Eli Gold, from The Harbour League writes,

Dr. Herb London

As you are aware by now, on this Tuesday May 13th the Harbour League will be hosting a talk by the Hudson Institute president and THL board member, Dr. Herb London. In consideration of the attendance of our entire board of trustees, the event will take place at: The Cloisters, 10440 Falls Road in Lutherville, Maryland and not at the Harbour League's office.

The evening will begin at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30pm)with a talk given by Dr. Herb London entitled, "America's Secular Challenge: The Rise of a New National Religion". Dr. London will suggest that the rise of secularism in the United States is a flaccid response to the challenge presented by the fanaticism of radical Islam. In the so-called war of ideas we are handicapped in our ability to thwart the inroads of fanaticism by a reflexive belief in relativism, one dimension of secular humanism.

The rise of secular humanism not only challenges the traditional antecedent of the nation, it is an ineffective response to the challenge of Islam. The result? If you don't know what you believe in, you are unable to defend what is worthwhile. Something that, if understood, can change Maryland for the better.

Following the talk and question and answer session, there will be a dessert reception that will give you a chance to talk with any member of member of the board regarding the movement.

To RSVP to this for this event or to the dinner prior to the talk please visit www.TheHarbourLeague.org or call 410-753-4560.

We look forward to seeing you there.

The Harbour League
2800 Quarry Lake Drive, Suite 140
Baltimore, MD 21209
410 753-4560
410 415-0800

Thank you (foot)notes:

Herb London's daughter, Stacey London, will NOT be present (I don't think). Although he might answer questions...

Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine and The Dude will be attending.

More on Dr. London at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:57 AM | Permalink
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McDonald's is funding homosexual activism--and I'm NOT lovin' it!

Charmaine and the Penta-Posse
at a McDonald's
somewhere in Middle America
circa 2005 Buying a McDonald's hamburger now promotes the homosexual lifestyle. Here's a sample open letter to the McDonald's leadership, supplied by the Family Research Council,

Dear Chairman McKenna,

We are writing to request that you end your "Corporate Partnership" with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and refrain from making corporate contributions to this or other homosexual organizations.

[If individual members of the board of McDonald's wishes to give to any charity, have it your way, so to say -- but a corporation should not
use earnings for charity. Charity is a test of the individual heart -- not corporate or government largess.]

We also request that you adopt a policy which would prevent your corporate officers from using the McDonald's corporate name to lend legitimacy to work they may do for such organizations. The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce exists to generate business for companies that are owned by homosexuals. While we do not object to McDonald's doing business with any suppliers who can provide a quality product or service at a good price, we also do not understand why anyone would engage in affirmative steps to seek out suppliers based on their sexual behavior, or assist in promoting businesses for that reason.

[Your Business Blogger(R) has spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in McDonald's PlayPlaces. I'm not sure I've ever seen a homosexual in a McDonald's. The demographics do not fit the fast food market segment.

No. The homosexuals do not want to eat at McDonald's any more than they really want to serve in the military. Homosexuals are on a marketing campaign for normalcy. And they are looking for a stamp of approval in basic cultural institutions: Ronald McDonald, marriage and the military.]

However, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce does not exist just to promote the economic interests of their members. They also promote an extensive political agenda, including explicit support for legislation and litigation that would:

* Undermine the unique treatment granted to marriage between one man and one woman under the law
* Treat homosexual and "transgender" behavior on the same basis as race under federal civil rights laws
* Label disapproval of homosexual behavior a form of "hate" under so-called "hate crime" laws.

[Parents should ask if McDonald's will embrace open unisex restrooms where transgenders and transvestites and cross-dressers can have proximity to the wee ones.]

The NGLCC promotes a controversial social and political agenda that is offensive to tens of millions of your customers. A corporation like McDonald's, which prides itself on providing a family-friendly product in a family-friendly environment, should not be associated with any narrow political agenda. Thank you for considering my views.

Let the homosexuals dine on fast food at Starbucks. With the rest of the liberals.

Nope. The next time I need to take the Penta-Posse out for fast food -- Lord, the money we spend -- we will not go to McDonald's. And neither should you.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Market Research for McDonald's

Your Business Blogger(R) has enjoyed eating at McDonald's the world over. I'm not sure of the support for homosexuals in, say, China. See China's New Statue for Brotherhood and World Peace. And learn where the ad, I'm Lovin' It was developed.

