tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65884132011-12-14T18:55:48.491-08:00Like a Bill O'Reilly spot with extra hair and less religionspinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comBlogger2191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-40418504986602896182007-04-12T18:55:00.000-07:002007-04-16T19:17:50.616-07:00

"A worker cleans spare parts at an automobile spare parts recycling shop in Mumbai April 11, 2007. Indian workers earn between 150 Rupees and 200 Rupees (around $3 to $5) a day working in the city. (INDIA)"Reuters churns out some really attractive photos these days.In the age of YouTube, the Internet, mobile phone-cameras and high resolution screens coffee table book quality pic collections can

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-18931642152238242752007-04-09T19:31:00.000-07:002007-04-12T18:49:42.989-07:00

Spinbadz Own is trying to fathom the apparent discrepancy, in mainstream discourse, between routinely: a) Placing the phrase "war on terror" (and its primary, "terrorism") in quotation marks and/orb) Preceding the above described with the qualification 'so-called' whilst denying similar treatment to the expression "anti-war". These days "anti-war" is routinely used to describe people who

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-50643150818864838382007-04-01T17:40:00.000-07:002007-04-01T19:28:40.903-07:00

Back in February, Spinbadz Own mentioned the impending announcement of an unprecedented partnership between a top European fashion brand and a locally famous Australian - and famously blue-collar - sports franchise.We didn't name names at that time. By now many a sports watcher Down Under has heard about the deal between Italy's Giorgio Armani and the Australian National Rugby League (NRL)'s

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-76986002059265940512007-03-29T19:15:00.000-07:002007-03-29T20:01:00.674-07:00

An item from Timothy Garton Ash in the British "Guardian" tabloid details the flagrant illegality of Iran's latest seizure of (British) hostages:The British forces were operating as part of a multinational force under an explicit UN mandate, to protect oil installations and prevent the smuggling of guns into Iraq - guns with which more Iraqis would otherwise be killed. According to the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-61016535307800939232007-03-27T21:28:00.000-07:002007-03-29T19:15:39.033-07:00

The following report would defy belief, were we not inured to the cowardly violence perpetrated by terrorists every day in Iraq:79-year-old Margaret Naoum and 85-year-old Fawzeiyah Naoum, 85 (both nuns) — were killed in their home near the Cathedral of the Virgin (in Kirkuk). They lived alone and there was no sign of a robbery ... Naoum was stabbed seven times as she stood in

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-54734869388786243592007-03-27T17:57:00.000-07:002007-03-27T19:13:05.717-07:00

The number of civilians killed in Baghdad dropped from 1,222 in December to 494 in February, according to Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain.McCain said U.S. forces have moved out of large bases to take up positions in small outposts as part of the shift in strategy being implemented under the auspices of General David Petraeus (see his comments below)."Contrary to predictions

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-27030912632922055332007-03-21T21:38:00.000-07:002007-03-21T22:17:42.438-07:00

How low can terrorists go? Last Sunday, as widely reported: (A)dults in a vehicle with two children in the backseat ... parked next to a market in the Adamiya area of Baghdad, abandoned the vehicle and detonated it with the children still inside.Perhaps it confirms that the surge is really working (see US General Petreus's comments in the post two below this one), terrorists now

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-55311549130578434372007-03-20T21:53:00.000-07:002007-03-20T22:06:30.935-07:00

Quote of the day, from Bernard Lewis:"In the Soviet Union, the most difficult task of the historian (was) to predict the past."(See more on Lewis's excellent book "The Crisis of Islam" here)

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-32579589015362522482007-03-19T21:01:00.000-07:002007-03-20T22:05:01.710-07:00

Probably the most uplifting news report I have read in 4 years of the Iraq conflict is this one detailing recent comments of General David Petraeus, the commander of the "surge" troops in IraqThe surge appears to be having a positive effect. The murderers are being "attrited" (and attrited "at a fearsome rate"), the bombings impeded, the death rate slowing down, people enabled to get on with

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-13143904441302662332007-02-05T19:34:00.000-08:002007-03-29T20:27:44.335-07:00

So, Gore is at unbackable odds to follow in the footsteps of Michael Moore to the Oscar podium. He may even win the Nobel Prize. Presumably, he could win votes there from some of the same Europeans who gave the once-prestigious Nobel Peace gong to Jimmy Carter, apparently because doing so served "US and A weeth a leetle keeck in ze shins", or something to that effect.Reactions to An

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-75805851657199794432007-02-04T17:37:00.000-08:002007-03-20T22:02:28.340-07:00

There it was again, this time somewhere in readers' comments at news.com.au: "Did I mention that Mr Rudd speaks Chinese Mandarin fluently and respects Asian cultures?" Yet another version of the persistent canard about Australian Labor leader Kevin Rudd's magical linguistic ability coupled, as it often is, with the implication that Australia's current PM is a cultural idiot next to Rudd. In

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-67706089581733587952007-02-01T17:12:00.000-08:002007-02-01T17:21:22.435-08:00

Spinbad has learned that an A-list European retail brand, which shall remain unnamed, has recently activated sponsorship of a very well known Australian sports franchise, which must also remain unnamed.The partnership is as unlikely as you could possibly imagine. It has only come to fruition because the battling sports franchise has been fortunate enough to fall into

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-32475304729740620632007-01-30T21:01:00.000-08:002007-02-01T17:12:03.109-08:00

Danged! We were mentioned on TV again - and missed the program again - this time MSNBC's "Connected". Featured blogs have been posted at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7288400/, ours under something called "International Handshakes" (sounds positive?) , way down the page.

