"Thaksin on a mission to humiliate Thai government"

There is evidence for those who need it that the world does not stop while we navel gaze.

Britain, Germany and other countries have barred Thaksin, but there were no shortage of others willing to accept his investment offers and hand over new passports, including Nicaragua and Montenegro.

Thaksin posts photos of his travels on Facebook. Recent snapshots show him golfing in Brunei and Dubai, inspecting diamond mines in South Africa, sipping coffee in a private jet and meeting prime ministers or presidents on trips to Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and the Maldives.

Investment in diamond and gold sectors have led Thaksin to Liberia, Uganda and Swaziland,

This could be serious, from the list of his sponsors and his present dealing with Hun Sen in Cambodia I suspect a Chinese connection. The thought of China getting control over Thailand and a choke hold on the sea lanes while America sleeps must be of grave concern to Japan.

Comments on The Belmont Club "Physician heal thyself"

Remember that you can now demand support to practice Satanism in the UK armed forces and ask for a symbol of Wicca on an American VA headstone. So the issue is not Islam or any single belief system. The point is that there is no evaluation system at all. Maybe the wicca are fine and loyal, maybe some muslims are and others are not. What has happened is that a screen has been arbitrarily drawn around some actions and motives if they are declared religious and they cannot be questioned. What makes this doubly unsustainable is not only does it not work but it is also arbitrary and hypocritical.

Every now and then the KKK and Neo-nazis crawl out and try to get recognized as just another faith group. They get reliably slapped down. The problem is that everyone knows that if they weren't a small group of losers, if they were instead a growing menace tied to wealthy overseas interests and had a reputation for effectively using violence (in the last 75 years, maybe Robert Byrd did defang them) then their pretensions would receive a more respectful hearing.

-------
Tcobb,
(who implied that muslims need to get ready for a Day of Reckoning)

To AZM Why is your problem my problem?
Because it is your problem and mine. Because we as a nation get to decide who is in it, and those rules need to get enforced, but we as individuals can only act to protect ourselves not to sequester and attack other citizens who have not done harm. If I encounter a jihadi committing violence then I will feel called upon to stop him. If I encounter someone attempting to commit violence on a child because of who that child's father is then I will feel called on to stop him. We can discuss what our immigration policies should be. We can discuss what our standards for background investigations and security checks should be. We can discuss how loyal members of the muslim community can do more to confront and expel threats from their community and prove themselves as valuable to the American nation, as citizens of Japanese and German heritage did in WW-II. We cannot reasonably discuss whether someone who is not a threat should face private violence.

-------
Loyalty must be made a virtue. You get what you pay for. Why are there scholarship programs that do not demand military service? Why is there only a 5 point bonus for some veterans for some Civil Service jobs? Why is anybody allowed to vote or serve on a jury who is not an honorably discharged veteran, or reservist, or an officer serving during war or for temporary training? Why does anybody get to vote for a branch of government that pays over half of their income? Why does anybody get to vote who is a financial dependent?

-------
Tcobb,
We are talking past each other I fear. My point was that as a private citizen you should be free to like or do business with whoever you please to but that your words had edged unfortunately close to a call for actions that may only be legitimate when considered by a sovereign government that represents the collective will of a free citizenry. The question of whether you can put a sign outside your house declaring it a "muslim free zone" or judenrein may be worth considering under the restriction on fighting words and verbal assaults but I would give you wide latitude to be an obnoxious curmudgeon if you so choose. Ideally if you discriminate against your innocent neighbors then others will think less of you and your business will suffer. I do not believe that the government should support any such discrimination but given that I do believe that the government should, except in cases of 2nd Amendment extremis, have a monopoly on the use of force it has the theoretical power to enact a policy of internment or deportation that no private person can attempt. We do not want a Bad Day at Black Rock.


I agree with marymcl that the muslim community has a heavy responsibility for the way that they are perceived. My words regarding every man's responsibility to defend the innocent, especially if things get critical, from private violence stand and I would think better of you if you supported them.