Posted at 9:04 PM | Permalink
Comments (5)

A product of...
Navy Office of Information
www.navy.mil
703.697.5342
April 24, 2008
U.S. Fourth Fleet Re-Establishment
“Re-establishing the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere and signals our support and interest in the civil and military maritime services in Central and South America. Our Maritime Strategy raises the importance of working with international partners as the basis of global maritime security. This change increases our emphasis in the region on employing naval forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests.”
– Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations
After extensive consideration and consultation, the Secretary of the Navy and the CNO have concluded that there are clear and compelling reasons to re-establish Commander, U.S. Fourth Fleet Headquarters as dual-hatted with Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command.
Conducting the Maritime Strategy in a dynamic maritime region
A Fourth Fleet headquarters would be more effective in conducting the full spectrum of Maritime Strategy missions which promote and strengthen coalition building, develop partner nation capabilities and deter aggression.
• The command will provide enhanced support to U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) Operational and Contingency Plans, which are primarily maritime missions.
• As we have seen in other areas of the world, forward presence of naval forces provides regional stability and understanding of our local partners. The nation has vital interests in this dynamic region and economic stability is an imperative.
Ensuring optimal support to SOUTHCOM
Re-establishing a fleet-level staff will ensure optimal support to U.S. Southern Command through:
• Improved alignment for implementation of the Maritime Headquarters with Maritime Operation Center (MHQ/MOC) to enhance operational collaboration and exchange of information with regional maritime partners to improve regional maritime security activities.
• Operational compatibility with other Fleets including force management and resource allocation.
Demonstrating commitment to the SOUTHCOM region
SOUTHCOM is a maritime theater with more than 30 countries and about 15.6 million square miles of water.
• Designation as a numbered U.S. Navy fleet signals to civil and military maritime services in Central and South America our recognition of the importance of maritime security in the southern Western Hemisphere.
• Recent deployments to the region in 2007 include USNS Comfort, the USS Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group, HSV Swift Global Fleet Station pilot, and Partnership of the Americas (POA).
• Current and upcoming deployments include humanitarian assistance/disaster response deployment Continuing Promise and the ongoing POA 2008 which includes the annual multinational exercise UNITAS, hosted this year by Brazil and Peru; and FA PANAMAX, hosted each year by Panama.
Key Messages
Facts & Figures
• A Fourth Fleet headquarters will be more effective in conducting the full spectrum of operations to promote and strengthen coalition building, develop partner nation capabilities and deter aggression.
• The United States has vital national interests in this dynamic region of the world. Regional economic stability is a must.
• Re-establishing the Fourth Fleet elevates the attention this area will receive.
• Approximately 40% of U.S. trade and 50% of oil imports are within this hemisphere, including more than 33% of U.S. energy imports.
• Approximately 50% of Latin American exports go to the United States.
• The command will initially be in Mayport, Fla. and use existing infrastructure and personnel.
• Fourth Fleet will not control ships in Mayport.

Thank you (foot)note to John Howland.

Posted at 9:53 PM | Permalink
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Obama talks about Change. He talks about avoiding conflict and leaving lands where some people may not want us there.

If there is a fight for a country, Obama will surrender.

On all fronts.

Obama can then take the Stars off the American Flag he won't salute; the Flag pin he won't wear.

Obama's only Absolut .

Thank you (foot)notes:

mymanmitt has alternatives to Absolut Vodka.

Before Obama surrenders, maybe we can get a refund on the Gadsden Purchase?,

In return for this vast territory, the United States gave [Mexico] $15,000,000 and assumed responsibility for paying $3,000,000 in claims of American citizens against the Mexican Government. A large body of public opinion in the United States had opposed the war against Mexico and felt that the Southern republic had been treated badly. The territory desired by Gadsden and his group was then a sort of no man's land, experiencing frequent Indian raids. The United States wanted to make certain "boundary adjustments"; Mexico needed money and wanted a settlement of her Indian claims against the United States; and Gadsden and his friends wanted a route for their railroad. In 1852 Gadsden agreed to pay Santa Anna $10,000,000 for a strip of territory south of the Gila River and lying in what is now southwestern New Mexico and southern Arizona. Many Americans were not especially proud of the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty and considered the price of the Gadsden Purchase as "conscience money." The Gadsden Purchase has an area of 45,535 square miles and is almost as large as Pennsylvania.

Mexico reconquers California? Absolut drinks to that!,

The latest advertising campaign in Mexico from Swedish vodka maker Absolut promises to push all the right buttons south of the U.S. border, but it could ruffle a few feathers in El Norte.

The billboard and press campaign, created by advertising agency Teran\TBWA and now running in Mexico, is a colorful map depicting what the Americas might look like in an "Absolut" -- i.e., perfect -- world.

The U.S.-Mexico border lies where it was before the Mexican-American war of 1848 when California, as we now know it, was Mexican territory and known as Alta California.

Following the war, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo saw the Mexican territories of Alta California and Santa Fé de Nuevo México ceded to the United States to become modern-day California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. (Texas actually split from Mexico several years earlier to form a breakaway republic, and was voluntarily annexed by the United States in 1846.)

The campaign taps into the national pride of Mexicans, according to Favio Ucedo, creative director of leading Latino advertising agency Grupo Gallegos in the U.S.
...

Full Disclosure: Charmaine, the wife of Your Business Blogger(R), served as Senior Advisor to the Huckabee for President Campaign.

