SITZKRIEG
A hundred years hence, some historians prone to periodization and the identification of historical parallels, as problematic as both these approaches may be, will no doubt look upon the first decade of the twenty-first century and debate the moment at which the West ended its policy of accomodation with Radical Islam and entered "the next stage".
Historians looking for the ominous signposts along the road to the conflict may well point to this development and the current showdown with Iran, to argue that we had already entered the phony war by 2006.
The early tremors often portend calamities to come, as the vagaries of history illustrate:
In an act of terror, an obscure young nationalist fires a pistol into the motorcar of an imperial heir, killing him and his pregnant wife. Six weeks later, millions of people are engulfed by conflict on an unimagined scale.
A public building is razed, and a dissafected former Corporal rises to absolute power amidst the turmoil of a worldwide depression, paving the way for the most horrific war ever visited upon civilization.
The seeds may well be sown.... if so, what will civilization harvest?
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Free Flow
Presidential Candidate? Well...ya know... I could... see it
Why the Europeans are not waked up?
I did a Babelfish translation of a Mark Steyn interview with Guilio Meotti of Il Foglio. It was bizarre.
My favourite thing was the literal Italian translation of Alito as "Breath". Supreme Court Justice Sam Breath --a breath of fresh judicial air. I think it works!
Speaking of Steyn (as I often do... I can almost hear the sound of eyeballs rolling), I thought one of his comments on the Hughes story was hilarious:
Mr Hughes's current claim of "bisexuality" has the whiff of artful centrist positioning about it: bi- is the proportional representation of sexuality in a world where most of us - straight or gay - operate a first-past-the-post system.
After watching last night's horrifying Dateline NBC/Perverted-Justice.com Child Predator Sting, I was certain of one thing. If parents are letting their kids put up Web pages on
MySpace.com, they better make damn sure they are vigilant. We live in scary times.
Presidential Candidate? Well...ya know... I could... see it
Why the Europeans are not waked up?
I did a Babelfish translation of a Mark Steyn interview with Guilio Meotti of Il Foglio. It was bizarre.
My favourite thing was the literal Italian translation of Alito as "Breath". Supreme Court Justice Sam Breath --a breath of fresh judicial air. I think it works!
Speaking of Steyn (as I often do... I can almost hear the sound of eyeballs rolling), I thought one of his comments on the Hughes story was hilarious:
Mr Hughes's current claim of "bisexuality" has the whiff of artful centrist positioning about it: bi- is the proportional representation of sexuality in a world where most of us - straight or gay - operate a first-past-the-post system.
After watching last night's horrifying Dateline NBC/Perverted-Justice.com Child Predator Sting, I was certain of one thing. If parents are letting their kids put up Web pages on
MySpace.com, they better make damn sure they are vigilant. We live in scary times.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Joe Knippenberg lays the smackdown on Shadia Drury and her ilk. The hysterics of leftist Canadian academics and their paranoia over the Calgary Cabal of Conservatives (I'm copyrighting that one) are also laughable to our neighbours to the South:
Much of the noise about the Calgary School's alleged Straussianism has been traced to one source, the University of Regina's Shadia Drury, who has made her career by writing increasingly shrill and implausible screeds purporting to expose the anti-democratic elitism (and ultimate nihilism) of Leo Strauss and his students. Her work has often impressed those who haven't actually read Strauss, especially if they're fond of conspiracy theories and have a visceral hatred for conservatives. Her commentary on the Canadian scene, warning of "radical populists hiding behind the cloak of rhetorical moderation," is hard to square with her picture of Strauss and his students as anti-democratic elitists. What are those Straussians-elitists who manipulate the credulous people by lying, or radical populists? Apparently, Drury can't decide.
Much of the noise about the Calgary School's alleged Straussianism has been traced to one source, the University of Regina's Shadia Drury, who has made her career by writing increasingly shrill and implausible screeds purporting to expose the anti-democratic elitism (and ultimate nihilism) of Leo Strauss and his students. Her work has often impressed those who haven't actually read Strauss, especially if they're fond of conspiracy theories and have a visceral hatred for conservatives. Her commentary on the Canadian scene, warning of "radical populists hiding behind the cloak of rhetorical moderation," is hard to square with her picture of Strauss and his students as anti-democratic elitists. What are those Straussians-elitists who manipulate the credulous people by lying, or radical populists? Apparently, Drury can't decide.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Variety is the spice of life
Colby's latest column on the Pigeonhole Principle (From January 14th's National Post) raises the alarm on the reproductive revolution in the developing world and the resulting "engineered" sex ratios -- another by-product of the colision of traditional social values and modernity. Basically, many people prefer to have male children, and are taking the necessary measures to ensure they have them. As a result, for the first time since humankind first appeared, the species is consistently producing more male offspring than female. What are the implications? The mind reels...
Meanwhile, Nero plays his Lyre (not his fiddle, as widely reported) as Rome burns
In a not entirely unrelated vein, Zombie goes for a walk.
So now they have a catchy name: The Condinistas begin to gear up for a White House Run in 2008.
Shocking news: Nice Guy Eddie just passed away.
Let me say this out loud, 'cause I wanna get it straight in my head. You're saying that Mr. Blonde was gonna kill you, then when we got back, he was going kill us, take the satchel of diamonds, and scram. I'm right about that, right? That's correct? That's your story? Mr. Orange: I swear on my mother's eternal soul that's what happened. Nice Guy Eddie: The man you just killed was just released from prison. He got caught at a company warehouse full of hot items. He could've fuckin' walked. All he had to do was say my dad's name, but he didn't; he kept his fucking mouth shut. And did his fuckin' time, and he did it like a man. He did four years for us. So, Mr. Orange, you're tellin' me this very good friend of mine, who did four years for my father, who in four years never made a deal, no matter what they dangled in front of him, you're telling me that now, that now this man is free, and we're making good on our commitment to him, he's just gonna decide, out of the fucking blue, to rip us off?