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1169436869592176072007-01-21T17:59:00.000-08:002007-01-22T21:24:41.803-08:00

(Edited Jan 23, see addendum below)Jimmy Carter has been dining out on the '78 Israel-Egypt peace accords for nigh 30 years. Again and again he has reminded the world that that treaty was all about J. Carter. That it's because of him that there has been peace between the 2 former sworn enemies. Conversely that if it weren't for him there could have been no peace, that he was the star of the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1162175552539266612006-10-29T17:50:00.000-08:002006-11-07T19:00:57.800-08:00

So, former Australian PM Paul Keating is spread on the political rack simultaneous to his one-time nemesis, the conservative Alan Jones, being forcibly outed. While Jones outer and ABC journalist Chris Masters - whose employer is charged with relentless left-liberal bias - defends his expose by calling alleged sexual inclination:"the elephant in the room"when one speaks of Jones.Which may cause

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161922682285100372006-10-26T20:53:00.000-07:002006-10-26T21:18:02.333-07:00

Frank Devine drives by Australian ABC's "Media Watch" today (see post below):(New ABC MD Mark Scott) plans, as his first action, to review Media Watch, a trivial but emblematic ABC program that purports to offer weekly analysis and criticism of media performance ... (MW being characterised by tedious) presenters wallowing in a fantasy of being editors-in-chief of everything and castigating other

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161839152102176642006-10-25T21:42:00.000-07:002006-10-26T20:51:38.400-07:00

“MEDIA Watch, at least as we've known it for the past 18 years, is in serious trouble."My goodness - 18 years!? How does a program as lame as “Media Watch” even survive for 18 years?Taxpayer funding, that’s how. Australian ABC TV’s “Media Watch” is a 13-mnutes weekly, seldom-watched segment. Its proponents used to loudly hallucinate about appeal to an “influential” demographic. In fact, the few

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161575181160841372006-10-22T20:00:00.000-07:002006-10-23T00:28:53.036-07:00

An alert reader has discovered an error in the last post on this blog (see below). The following comment was originally posted thus:the ... discredited Lancet survey ...preposterously claimed 1 in 7 Iraqi adult males to have been slaughtered in fighting over the last 4 years. It should have read thus:the ... discredited Lancet survey ...preposterously claimed 1 in 14 Iraqi adult males to have

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161240874494206392006-10-18T23:51:00.000-07:002006-10-22T19:52:11.713-07:00

Speaking of ABC bias (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, see below), nothing better demonstrated the huge problems faced by Mark Scott (the new chief of the embattled Australian public broadcaster) than the absurd article by Phillip Adams juxtaposed adjacent to Scott’s on the op-ed page of The Australian a couple of days back. Adams is a locally renowned left-liberal and the doyen of ABC

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161233452614113102006-10-18T21:08:00.000-07:002006-10-18T21:50:52.743-07:00

Haaretz reports that Israeli PM Ehud Olmert cut to the nuclear chase in his meeting with Vladimir Putin. He told the ex-KGB President that Russia must help solve the standoff surrounding Iran's nuclear program.Russia has thus far escaped international opprobrium over Ahmedinejad's nuclear adventure, despite building the Iranian nuclear reactor. The present situation has obvious parallels to

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161142828291661342006-10-17T19:46:00.000-07:002006-10-17T20:40:28.326-07:00

Remember this?And this?If you were sentient at the time, you surely will. The shocking images of the young Palestinian boy apparently slain by Israeli soldiers pulsated around the globe and stoked a huge fire of righteous hatred to fuel a then-nascent Islamist jihad.The incident happened just days after Ariel Sharon sparked Palestinian riots - and his push to become Israeli Prime Minister - by

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1161061836914129172006-10-16T21:26:00.000-07:002006-10-18T22:42:00.696-07:00

ABC, BBC, CBC. The AB & CBCs; the AB, BB, and CBCs. The symmetry itself is positively salubrious. What a shame that one of the "partners" may now be under threat, but it's a big maybe. Mark Scott is the newly annointed great white hope at the head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is today on record as committing to install checks and balances to ward against the rampant leftism the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1160968927259660842006-10-15T19:01:00.000-07:002006-10-16T07:02:53.980-07:00

guer‧ril‧la  /gəˈrɪlə/ 1. a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.When the fleshy millionaire Moore raved and spittled against George Bush at the Academy Awards a few years ago, only the passion of his animus was surprising. The venue could hardly have been more mainstream. Moore's

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1160709440077901832006-10-12T19:31:00.000-07:002006-10-12T21:34:46.086-07:00

Mikhail Gorbachev, the face of perestroika and bringer of democracy to the former USSR, was apoplectic this week in describing the danger Novaya Gazeta correspondent Anna Politskovaya's murder (on Vladimir Putin's 54th birthday) represents for nascent - many would say stillborn - Russian democracy.Gorbachev must of course be much more aware than non-Russians of: - The 13 other murders of

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1160493977598154332006-10-10T07:51:00.000-07:002006-10-11T00:34:37.816-07:00

Taiwan often escapes under the radar of international news. Even if North Korea's nuclear test wasn't dominating headlines, most would more likely hear about the 10,000 or so protesting against Chavez in the streets of Caracas than the hundreds of thousands now regularly flooding Taipei's streets - day after day, all dressed in red - in protest against President Chen Shui-Bian.Chen's son-in-law