UPDATE: Read a first-hand account of John McCain on the campaign trail in Pensacola, Fl, Service to America Tour, courtesy, John Howland, USNA-AT-Large, at the jump.

Terry Pruitt, former military, has more on rendering a salute and respect for the Flag at Obama Seems to Get It Wrong.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 6:45 AM | Permalink
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Boo, The Diva and The Dancer
with Your Business Blogger's
Mao Man Bag (for diapers) I asked the woman why she wanted to work for us.

"The Terrorists are trying to kill me."

I knew this was not to be an ordinary job interview.

Charmaine and I were hiring a housekeeper in the early 90's, and Mrs. C was referred to us, because she was well qualified. She used to own a day-care business.

In Peru.

And her husband was a manager for a manufacturer for a US based company. The rebel communists, the Sendero Luminoso -- or Shining Path -- had picked up the local company organization chart and began picking off the managers in quick order.

A well executed plan.

Like a good org chart shaped like a pyramid, the terrorists started at the bottom and were working their way up the corporate ladder fast.

The hierarchy of the career path was easy to follow for the Shining Path. The communists are nothing if not consistent. Just as they were in Stalin's day, the communist's were executing the managers, killing their way up the org chart.

Mr. C thoughtfully decided to leave the company, wanting to spend more time with the family...in another country.

So Mrs. C packed up her two girls and hubby and moved to America and was given earned asylum. I admired her resilience. Her ingenuity. Her gumption.

Her green card.

Filled with compassion, as is my nature, I hired her and her valid status.

We learned a bit about Peru and the kind of terrorism that kills immediately and immediate family. The terrorists, with the accent on the last syllable. We learned that the people of Peru loved freedom, hated communism.

Cameron Diaz
with Mao bag in PeruSo we were surprised that the well-briefed commie babe Cameron Diaz would go to Machu Picchu, Peru with her trendy, yet practical, Mao Bag with bold Red Star and well-placed slogan Serve the People in the ever- popular military drab olive green.

Peruvians did not appreciate her "style."

The nation of Peru is still healing from the almost 70,000 murdered by the Shining Path. Not quite the head count of Stalin or Mao, but still a not-too-shabby benchmark in the Commie Accounting.

Cameron Diaz did apologize for her thoughtlessness.

But it is not just the thoughtless commies in Hollywood who are insulting the people of Peru. Our very own (elected) commies Democrats in Congress are insulting Peru.

Democrats are insulting the government of Peru by modifying trade deals. Not content with attempting to run our lives here in the States, the Dems are micro-managing in Peru. And are screwing up a good trade deal.

But Your Business Blogger wants to assure our friends in Peru that the American People are not represented (so to say) by the Democrats in our Congress. That our government really wants free trade and free people to do business.

So we put The Dreamer, our first born, on Copa Airlines this morning out of Dulles Airport with a suitcase full of new shoes for children in Lima.

The Peruvians fought communism and are now fighting Democrats, the least we can do is support these freedom fighters.

The Dreamer, being brighter than Cameron Diaz, did not take her Mao bag to Peru. She is taking our good will and a big heart and a suitcase full of shoes.

To make a difference one child to one child.

The Penta-Posse minus The Dreamer
at a Potomac Nationals minor league game in
Northern Virginia. We won beating the Salem Avalanche,
farm team for the Houston Astros.

Thank you (foot)notes:

The Dreamer blogs at A Different Kind of Drama. Visit for another shot of the Mao bag.

Last year, when our church went to share Jesus with the people of Peru, they found many children arriving to Bible studies in bare feet. . . this year, our group from McLean Bible Church will arrive with over 500 pairs of shoes so that they can practice "Feet-First" evangelism.

Your Business Blogger bought the Mao bag on a trip to China. It was, I believe the only item in the entire country that was not violating American intellectual property.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 1:18 PM | Permalink
Comments (4)

HRC attacks FRC:

Posted at 8:21 PM | Permalink
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Gold Star
1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker A few decades ago, Your Business Blogger was privileged to be a Survival Assistance Officer helping families who lost a service member. As a young Cavalry Officer, I commanded a number of burial details. The part that hurt and still moves in slow motion in my mind's eye, is handing the tri-folded American flag to the widow.

I never cried at these funerals. I was too young. It was a task, a detail that had to be done.

Our government has a task that needs to be done. But it won't be done by Harry Reid. Democrats are surrendering and will nullify our sacrifices in the war against the jihadists. Democrats say our troops sacrifice and die for nothing.

Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, says, "...this war is lost..."

Democrats, like the French, have already surrendered. RedState says it all best.

But not surrendering, it seems, is the American public. Following is Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home dated February 17, 2007, that was making the rounds. Hat tip to John Howland, who runs the USNA-At-Large group.

Every death in the armed forces is a public event. 1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker, 25, Big Bear City, California, Rest in Peace.

Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home

February 17, 2007,
0350 [hours; 3:30am]
I was at curbside at 24th and M, Washington DC . 16 Degrees with a light breeze. Going home after my second week of freezing temps to my warm home in SoCal. Take a walk on the beach, ride a horse, climb a mountain and get back to living. I'm tired of the cold.

0425
paying the taxi fare at Dulles in front of the United Airlines counter, still cold.

0450
engaged the self-serve ticker machine and it delivers my ticket, baggage tag and boarding pass. Hmmm, that Marine over there is all dressed up in his dress blues a bit early this morning... "Good Morning Captain, you're looking sharp." He says, "Thank you, sir."

Pass Security and to my gate for a decaf coffee and 5 hours sleep. A quick check of the flight status monitor and UA Flt 211 is on time. I'm up front, so how bad can that be? Hmmm, there's that same Marine. He must be heading to Pendleton to see his lady at LAX for the long weekend, all dressed up like that. Or maybe not. I dunno.

The speaker system announces "Attention in the boarding area, we'll begin boarding in 10 minutes, we have some additional duties to attend to this morning, but we'll have you out of here on time."

The Marine Captain has now been joined by five others. BINGO, I get it, he's not visiting his lady, he's an official escort. I remember doing that once, CACO duty. I still remember the names of the victim and family, The Bruno Family in Mojave - all of them, wows, that was 24 years ago.

On board, 0600:
"Good morning folks, this is the Captain. This morning we've been attending to some additional duties, and I apologize for being 10 minutes late for push back, but I believe we'll be early into LAX. This morning it is my sad pleasure to announce that...

Continue Reading »

Posted at 3:16 PM | Permalink
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The USS Pueblo
is a popular propaganda tourist attraction
on the Taedong River in Pyongyang
North Korea US Senator Wayne Allard, R-Colorado, (Republican, of course) reintroduced a resolution demanding the return of United States Navy property from North Korea.

The Pueblo is the only active-duty U.S. warship in the hands of a foreign power. It was taken Jan. 23, 1968, after being sent defenseless on an intelligence-gathering mission off the North Korean coast. Reports the Washington Post (with misplaced indignation).

The USS Pueblo may have been out-gunned, but she was armed and was not defenseless.

The reporter, Jennifer Talhelm, is a female feminist from the Washington Post; I'm not sure military armaments is her forte.

Allard said the USS Pueblo "belongs to the United States Navy and we should pursue all possible options to return her to a rightful resting place."

The USS Pueblo and her crew have been in the blogosphere recently. The Pueblo crew was a noble comparison with the ignoble captured British sailors. The Brits were subservient and groveling when held by pirates.

Americans were defiant. Americans gave our captors the Digitus Impudicus. As Mark Steyn says America is Alone.

That is not quite right: It is Conservative Republicans who are alone.

Pueblo Crew
Time Magazine 18 Oct 1968 Jennifer Talhelm from the Washington Post continues,

Navy records show the Pueblo was in international waters when it was captured, though the North Koreans insist it was inside the Korean coastal zone. One person was killed in an explosion during the attack, and 10 of the 82 surviving crewmen were wounded. All 82 were held 11 months before being sent to South Korea on Christmas Eve.

The North Koreans display the ship as a trophy and a monument to the rocky relationship between the two nations.

Indeed.

Pueblo Crew with
"Hawaiin Good Luck Sign"

Thank you (foot)notes:

See USS Pueblo Coming Home?

See Little Green Footballs British Sailors Party on Iranian TV

Posted at 11:08 AM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Point/Counterpoint in the New York Daily News
Charmaine Yoest: Equal rights or radical fems?

Treaty too radical for life in U.S.

Charmaine wrote a column back in 2002 warning the country about an insidious United Nation's program (yes, that is redundant, I know) the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The liberal Democrats (again redundant, I know) are working to Eliminate US Soverignty. Here's how.

New York Daily News

By CHARMAINE YOEST

Radical feminist activists are engaged in a stealth campaign. Unable to pass their social agenda domestically, they are attempting to impose it using the weight and influence of an international treaty. The Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a massive international Trojan horse, a threat to U.S. sovereignty, cloaked as an effort to protect human rights.

Resurrected from well-deserved political dormancy by Sens. Joseph Biden and Barbara Boxer, the treaty narrowly passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. Next stop is a vote in the full Senate.

Presented as an elevated tome enshrining principles of timeless truth, the guts of the treaty are a leftist utopian wish list: government wage-setting, paid maternity leave, nationalized child care, free maternity-related health care, gender-blind military service and quota-determined political parity for women.

For ratifying countries, these mandates are overseen by an obscure tribunal known as the CEDAW committee. The United States would be required to report to the committee. That way, Cuba's human-rights expert on the committee can provide oversight of America....

Continue reading at the jump.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Originally published on July 31, 2002 New York Daily News

Charmaine also wrote the news breaking article on CEDAW.

Feminine-genius gets it right, as always.

Our good friend Austin Ruse has an outstanding analysis at the Catholic Defense League.

