Fausta's blog

Food

2008-05-16T15:18:00.006-04:00

Today's podcast was great fun, and Siggy shared lots of food and cooking links:
Recipes using maple syrup. Siggy recommends this soup.
Brining meats.
Brining turkeys.
All about brining.
Hamburger recipes.
Big Texan Steak Ranch where you can order steaks.
The Cattle Exchange, for steaks.
Maggie Moo's ice cream.
Strudelland.
LMNo'Pies
An excellent recipe for lamb pot pie.
Recipe for grilled salmon with strawberry ginger salsa.
Recipe for Chipotle mashed sweet potatoes.
Recipes using pears.
My own apple pie recipe.
Apple, Roast Beef and Watercress Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing
Strawberry recipes
Apple recipes.
Chopped liver recipe.
Cheese recipes.

Special thanks to Siggy for generously sharing all these resources and recipes.

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Non-politics politics Friday morning

2008-05-16T08:05:00.011-04:00

While there are lots of interesting posts about Obama and all the rest of the Rezko, and some Republicans are total morons, today I probably won't be posting on American politics.

You can say that, at least for today, I'm "up to here" with all the bs.

Look at it:
The 2-year long Presidential campaign is a thudding bore. No matter the facts, the media is intent on bringing about Obamatopia (Ed came up with Obamatopia). Hillary's not throwing the towel until there's blood on the Convention floor. McCain's embraced global warming. Worst yet, there's an excruciating five and a half more months of this stuff to endure, and then the politicians will start on the 2012 campaign.

Peachy, isn't it? Just thinking about it makes you warm all over, doesn't it?

Then you have four judges in California overturning the law and the statewide initiative approved by the voters in 2000 (both of which had defined marriage as limited to unions between a man and a woman). Reason enough for Baldilocks to leave California - but don't come to New Jersey, Baldilocks, because where California goes, NJ follows. Forget about Seattle, too.

It's enough to make a woman want to go out and buy some nice shoes to take her mind off things. Even today's horoscope for Virgo says so:

Buy something that makes you feel stylish, now that the Moon is in your 2nd House of Self-Worth. Taking extra time to look good allows you to feel good, too. This can seem like a superficial indulgence, but when you see yourself in a more flattering light, you're likely to be more confident on every level.

Since I only own one house, I'm not sure where my 2d House is, but shoes are always good retail therapy. All the same, you can be assured that my Self-Worth is doing very well, thank you.

Luckily there's NeoNeocon's grandma to read about and another of The Anchoress's Q & A sessions (which does include a bit of politics).

Of course there's always food: In this morning's podcast Siggy and I will be talking about food - join us at 11AM Eastern

Speaking of food, now that polar bears are in the endangered species list, GM has the list of Top 10 Uses For Polar Bear Fat, and Flip's got The Lumbering Delicacy: Tasty Polar Bear Recipes.

Yum!

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McCain's bloggers' call

2008-05-15T14:10:00.016-04:00

This morning McCain gave speech in Ohio regarding what he believes the US would look like in 2013 after his first term. "By 2013 we would have won in Iraq: Malaki government would have won, sporadic attacks in Iraq but Iraqi government has taken over and American troops are out of harm's way and we'll have American troop presence arrangement similar to the one in Korea. Functioning and working Iraqi military."

Mc Cain would be glad to have a debate with Clinton & Obama as to whether we're winning now. The surge has worked and continues to work. We will not announce a date for withdrawal and will not have chaos and genocide.

Jennifer Rubin: Lebanon, and Pres. Bush saying the Democrats are for appeasement
"First of all Pres. Bush wasn't talking about Obama. There are may instances of appeasement in the 20th Century and before.
It's very clear that it's a highest degree of naivete and inexperience to assume that face to face talks with Iranians, a terrorist nation, who are developing nuclear weapons and pose a threat to the region and Israel.
Hezbollah has never had the slightest intention of giving up their weapons. If Sen Obama wants to sit and talk with Iran, what is it he wants to talk about. The belief that this would have to be done in a face to face situation, which enhances Iran's prestige, shows that Obama doesn't have the experience."
McCain wants to debate Obama on that point.

Michael Goldfarb: What do you think the nature of the conversation would be with Iran?
McCain would set three preconditions:
Would have Iranians renounce their intention to wipe Israel off the map.
Abandoning their ambitions to nuclear weapons
Would have to stop exporting explosive devices into Iraq.
Then meaningful negotiations would take place if they also stop their sponsorship of terrorist negotiations. The Iranian ambassador in Bagdad has not signalled any intention of meeting these preconditions to Ambassador Crocker. If you sat down across the table you would enhance their prestige and influence in the region.

Jim Gerarghty: NYTimes article saying that Obama wouldn't but how do you hold MYT accountable when they cover for Obama?
"I don't know - when Obama said he'd negotiate the NAFTA, which make Canada say they'll sell their oil to China, while in NC he said he's a free trader. There's not only inconsistency but contradiction in what Obama says."