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1160442887890767952006-10-09T17:46:00.000-07:002006-10-09T19:34:35.423-07:00

Lots has changed in this brave new millenium. Yet the Nobel Peace Prize remains the speech dream of Miss Worlds throughout the universe. Recipients like the great peacemaker Arafat, the great statesman Annan, and the great quotesman Carter may have redefined its image somewhat. The occasion of today's hearty welcome of North Korea to the World Nuclear Club is most certainly a poignant moment to

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1160031933324869002006-10-04T22:55:00.000-07:002006-10-08T05:33:45.690-07:00

We were horrified by the Salman Rushdie fatwa, and astounded at the ferocious backlash at the Pope, whose predecessor an Islamist once tried to murder. We took the 'Danish cartoon riots' in stride, and barely noticed the snuff-video beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl after he was made to declare that he was a Jew, or the release of TV newsmen Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig after they were made to

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1159949314278645382006-10-04T00:59:00.000-07:002006-10-04T02:20:13.026-07:00

Just found this unconsciously enlightened reference to this blog in CNN's (Wolf Blitzer) coverage of Pope John Paul's passing last year: CAL CHAMBERLAIN, CNN BLOG REPORTER: And some of those dignitaries were majoring news at their own at the funeral. Over at "Spinbadz Own" blog at spinbad.blogspot.com under the title Leaders of Israel, Iran, Syria shake hands at Pope's funeral. (They) link back

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1159942464330911572006-10-03T22:09:00.000-07:002006-10-04T20:22:47.426-07:00

Tuesday night at Sydney's George St movie house. The 500+-seat Cinema 7 is nearly packed. Mainly women. The trailer had tantalized. You just knew "The Devil Wears Prada" was going to be a smash. Flick to this morning's takings reports, and there it is: already at #1 in Australia.Nearly $5 million in less than a week. Juxtaposed, perhaps poetically, at #10 is the somewhat anti-corporate "A(m)

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1159927608654865662006-10-03T18:08:00.000-07:002006-10-03T19:41:34.560-07:00

There's a US Democrat full court press on right now, in case you hadn't noticed. The aim is congressional power, the means is discrediting Bush policies (while not really committing to alternatives). The sparring vanguarders are the Clintons and Al Gore. Both sides aim for the 2008 Presidency, and erstwhile Clinton staffer Dick Morris sees an ultimate Hillary triumph as inevitable. She'll do most

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1159498405707207412006-09-28T19:00:00.000-07:002006-09-28T19:57:57.390-07:00

Has soon-to-be-outgoing British PM Blair really, in some of the areas at front and centre in hearts and minds and that actually count, done enough to "reform" Britain? The Bill Clinton show extravaganzised Blair's reform credentials. The New Statesman (Zaki Chehab) didn't seem to be ultra-impressed with them a month or so back though:" ... Al-Qaeda's leadership has surveyed the world and it has

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1159323800520594212006-09-26T18:41:00.000-07:002006-09-26T19:23:20.646-07:00

Premeditated?John Dickerson in Slate:Did Clinton come across a little unhinged? Sure, but that's an advantage in a midterm election ... (Said) his spokesperson ... afterward: "We're fully aware of Fox News' and Chris Wallace's agenda, and President Clinton came in prepared to respond to any attack on his record. When Wallace questioned his record on terrorism, he responded forcefully, as any

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1159159347986011792006-09-24T19:10:00.000-07:002006-09-26T17:16:08.263-07:00

Bill Clinton, and his proxy-cum-beneficiary Hillary, are past and present grand masters of modern politico-media arts. One of these is skill at conjuring the specious, and theneceforth feeding the apocryphal, especially where specious-cum-apocryphal serves to deflect from Clinton culpability.We might wish upon George Bush some of this particular genius, as well as some of the love and admiration

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1158731219150721862006-09-19T22:20:00.000-07:002006-09-21T19:43:09.536-07:00

It's hard to imagine what realistic options there can be to deal with Ahmmadabudjihad, short of assassination or bombing Iran. You know what Iran will do with nukes once they get their hands on them - it's inevitable that the terror-inspired fear factor would be exponentially greater than now.And we know that the Iranian leader is an Islamist True Believer. They say he sees the messiah in the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1158728756726081952006-09-19T21:46:00.000-07:002006-09-19T22:05:56.746-07:00

Is it a typo, an aberration, a dissenting Reuporter on jihad, a change in policy? Not once but twice in a single news report we today find Reuters using the the word "terrorism" without scare quotes:The United States accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, of supporting terrorism and of aiding the insurgency in Iraq. Iran says its nuclear program is to generate nuclear power. ... President

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1157430795443046302006-09-04T21:28:00.000-07:002006-09-04T21:34:31.956-07:00

From Victor Hanson:"The only surprise about the edition of Hitler’s Mein Kampf that has become a best seller in Middle Eastern bookstores is its emboldened title translated as “Jihadi”- as in “My Jihad”- confirming in ironic fashion the “moderate” Islamic claim that “jihad” just means “struggle,” as in an “inner struggle”- as in a Kampf perhaps."