Dead Men Don't Rape is pro-CEDAW, as you might have guessed, somehow...see below.

Also pro-CEDAW is Holly's Fight for Justice. (She is currently engaged; it is not known if he's a man, a rapist, alive or dead.)

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:47 AM | Permalink
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Cross Post from Jack Yoest

Helena Yoest, [center, The Dreamer to right, Charmaine on right] bows her head in prayer before taking part in demonstration, to call for a stop to the prosecution of Abdul Rahman. Difficult to have a business conversation when heads are being sawed off as a matter of personal conviction. Uncertainty is bad for commerce.

So. In my dual goals of 1) World Peace and 2) Keeping the little woman out of Nordstrom's, I dispatch Charmaine on a bit of civil(ized) disobedience. She takes two of my little women to attempt to cause havoc in Your Nation's Capital. Protesting at the Afghan Embassy last Friday.

From the Agence France-Presse:

Helena Yoest, 9, bows her head in prayer before taking part in demonstration, in front of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC, to call for a stop to the prosecution of Abdul Rahman.

Prayer in public. The Horror.

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Thank you (foot)notes:
From AFP:

The AFP brand: A guarantee of excellence.

The AFP team: More than 2000 employees worldwide.

AFP products: Agence France-Presse produces each day 400,000 - 600,000 words in text, 1000 photos and 50 news graphics.

AFP around the world: Journalists in 165 countries, 5 regional headquarters.

Hugh Hewitt has more pictures.

Michelle Malkin has the story and an excellent round-up. She was there at the Embassy.

Posted at 1:04 PM | Permalink
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He says that Sharon's stroke is a "calamity." That this "could prove to be one of the great disasters in the country's nearly 60-year history."

Via Memeorandum.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Permalink
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The USS Pueblo
is a popular tourist attraction
on the Taedong River in Pyongyang
North Korea

North Korea is trying to use the USS Pueblo to force Condi Rice to make nice.

Won't happen.

Captured Crew Members
USS Pueblo, 1968

It isn't ladylike, but Condi is smart enough to remember the strategic use of "The Hawaiian Good Luck Sign."

This is an update from my post Indra Nooyi: Meet the USS Pueblo and Digitus Impudicus.

Outside the Beltway has the story at North Korea Offers.

A Salute to Open Post at Mudville Gazette

And thanks to Outside the Beltway's postings at Traffic Jam.

Posted at 9:24 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

Read Michael Ledeen today on NRO -- he questions whether the London bombings were really suicide attacks . . . and presents compelling evidence that the bombers themselves were actually murdered. Ledeen believes they were duped into believing that they were just couriers, and that the bombs were then exploded by remote control.

I know it's a bit hard to work up sympathy for these men who murdered so many innocent people. But it does go to the utter inhumanity of the terrorist planners.

There is a reason for the development of Just War theory. Sometimes one does have to fight. But when a nation must fight for a just cause, one requirement is giving the men asked to lay down their lives every possible opportunity to survive. . .

Murdering your own in cold blood? Very good clue something is amiss.

This excursion into stating the obvious, was given in honor of Julianne "we are terrorists" Malveaux and Annie "martial law" Lammott. . .

***

Take a minute to stop by Mudville's Open Post . . .

Posted at 6:52 PM | Permalink
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Hasib Hussain
The London Bus Bomber
with the bomb on his back

Nasra Hassan is an international relief worker based in Vienna who has recently completed a book on suicide bombers, based on her interviews with some 250 people "involved in the most militant camps of the Palestinian cause: volunteers who had been unable to complete their suicide missions, the families of dead bombers, and the men who trained them."

Reading her account today in the Times of how suicide bombers are recruited, trained and prepared for death -- their victims and their own -- is horrifying:

Just before the bomber sets out on his final journey, he performs a ritual ablution, puts on clean clothes, and tries to attend at least one communal prayer at a mosque. He says the traditional Islamic prayer that is customary before battle, and he asks Allah to forgive his sins and to bless his mission. He puts a Koran in his left breast pocket, above the heart, and he straps the explosives around his waist or picks up a briefcase or a bag containing the bomb. The planner bids him farewell with the words "May Allah be with you, may Allah give you success so that you achieve Paradise."

The would-be martyr responds, "Inshallah, we will meet in Paradise."

Hours later, as he presses the detonator, he says, "Allahu akbar" -- "Allah is great. All praise to Him."

Recommended by Stanley Kurtz at the Corner.

Posted at 12:07 AM | Permalink
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Damare Garang

Damare Garang is a 15-year-old Sudanese Christian. When Damare was seven years old, he was captured from his village by militant Islamists and sold into slavery. His master punished Damare for sneaking away to attend church:

The master found a large board, several rusty spikes and a hammer and dragged Damare out to the edge of his compound. He forced Damare’s legs over the board and drove the long nails through his knees and feet. Then he turned and walked away, leaving the boy laying in the field screaming from pain.

Find out how Damare was rescued, and about Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith -- and what you can do about it -- at Persecution.com.