The Leisure to Politic

On the closed downstream thread "Fort Hood" wretchard noted that the unemployed do have the luxury of time while the employed are often limited to contributing a cheque. The argument for aristocratic government was that wisdom comes from having the time to contemplate a situation and the leisure to study subjects like history or theology. That is why Jefferson wanted a government ruled by a Whig ascendency of gentleman farmers supported by sturdy yeomen neighbors. Unemployment may make your time constraints more flexible but it does not fit the needs of conservative political action for, wait for it, three reasons.

1) Effective activity takes money, such as for travel etc.
2) Conservatives do not trust or support the unemployed. It feels like
     having a prostitute offer you counsel on Virtue.
3) Networking to get a job and to advance a cause conflict and more so
     for Conservatives than the Left.

If I had the money I would love to run for office. The fact is that most Republicans around here get 20-30% of the vote. To do it as a vanity project is wasteful. Most candidates are either very young resume builders or retirees with an axe to grind. They put their names out and pray but do not commit the time energy and resources needed to seriously compete. To run for City Council would mean starting now and devoting two years to getting to know every constituent, community group, church, synagogue or temple, with at best one chance in 3 of success if the resources expended are vast. To run for Congress would be even harder and more expensive, easily in the millions, with less probability of victory. And that is despite the fact that large numbers of individuals are repelled by the cynical fraud of the left and would love to hear an appeal to the image of America that they or their parents came to NY believing in.

Comment on Theo Spark: "A Shout Out"

Getting it wrong. The idiot does not even know that it is NOT the "Congressional" but simply the Medal of Honor.

There is something very unnatural about Barack Obama. Unfortunately one psychiatrist with the medical training and the cultural familiarity with Islamic education is not available at the moment to comment on this.

A Gathering Storm

(fm the BC thread "Fort Hood")

whiskey,
Regarding Sam Grant, "one of the most mild, “un-political” Presidents" seems a fair evaluation. What I remember from his memoirs was the lyrical beauty of his description of Mexico and his principled opposition to the Mexican war. Last year the NY Historical Society had a wonderful exhibition on Grant and Lee that included their student artwork from West Point.

We may avoid being eaten by demagogues. The next Sam Grant or Abe Lincoln, or to be fair to the Democrats Harry Truman or Jack Kennedy, possessed of both partisan zeal and love of country, awareness of larger threats in the world and respect for the individual citizen, a capacity to act and faith in the Constitution, may be with us in the Club.

wretchard,
how could the German people be so stupid as to elect Adolf Hitler?

One consequence of the coarsening of public discourse engaged in by extremists is that it lowers expectations. Everyone who fell under Hitler's spell stated that the first thing that struck them was how mild mannered and reasonable he was. By screaming that all conservatives beginning with the entertainer Rush Limbaugh are really knuckle dragging monsters with blood dripping from their teeth they leave the door open for a real revolutionary to slip by. They expended enough energy in their panic to demonize Sarah Palin and can fight off the efforts of a Huckabee to slip in conservatism under the cover of populism and religion, if only because of his odd name. The risk is that someone who is really extreme and not intending to defend individual liberties will use the formula, be female or religious or quasi socialist populist, to gather support. Mussolini started on the "Left" and changed his allies but not his goals. The threat to democracy may come from someone who starts on the Left and then gathers support for a populist nationalist crusade, uniting poor whites and blacks against "the other." Fortunately John Edwards imploded but the next smooth talking wannabe demagogue is out there.

-------
Given how thin Hasan's file was, he had stayed at Walter Reed for years during a war when everyone was getting shifted around and deployed and he had little advanced training on his record, and given his documented disciplining for unprofessional conduct, most unusual for an officer to have in his file, it is clear that he was not promotable and therefore was unlikely to last until he got a pension. It surprises me that he made it as far as Major (O-4.) The Army was clearly eager to get rid of him but his connection to the transition team shows that he had what law enforcement officers call a "Rabbi" (pun intended here) so my guess is instead of pressing him to resign "For the good of the service" they shifted him off to Texas, telling him it was a "Get well tour." It would be nice if the contents of his address book giving his contacts in DC and email records came to light but I suspect that they are being scrubbed.

Nov 6, 2009 - 1:12 pm

The Honduran Termite Bores

More bad news. Zelaya: US brokered pact for Honduras fails
The Chaveztista thug refused to submit his list of names for the unity cabinet and ran out the clock. Now his enablers will refuse to recognize the November 29th elections. He has been a uniter not a divider in that it appears that a broad spectrum from the right to the left within Honduras are lining up together in opposition to him and in defense of legality.