Doug Lambert: "Doing what is doable" - has McCain been talking to Newt?
He has talked and read a couple of his books. Would be pleased to have conversations with Newt because he has great ideas and was the architect of Contract With America.

Question on nuclear power:
"Most problems are of our own making because of Carter's reprocessing ban and 3 Mile Island. We haven't found a place to store it. I intend to fix all those things and wants to encourage pure research and development in all areas, including cars who give 100 miles per gallon."

Erin Conteki: why did he decide to announce his troop withdrawal timeline - why 2013?
"Apparently you didn't read or understand - We are withdrawing troops to pre-surge levels. I know we're going to win. With victory comes withdrawal of troops. 2013 is the end of my first term. Will withdraw troops at that point with the advice of Petraeus and conditions on the ground. We are not announcing a date for withdrawal."
Plans to take care of troops when they come home?
Every veteran organization has recognized McCain for his support to the troops and their mission. McCain wants to encourage retention in the armed forces, increasing educational plans, and other.

Last question, work towards bipartisanship if elected - which positions would he appoint Democrats?
"I don't identify specific posts; what we do is find the best and the brightest and if the person is the most capable, then we appoint them so they can inspire others."

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Hugo: No US base in Colombia or I'll go to war

2008-05-15T07:49:00.006-04:00

Chavez warns Colombia against U.S. base

President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday warned Colombia not to allow a U.S. military base on its border with Venezuela, saying he would consider such an act an "aggression."

Chavez said he would not permit Colombia's U.S.-backed government to establish an American military base in La Guajira, a region spanning northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.

The Venezuelan leader said if Colombia allows the base, his government will revive a decades-old territorial conflict and stake a claim to the entire region.

What happens is that Chavez's minion Correa of Ecuador has been saying that Ecuador will not renew a 10-year lease on the base in the Pacific port of Manta when it expires next year. No one is surprised at Correa's position considering how he's under Chavez's orders, and how Venezuela has become the choice port of departure for the South American drug trade. After all,

Manta is the United States' only military base in South America. Surveillance flights the United States runs from there are responsible for about 60 percent of drug interdiction in the eastern Pacific.

As Ed points out,

In 2007, the Manta base caught 200 such [drug] transports in approximately 1200 missions.

Now Chavez is saying that a US base in Colombia means war. Let's take a look at MILITARY MIGHT IN SOUTH AMERICA

A look at the military strength of U.S.-backed Colombia compared to Ecuador and Venezuela (troop strength and reservist figures include army, navy, air force personnel):

Colombia
* Regular troops : 254,300

* Reservists : 61,900

* National police : 136,000 (many combat-trained and equipped).

* Hardware : 115 combat-capable aircraft, including 22 ground-attack fighters, among them Mirages and Kfirs. Four surface combat ships

* Defense budget: $5.1 billion

Ecuador
* Regular troops : 57,100

* Reservists : 118,000.

* Hardware : 57 combat-capable aircraft including 31 fighters, among them Mirages and Kfirs. Eight surface combat ships.

* Defense budget in 2007 : $918 million

Venezuela
* Regular troops : 115,000

* Reservists : 280,000 (estimated, fighting capability unknown)

* Hardware : 94 combat-capable aircraft including 68 fighter jets including Sukhois, F-16s and Mirages. Recent military purchases include 53 helicopters, two dozen SU-30 Sukhoi fighter jets and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. Six surface combat ships.

* Defense budget in 2007 : $2.56 billion

Source: International Institute for Strategic Studies, AP
On those 280,000 Venezuelan reservists, whose fighting capability is unknown, it's worth revisiting this 2006 NYT article by Simon Romero:
As dawn broke in this gritty city adorned with revolutionary graffiti and murals one day recently, about 300 residents were practicing military-style marching, strutting under the hot sun and clicking their heels in a salute to their commander. This ragtag army of nurses, students and other citizens is one of many being formed throughout Venezuela, part of President Hugo Chavez's attempt to create Latin America's largest civilian reserve force.
The article says, "The reservists in Cua, a city with 120,000 residents 24 miles south of Caracas, ranged in age from 18 to 74." They get paid $7.40, for showing up to march and do calisthenics.

Be nice to Hugo or he'll sic grandma on you.

And let's not forget that last March the Venezuelan army was stopped on its way to the Colombian border by a taxi drivers' strike in a town near the border.

Some war.

Of course, he's telling everyone who listens that an Attack by U.S. Would Cause $500 Oil.

The Washington Post has a slideshow of more of Chavez's bluster.

In other South American news, Lima is under tight security for the Fifth EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit, The two main topics to be discussed: fighting poverty, and climate change.

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Uribe Calls Pelosi's Bluff

2008-05-15T07:12:00.006-04:00

Today's WSJ editorial, Uribe Calls Pelosi's Bluff (emphasis added):

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's main excuse for trying to kill the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is that Colombian President Álvaro Uribe winks at atrocities by his country's illegal paramilitary groups. The charge has always been false, and yesterday Mr. Uribe proved it by extraditing 14 "para" leaders to the U.S.

