Happy Birthday America!