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1156307647387402432006-08-22T21:28:00.000-07:002006-08-22T21:34:07.403-07:00

One is the lead-in to the (online, front page) Fox News report about the arrest (initiated by the joint efforts of british and Pakistani police) of the would-be trans-Atlantic terror bombers, the other is that of the New York Times.Can you guess which is which?Case One: "Warning that Britain faced a “deadly” and “enduring” threat from terrorism, British authorities announced today that 11 of 23

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1156303642364305052006-08-22T18:36:00.000-07:002006-08-22T20:27:22.473-07:00

A few years back retired Israeli judge Hadassa Ben-Itto might have seemed to clock off the paranoiometer by declaring, as she did recently in Ha'aretz, that: The conspiracy against the Jewish people - the spreading of an evil tale (the alleged "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion") in order to prepare for another extermination of the Jews - must be dramatically exposed.Prior to 9/11

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1154497904378754132006-08-01T22:48:00.000-07:002006-08-01T22:51:44.380-07:00

At the time of writing, I would update my original take on the Gibson billion-maker with what Chris Hitchens has to say now.

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1153974741285504252006-07-26T21:24:00.002-07:002006-07-26T21:32:21.300-07:00

@ MySA.com:Oh, those poor, innocent prisoners such as Samir Kuntar rotting away in Israeli prisons, allegedly snatched from Lebanon, for whose deserved freedom Hezbollah is valiantly fighting. Who is Samir Kuntar? Smadar Haran Kaiser, writing in the Washington Post three years ago, described what happened to her husband, Danny, and her 4-year-old daughter, Einat, when terrorists from Lebanon

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1153824477257550892006-07-25T03:16:00.000-07:002006-07-27T19:20:51.176-07:00

I'll see your Iraq and raise you Iran"It doesn't take much imagination to realise what the Middle East would be like if the radical groups were able to operate under the cover of an Iranian nuclear umbrella." - Joschka FischerHenry Kissinger stressed today on Fox News that Iran has a couple of weeks to sort out whether it will risk the ire of the US by continuing a nuclear-isation policy. A

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1153471737434014332006-07-21T01:26:00.000-07:002007-03-29T20:33:57.338-07:00

The Ayatollah Khomeini applied the term to the United States, and it seems reasonable to look to the Qur’an to see what he meant.Satan is depicted in the Qur’an. There he is neither imperialist nor exploiter, nor murderer nor destroyer - though the US is seen as all those things in Islamist eyes. In the Qur’an Satan is a seducer: "the insidious tempter who whispers in the hearts of men" (Qur’an

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1152688044557552882006-07-11T22:48:00.000-07:002006-07-12T00:22:31.160-07:00

Israel's Gaza incursion is being portrayed by the usual suspects in the media as a grotesque overreaction to the kidnapping of a single soldier. Much graver issues are actually involved. Some of the key elements are touched on in an item by Richard Baehr published today.In spite of pulling out all settlers and troops from Gaza nigh a year ago, says Baehr, Israel's relationship with the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1152289519416752452006-07-07T09:15:00.000-07:002006-07-10T20:48:17.676-07:00

Football strikes backSMH July 8, 2006In his first comments since the World Cup began, Frank Lowy argues the taxpayers' contribution was money well spent.AUSTRALIA has just experienced a rare episode of sustained national unity, with millions transfixed by the unfolding drama of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.The way the Socceroos performed, and the professionalism behind the scenes, make it hard to

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1150946526520091322006-06-21T20:07:00.000-07:002006-06-21T21:53:12.510-07:00

The China Daily says that Stephen Hawking has huge influence in the People's Republic. So his expressed penchant for Chinese women as well as his concern that the warming earth is looking at a future as barren as Venus may receive due attention there. As to the latter, one must sincerely hope so. Any sudden great leaps forward, in recent years, along the global road to Venus-like barrenness must

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1150868276458698092006-06-20T22:35:00.000-07:002006-06-21T22:03:00.216-07:00

Following the blessed retirement to virginal thrall by the Pele of head-lopping, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the battle for succession began in earnest today with two brilliantly executed goals, both be-headers, by up and coming Iraqi ambusher Abu Hamza al- Muhajer against a US Services team.Just as Brazil successfully warmed up for the football World Cup with a friendly match against New Zealand,

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1150777538935047482006-06-19T21:02:00.000-07:002006-06-20T23:12:06.420-07:00

Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune scribbler Clarence Page very often gets and writes it right, as in today's offering:Our feelings about race are based on our experiences with it, which complicates matters because each and every one of us has a unique racial experience... I've often said that my family did not leave the party of Lincoln; the party left us. Page remembers the point of

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1150769619532883412006-06-19T19:08:00.000-07:002006-06-19T19:25:02.506-07:00

Received by email:THIS LITTLE SHITTY COUNTRY!!!!! Here is a capsule of accomplishments you may not be fully aware of. I thought you might find these statistics interesting. The Middle East has been growing date palms for centuries. The average tree is about 18-20 feet tall and yields about 38 pounds of dates a year. Israeli trees are now yielding 400 pounds/year and are short enough to be

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1149579276675239742006-06-05T23:44:00.000-07:002006-06-06T00:49:58.983-07:00

"In happier times, Americans' exposure to the BBC was limited to gems such as Fawlty Towers and Are You being Served? In future it will be no laughing matter."The reasons Gerard Baker, currently of The Times of London and an employee of the BBC for 7 years, sees the recent launch of a 24-hour BBC news channel in the United States in serious terms extend beyond the publically funded levy-athan's