Regardsless of Pelosi's idiocy,

Mr. Uribe has done more to reduce violence, from both right and left, than any president in modern Colombian history.

The message that Nancy's squabbling gives the world is that in America, the only superpower in the world, political squabbles take precedence over security interests.

UPDATE
Colombia Ups Ante on Free Trade Agreement

Mr. Uribe's Send-Off
The Colombian president confounds his American critics by doing exactly what they asked for.

In the meantime, Human Rights Watch and its congressional partners are running out of excuses for their campaign against the U.S. free-trade agreement with Colombia. The murders of "trade unionists" they decried have drastically decreased; the paramilitary leaders they claimed would go free are in U.S. custody. If their agenda is genuinely human rights -- and not opposition to free trade -- it's time for them to change course.

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GOP 2.0 - resuscitating the brand

2008-05-14T20:02:00.007-04:00

Doug Ross has an excellent post that you should read: GOP 2.0 - resuscitating the brand, and he illustrates:

Note to Obama: No Arabic spoken in Afghanistan, & today's roundup

2008-05-14T16:01:00.010-04:00

Afghans don’t speak Arabic

In Afghanistan, it's any of a half dozen other languages — including Pashtu, Dari, and Farsi.

Maybe he hopes they all indulge in Obamaspeak.

The cult goes on:
Via Allahpundit, Obamatopia.

Obamatopia's the future of this:

Campaign spot and Doug Ross are on the same page.

And let's not forget Sweetie:

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Sadr City Residents Battle The Iranian-Backed Mahdi Army

Basra is now free of the Mahdi Army oppressors, so we can expect Mosul (and therefore Iraq) will soon be free of al-Qaeda. Once this is done it will be time to unfurl some well deserved congratulations for our armed forces, the armed forces of Iraq and the people of Iraq. Hopefully the Democrats will see fit to acknowledge the important milestone when Iraq has purged al-Qaeda from all its strongholds. There will always be dead-ender believers, but that is not excuse to recognize the sacrifices and accomplishments of the final defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Will you find this in the headlines?
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8 yr old girl used as a suicide bomber.
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Towards a More Peaceful World. Anyone who thinks that women are peaceful didn't go to an all-girls' school.
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What Is Justice for A Rape Victim?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Polar bears are now in the endangered list: not a good thing, says Hugh Hewitt.

Bye-bye, ANWR.
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Via Betsy, Too "Complex"? Thomas Sowell explains why the price of oil is going up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Via Instapundit, Race and the 2008 Election
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Twelve year old Faryl Smith wows judges and crowd

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Kenya: Muslim clerics declare war on condoms

2008-05-14T11:29:00.006-04:00

Via Yid With Lid, KENYA: Muslim clerics declare war on condoms

Muslim leaders in Kenya's North Eastern Province have resolved to campaign against the promotion of condoms as a means of preventing HIV.
...
The leaders agreed to actively preach against the use and public promotion of condoms as a strategy to contain the pandemic and prevent pregnancy. They also agreed to oppose the distribution of condoms in villages and educational institutions across the northeast.

What to do, instead? Avoid looking at women, for starters:

The leaders expressed their view that the best way for the youth to avoid HIV was through the observance of Islamic teachings such as fasting, regular prayer and shunning extramarital affairs. They advised men to avoid looking at women, who should dress modestly.

Then there's the myth, too:

Abdi Welli, a taxi driver in Garissa, told IRIN/PlusNews he agreed with the clerics that condoms should be banned. He believed the widespread myth that condoms and contraceptives were laced with the HI virus. "We know the condoms are not safe ... if you want to contract the virus that causes AIDS, then use [a condom]," he said. "After all, we have heard in the past that the Western world is using the condom to eliminate Africans, and Muslims in particular."

In another part of the world, a Yemenite cleric claims to have found the cure for AIDS by reading a hadith: He "won't object to American companies adopting his invention on condition that they pressure the American administration to remove his name from the list of terrorism suspects."

What a guy.

But wait, the President of Gambia claims to have found the cure for AIDS, too... as long as it's on a Thursday:

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Coming to the GI Film Festival this Friday: Outside the Wire

2008-05-14T10:17:00.006-04:00

The world premiere of JD Johannes's film Outside the Wire is coming up this Friday at 3:30PM at the GI Film Festival:

Carnegie Institution of Washington
1530 P Street NW
Washington , DC 20005 , USA

We had the pleasure of talking to JD last February. You must listen to him talk about the real story on the documentaries.

Don't miss the film premiere on Friday!

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The assimilation factor

2008-05-14T07:50:00.005-04:00

Via RCP, The Assimilation Factor

Public concern about the impact of new immigration on America has reached a pitch not seen since the early 20th century. Americans have experienced an immigration surge unprecedented in their lifetimes. This is an unsurprising coincidence in light of the fact that our immigrant population of 37 million is, in absolute numbers, greater than it has been at any time in our history. It’s nearly as large a percentage, 12.5%, of the population as it was at its historic peak at 14.5% in 1890. Today, there are more immigrants from Mexico than there were foreign-born residents from all countries in 1970.
...
But the most striking finding is much less positive. The current overall assimilation level for all immigrant groups combined, measured on a scale of zero to 100, is, at 28, lower now than it was during the great immigration wave of the early 20th century, when it never went below 32. What's more, the immigrant group that is by far the largest is also the least assimilated. On the zero-to-100 scale, Mexicans — 11 million emigrated to America between 1980 and 2006 — score only 13.

