Photos and description
Museum website
UN World Heritage Site
Some more photos
wiki
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Cowards, Bullies, and Killers
Cowards, Bullies, and Killers
Posted by R. Cort Kirkwood on May 03, 2007
Is radical feminism the only cause at fault? What about the nanny state and the indoctrination that goes in schools? Now, one could say that the radical feminist agenda has taken over the public schools, but might it not be the case that it is in the interest of the powers to be to create a docile, passive people through the social instruments they have at their disposal as well? Isn't this what one would expect a centralized nation-state to do, to maintain control over the populace and to get rid of any threats to the power of the political and economic elites?
Posted by R. Cort Kirkwood on May 03, 2007
Is radical feminism the only cause at fault? What about the nanny state and the indoctrination that goes in schools? Now, one could say that the radical feminist agenda has taken over the public schools, but might it not be the case that it is in the interest of the powers to be to create a docile, passive people through the social instruments they have at their disposal as well? Isn't this what one would expect a centralized nation-state to do, to maintain control over the populace and to get rid of any threats to the power of the political and economic elites?
Good news
From Lew Rockwell:
Ron Paul is in the South Carolina GOP debate! Internet pressure did it, just as it kept Mike Gravel from being kicked out by the Democrats.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Eh! Jericho
So the mayor, who has no military experience whatsoever as far as I know, decides to order a squad of the town's militia to go after the enemy mortars, disregarding the advice of the ex-Army Ranger? There is a reason why civilians who have no military experience and training do not do strategy or give specific orders--they don't have the necessary competence.
If the Federal Government fell, I don't think the aftermath would be that peaceful, even for a town that is relatively isolated, like Jericho.
Edit: If a town were to start a volunteer militia, where would it find instructors? From vets? And how would one determine their qualification? Too bad Army SF doesn't go around training local militias here, in addition to their work abroad.
If the Federal Government fell, I don't think the aftermath would be that peaceful, even for a town that is relatively isolated, like Jericho.
Edit: If a town were to start a volunteer militia, where would it find instructors? From vets? And how would one determine their qualification? Too bad Army SF doesn't go around training local militias here, in addition to their work abroad.
Stephen Presser on Clarence Thomas
Reading the Constitution Right
Stephen B. Presser
Clarence Thomas’s fidelity to our founding documents is making its mark on the Supreme Court.
HK 45
So will this be the .45 caliber pistol to beat? I'm favoring it over the USP, but mainly because of aesthetics. Sarge, think you'll make a trade once it is on the market? The S&W M&P45 doesn't look as good as the M&P40.
Military Photos thread (photos show the previous prototypes, I believe)
Defense Review
HK-Blackwater International Training Services Demo and Open HouseOctober 23. 2006
PDF files:
A First Look At Heckler & Koch's New HK45
Two New Heckler & Kock's HK45s
HK 416 5.56mm
The HK417 has the same basic design as the 416 but for the 7.62 mm round, with some additional features. No wonder people prefer it to the M1A. If I had to pick a 5.56 mm carbine; too bad it's not available for civilians, though it should be for LE. If Heckler and Koch end up having the best carbine and .45 on the market for LE and the military, what will that say about American gun manufacturers?
This is a great poster.
Vogue: "The Hit Girls"
link; the article itself
"Tall and skinny."
And so the unhealthy trend continues. Though things are bad in Brazil, at least full-figured women are appreciated there (and in Latin America in general). If this is "the return of the model," we'd do better without it. Whatever one thinks of Victoria's Secret and its promotion methods, one should recognize that its success as a brand is due in no small part to its models, who come closer to what most men are attracted to than the typical runway model. Small wonder, then, that some many of the VS models are from Brazil.
Some Bill McKibben interviews
Audio or video files:
Bill McKibben interview at The Progressive (mp3)
AnnOnline
"More is not the Answer" at Orion
Electronic print:
Common Ground interview
World Changing
Bill McKibben interview at The Progressive (mp3)
AnnOnline
"More is not the Answer" at Orion
Electronic print:
Common Ground interview
World Changing
Olmert defiant in face of party mutiny over damning war report
Olmert defiant in face of party mutiny over damning war report
by Ron Bousso
Wed May 2, 5:48 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remained defiant on Wednesday in the face of a party mutiny that joined calls for him to quit in the wake of a damning report of his leadership in the Lebanon war.
"To all those who are in haste in order to take advantage of the report for political profit, I tell them not to be hasty," Olmert said at the opening of an extraordinary cabinet meeting.
He spoke after an aide to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni -- a top Kadima official considered one of the frontrunners to take over party leadership -- said that she would ask Olmert to quit during a meeting later in the day.
"She is expected to ask him to resign," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Should she issue the call, Livni would become the most senior member in Olmert's ruling coalition and within his party to join those clamouring for the premier to step down in the wake of the critical war report.
Olmert admitted that "there is no doubt that the report points at some extremely serious failures in the government's conduct and naturally first and foremost of me."
But he has thus far refused to bow to the ever-increasing pressure to step down. His Kadima party cannot forcibly oust him from his post, as the party's charter does not spell out such a procedure.
Hours before the cabinet meeting, the head of Kadima's parliamentary bloc too called on Olmert to step down, saying it would be "suicidal" for the centrist party, formed a year and a half ago, if the premier remained.
"He must take the decision to resign so that Kadima can continue with his mandate," Avigdor Itzchaky told public radio.
Two of Kadima's 29 deputies in the 120-seat parliament on Tuesday openly called on him to resign and a senior party official told AFP that a majority of Kadima MPs wanted him to quit.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz of Kadima said he would call during Wednesday's cabinet meeting "for the creation of a broad unity government with a deep sense of responsibility."
Polls published on Wednesday showed that between 65 and 68 percent of Israelis want Olmert to quit, and only six percent think he is capable of carrying out the functions of his office.