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1147318344487456232006-05-10T19:22:00.000-07:002006-06-01T17:05:50.876-07:00

I liked Israel's simple ultimatum to the mad cow-infected Iranian. Essentially they said: "Dude, did you see 'The Gdfather'? Remember the mafiosi summit, where The Don wheezes (sumfinlike):'If anything should happen to my son, should he gets hit by a bus or struck by lightning, then I'm going to blame some of the people in this room.'"Well, check that scene out, Herr Mahmoud. Think bomb, and I

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1139450281945207492006-02-08T17:27:00.000-08:002006-02-08T18:01:50.136-08:00

Just came across a copy I made of this delightfully typical offering from CNN some months back, originally linked at http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/09/clinton.honored.ap/index.html :Clinton inducted into women's hall of fameNine others enshrined Sunday, October 9, 2005; Posted: 7:58 a.m. EDT (11:58 GMT) New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton once wanted to be an astronaut.SENECA FALLS, New York (

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1139447534801743692006-02-08T17:07:00.000-08:002006-02-08T21:53:36.596-08:00

Found this exchange at timblair.net:ISLAM DEFENDEDIslamic reader Ahmed emails: I am writing this letter in regards to your article on the prophet cartoons. You say that Muslims are vicious to other religions and disrespectful to western culture, but I am telling you we are not. We are not spiteful to other religions but those who invade our land, rape our sisters, mothers, wives, and kill us; but

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1138848558182678562006-02-01T18:42:00.000-08:002006-02-01T18:51:45.886-08:00

There were shades, undeniably, of JFK's famous "man on the moon by the end of the decade" speech in Bush's call for ending substantial US oil dependency by 2025, and OPEC's worried reaction underlines the speech's potential magnitude.Bush went on to announce the multi-million dollar Advanced Energy Initiative, a 22 percent increase in federal clean energy research that will lead to greater

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1138763472081487412006-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:002006-02-01T18:53:32.623-08:00

Played it like a maestro, I thought. The "oil addiction" thread got right to the heart of things. Had Hillary bouncing around like a turnip. And then, later, Wolf Blitzer too.Wolf emphasized to viewers (several times) that numbers from an instant CNN poll - of people who actually watched the speech - were probably skewered towards Bush because those who bothered watching it are likely to be pro-

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1138168996505148402006-01-24T21:48:00.000-08:002006-01-24T22:03:16.546-08:00

The Australian Open tennis, bathed in that New Year sunshine, provides a nice diversion from the new standard scary-nasties living in a billion TVs. More relaxing to watch the cheering for Cypriot Greek Baghdatis than to hear news from that eponymous place. The eponymous place will take years to de-US and demilitarize. Every fuleno that, which makes you wonder about alternative ways US President

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1137478862987101302006-01-16T22:17:00.000-08:002006-01-17T20:33:52.290-08:00

Century that just was was the greatest, obviously, in the known history of humankind, the era whenelectricitythe oil-engine and nuclear powermotor cars, airplanes and computersinstant global pictures, sounds, news and textconsumerismsciencespace micro-interventionreproductive control and dramatically lengthened lifespansglobal standards and widespread freedometc. transformed our lives. Hugo

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1137463026016945372006-01-16T17:49:00.000-08:002007-04-09T22:01:14.991-07:00

Some of mine, in no particular order:(These places quite pricey ...,these places quite cheap)Fishface, Darlinghurst: fish and chipsGolden Century, Chinatown: fresh mud crab (salt pepper chili)East Ocean: ditto (when the line's too long at Golden Century)Tetsuya, city: set menu (my fave: the trout)Sakana-ya, Crows Nest: trad-style Japanese fish setsFlying Fish, Pyrmont: any fish main and the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1136971007860456372006-01-11T01:11:00.000-08:002006-01-11T22:35:44.270-08:00

Back in the day, so I'm told, the arrival of "pizza pie" and souvlaki with the football-loving immigrants from (around) southern and eastern Europe added welcome dimensions to life on the united continent. Even committed "wogball" haters might have found a soft spot for Con the Fruiterer and Nick Shehadie, or a hard spot for Jana Wendt, or a honey (s)pot in the urban and employment dimensions

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1132885028621568632005-11-24T18:12:00.000-08:002005-11-24T22:17:20.900-08:00

If I hadn't seen so many things like it I would be pinching myself that the following, posted on MEMRI is not fictitious: On November 13, 2005, Saudi Al-Majd TV aired an interview with Jordanian lecturer on religious law Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nawfal. Sheikh Dr. Nawfal is a lecturer at the Shari'a Faculty of the University of Jordan, and was associated with Sheikh 'Abdallah 'Azzam, the spiritual leader

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1132808989053713622005-11-23T20:10:00.000-08:002005-11-28T17:41:23.586-08:00

With newspaper circulations spiralling ever downward, and international source information available at the fingertip, one wonders why a localised leftist tabloid like Australia's Sydney Morning Herald bothers footing the cost of stationing reporters overseas.Herald reports in any case, much more often than not, echo Britain's Guardian, or Reuters, or the BBC. The paper's reporters, similarly,

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1131694710174507902005-11-10T21:34:00.000-08:002005-11-11T05:36:59.070-08:00

Azahiri Bin Husin, now dead, is the murdering superbigot said to have "masterminded" the Bali atrocities. Today's papers described him as a former mathematician with two university degrees.He is thus revealed as an educated fellow. His pedigree is not dissimilar to a number of the Aum Shin Rikyu cult lunatics who perpetrated the '90s sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway station. Members of that