On Trolls

(fm the BC thread "Disruption")

Sarah Palin's email was hacked by the son of a State Senator. They exist.
There are two sides to the solution.
1. Protect the forum through social and technical robustness.
2. Pursue the trolls into their lair under the bridge, lift the rocks.

The First Amendment is a restraint on government, not on private actors. You do not have a Right to Privacy to speak about me or to damage my interests. The government has a monopoly on the use of violence to settle disputes, except in very narrow circumstances. There are laws against secondary boycotts, usually violated by the Left, and civil court systems for recovering damages but no expectation that the identity, employment or place in society of an offender will be protected. The only exception to that that I am aware of would be to protect a minor. In the case of harm done by a minor those responsible as parents should face exposure and retribution.

Comment on The Belmont Club "Fort Hood"

The problem is that Anything does not Go. If you are tolerant of the intolerant then there is no reason to believe that the intolerant will be tolerant of you. In Cole Porter's fantasia the chorus dances with the Navy secure in the knowledge that the military is there to protect them and that even if the Admiral is a bluenose the troops like a good time. I will recklessly hazard a guess that none of that applied to Major Hassan. He was not there to protect the dancing girls of America.

-------
When I was on active duty it occurred to me that most people have the completely wrong idea about military installations. To the public they are teeming with people who are armed to the teeth and hard wired to super secret information systems. The reality is that access to weapons is very tightly controlled. In fact I do remember thinking "If anything happens how long would it take to get a gun?" On a ship there are firearms in the armory with the Gunners Mates and the Supply Officer has a sidearm. In port the Petty Officer of the watch wears a pistol, almost certainly unloaded. As far as access to information goes, most people are chained to their jobs and only learn what is happening after everyone else in the world. During Desert I in 1993 we watched CNN at the Naval Intel Center Suitland MD to find out if any Iraqi missiles had landed.

Evidence of Insanity

(fm the BC thread "Disruption")

Konyak,
I’m not sure why, but my first thought about the Fort Hood shootings was the treachery of Afghan policemen – turning on both American and British troops in the last week.

Karadzic wasn't the only psychiatrist to turn murderous. There is something in the training process that promotes the objectification of people to a greater extent even than shown by surgeons, and most of surgeons I met during a student job at the hospitals struck me as egomaniacal jerks.

IIRC the Intifada began with Palestinian policemen turning the guns the Israelis had given them on the Israelis who they were on joint patrol with. The British and some Americans responded by insisting that what was needed was more training for the Fatah security services and more "cooperation" from Israel. Since that has worked so well I am sure the same people have plans to train and equip the "moderates of Hamas."

Comment on The Belmont Club "Disruption"

The ability of a troll to consume bandwidth, emotional space, time and space on a page is a real threat. We need to consider the nature of the threat, what their goals are, how we can respond to protect ourselves and at the same time preserve the forum. This is going to get worse. Link this thread and the last one. The Enemy or enemies want to preempt our defenses by getting us to abandon the field, to self censor ourselves and assure them that we will not contest the battlefield of ideas or communicate with each other. Personally I would rather spend an hour arguing the virtues of German Cheese with Marie Claude than watching a troll perform onanism. We do need to remember that we come here to learn and if we seal ourselves off from intelligent disagreement then we become an echo chamber and the forum dies. That would please those who are malicious.

-------
The simply Ignore the troll argument is necessary but insufficient because the troll does occupy physical space on the screen and bandwidth that can block access. We need a technical solution to identify and sequester and then refer for blocking.

It is going to get worse. The Internet, the crown jewel of technology and the foundation of the economy of the 21st century, was just given away by Obama to international regulators. Think of Unesco and the UN Human Rights Commission being given the keys to the First Amendment and whatever business is still around for you and yours to work in in 10 years. Giving away, correction stealing, GM was a straight Chicago style payoff to supporters and given that it was an old and declining industry that was reprehensible but survivable. The loss of the Internet, the turning it over to the tender administrations of people with the moral stature of Mohamed ElBaradei of the IAEA, is a far more serious blow. Consider who actually built this technical marvel and who will get to control it. The Internet is largely the work of Americans and Israelis with significant help from free Chinese, English, Italians, Dutch and some Hungarian exiles. Almost the same groups created the atomic age that sustained American power and an unprecedented expansion of global wealth, health and creativity. Now the enemies of all that are being given the power to shut it all down.