Although Mexican assimilation does occur, it's extremely slow. Mexicans who arrived in 1995 started out with Index scores around five - and increased only to around 10 by 2005. In other words, our largest immigrant group arrived with little education and even less knowledge of English, and they have stayed that way for an extended period.

By contrast, Vietnamese started at similar low levels and in 10 years rose to an Index level of more than 40. Notable, too, is that Generation 1.5 - Mexicans who came to this country as children aged five or younger - are also remaining distinct, and in some worrisome ways: they are less likely than other immigrant groups to become citizens, and more likely to be in prison or be a teen mother.

This is sad but not surprising: one can easily expect a large group of young people who are alienated from both their country of origin and from the society in which they now belong to end up in such circumstances:

A hundred years ago, there was a pro-assimilation movement led by the nation’s cultural elite. Across the country, more than 400 settlement houses - from New York's Henry Street to Chicago's Hull House - were established. Their mission, taken up by the privileged of that era, included Americanization of newcomers. Indeed, the Pledge of Allegiance, first published in 1892, was written as a primer of America's values just when immigration was hitting its peak.

Today, the pledge is regarded as chauvinistic, particularly by those who should be leading the assimilation effort. We can't bemoan low levels of immigrant assimilation if 21st century America's most fortunate lack the cultural self-confidence to promote it.

As I have said before, acculturation is not simply being bilingual. There has to be a complete immersion in American language, history - and most important - values.

Unless those three factors come together, integration won't take place.

And the immigration problem is an integration problem.

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Tuesday night tango: Natacha & El Gaucho

2008-05-13T20:52:00.002-04:00

More Evidence of Chavez Terror Ties

2008-05-13T17:17:00.004-04:00

At the Weekly Standard blog: More Evidence of Chavez Terror Ties

...the evidence suggests that Chavez was working hard to upgrade FARC's weaponry and reach:
The documents--more than a dozen internal rebel messages--detail several years of close cooperation between top officials in Venezuela's government and military and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, including the construction of rebel training facilities on Venezuelan soil.

They also suggest Venezuela was preparing to loan the rebels at least US$250 million (euro190 million), provide them with Russian weapons and possibly even help them obtain surface-to-air missiles for use against Colombian military aircraft.

Most importantly, they outline a joint strategic project between Venezuela and the Colombian rebels, with Venezuela even seeking rebel training in "asymmetrical warfare" in preparation for a feared U.S. invasion.

Where are the Democrats?

Beyond that, Democrats will have to answer for coddling this dictator. Joe Kennedy runs around extolling Chavez's virtues, Jimmy Carter disregards evidence that Chavez stole his 2004 victory, liberal actors kowtow to him for money, and Speaker Pelosi delivers on his top priority: defeat of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

And let's not forget Bill Richardson.

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A really bad idea: McCain's Climate 'Market'

2008-05-13T15:17:00.007-04:00

Here is John McCain's speech on climate change policy.

He is proposing a cap a trade system, similar to the one that hasn't worked in the EU because it reduces free market policies.

The WSJ explains McCain's Climate 'Market' (emphasis added)

In theory, this would be achieved by imposing emission ceilings on electric power, transportation fuels, commercial business and industries. If a company produced less carbon than it was allowed under the cap, it could sell -- i.e., trade – its extra allowances to other businesses. Under the McCain plan, permits would be given away to industries, at least initially. Mr. Obama prefers to "auction" the permits, meaning businesses would be taxed at the outset. So Mr. McCain's plan would help mitigate the transition costs of putting "the age of fossil fuels behind us."

The problem is that once government creates an artificial scarcity of carbon, how the credits are allocated creates a huge new venue for political rent-seeking and more subsidies for favored industries. Some businesses will benefit more than others, in proportion to their lobbying influence and how well they're able to game the Beltway. Congress itself will probably take the largest revenue grab, offering itself a few more bites out of the economy and soaking politically unpopular businesses.

Then there's the question of whether any of this will even reduce greenhouse gasses. The McCain plan would allow businesses unlimited use of domestic and international offsets to comply with the carbon cap. So a chemical manufacturer, say, would pay an industry not covered by the program – most notably, agriculture – to reduce its emissions. Or it could pay a coal plant in China for plucking low-hanging efficiency fruit, like installing smokestack scrubbers. In other words, U.S. consumers would be paying higher prices for energy in return for making Chinese industries more efficient and competitive. Europe is in the midst of that experience now under the Kyoto Protocol, and most of its reductions so far have been illusory.