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1131585923958651792005-11-09T16:24:00.000-08:002005-11-09T17:25:24.023-08:00

The significance of dreams has been much on the writer's mind in recent days. for several reasons: a) One early morning a concerned Mrs S prompted a spousal scurry to the Internet in search of dream interpretations, of which there are plenty and varied. In course of which activity the searcher was fascinated to discover that one Sigmund Freud postulated that the four most common dreams are/were (

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1131441628723753762005-11-08T01:08:00.000-08:002005-11-08T01:20:28.736-08:00

With little flame icons dotting maps of France and fire engulfing screens in media reports the world over, the flames having been sparked by what might have been a relatively innocuous incident were it not for the race-meets-poverty tinderbox in which it took place, it's hard not to be reminded of the Tom Wolfe novel, isn't it.Since the first night of riots 21st century "new journalism" has

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1130984201875352542005-11-02T18:06:00.000-08:002005-11-02T18:25:48.536-08:00

In 1998 a World Cup conquering French football team composed largely of the offspring of North African immigrants, the envy of the sporting planet, prompted warm toasts and loud boasts Gaul-wide.How could the events of last night have occured in the very same country(?) :The unrest spread to at least nine Paris-region towns overnight Tuesday, exposing the despair, anger and criminality in

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1128576147399116082005-10-05T21:46:00.000-07:002005-10-05T22:22:27.446-07:00

This is a cracking historical work - at least it is up to about one third of the way through. Before I lose and forget them, let me crank out a few quotes:In a profound sense, the advent of Islam had itself been a kind of revolution. ... In Islam, unlike the ancient world, a slave was no longer a chattel but a person, with a recognized legal and moral status. Women, though still subject to

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1128047167042894382005-09-29T19:21:00.000-07:002005-09-29T19:26:07.046-07:00

This from an item in the Jewish World Review, linked to Drudge today:I supported and still support the war in Iraq, because our Congress and President had every right to rely on the advice of the CIA that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. On Sunday, September 25, 2005, Tim Russert of Meet The Press, summed up the situation prevailing before the war, saying, "…post September 11th, there was a

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1127194379555484442005-09-19T20:18:00.000-07:002005-09-19T22:37:43.676-07:00

On September 11, 2005 came a reminder of the powerful symbolism of dates. This came not from the ugly video-taped threats - about "blessed bombs" - from a former Californian goat farmer. Nor was said reminder inferred from the apparent ambiguity of commemorative Muslim conferences that took place on September 11. Notable, for the writer, amongst these was the publicised meeting of Australian

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1126845825411418912005-09-15T21:40:00.000-07:002005-09-15T22:33:56.956-07:00

Near the climax of his 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, sci-fi legend Robert Heinlein details an attack on earth by a rebelling colony of humans exiled to the moon. The moon rebels hurl bombs with pin-point accuracy at strategic targets on earth. They want to cause structural damage and frighten rather than kill human beings. So, in the case of St. Louis, Kansas City and New Orleans

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1126839855567153722005-09-15T19:40:00.000-07:002005-09-15T20:04:15.573-07:00

American actress Gwyneth Paltrow made a stunning, if belated entry into our Team America: World Police file with this clanger (linked to Drudge today):"I've always been drawn to Europe. America is such a young country, with an adolescent swagger about it. But I feel that I have a more European sensibility, a greater respect for the multicultural nature of the globe."You can almost feel writer

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1126590115772104272005-09-12T22:35:00.000-07:002005-09-12T22:41:55.776-07:00

The damage is done. The quote is already out there, and the rage has already collectively risen against Dennis Hastert. But the House Speaker was significantly misinterpreted, as Clarence Page points out:(Hastert) also said, "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed." He was roundly rebuked by Louisiana politicians, among others, although it is important to note Mr. Hastert never said

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1126324078516539422005-09-09T20:43:00.000-07:002005-09-09T20:49:21.686-07:00

spinbad wrote:Thanks for your interest, Brian. You may or may not be aware that I have only recently added the comments facility to the blog. Once added, it attaches to all posts, even though it was impossible to actually make any comments from the time of posting right up until a short time ago. The blog may prove to be popular or unpopular - time will tell. My own interest is to relay thoughts

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1125109322689157882005-08-26T19:09:00.000-07:002005-08-26T19:32:30.656-07:00

Perhaps on the back of the Cindy Sheehan farce, perhaps by coincidence (cue Twighlight Zone music), it has come to this blogger's attention that crackpot World Trade Center conspiracy theorists still roam the Net and the world at large in demented droves. Here's a useful essay which might help put paid to the theories, but for the fact that bigotry and/or emotional instability is very often a

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1124945378976453902005-08-24T21:43:00.000-07:002005-08-29T01:21:18.806-07:00

Ha'aretz reports that the Palestinian group that delivered the ugly ambush and execution of pregnant Gush Katif resident Tali Hatuel and her four daughters (pictured), claims it has developed a rocket capable of striking targets 15 kilometers away. There are no prizes for guessing how and how soon the deadly new toy, which they're calling the "Sajil", will be deployed. Noone should be surprised

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1124870295108263582005-08-24T00:43:00.000-07:002005-08-24T20:01:27.566-07:00