Horrible news from Ft Hood. Never doubt the efficacy of prayer.

Comment on The Belmont Club "Offensive defense"

The distinction between state and non-state actors is entirely pernicious. There is nothing gained by the indulging of the proliferation of non-state actors in the field of international relations and the coddling of a perception that a state or a population can escape responsibility for the actions of people who plan or conduct attacks from its territory. Nothing has proven superior to the Westphalian System in promoting lawful relations among people, regulating violence, and ensuring accountability.

The Red Cross serves a useful purpose. Technical organizations that largely predate the United Nations serve a useful purpose. Almost everything else that exists outside of the authority of the nation-state should be abolished in the international sphere.

If a state has a functional government, if it is competent and possesses the attributes of sovereignty, and if it wishes to retain good relations with the US then it will pursue those who threaten or commit acts of violence against either the United States or US persons. The later includes both human beings, citizens, nationals or lawful residents, and corporate bodies. Any territory that does not possess such a government should be placed under Trusteeship or a similar form of administration. If a nation is competent and refuses to cooperate then our argument is with that nation and not just with the offending party.

In 2001 we requested cooperation from the Taliban, who were the de facto government of Afghanistan. If they had cooperated then the War on Terror would have been a police action. The reasons to consider ourselves in a lawful state of war with Iraq before 2003 were even more numerous. We should recognize that since 1979 we have been in a state of war with regard to Iran.

The recent conceit that legal belligerency can only exist when authorized by the United Nations, which means when Russia and China agree, is a complete inversion of what the UN and the Security Council were meant to achieve. All that the UN Charter says is that when the Big Five Powers agree then that is a fact that no small powers can refute or resist. The UN has no binding legal presence separate from the combined will of the powers of the Security Council and every country has the right to defend itself.

We should yank Philip Alston's visa and make it clear that no agent of the UN has any standing to sit in judgement of the United States.

-------
When I was a child Halloween meant going door to door collecting for UNICEF. Don’t see that anymore. My idea after 9-11 was to move the UN HQ to Governor’s Island in NY harbor. That would put almost it right in the shadow of the WTC site. The security benefits would be considerable too.

Comment on PJM, Annie Jacobsen "Federal Air Marshal on Trial for Rape in UK"

It stresses my ability to accept the implications of what Annie Jacobsen implies about conduct of the accused Air Marshall that she also implies that it was misconduct on the part of the 4 officers who remained in the bar because they allowed the woman to be escorted to her room by two law enforcement officers. What more protection would Ms Jacobsen believe to be needed, an escort by the Brigade of Guards? Whether the officer who accompanied the young woman with the accused and then departed did anything wrong by not ensuring that his colleague did not return later is possible but unlikely. Certainly I would hope that proving such in the absence of any evidence that he was part of some conspiracy should be very hard.

When joined with the Italian judgement in the renditions case this could be seen as an act of lawfare against American efforts to defend itself in the War on Terror.

The Homeland Security Commissioned Officer Corps

(from the BC thread "Past and future")

Cannoneer no. 4,
The risk of untrained vigilantes from either the left or the right is real. The 2nd Amendment does not exist to enable such organizations but those who oppose it will use such groups as fodder to attack the right to bear arms. There is a need for trained militias and locally based Sheriff/Police Auxiliaries.

My hope was that Homeland Security would become the venue for community based training in civil defense and disaster survival through a widely distributed Armory and Community College system. If retired and reserve military were offered modest pay for part time work and the opportunity to accumulate additional retirement points there could be a cadre of professional veterans raised who would be subject to discipline and aware of the constitutional issues involved. A Homeland Security Commissioned Officer Corps could also serve as an Inspectorate providing oversight to DHS agents (ICE, CBP and TSA) of the Federal government who interact with local civilians.

Comment on The Belmont Club "Past and future"

OT
I take a week off and I find the Club feeding a troll?
Do Not Feed a Troll.
Please, thank you.