The compliance bookkeeping for this new "market" is vastly complex, and a McCain Administration would create a public-private "Climate Change Credit Corporation" to oversee it all. This new regulatory body is likely to morph over time into an "Energy Fed," similar to the one Warner-Lieberman would create. Such an agency would set the price of energy indirectly by fiddling with carbon levies, which will undoubtedly lead to economy-wide distortions.

So here we have it folks - what McCain is proposing:

Increases the cost of doing business by increasing taxes
creates an artificial scarcity of carbon
increases the opprotunities for corruption since it "creates a huge new venue for political rent-seeking and more subsidies for favored industries", as Congress "takes the largest revenue grab"
Makes Americans pay for making China more competitive
Creates yet another bureacracy

And if that wasn't enough, it sets the price of energy indirectly, which will lead to shortages.

Bad idea, bad policy.

UPDATE, Wednesday May 14
Quit Freaking Out, Senator McCain

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Today at 11AM Eastern: Alfonzo and Hip Hop Republican

2008-05-13T09:21:00.003-04:00

UPDATE
You can listen to the podcast here
Black & White On the Grey Matters

Richard of Hip Hop Republican, and Alfonzo, the guy in the Black and White on the Grey Matters join us at 11AM today.

Chat's open at 10:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2639. Join us!

Cross-posted at Heading Right.

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Outrageous: Student forced to leave training because of his service dog

2008-05-13T08:50:00.004-04:00

Political correctness and dhimmitude trump the American With Disabilities Act:
SCSU student leaves training at Technical High School

A St. Cloud State University student in a teacher-training program at Technical High School left the school in late April because he says he feared for the safety of his service dog.
...
[Tyler] Hurd said a student threatened to kill his service dog named Emmitt. The black lab is trained to protect Hurd when he has seizures.

The seizures, which can occur weekly, are from a childhood injury.

The dog has a pouch on his side that assists those who stop to help Hurd.

Who threatened to kill the dog, you may ask?

The threat came from a Somali student who is Muslim, according to Hurd, St. Cloud State and school district officials.

The Muslim faith, which is the dominant faith of Somali immigrants, forbids the touching of dogs.

Hurd trained at Talahi Community School and Tech. He said his experience at Talahi was good. The Somali students there warmed to the dog and eventually petted him using paper to keep their hands off his fur, Hurd said.

Things didn't go as well at Tech, Hurd said. Students there taunted his dog, and he finally felt he had to leave after he was told a student made a threat. Hurd met with Lockhart but said he did not feel comfortable continuing.

The district is clueless: their "diversity coordinator" says "I'm not quite sure where the breakdown comes into play here."

Let me explain it to them, then:
What the district needs to do is to tell ALL and every students that according to the law and to American values, the handicapped student has a right to do his work for which he needs his dog, unimpeded by threats coming from punks and thugs.

It might also be worth training the dog to attack.

(h/t Ed)

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In tomorrow's podcast: Hip Hop Republican and Alfonzo

2008-05-12T16:39:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow at 11AM we'll talk to Richard of Hip Hop Republican, and Alfonzo, the guy in the Black and White on the Grey Matters

Here's what Alfonzo thinks about Jeremiah Wright:
Black & White on the Grey Matters (Jermiah Wright)

Blue Skies

2008-05-12T13:59:00.005-04:00

Ed Morrissey writes about a most happy event: his son's graduation, in Will and Circumstance

I looked at my son and wondered how he did it, and marveled at the will it took to graduate summa cum laude from one of the most well-respected universities in the nation.

That has to be one of the most wonderful, happy events in any parent's life.

Years ago when I was really really sick and my blood sugar levels were totally out of control, the one thing I prayed for was for God to let me live long enough to watch my son graduate from college.

That thought was what made me find the way to get well again, for, as Gabriel Garcia Marquez's story Miracle in Rome teaches us, children are the salvation of their parents.

It is a two-way street, after all: Yesterday I was reading Fetiche's post at Eternity Road

Motherhood is a conservative role. A devoted mother finds her fulfillment in giving life to others, and protecting their innocence as best she can, until they're ready to face the world on their own. That's conservation for you: the conservation of new life against corruption, perversion, and dissipation. Well-reared children arrive at adulthood armored against those things. They have their mothers to thank for that.

And their fathers, too.

Congratulations to the Morrissey family!

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NYT: Obama converted from Islam into Christianity

2008-05-12T12:41:00.009-04:00

The folks at the NYT must have ignored the Obama campaign denials of his Muslim origins: Today's Edward Luttwak's op-ed piece, President Apostate? clearly states,

But it is a mistake to conflate his African identity with his Muslim heritage. Senator Obama is half African by birth and Africans can understandably identify with him. In Islam, however, there is no such thing as a half-Muslim. Like all monotheistic religions, Islam is an exclusive faith.

As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. It makes no difference that, as Senator Obama has written, his father said he renounced his religion. Likewise, under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother's Christian background is irrelevant.

Of course, as most Americans understand it, Senator Obama is not a Muslim. He chose to become a Christian, and indeed has written convincingly to explain how he arrived at his choice and how important his Christian faith is to him.

