Around the Web on 8-10-06

Wikipedia Founder Influenced by Ayn Rand

The blog of the PSU Objectivist Club notes that, according to Wikipedia, Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is "a passionate adherent of the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand, which Encyclopaedia Britannica describes as 'essentially reversing the traditional Judeo-Christian ethic.'"

This is interesting news, but then again, according to Wikipedia -- whose entry on "Objectivists" is careful to relegate "Former Objectivists" like Nathaniel and Barbara Branden to their own list -- so are David Kelley and Robert Bidinotto.

Who is Ned Lamont?

By the looks of it, he is a messenger of sorts. What he says is boring and unoriginal, but what he (or at least his Connecticut primary win) means is: "There is no room in my party for debate."

Glenn Reynolds notes that some Democrats, like Brendan Loy and his "radical feminist '60s flower-child" mother -- both lifetime Democrats -- have heard this message loud and clear. From another Brendan Loy post:

... I've continued to cling to the label of Democrat, and to the hope that the party would somehow save itself from the tired orthodoxies of its interest groups and the execrable excesses of its far-left wing. I've shaken my head at the irrational policies and irresponsible rhetoric coming from so many corners of the party, comforting myself with the thought that while Dennis Kucinich may be a nutjob and Al Sharpton may be a charlatan and Howard Dean may be an idiot and Dick Durbin may be, well, a dick, at least there's still Joe Lieberman.

In the sense that this primary result has been a shot across the bow for -- How shall I put this? -- the sane fringe of the Democratic Party, this may have been a good thing.

The Stimulus

I can't recall the local television news being so thoroughly dominated by terrorism since the atrocities of September 11, 2001, as it has been this morning -- by the news of an airline plot thwarted in Britain. Here is a brief list of news links.

BBC: "'Airlines terror plot' disrupted"

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said ... "We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives on to aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight. We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the United Kingdom to the United States of America."

From television, I surmise that the men, who by some bizarre coincidence are all Moslems, were smuggling liquids onto the planes that were harmless alone, but would become explosive when mixed.

Reuters: "UK police hold 21 over foiled plot to bomb planes"

Michelle Malkin: She is, of course, all over this, and notes that she was already covering two other terrorism-related stories when this broke.

I went to bed last night after blogging about the Dearbornistan terror arrests and the still missing 8 Egyptians. Twenty minutes after I went to sleep, the news broke about a massive terrorist plot to blow up several aircraft mid-flight between the United States and Britain using explosives smuggled in hand luggage.

In her post on the missing Egyptians, she correctly notes that "Michael Chertoff is an idiot." She quotes Investor's Business Daily:

Less than a year before 9-11, 17 national Muslim and Arab groups marched on Washington to protest support for Israel. The rally attracted more than 10,000 Muslims, who denounced Jews and, for the first time, openly supported Hamas and Hezbollah. Some of their leaders ominously warned America it would suffer a terrible fate if it did not divorce Israel.

Many who attend such rallies are here illegally from the Middle East, yet the feds don't pick them up because their bosses are handcuffed by political correctness and don't want to look racist.

Sensitivity toward Muslims is so raw that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff this week felt compelled to express disappointment that the FBI put out an alert for 11 Egyptian students who failed to show up at Montana State University. They entered the country on visas, then vanished. Chertoff said not to worry, just a bunch of kids cutting class. No threat here.

And oh yeah. The arrests in Dearborn, Michigan, involve cell phones, which rang a bell for me, too, so to speak.

Isaac Schrodinger: My favorite ex-Moslem blogger posts a good roundup on the bombing plot.

Little Green Footballs: LGF also report on the bomb plot, but update another story my readers might find eerily familiar. Once again, we hear about "humanitarian aid" workers in Lebanon providing military aid to Hezbollah! This time, though, it isn't the UN giving Hezbollah terrorists free rides in ambulances, but Red Cross workers helping combatants disguised as civilians cross the Litani.

All this reminds me of a quote I found on Muslihoon, the next blog in this week's roundup:

"Is it just me, or is your first reaction after turning on the news and hearing someone say 'We must try harder to understand Islam' to wonder, 'Oh God, what did they blow up now?'" Courtesy of Ace, Ace of Spades HQ.

And: Earth calling Mr. Chertoff!

Until and unless world domination ceases to be an integral part of the Moslem faith, I have no need to understand any other part of it.

The (Needed) Response

Via Muslihoon, comes a superb piece about how Israel should deal with Hezbollah. Think of it as the "barroom brawl" version of John Lewis's outstanding essay on how America won World War II.

Finally the Marine's pleading turned to screams.... a high, almost womanly shriek. And still the punches continued relentlessly. Several people in the bar took a few tentative steps as though they wanted to try to break it up at that point, but hands reached out from the crowd and held them tight. I'm not ashamed to say that mine were two of the hands that held someone back.

You see, in between each blow the sailor had begun chanting a soft cadence: "Say [punch] you [punch] give [punch] up [punch]... say [punch] you [punch]were [punch] wrong [punch]". He had been repeating it to the Marine almost from the start but we only became aware of it when the typical barroom cheers had died down and we began to be sickened by the sight and sound of the carnage.

This Marine stood there shrieking in the corner of the bar trying futilely to block the carefully timed punches that were cutting his head to tatters... right down to the skull in places. But he refused to say that he gave up... or that he was wrong.

Even in the delirium of his beating he believed in his heart that someone would stop the fight before he had to admit defeat. I'm sure this strategy had served him well in the past and had allowed him to continue on his career as a barroom bully. Finally, in a wail of agony the Marine shrieked "I give up", and we gently backed the sailor away from him. [bold added]

By extension, this is how the West should deal with the Islamic world until it unequivocally renounces the notion that it is entitled to rule the entire world.

Congratulations!

Mike N's got a new grandson!

He's back!

Alex Nunez has resumed blogging at The Noonz Wire.

He's blogging!

Apollo, an occasional commenter here, has a blog! I knew this, but the last time I checked, he had a single post from ages before, and was apparently using his blog more as a set of bookmarks than as an actual journal. Now, he's blogging, and after reading this review of The Tiger's Way, I've added him to the blogroll.

John Stark, too.

Find Fidel, Get Cash

Via Babalu Blog: There is a "Where's Castro?"-themed photo-shopping contest being held over at Brain Shavings.

Apply your creativity to come up with Fake-But-Accurate™ photographic proof of Fidel's current location, and you could win fabulous prizes! Vacations! Cruises! Cuban cigars! Universal health care! Rusting 1950s-vintage sedans with huge tailfins!

First prize is a $150.00 gift certificate to Amazon! If I can come up with a good idea in time, my wife is a whiz at Photoshop!

-- CAV

Updates

8-13-06: The contest at Brain Shavings has been extended until Wednesday due to vandalism of the site.