Murderous cowards

The recent mayhem in Algiers should remind us that Al-Qaeda and its franchisees have murdered at least an order magnitude more Muslims than westerners of any stripe. It riles me the mindless sheep in the press still repeat the canard that Muslims have not done enough to condemn the terrorists.

America is a big country

The James Kim tragedy shows that 160 years after the Donner Party, people can still go missing for ten days and die of cold and exposure in the great untamed wilds of America.

No comment required

"The biggest difference between Tom DeLay and Nancy Pelosi is that no one wants to vacation in Sugar Land, Texas."

Republican analyst Dan Schnur.

Two reasons why putting flyboys in command positions is a bad idea

1. Donald Rumsfeld (former US Navy pilot): enough said...


2. Aluf (General) Dan Halutz, Chief of Staff of the Israeli armed forces: first Air Force officer to be named to this position, and most likely the last given the disastrous performance of his airpower-intensive offensive on Lebanon

There must be a warped perspective from high-altitude that makes pilots incapable of understanding the issues real soldiers face. Rumsfeld overrode experienced officers telling Congress twice to thrice the number of troops sent to Iraq were required, because he was fixed on a vision of low-msnpower, high-tech warfare and never let facts interfere with theory. Halutz added impropriety to incompetence by selling off his stock portfolio prior to the offensive, and completely botched the ground phase of the invasion.

Fireworks in Vancouver

yesterday evening Vancouver hosted fireworks, sponsored by HSBC, part of a competition titled "Celebration of Light". The event was far more impressive than San Francisco's palty 4th of July fireworks, and it is only a glimmer of the finale on Aug. 5th.

I always found it amusing how we Westerners can say with a straight face that "Sure, the Chinese invented gunpowder, but all they used it for was fireworks, it took Europeans to use it in weapons" as if that suggested superiority of European civilization rather than the exact opposite...

Wanton oppression in Nepal

As any self-respecting Frenchman would, I think of kings as best separated from their swollen heads. My thoughts go with the brave citizens of Nepal, now marching to shake off the yoke of a medieval tyrant. May he soon experience the fate of Charles I, for presuming to usurp the sovereignty of the People.

Women's rights

Many westerners decry the supposedly subservient position of women in Islam. Let's look at the 4 largest Muslim countries (not counting India and China), and when they first had a female head of state:

Country	Head of state	Assumed office
Indonesia	Megawati Sukarnoputri	2001
Pakistan	Benazir Bhutto	1988
Bangladesh	Begum Khaleda Zia	1991
Turkey	Tansu Çiller	1993

Some day, it is to be hoped, the United States will follow Muslim countries' lead and elect a woman as President....

More disgusting behavior from the New York Times

New York Times technology columnist David Pogue is busted for trading a write-up for free services.

Just another scandal from the paper that brought us the Wen-Ho Lee witch hunt, the Judith Miller warmongering propaganda spout, the Jayson Blair fabrications and so much more. The Gray Lady prides itself on being the American newspaper of record, but that says more about how low standards have fallen than anything else.