I will attempt to catch up, I was busy personally dragging Mike Bloomberg over the finish line, and anyone who objects, given the alternative, can meet me in a dark alley to talk it over. His strategy appeared to be that he bought rented the SEIU/Acorn, not to have them commit fraud on his behalf but just to neutralize them so they didn't go out and do the voodoo that they do so well for the Democrats.

Now we have to live with John Liu as Comptroller, gack.

Of course this means that I am unemployed again, so maybe I should envy the troll?

My hope for Iran is that they duplicate the English Restoration, a cultural swing to secularism, good theatrical comedy and music and a big party. Can young Pahlevi play Charles II? Is there a candidate for the role of George Monck?

-------
buddy larsen,
Restored to life I see. Thank you for the kind words.

what organization wouldn’t benefit from additional deep knowledge and clear thought?
MiniTrue, MiniLove, Education, NPR, Congress, the keep the trolls fed and quiet Management by Feeding the crocodiles club, etc. We could add to the list. In my experience there are organizations that will hire someone like me in a very low level and non-managerial capacity to get the actual work done when doing so is a necessity in extremis but both the unproductive staff and the agency problem managerial enablers of inefficiency both feel threatened by capable competition. If I was a real Boss then people would be more comfortable and feel less threatened but my presence as a worker bee or basic supervisor can be seen as a challenge.

-------
Sylvia,
Is it cheaper to buy ACORN/SEIU ahead of time the way Bloomberg did?

It was certainly a rational act for him to do as a candidate. As a matter of public policy I think that so many of NY's growing problems can be traced back to George Pataki's dealing with Dennis Rivera. It is a gordian knot that ties together health care, taxation, regulation, immigration, corruption and probably other issues.

-------
The alternative to Ignoring is a Registration and Blocking regime. The risk of that approach is illustrated by what happened to LGF. It is easy to say that the excesses that for many of us ruined that site are due to the personal failings of the site administrator but that elides the issue. A system should be designed to avoid enabling abuse as simply as possible. Relying on the virtues of the host to exercise the banning stick in a proactive basis without altering the character of the forum demands to much of him.

The other risk though that does demand some technical answer is that trolls can flood the thread with so much compost that it becomes impossible for others to use it. There is a real risk IMHO that we might see such attacks, a poor man's Denial of Service attack, by friends of Barack. There could be technical solutions to that problem if the WordPress template supports them. Giving each user an Ignore feature to filter out screen names or ideally IP addresses should be designable. Perhaps the engine could be given a feature that limits a single poster to 3 comments every 30 minutes.

Nov 5, 2009 - 4:05 am

Comment on The Belmont Club "Pick a number"

Academic delay, sabotage, lunacy or simple incompetence? The default is to defer.

Our most self consciously academic Presidents have turned out to be our worst in the last 100 years. Wilson and Obama have both proven thin skinned and hostile to constitutional liberty. Another who affected academic airs, but without any qualification to do so was Carter. Arguably the most educated and scholarly American President was Taft who did not display the personality flaws of a stereotypical academic.

A diagnoses of conspiracy or insanity demands either overwhelming evidence, like that given in the Constitution for treason, or professional judgement subject to peer review. For the first case of conspiracy or treason we have limited but disturbing evidence but not such that would at this time convince the broad electorate or an impartial jury. We do have some members of the Club who have held Top Secret clearances, Habu, myself and others, and who can speak with some knowledge of the issues. These are by definition murky waters and while we may speculate freely here I wait to hear from a broader consensus of retired Intelligence professionals on the subject. My suspicion is that over the next several months those who stood aside from what could initially be considered partisan wrangling may feel called upon to weigh in on either side.

Regarding the possibility that Obama's actions are disconnected from reality as it would be assessed by competent outside observers that could only be determined trained professionals who are usually loath to offer an opinion in advance of a crisis. If the working definition of mental illness is a condition that significantly impairs the ability to successfully function in the world as it is then a decisive judgement may be hard to arrive at. The man did get himself elected, regardless of the methods used, and that shows some competence at demonstrating functionality. Given that the demands of his position are unique it is hard to compare his failures with those of other CEOs. An argument that Obama fails to effectively serve the national interest, in either foreign or domestic policy because he is, to use a technical term, nuts does not address the question of the motives of his enablers and supporters. It is of course possible that two or three of the four possible explanations alluded to in my first paragraph are at play. There are practicing physicians, including psychiatrists, who are part of our Club. I would like to hear their opinions.