His conversion, however, was a crime in Muslim eyes; it is "irtidad" or "ridda," usually translated from the Arabic as "apostasy," but with connotations of rebellion and treason. Indeed, it is the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder (which the victim's family may choose to forgive).

That is serious enough, but it's also not simply an accident of birth: Obama was a practicing Muslim for many years. Daniel Pipes (via LGF) explains Barack Obama's Muslim Childhood:

Obama's Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a Muslim. In fact, as Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: "My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim." An Indonesian publication, the Banjarmasin Post reports a former classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that "All the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims."

The Catholic school: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports that "documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic school during first through third grades. Kim Barker of the Chicago Tribune confirms that Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school." A blogger who goes by "An American Expat in Southeast Asia" found that "Barack Hussein Obama was registered under the name 'Barry Soetoro' serial number 203 and entered the Franciscan Asisi Primary School on 1 January 1968 and sat in class 1B. ...Barry's religion was listed as Islam."

The public school: Paul Watson of the Los Angeles Times learned from Indonesians familiar with Obama when he lived in Jakarta that he "was registered by his family as a Muslim at both schools he attended." Haroon Siddiqui of the Toronto Star visited the Jakarta public school Obama attended and found that "Three of his teachers have said he was enrolled as a Muslim." Although Siddiqui cautions that "With the school records missing, eaten by bugs, one has to rely on people's shifting memories," he cites only one retired teacher, Tine Hahiyari, retracting her earlier certainty about Obama's being registered as a Muslim.

Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got into trouble for making faces during Koranic studies, thereby revealing he was a Muslim, for Indonesian students in his day attended religious classes according to their faith. Indeed, Obama still retains knowledge from that class: Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times, reports that Obama "recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them [to Kristof] with a first-rate accent."

Mosque attendance: Obama's half-sister recalled that the family attended the mosque "for big communal events." Watson learned from childhood friends that "Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque." Barker found that "Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers." One Indonesia friend, Zulfin Adi, states that Obama "was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong" (a garment associated with Muslims).

Luttwak explains the security issues:

Because no government is likely to allow the prosecution of a President Obama — not even those of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the only two countries where Islamic religious courts dominate over secular law — another provision of Muslim law is perhaps more relevant: it prohibits punishment for any Muslim who kills any apostate, and effectively prohibits interference with such a killing.

At the very least, that would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards. More broadly, most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama's conversion to Christianity once it became widely known - as it would, no doubt, should he win the White House. This would compromise the ability of governments in Muslim nations to cooperate with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as well as American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad.

A Backfive said,

There are security issues as well as the idea for many that America is run by a Muslim apostate. It doesn't matter if they are wrong, perception is reality.

Would Muslim regimes even sit with a President they consider an apostate?

More links and commentary at Memeorandum, Gateway Pundit and Instapundit.

UPDATE
Ali Eteraz says that Obama is right to say he had no religion until he became a Christian.

Special thanks to SamK who emailed me the NYT article.

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The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean: FARC establlishes undercover cells in 17 countries

2008-05-12T09:13:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in the Carnivals, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

The big story: The FARC has set up undercover cells abroad in 17 countries.
Spanish newspaper El Pais published yesterday a report, Las FARC crean células clandestinas para su expansión internacional
Documentos del ordenador de Reyes revelan una red de apoyo en 17 países.
FARC creates clandestine cells for international expansion
Documents from Reyes's computer reveal a support network in 17 countries.

The article (in Spanish) states that the FARC, through its Coordinadora Continental Bolivariana (CCB) [Continental Bolivarian Coordination] network created in 2003, the FARC has developed a strategy that involves legal groups, clandestine cells and guerrilla training. These groups are closely associated with leftist organizations in seventeen countries, including Germany and Switzerland.

They opened four organizations in Mexico, managed by two cells that answer directly to the Secretariado, the FARC's leadership.

In the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela the FARC sponsor guerrillas through so-called "Biodiversity Forums", in addition to "official political-diplomatic relations" with Communist parties and the governments of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador.

Their aim, is

"Crear un gran Ejército revolucionario con el apoyo de masas para derrocar el sistema capitalista e instalar el socialismo".
"To create a great revolutionary Army with the support of the masses in order to destry the capitalist system and install socialism."

Al Jazeeera has a related Report: Farc set up cells abroad

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has established undercover cells abroad in 17 countries, a Spanish newspaper says, quoting from documents found on the computer of Raul Reyes, a slain commander of the anti-government group.

All this information comes from the computers seized from Raul Reyes.

Both Interpol and US intelligence officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have verified that the Reyes files are authentic.

Maite Rico of El Pais continues today their series on the FARC with this article, La guerrilla que pasó a ser mafia
Los documentos de Raúl Reyes reflejan la descomposición interna de las FARC The guerrilla that became a mafia: Raul Reyes's documents show the FARC's internal corrosion.