Thanks to Townhall.com.

Posted at 11:20 PM | Permalink
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On the plane with Richard Branson

Two things are abundantly clear in traveling with Richard Branson and the ONE campaign activists: first, they know they have to address the corruption question; and two, their responses to the question are pro forma because they view the issue of corruption (despite protestations to the contrary) as being somewhat peripheral.

Scott Johnson at Powerline writes about the Live8 phenomenon today and quotes his reader, Julian Biggs, who argues:

Time after time, the TV announcers [covering Live8] reminded us that things are "even worse in Africa than they were before Live Aid 20 years ago!" Clearly, none of them considered this might tell us something about the efficacy of Live Aid and its use of cash to solve problems caused by massive political corruption.

Good point. So why do Branson and Co. treat "massive political corruption" as peripheral?

Photo op on the tarmac at Heathrow: Bob Geldof, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Branson, Female British rocker, Natalie Imbruglia, Charles McCormack, President of Save the Children

In responding to a question about corruption at yesterday's press conference, Branson said, with a clearly well-worn joke, that corruption was something like marital affairs -- people like to blame men, but "it takes two to tango."

Much overly hearty laughter at Sexual-Joke-Made-By-Rich-and-Famous-Man.

Foreign companies, he argued, should be penalized if they try to bribe lobal officials. BUT, he emphasized, "a lot of African companies are getting it together on corruption." Nigeria for example. (Coincidentally, this week saw the launch of Virgin Nigeria, the newest Branson venture.) He argued that it is "quite easy" to blame a lack of investment in Africa on corruption, but that "as a business man, my belief is that corruption is on the decline."

Branson emphasized that investing in Africa "makes good business sense. It's not a charity."

Later, as we walked toward boarding the flight to Heathrow, I asked him if Africa was going to be a focus of his business expansion beyond his investment in Virgin Nigeria. "Yes." (He stood in line with everyone else to board the plane, greeting all comers very congenially.)

There was one person who seemed to take the corruption issue more seriously: Djimon Hounsou, the Oscar-nominated actor from Amistad and Gladiator, was the first one to raise the issue of corruption, even before the question from the floor. Perhaps not coincidentally, he was also one of the very few actual Africans present. He is originally from Benin, which is in West Africa. He argued that in order to combat corruption, elections in Africa need to be monitored, and the use of aid monies must also be monitored.

On the tarmac at Heathrow

Tomorrow, I'll be attending a briefing on "What the G8 Must Do on Debt" hosted by the Jubilee Campaign. (As well as trying to avoid rioting anarchists.) This reflects the One Campaign's call for debt cancellation. Anyone have questions they'd like to have asked? Shoot them to me!

Challies asks, "What to change the world? Go to church." Not Live 8.

Junkyardblog has Madonna and the digitus impudicus at Fooling. Thanks to PyroManiac and Challies

USS Neverdock asks,"Looking for justice", "start a revolution", "create good government", are these people seriously talking about, dare I say it, regime change?in Africa, Are You Listening?

WILLisms says, "I have no doubt that Bono is sincere in his concern for Africa, but, watching Live 8, the effort really just missed the point. Millenium Challenge Accounts are what the world needs to get on board with, not awareness for the sake of awareness." Read more at Certified Classy #5

Digitus says in Recent Articles about Live8 performers that "They were there to reach down and help us help the poor, but meanwhile, backstage they while snarfing up the lobster, caviar, and $14,000 gift bags given for free to the A-listers like Madonna..."

Posted at 5:48 PM | Permalink
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My new blogging buddy, John Aravosis, who is staying in a different hotel than I am, was caught in the riots earlier this evening here in Edinburgh and detained by the police. . .

My family is very pleased that I wasn't nearby, but (since he is okay), I am planning to give John grief for landing in the middle of the action without me.

More seriously, this level of rioting when the summit doesn't even begin until Wednesday doesn't bode well for this city. Pictures on the local news of children sobbing in the streets are heart-breaking.

Riding into the city on the bus this afternoon, we passed a Starbucks with enormous glass windows in the downtown area, and Greg Beals, a globe-trotting journalist on assignment here with NY Newsday, predicted it would be smashed by week's end . . .

Wizbang asks Will Live Aid End Poverty?

Read David Adesnik (Oxford and UVA) on Oxblog and the Starbucks irony at Letter From a Victim of Starbucks. Frothy.

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When we touched down in Edinburgh earlier this afternoon, two very different welcomes greeted us: Bobbleheads and Cutie Pies.

Okay, so the whole kids with flags waving thing was totally staged. But it was adorable -- who can resist those rosy Scottish cheeks and the hand-drawn "Welcome to Edinburgh" sign?

Inside the terminal, however, the welcome was a snarky one. The Bobbleheads awaited.

No one ever explained exactly what the Bobbleheads were about -- maybe it was all just for laughs? Kind of Disney-esque? John and I stood surveying the scene and debated as travellers vied to get their picture taken with the Bobs. Could have been. . .