That leaves the fourth of my suggestions, simple incompetence. Even if Barack Obama, Bill Ayers, Rahm Emanuel and the rest of the gang were dreaming of the triumph of History they may simply be chortling clowns who are in over their heads. As I said above differing percentages of these elements may be at work for each of the actors, POTUS, VPOTUS, Czars, Wallahs and Grand Nincompoops, in the play that we and the world can't walk away from.

If only the Taliban were to stupefied by what they see to act.

Has anybody read this? Is this more than Strategic Hamlets redux?
One Tribe at A Time by Major Jim Gant.
H/T Theo Spark

Threats Big and Small

(fm the BC thread "Code review")

Sergey,
all small bacteria originated 3.7 bn years ago are still with us
So bureaucrats are immortal?

Doug,
(who linked another NYT story naming a CIA asset)
If the NY Times had tried stuff like this during Korea or WW-II the relatives of US casualties would have converged en masse on their headquarters and cleaned the place out, as millions cheered.

JMH,
(who noted how hard it is to build a secure system)
Back in 1986 I was very briefly assigned a collateral duty as Information Security Officer for COMNAVSURFPAC (N-2), Intelligence. The accompanying Instruction helpfully suggested that all computers be disconnected from telephone lines and placed more than X number of feet from windows, walls or embedded power lines. See how easy it is to be secure?

Doug,
(who noted a story by a radio show caller)
I don't believe it. Real threats are real but there is no infrastructure in place capable of scanning photos of random crowds and picking out some job candidates wife and then informing the guys interviewing him. That is tin foil hat level crazy. The real threats are bad enough. My suggestion is that you stop relying on the Grauniad and anonymous radio callers. The wiki would be more reliable. The Guardian is promoting the infiltration of the immigrants to transform society and the campaigns of sedition that provoke the BNP reaction covered in the last thread.

The acquittal of the two trespassers who claimed they acted to prevent war crimes was one of the more serious fire breaks that have struck against Western civilization. The masturbatory glee of left wing lawyers at deconstructing the defenses of a safe law abiding society is what empowers the reactionaries. They do it partly because the resulting right wing activity stimulates funding for the left. Police state surveillance is something to fight but there is a legitimate role for trained professionals to be identifying and removing real threats.

On Assimilation

(from the BC thread "Alone")

It is over 20 years since Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister and the evidence is that things have only changed around the margins, and that was for the worse. Ninety six years ago an arrogant Englishman knew that his hauteur was backed by all the pink bits on the map, with the expectation, at unguessed cost, of more to come. Forty two years ago that Englishman's grandson could safely claim to dominate a conversation based on his presumably superior education, invaluable role as the trusted go between among East and West and North and South, cultural dynamism in "Swinging London," and clever timing in shedding a money losing Empire.

The problem with those who pretend to be the grandsons of Sir Humphrey Appleby is that it is clear to all but the most self deluded audience that the show lacks substance. The Mandarins no longer impress the former natives of either Britain or from the former pink bits who are flooding in. The later were invited in with as much foresight as the Romans showed in inviting in barbarian tribes to cross the limes and serve as allies.

The English have over time proven poor at assimilating foreigners in large numbers into the Imperium's culture. Despite all those missionaries playing the organ for little African Methodist souls and Princes sent to Cambridge and Sandhurst the natives did not Anglicize. The French proved more effective by ignoring the masses and uncompromisingly assimilating the elites. They at least gave the first impression that French culture could be seen as color blind and universal. America has proven more effective at spreading into popular culture than at co-opting elites.

What America did have was a great engine for assimilating large numbers of immigrants, the urban public schools. When I taught at what was at the time the most dangerous High School in New York City I found a book from the 1920s in a corner of a storage room with a title like "A Guide for New Americans." The Chairman gave it to me to keep. It was a collection of practical lessons on topics like opening a savings account and selected inspiring passages from Great Men like Teddy Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie on Americanism. The entire approach was straightforward. Welcome to America, now don't spit on the floor. It worked for millions. Different ethnic groups can share a common space that includes sufficient tolerance to sustain democracy. We have done it.