Why don't you tell me what really happened? "
Someone was bound to write something on Jack Bauer's propensity for wounding people with bullets in order to extract information and the US policy on torture. Jack Bauer and the Ethics of Urgency is a thought-provoking take on this timely topic.
Speaking of which....
In the spirit of Norris, here is Bauer:
1. If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
2.Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.
3.If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
4.Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
5.Jack Bauer got Hellen Keller to talk.
6.Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
7.Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
8. 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
9.If Jack says "I just want to talk to him/her" and that him/her is you... well amigo, you're fucked.
10.Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
11.Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
12.If you get 7 stars on your wanted level on Grand Theft Auto, Jack Bauer comes after you. You don't want to get 7 stars.
13.When you open a can of whoop-ass, Jack Bauer jumps out.
14.Jack Bauer does not sleep. The only rest he needs is what he gets when he's knocked out or temporarily killed.
15.If you are still conscious, it is because Jack Bauer doesn't want to carry you.
16.Jack Bauer has no problem following orders, unless you tell him to do something he doesn't want to.
17.Jack Bauer's gun is actually a water pistol, but the water shoots out in the form of bullets. Why? Because the gun is being held by Jack fucking Bauer.
18.Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
19.As a child, Jack Bauer's first words were "There's no time!"
20.While being 'put under' in the hospital, Jack Bauer can count backwards from 100 every time. This annoys the doctors.
21.Jack Bauer can watch all 4 seasons of 24 in 24 hours.
22.Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.
23.Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.
24.Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
25.Everytime Jack Bauer yells "NOW!" at the end of a sentence, a terrorist dies.
26.If Jack's starring at someone and his eye twitches, assume that person has less than 15 minutes to live.
27.When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer fucking hates lemonade.
28.Guns dont kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.
29.David Spade always says 'yes' to Jack Bauer when he wants to redeem his credit card miles.
30.Don't ask what Jack Bauer would do for a Klondike bar...
BONUS: Say it ain't so! Jack's Pops is a pinko!!!
Colby's latest column on the Pigeonhole Principle (From January 14th's National Post) raises the alarm on the reproductive revolution in the developing world and the resulting "engineered" sex ratios -- another by-product of the colision of traditional social values and modernity. Basically, many people prefer to have male children, and are taking the necessary measures to ensure they have them. As a result, for the first time since humankind first appeared, the species is consistently producing more male offspring than female. What are the implications? The mind reels...
Meanwhile, Nero plays his Lyre (not his fiddle, as widely reported) as Rome burns
In a not entirely unrelated vein, Zombie goes for a walk.
So now they have a catchy name: The Condinistas begin to gear up for a White House Run in 2008.
Shocking news: Nice Guy Eddie just passed away.
Let me say this out loud, 'cause I wanna get it straight in my head. You're saying that Mr. Blonde was gonna kill you, then when we got back, he was going kill us, take the satchel of diamonds, and scram. I'm right about that, right? That's correct? That's your story? Mr. Orange: I swear on my mother's eternal soul that's what happened. Nice Guy Eddie: The man you just killed was just released from prison. He got caught at a company warehouse full of hot items. He could've fuckin' walked. All he had to do was say my dad's name, but he didn't; he kept his fucking mouth shut. And did his fuckin' time, and he did it like a man. He did four years for us. So, Mr. Orange, you're tellin' me this very good friend of mine, who did four years for my father, who in four years never made a deal, no matter what they dangled in front of him, you're telling me that now, that now this man is free, and we're making good on our commitment to him, he's just gonna decide, out of the fucking blue, to rip us off?
Why don't you tell me what really happened? "
Someone was bound to write something on Jack Bauer's propensity for wounding people with bullets in order to extract information and the US policy on torture. Jack Bauer and the Ethics of Urgency is a thought-provoking take on this timely topic.
Speaking of which....
In the spirit of Norris, here is Bauer:
1. If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
2.Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.
3.If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
4.Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
5.Jack Bauer got Hellen Keller to talk.
6.Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
7.Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
8. 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
9.If Jack says "I just want to talk to him/her" and that him/her is you... well amigo, you're fucked.
10.Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
11.Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
12.If you get 7 stars on your wanted level on Grand Theft Auto, Jack Bauer comes after you. You don't want to get 7 stars.
13.When you open a can of whoop-ass, Jack Bauer jumps out.
14.Jack Bauer does not sleep. The only rest he needs is what he gets when he's knocked out or temporarily killed.
15.If you are still conscious, it is because Jack Bauer doesn't want to carry you.
16.Jack Bauer has no problem following orders, unless you tell him to do something he doesn't want to.
17.Jack Bauer's gun is actually a water pistol, but the water shoots out in the form of bullets. Why? Because the gun is being held by Jack fucking Bauer.
18.Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
19.As a child, Jack Bauer's first words were "There's no time!"
20.While being 'put under' in the hospital, Jack Bauer can count backwards from 100 every time. This annoys the doctors.
21.Jack Bauer can watch all 4 seasons of 24 in 24 hours.
22.Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.
23.Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.
24.Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
25.Everytime Jack Bauer yells "NOW!" at the end of a sentence, a terrorist dies.
26.If Jack's starring at someone and his eye twitches, assume that person has less than 15 minutes to live.
27.When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer fucking hates lemonade.
28.Guns dont kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.
29.David Spade always says 'yes' to Jack Bauer when he wants to redeem his credit card miles.
30.Don't ask what Jack Bauer would do for a Klondike bar...
BONUS: Say it ain't so! Jack's Pops is a pinko!!!
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