The New York Times' all-star squadron of left-wing columnists took a hammering following their recent spate of "Yay, the war is over and we lost" offerings. Now we are entertained by appalling responses from comrades Rich & Dowd. From Ms. Dowd (August 20) come hints, barely disguised, at yet another kindergarten-concocted conspiracy theory targetting her mythological nemeses. Following the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1124518452139817412005-08-19T23:01:00.000-07:002005-08-22T18:41:55.243-07:00

For a blink of an eyelid after the London bombings, a popular goal was to form a realistic picture of Islamofascist incubation. Many heard that the whackjob assembly line is often fed by extremist interpretations of Islam lumped generically - by other Muslims - under the banner of "Salafism". Salafists perceive themselves, above all else, as part of a global Muslim community, the "ummah". They

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1124350103039596192005-08-18T00:14:00.000-07:002005-08-22T19:19:35.396-07:00

From behind the iron skirt of Grayladystan, a squadron of brats have now been screeching for years. Ever since the despised "Texan" ascended to the White House in place of a tarnished golden child (rarely mocked as an "Arkansan"), Maureen Dowd and Bob Herbert and Frank Rich and the gang have taken:- Turns in stroking each other's leftist pain;- Glee in watching their anti-Bush jihad echoed in

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1124343449880795572005-08-17T22:35:00.000-07:002005-08-17T22:37:29.890-07:00

Feel free to pass it on: Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. The events are actual Events from history. They actually happened! Do you remember? 1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a. Superman b. Jay Leno c. Harry Potter d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40 2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123826228584599022005-08-11T22:52:00.000-07:002005-08-13T02:23:32.986-07:00

Per Mark Steyn:Abd Al-Sabour Shahin ... head of the Sharia faculty at Al-Azhar university, the Harvard of Sunni Islam ... (o)n Monday on Saudi Channel One ... told viewers: ‘Our enemies weave many lies about us ... we awoke to the crime of 9/11, which hit ... the Empire State Building (sic). There is no doubt that not a single Arab or Muslim had anything to do with these events. The incident was

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123820799988159112005-08-11T21:26:00.000-07:002005-08-11T22:02:13.956-07:00

Japanese who are old enough to remember sometimes refer, with disquiet, to the "oil shock" of the '70s. The impact of that event there may have been much more profound than it was in other first world countries.The flowering in Japan of nuclear power stations, it's go-lightly approach in diplomatic relations with OPEC, the fortune spent on obtaining coal, the societal attention to energy

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123774244086154062005-08-11T08:29:00.000-07:002005-08-11T08:30:44.090-07:00

Good luck to the people at this link, trying to raise money for their song:http://www.freedomfolks.com/listen

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123754743810693492005-08-11T02:38:00.000-07:002005-08-11T03:05:43.816-07:00

The American Enterprise Institute's Frederick Kagan notes in the LA Times:the insurgents have designed a war they can sustain for a long time. Obtaining explosives, making bombs and setting them off does not require much skill, money or even courage. ... It is thus unwise to measure progress in Iraq by the number of deaths or bombs in a given periodBut American and allied bodycounting is now

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123658574732443982005-08-10T00:21:00.000-07:002005-08-10T00:22:54.733-07:00

Yeah, Amazon!

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123641647981236372005-08-09T19:33:00.000-07:002005-08-11T18:42:59.996-07:00

I just linked Google adsense to my sidebar, and regret it almost immediately. Within minutes of setting it up, ads re "alleged Guantanamo torture" and "Osama bin Lotto" (mentioning Bush) popped up.Hence the ad and search box placement has been relegated to the bottom of my sidebar. I'm on the look out for alternatives and hope to dump Google shortly.**************************In the meantime I've

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123560916573741002005-08-08T21:00:00.000-07:002005-08-08T21:19:07.800-07:00

Arnaud de Borchgrave wrote the linked item about the Saudi succession and the kingdom's famous brothers-in-law Turki bin Faisal (recently appointed Saudi ambassador to the US and, incidentally, a former colleague of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University in the 1960s) and Prince Bandar a month or so before the death of King Fahd, a coincidence akin to the one described near the end of the piece:

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123471696007970502005-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:002005-08-13T02:28:25.770-07:00

The hour is a non-business one. The New York Times and Tweedles CNN and BBC still have time to catch up on the story being splashed now on Fox News: (UN Oil-for-food head honcho) Benon Sevan ... resigned from the United Nations Sunday — just hours before the results of a probe ... in a letter to Kofi Annan, blasting the U.N. secretary-general and accusing him of "sacrificing" him for his own

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123429069028161342005-08-07T08:29:00.000-07:002005-08-07T08:40:45.166-07:00

Salman Rushdie makes the case for Islamic reformation in the Washington Post:Muhammad ... was ... a successful merchant and heard, on his travels, the Nestorian Christians' desert versions of Bible stories that the Koran mirrors closely ... It ought to be fascinating to Muslims everywhere to see how deeply their beloved book is a product of its place and time, and in how many ways it reflects the

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123310746347512682005-08-05T23:35:00.000-07:002005-08-05T23:52:39.436-07:00

From Paul Sheehan's item in today's SMH: ... January 30, ... Elections were being held in Iraq. ... Almost 12,000 people registered to vote in Australia ... A polling booth was set up in Auburn ... ... About two dozen men ... gathered near the polling booth to intimidate voters. They took photographs, used video cameras, made threats and unfurled a banner which read "IF YOU VOTE, YOU DIE", ... (