But when I arrived at Allison House, there they were, featured in the local paper -- the very same Bobbleheads marching carrying a "Make Poverty History" sign. Something of local celebrities apparently.

Was it meant to be all in fun? Nah.

The Bobbleheads' shoes . . .very European.

Villainous Company says that Live8 is, "a fundraiser in which not one thin dime is going directly to the intended recipients" in The Song Remains the Shame.

In the Agora points us to organizations needing donations through The ONE Campaign.

The Great Separation reminds us that American Out Gives Europe 15 to 1.

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My dear, Heather. It's not about YOU.

Heather Thibault was a medic in Iraq with the Army National Guard and recently returned home from Camp Anaconda, north of Baghdad. A profile of her in yesterday's Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporter was titled Limits on combat upset female medic. The subtitle: "Ready, willing and unable to fight."

Because, of course, it's all about Heather. Heather is, "upset." Heather is, "feisty." Heather is, "buff." Heather is, "angered."

Why is she angry? Because Heather has, according to the paper, "Right uniform, wrong chromosome."

Heather Thibault
Photo Credit:
Meryl Schenker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Well, before we get too worked up about that wrong chromosome, here's another thing Heather is:

Heather is, "barely 5 feet" tall. Doesn't say whether that includes her combat boots. It does say that Heather is, all of 125 pounds.

Her service to our country should be honored -- the article says she has nightmares from her experiences caring for the wounded in Iraq. Her hands were bloodied in the care of wounded, as nurses did during Vietnam, and other wars.

But battlefield medics are charged with evacuating wounded. While the reporter is busy venting spleen over the big, bad "military policy" keeping Heather out of combat -- as if engaging the enemy is some glorified Disneyland ride that they kept her from experiencing -- the article doesn't express any interest in Thibault's ability, or not, to carry a 180 pound soldier (plus 80 lbs of battle rattle) out of harm's way.

The article snears at this concern as a "weaker sex" argument. So be it. I wouldn't bet my son's life on her upper body strength.

NO one has a "right" to go into combat. We're facing a relentless drumbeat from the media, with stories of individual women who "should be allowed" to go into combat. But it's not about them. It's not about the individual. Combat is about the mission, unit cohesion and survival.

Those men we do ask to risk their lives -- and the hopes and dreams of all those who love them -- by going into combat have the right to expect us to do everything humanly possible to give them the best chance of coming out alive.

That's the only right we should be concerned about.

There's a subtext to this story that is worth mentioning. The article mentions that since returning from Iraq, Heather has been visiting local schools to talk with young people. Here's what she has to say about the war on terror:

We're throwing rocks at a hornet's nest, turning moderates into religious fanatics, and you're going to inherit the problem. ...

It kind of sucks when you piss off the whole world.

Maybe she forgot that whole World Trade Center meltdown thing. . .

* * *

Thanks Mrs. Greyhawk for Open Post at Mudville.

And check out Wizbang's Carnival of the Trackbacks. . .

Then dance over to Beth's Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and her Open Trackbacks. . .

More women a-fighting at Shakespeare's Sister at BlogWhoring.

Knowledge is Power has some thoughts and appreciation for sacrifice women make.

Posted at 12:09 AM | Permalink
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Should Americans care about the vote to ratify a Constitution for the European Union? Following Monday's "non" vote from the French, the 16 million Dutch voted NO yesterday, with a resounding 62 percent rejecting the proposed EU charter.

European Union Flag
Dutch and French say Nee et Non

Should we care? It's a very interesting development for political scientists, but how 'bout for real-world Americans?

The answer, surprisingly, comes from: Indra Nooyi, President of PepsiCo. In her speech to Columbia University where she compared the world to a hand, and the United States to the middle finger, Nooyi told us that the index finger, the European Finger, points the way:

Our index, or pointer finger, is Europe. Europe is the cradle of democracy and pointed the way for western civilization and the laws we use in conducting global business.

There is an attitude, among the international intellectual elite, that Europe does point the way. I use the word "international" elite deliberately: it's not just Europeans; it's not just Indra Nooyi. There are those among the American elite who would like us to move toward a more "multilateral" approach, adopting a more deferential stance toward international opinion and mores -- but most troubling, international law as well.

In an essential article in the Winter 2004 issue of the Public Interest, "Multilateralism Comes to the Courts," Ken Kersch, of Princeton, lays out in exquisite detail the movement among many American legal scholars to establish international norms and treaties in authority over domestic sovereignty. (The link goes to the Public Interest home page; to access the article, navigate to Winter 2004 through the "Archives" link.) Kersch's quotes from scholars like Peter Singer of Princeton, author of One World (and infanticide advocate) and Martha Nussbaum of University of Chicago, and Rogers Smith of University of Pennsylvania, are troubling. But it is his citations of "cosmopolitan" attitudes among our sitting Supreme Court Justices that are particularly noteworthy:

In Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (joined by Justice Stephen Breyer) cited both the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (which the United States has ratified) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (which it has not) as evidence of an “international understanding of the office of affirmative action.” In Justice Ginsburg’s view, these international conventions provide the grounds for “temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality.” (Bold emphasis mine.)