Among the details in today's article in addition to their narcotraffic involvement, the FARC is the world's largest planter of land mines, their ties with internations criminal organizations, and their revenues from kidnappings, among them half a million dollars revenue from kidnapping two Swiss executives from pharmaceutical company Novartis.

You can read the articles at El Pais in Spanish. The above is my translation and summary. Please credit me if you use it. Thank you.
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Add Angela Merkel to the list of people Hugo has insulted: Venezuela's Chavez slams Germany's Merkel comments

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday almost told German Chancellor Angela Merkel to go to hell, but stopped short of insulting the woman leader on Mother's Day.
Instead he called her a political descendant of Adolf Hitler and German fascism.
"Ms. Chancellor, you can go to ...," he said, pausing for effect and eliciting giggles from the audience, a group of military officers, cabinet ministers and government officials. "Because she's a woman I won't say anything else."

Being insulted by Chavez is indeed a mark of honor.
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CARNIVAL LINKS:

LATIN AMERICA
South America: Leaders Warn of Autonomy Attempts in Venezuela, Ecuador

Narco subs pose new challenge for US coast guards

BOLIVIA
Chavez Threatens To Intervene in Bolivia!

Bolivia's largest state votes on sweeping autonomy measure

Open letter to my Santa Cruz friends in Bolivia

BRAZIL
Amazon's future in delicate balance

CHILE
Hacker leaks 6m Chileans' records

COLOMBIA
New Colombia drug gangs wreak havoc

CUBA
The "Non-Judgmental" Michael Moore

Slave-labor tourism: Destinations: Varadero and Havana

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Two Cheers for Fernandez: The president heads for a third term

ECUADOR
Ecuador's Constitution: Going nowhere
Another leftist bogs down

Chavez and Correa Must Go: FARC Materials Authentic

MEXICO
Mexican Drug Cartels Making Audacious Pitch for Recruits

Democrats wrong on cutting Mexican anti-drug aid

Via Siggy, Believers flock to 'Narco Saint's' shrine

NICARAGUA
Nicaraguan Councils Stir Fear of Dictatorship

PERU
Peru Takes The Other Path

Poverty amid progress: A revolution in South America's fastest-growing economy is not reaching everyone

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Presidential Primary roundup at American Taino

Obama Slaps the Puerto Ricans in the Face

VENEZUELA
A must-read: From FARC to Venezuela to...

Chavez sought Belarus help for Colombian rebels: report

Chavez Tried to Arm FARC with Help From Belarus
Chavez tried to get arms from Belarus for FARC
Chavez tried to arm FARC, El Pais reports

Via Maggie and Instapundit, Morning Bell: Why Are Liberals Actively Helping Terrorists?

Colby Cosh on Hugo Chavez and FARC: Meet the Western Hemisphere's first state sponsor of terrorism

A simple cure for Venezuela's inflation

ENTERTAINMENT
Time to dance to Imigrante latino by Hermanos Flores (Flores Brothers) from El Salvador:

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"Great tits not impacted by global warming"

2008-05-11T15:41:00.005-04:00

Brutally Honest has the details.

Here's a pair of great tits:

You and your filthy mind...

UPDATE
Dutch tits not adapting well.

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Michael Totten's primer on Lebanon's Third Civil War

2008-05-11T09:40:00.004-04:00

Very few people understand Lebanon as well as Michael Totten, who loves the country. Here's his article in Commentary:
Lebanon’s Third Civil War

The first war was a short one. Sunni Arab Nationalists in thrall to Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser wanted to attach Lebanon to the United Arab Republic – a brief union of Egypt and Syria. An even larger bloc of Maronite Christians resisted. A nation cannot hold itself together when a large percentage of its population – roughly a third – wish to be annexed by foreign powers.

The second war was a long one. This time, Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization formed a state-within-a-state in West Beirut and South Lebanon and used it as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Israel. Again, Lebanon’s Christians resisted, as did Lebanon’s Shias. The second civil war was actually a series of wars that were merely triggered by that first fatal schism.

The third civil war resembles both the first and the second. With Iranian money and weapons, Hezbollah has built its own state-within-a-state in South Lebanon and South Beirut which is used as a base to wage war against Israel. Hezbollah also wishes to violently yank Lebanon from its current pro-Western alignment into the Syrian-Iranian axis. Roughly one-fourth of the population supports this agenda. No country on earth can withstand that kind of geopolitical tectonic pressure. For more than a year members of Hezbollah have tried unsuccessfully to topple the elected government with a minimal use of force, but their patience is at an end and they have turned to war.

Michael concludes,

There may be lulls in the violence, but there will be no real peace in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed or destroyed.

Hezbollah is not going to disarm.

Yid With Lid thanks France for Hezbollah's takeover of Lebanon.

We talked about Lebanon in last Friday's podcast - and we're not optimistic.

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Isabella Rosellini does p*rn...

2008-05-11T07:43:00.008-04:00

...of the insect kind:

As The Manolo asked, "who says there are no good roles for aging actresses?"

Expect the films to be featured at the MoMA soon.