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123214819826907912005-08-04T20:16:00.000-07:002005-08-04T21:12:12.873-07:00

Imagine being a British soldier in Iraq, and tuning in to Al-Jazeera to see poison like this from George Galloway, an elected member of your home parliament:" ... The foreigners are ...rap(ing) .. these two beautiful Arab daughters (Baghdad and Jerusalem) ... and the Arab world is silent.""These poor Iraqis ... are writing the names of their cities and towns in the stars, with 145 military

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123128787093451602005-08-03T21:09:00.000-07:002005-08-03T21:13:07.100-07:00

"The Kyoto Protocol ... is backfiring on some of the well-meaning countries such as New Zealand, which signed up. "(NZers) ... face a cost blow-out from the treaty exceeding $NZ1 billion ($900 million)."Worse ... Business New Zealand last year calculated a future liability of as much as $NZ14 billion under the protocol over the next 20 years."A 2002 study ... of three similar pollution trading

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1123049656429517792005-08-02T23:08:00.000-07:002005-08-02T23:14:16.430-07:00

Brilliantly written piece by Mark Steyn in today's London Telegraph and linked to Real Clear Politics.

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122989191771148102005-08-02T06:25:00.000-07:002005-08-02T21:50:23.786-07:00

create your own visited country map

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122906328774545742005-08-01T07:11:00.000-07:002005-08-01T08:37:58.020-07:00

Two insights of Georgetown University Professor Carroll Quigly had a lasting impact on student Bill Clinton, says the former President in his memoirs.Firstly, that the key to the greatness - and renewal capacity - of western civilisation lay in a unique set of religious and philosophical convictions, that: - man is basically good; - there is truth, but no finite mortal has it; - we can only get

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122821217278149022005-07-31T07:40:00.000-07:002005-07-31T21:07:18.546-07:00

According to Gordon Liddy, "The disengagement (of Israel from Gaza) will encourage the Arab terrorists. They will say: `Look, we'll kill some more Jews, we'll send some more rockets and they'll fold.' We, the Americans, made mistakes like that in Lebanon. After the terrorists blew up the Marine base near Beirut, we withdrew. And we repeated the mistake in Somalia. Retreats from terrorists

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122430604498190282005-07-26T19:01:00.000-07:002005-07-26T19:20:05.680-07:00

Israeli Yishai Ha'etzni makes a compelling case in the New York Post for profiling of airline passengers. He cites two disturbing examples of how these techniques have helped Israel shape up effectively to a less benign terrorist threat:(In) April 17, 1986. Anne-Marie Murphy, a pregnant Irish woman, was traveling alone to Israel to meet her fiancé's parents. Her bags went through an X-ray machine

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122380653358579912005-07-26T05:15:00.000-07:002006-08-07T21:12:23.163-07:00

I think this is a very important point. Now that there is finger-pointing reverberating about contradictions and hypocrisy in religious dogma, let us not forget that Islam and Christianity are both chronological offshoots of the Jewish faith. That is, all these holy / blessed / unimpeachable ... and often contradictory ... biblical phrases harnessing for murderous purpose, from time to time

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122289330117668962005-07-25T03:58:00.000-07:002005-07-25T04:02:10.906-07:00

Amazing item by Mark Steyn in today's Australian newspaper:WITH hindsight, the defining encounter of the age was not between Mohammed Atta's jet and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, but that between Mohammed Atta and Johnelle Bryant a year earlier.Bryant is an official with the US Department of Agriculture in Florida, and the late Atta had gone to see her about getting a $US650,000

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122267318263236922005-07-24T21:25:00.000-07:002005-07-24T22:19:04.766-07:00

The unsightly wart of European appeasement was freeze-blasted after Chamberlain. The virus that produced it has, however, remained active. Long-buried symptoms are being aired in the wake of 7/7. Like this hideous outbreak in the 1970s, described by Michael Portillo in yesterday's Sunday Times:As tributes were paid last week to Sir Edward Heath, I recalled his appalling decision in 1970 to

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122183804414478072005-07-23T21:42:00.000-07:002005-07-23T22:43:24.446-07:00

"This is about hatred of a way of life."So said Australian PM Howard at a joint press conference with Tony Blair last week. He was responding to journalist queries from the usual suspects implying, as London Mayor "Red" Ken Livingstone did within days of his city being attacked, that western government foreign policy was 'responsible' for the terrorist attacks in London. Howard continued:"Can I

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122095803467036232005-07-22T21:33:00.000-07:002005-07-22T22:16:43.473-07:00

In an unprecedented and sickeningly timed incident, the spectre of Islamofascist terrorism visited and wrenched the collective stomachs of Australian rugby league fans last night.Nearly 30,000 of them would have thoroughly enjoyed a possible NRL grand final preview at Sydney's Olympic Park, but for a frightening explosion - within the stadium - late in the game.Police are saying that "2 hooligans

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6588413.post-1122015495054734532005-07-21T23:51:00.000-07:002005-07-21T23:58:15.060-07:00

From Opinion Journal yet another report on the failure of current European law enforcement to contain terrorist operations:Earlier this week, Germany's Constitutional Court set free Mamoun Darkazanli, a German national who is suspected of being Osama bin Laden's principal money man in Europe, on what amounted to a legalism regarding the constitutionality of a Spanish judge's extradition request.

spinbadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12517488893428889954noreply@blogger.com