Comment on The Belmont Club "Code review"

China

Oct 27, 2009 - 10:01 am

-------
My Zen moment, a reference to Japan would have missed the topic, covers three parts of the problem.
1) Intrusion of the collective down through the level of the town, past the family and into the individual.
a. The local environmental, educational, and public order inspectors.
b. Report Daddy for not recycling, follow Mommy for misregistering,
     charge the invaded home owner for grabbing a knife.
c. Canadian/Canadien Human Rights Commission investigates "intent,"
     Hate Crimes laws vary punishment by victim class.

2) The real threat to our security from attacks carried out by units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to probe, map and disrupt American network based or reliant systems. These are potentially far more devastating than were the Russian cyber attacks on Estonia and Georgia.

3) The stultifying effects of centralization choke off the flow of information needed for both rational market operations, innovation to meet changing conditions, and efficient government administration. Eventually the centralized bureaucratic authoritarian or totalitarian model will face systemic failure.

China has set the template in all three areas and the West is following in their footsteps. Mao as a role model indeed. Economy of analysis on my part. The situations methodology, threats and outcome risks are summed up in one word, China.

Weasley Clark could be right but I suspect the messenger's motives.

Religions Sorted out

Theo Spark links to a handy dandy chart from Holy Taco that sorts out the religious mess.

Comment on The Belmont Club "Alone"

Comparisons between the American and the English polities are unreliable. We truly are as Shaw said, "Two peoples separated by a common language." In America the concept of a Yeoman Democracy was taken seriously. Military officers are discouraged from entering the Civil Service, they get fewer points than enlisted members, and with few exceptions, such as South Carolina, state legislatures were rapidly selected by the widest possible enfranchisement of the free citizenry.

American movies were about the average doughboy of WW-I or the GI Joe of WW-II and he was a pretty shrewd mature and even noble figure as portrayed. British films were generally about the officers and even when the "other ranks" were portrayed it was generally as shining examples of feudal sacrifice. An American warship can get underway, navigate across the ocean, and fire its weapons, with no officers on board. A Russian ship could not get underway. The crew of a Royal Navy vessel might have the technical know how but would they have the initiative given that they lack the cultural models to act on?

In England the Tories and the Whigs/Liberals/Labour competed to expand the franchise, with the Conservatives pushing hardest to broaden the lower orders, but the culture remained far more rigid and upward mobility was much rarer then in the States. Most Americans looking at the rise of the BNP may be shocked but are unaware at the deep contempt that all educated English, whether old Tory snobs or modernizing Labour technocrats have had for generations for the masses and their Yob culture of Beer, Footer and violence.

The contempt that the Left in America directs at Fly Over Country and Nascar America is a recent affectation done in imitation of their European models. Nothing would please the Axelrod Pelosi left as much as a BNP type nativist movement that justifies their ghettoizing and debasing the people who successfully built and defended America. Nothing terrifies them as much as the prospect of an alliance between Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin that could offer an alternative to the European model.

Comment on American Thinker "Obama Comes To The Mainland"

While I agree with most of the comments here I want to caution everyone to avoid one trap that can destroy the credibility of those questioning Obama's status as a natural born citizen. His adoption by Soetero did nothing to change his status in US law. Think about it this way, an American girl marries a man from some foreign country, say Saudi Arabia, it happens all the time. They have a child, say a daughter, and then the marriage breaks up. The husband returns to his homeland and takes the child with him. In the opinion of his country that child is now a citizen of Saudi Arabia and will be raised as such. However if that child ever escapes from there and returns to the United States what do you think the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer will say to them when they present themselves for admission? They will simply smile and say "Welcome home." No foreign court can take away your United States citizenship.

My guess is that there is some information in his school records that he claimed to be a foreign student to get financial aid. It is possible that he traveled on an Indonesian passport after his 18th birthday. Either of those could be used to challenge his eligibility to serve as President.

Let's Get Physical

Serendipity.
The ever delightful Anglo-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John's grandfather was Max Born who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1954. That was when the Nobel really meant something. Interestingly Born was born jewish and his principle associate and former student Pascual Jordan became a nazi Storm Trooper. The Physics Nobel is still OK.

Pity Universal disabled embedding of the video.