In Lawrence v. Texas, Justice Anthony Kennedy prominently recurred to a friend-of-the-Court brief on foreign law and court decisions filed by Mary Robinson, the former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, and to a key decision of the European Court of Human Rights.

(See here for my article about sovereignty concerns related to CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.)

But a funny thing happened on the way to the (legal) forum -- the subtext about yesterday's vote: the European Finger seems to have a wrist below -- the (pesky) people -- turning the hand in another direction. That's the populous uncertainty with a referendum, a democracy. . . it's called a vote.

The intellectual elite -- whether they be the American, European, or UN variety -- don't seem to understand the central importance to "We The People" of national identity. Or, more precisely, they don't care. But that is a strategic miscalculation: they fail to appreciate the cohesive power that identification produces.

Nee et Non. Now they have to care.

LINKS:

Welcome Instapundit readers. See Glenn's analysis of the vote here.

John at Powerline has two good posts on the EU votes, here and here.

Also see what King at SCSU Scholars says about the EU vote more generally (Cool graphs at his site.)

Posted at 10:28 AM | Permalink
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Napoleon was stepping through battlefield carnage when an aide grieved over the horrific loss of life. Bonaparte replied that France could replace the bloody losses in a single night from a Paris whorehouse.

Image Credit: Liberation

Today's European leaders seem to have a similar lack of regard for the French citoyen. To the horror of the European ruling elite, the French have rejected ratification of the European Union constitution fairly soundly. However the Daily Telegraph says that the EU leaders view the vote as merely a disappointing speedbump in their resolute march to unification:

Ignore all the febrile threats of chaos. Far more accurate was the analysis given by Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and currently the holder of the EU Presidency: "If it is a 'Yes' we carry on; if it is a 'No' we carry on." There you have it: as neat a statement of the EU's guiding philosophy as you could ask for. The project is far too important to be denied by the ballot box.

(From Chrenkoff, who covers the vote with outstanding links, including this one to Mark Steyn, "EU just won't take 'no' for an answer.")

Of course, as leaders throughout history (including Napoleon) have learned, political hubris can lead to stunning miscalculation. It isn't all that easy to ignore the will of the people. And it appears that the French may have to contend with their own "red-state/blue-state" issues.

Or orange and blue, as Liberation styles it. (This via Bad Hair Blog with excellent reporting and analysis.)

The vote map (above) shows "blue states" voting "oui;" light yellow voting 50-50% "non;" darker yellow voting 55-60% "non;" and orange voting over 60% "non." Just like recent American elections, there are clear regional patterns of voting. One of the more interesting results is the dark orange swath of voters in the northeastern area of France: the area closest to Brussels, the seat of the EU.

And, indeed, sovereignty was a real issue in this vote. The Washington Post reports on the non vote:

"I voted no out of a concern for democracy," said Gilles Noeul, 28, an engineer who attended an opposition victory rally Sunday night in Paris. "For me, the decisions should not be made by Europe, but by each nation. I want France to make decisions for herself."

Still, though Americans instinctively tap into this "defense of sovereignty" angle of the vote, it is important to avoid imposing an American filter on the French vote. Bad Hair Blog provides a translation of a Spanish blog which lists five reasons for the vote. I want to emphasize the first two: concern over high French unemployment rates (it's 10%) . . . and concern over the EU's, relatively (compared to France), greater emphasis on free-market principles.

Right. Fix unemployment by going more socialist?? Again: avoid looking at this vote through an American lens. These citoyens ain't us, ain't U.S.

No, the French have a Gallic reasoning all their own. And those who remain optimistic about EU prospects, in the face of this defeat, might do well to recall the French retreat from NATO in 1966.

This is not the first time the French have waved le tricolore and distanced themselves from international partnership. Then-French President Charles DeGaulle stated that NATO was unnecessary, because France would have an independent nuclear striking force or force de frappe. By 1967 the French had built a fleet of nuclear bombers.

During the Cold War the French did not want to subordinate the defense of France to NATO. And now the French don't want to surrender sovereignty to the EU.

(So, yes, there are two, two times that the French wouldn't surrender. Three, if you count speaking French in Quebec.)

All fun French jokes aside, it's a cautionary tale for EU enthusiasts.

Image Credit: BBC
Nine countries have ratified the treaty: Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

LINKFEST:
Ahoy to Captain's Quarter's

Polished red apple to Betsy's Page

More at Jackson's Junction who alerts us to Iowa Voice

Another interesting angle on this story: the Left is divided, a complicated story which defies easy summary. . . See Daily Kos here.

Right Wing News writes well on the EU as bad news.

danieldrezner has an excellent international relations (IR) take.

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