UPDATE
Via No Pasaran, It gets worse.
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Karl Rove picks the WSJ's Five Best books on presidential campaigns:

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Today's shoes:
Clark's Hummingbird in yellow.

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Pat's Carnival is up.
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Wishing all my visitors a Happy Mothers Day!

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Macbeth makes a sandwich

2008-05-10T20:19:00.007-04:00

Just got back from seeing Macbeth on Broadway. Spectacularly good production, and Macbeth is very clearly a Stalinist. Patrick Stewart was at least as good as I expected, and does fabulous work with props.

He decants the wine when talking to Lady Macbeth before plotting the first murder. Their relationship is very sexual but that diminishes as their thirst for blood and power takes over.

Banquo's death becomes a topic to discuss while making a sandwich; here's how he did it:

Macbeth, talking to the two murderers, takes a sandwich board out of the refrigerator.

The sandwich board has a loaf of rye, bread knife, mustard pot, dish of mayo, plate with sliced cheese, and spatulas for spreading.

MACBETH:

I did so, and went further, which is now
Our point of second meeting. Do you find
Your patience so predominant in your nature
That you can let this go?

Slices bread once.

Are you so gospell'd
To pray for this good man and for his issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave
And beggar'd yours for ever?

Slices bread again. Dips spatula on mayo.

First murderer:

We are men, my liege.

MACBETH:

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men;

Speads mayo on one slice...

As hounds and greyhounds,

spreading...

mongrels, spaniels,

as he...

curs,
Shoughs,

goes along...

water-rugs and demi-wolves,

puts spreader back.

are clept

Uncovers the cheese ...

All by the name of dogs: the valued file

Distinguishes the swift,

picks up one slice...

the slow, the subtle,

puts it on the bread...

The housekeeper,

licks finger ...

the hunter, every one

picks up another slice of cheese, puts on top.

According to the gift which bounteous nature
Hath in him closed;

Spreads mayo on the other slice of bread

whereby he does receive
Particular addition. from the bill
That writes them all alike:

Puts another cheese slice on the first slice of bread

and so of men.
Now, if you have a station in the file,
Not i' the worst rank of manhood, say 't;
And I will put that business in your bosoms,

Spreads mustard on the cheese

Whose execution takes your enemy off,
Grapples you to the heart and love of us,

Places both slices of bread together

Who wear our health but sickly in his life,
Which in his death were perfect.

Slices the sandwich in half.

Walks in front of the table.

Both of you
Know

Takes a big bite and says with his mouth full,

Banquo

chews, swallows...

was your enemy.

By the time he slices the remaining half of the sandwich in half and gives each quarter to the murderers, Banquo's fate is sealed.

Later in the play, his conscience starts to catch up with him and after the intermission he can not touch his soup.

Of course the rest of the production will knock your socks off, but he had me at the sandwich.

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McCain's bearings: lost, not lost, and checked

2008-05-10T07:46:00.008-04:00

Obama: "McCain has lost his bearings."

McCain: Bearings just fine, thanks:

Lieberman: "I just want to report that this morning I personally checked John McCain’s bearings. He has not lost any of them. They are all in really great shape."

Obama's been visiting 57 states:

Guam, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Chicago's south side (which apparently has closed steel mills if you believe his wife), New York City, and the people's republic of Seattle.

Along with the state of confusion.

He probably stayed up late because of some 3 AM call.

His staff hasn't allowed him to visit Alaska and Hawaii, but I'm throwing those two just in the interest of fairness. After all, last week he didn't know what month it was.

Flashback to Heinz 57's shifting bar.

Special thanks to Larwyn.

UPDATE
Via anonymous in the comments section, Obama’s 57 States & other lessons
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I'm heading to the big city to see Macbeth, so blogging will be light. Here is the NYT's slide show of the production along with Patrick Stewart's comments.

While I'm out, bee-have!

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Gitmo Alumni Tradition

2008-05-09T19:15:00.005-04:00

Weekly Standard Blog:

This powerful editorial in the Wall Street Journal provides a welcome corrective. It turns out that 37 former Gitmo detainees have used their freedom to rejoin the jihad.

'Captive 220' is but one of them:

Some 500 detainees have been released from Guantanamo over the years, mostly into foreign custody. Another 65 of the remaining 270 detainees are also slated to go. Yet of all the prisoners released, the Pentagon is confident that only 38 pose no security threat. So much for the notion that the Gitmo detainees consist mostly of wrong-time, wrong-place innocents caught up in an American maw.

The Defense Intelligence Agency reported on May 1 that at least 36 former Guantanamo inmates have "returned to the fight." They include Maulavi Abdul Ghaffar, who was released after eight months in Gitmo and later became the Taliban's regional commander in Uruzgan and Helmand provinces. He was killed by Afghan security forces in September 2004.

Another former detainee, Abdullah Mahsud, was released from Guantanamo in March 2004. He later kidnapped two Chinese engineers in Pakistan (one of whom was shot during a rescue operation). In July 2007 he blew himself up as Pakistani police sought to apprehend him.