With the opposition and the press howling for Olmert's head, the rebellion within his party further upped the enormous public pressure for the 61-year-old premier to stand down less than a year after officially assuming office.
That pressure is likely to increase further on Thursday, when parliament holds an extraordinary session to discuss the report and a mass rally is due to take place in Tel Aviv to call on Olmert to resign.
Monday's partial report accused Olmert of "serious failure in exercising judgement, responsibility and prudence," of acting "hastily" and personally contributing to "over-ambitious" and unfeasible war aims during the 34-day conflict against Hezbollah last summer.
Speaking hours after the report was made public, Olmert told the nation that it would be "incorrect" for him to step down, but vowed that his government, already reeling from a string of sex and graft scandals, would focus quickly on correcting mistakes exposed by the inquiry.
Despite the pressure, some pundits warn that Israel's master politician could yet ride out the storm as most in his 78-strong coalition oppose early elections -- which polls show the right-wing opposition Likud party as winning.
Israel launched the war on Hezbollah after the Shiite militia seized two soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid on July 12. The war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers, according to government figures.
It is widely regarded as a failure because it did not achieve its two main objectives -- freeing the two captured servicemen and stopping Hezbollah rocket fire.
The Interim Report:
Winograd Commission submits Interim Report
Too bad we can't impeach members of the executive branch for incompetence here in the U.S.
So where are all those "experts" who thought Israel would quickly roll over Lebanon and take out Hezbollah now?
Hezbollah news site?
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
General Incompetence
General Incompetence
By William S. Lind
Mr. Lind references the following article: A failure in generalship by Lt. Col. Paul Yingling
By William S. Lind
Mr. Lind references the following article: A failure in generalship by Lt. Col. Paul Yingling
Allan Carlson's new book
A new release from Spence Publishing, 50% off.
The Natural Family: A Manifesto
Allan C. Carlson
& Paul T. Mero
Publisher's note on the book:
Sixty years ago, the UN declared the family the “natural and fundamental” unit of society. Today no one knows what “family” means. In response to this unprecedented confusion, The Natural Family: A Manifesto defines the family based on universal human experience. Insisting, without apology, on the reality of the “natural family,” the manifesto issues a personal call to men and women to rediscover this fundamental source of life, joy, and freedom.
Carlson and Mero frankly admit that those who should have defended marriage were asleep when the full-scale assault on the family began in the 1960s. Even more seriously, most of them joined the assault by eventually adopting the very assumptions—philosophical, social, and economic—which have almost extinguished the family’s traditional legal and social privileges. “Family values” is now an empty slogan for those with some nostalgic attachment to the family, but who have no idea what the family really is.
Carlson and Mero examine why the family is in crisis, the ways in which the natural family is the source of culture and freedom, and what families can do to preserve the most fundamental and wholesome relationship on earth. Assured that human nature is on their side, Carlson and Mero can be both realistic about the family’s plight and relentlessly optimistic. The Natural Family: A Manifesto is road map, especially for the young, for rebuilding a culture of freedom, joy, and love.
Papal Prayer Intentions for May
Papal Prayer Intentions for May
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will pray during May that Christians allow themselves to be guided by the Word of God.
The Apostleship of Prayer announced the general intention chosen by the Pope: "That, following the example of the Virgin Mary, all Christians should allow themselves to be guided by the Word of God and always remain attentive to the signs of the Lord in his own life."
The Holy Father also chooses an apostolic intention for each month. In May, he will pray that "in mission territories there may be no lack of good and enlightened teachers in the major seminaries and in the institutes of consecrated life."
Europarliament: Religious Leaders Homophobic
Europarliament: Religious Leaders Homophobic
But Cardinal Defends Church, Citing Catechism
ROME, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Church officials criticized a European Parliament resolution that condemns "discriminatory comments" made by political and religious leaders against homosexuals.
The resolution, which passed 325-124, with 150 abstentions, condemns the "discriminatory comments formulated by politicians and religious leaders about homosexuals, as fermenting hatred and violence -- even if they were later withdrawn -- and it asks that the hierarchies of the respective organizations condemn them as well."
The European Parliament did refuse to include the proposal of three Italians to publicly condemn Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco for his statements against homosexuals, which were falsely interpreted by the press and then later clarified.
The approved resolution invites member states to propose laws "that overcome discriminations suffered by same sex couples" and "reminds all member states that the prohibition of the Gay Pride Parade and the lack of protection offered to its participants are against the principles of the European Convention of human rights."
The resolution also proposes that an annual "International Day Against Homophobia" be held on May 17.
Time to settle
Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice and Cardinal Peter Erdo and Monsignor Aldo Giordano, president and secretary-general of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences, respectively, defended the Church against accusations that it doesn't respect homosexual persons.
"There is no homophobia in the Catholic Church and it is time that all this ended," Cardinal Scola said on Thursday to the Italian bishops' television network, Sat 2000.
Referring to the European Parliament, he said: "There needs to be more respect for the orientation of our people. There is no need to tell lies."
Paolo Bustaffa, director of the Italian bishops' SIR news agency, told Vatican Radio last Thursday: "It is clear that they are suspicious of the Church's thinking in regard to these situations, these people, for whom -- the Catechism of the Catholic Church says -- the Church has a great respect."
"Respect for people, however, cannot nullify a problematic aspect," he added. "There must be understanding but in many cases there cannot be justification."
2 from DNI
Fire the Generals! by COL Douglas Macgregor, USA, Ret. The American system gives great power and reward to its most senior officers, without a corresponding increase in accountability.
Fabius Maximus reviews Martin van Creveld's The Changing Face of War
Fabius Maximus reviews Martin van Creveld's The Changing Face of War
Monday, April 30, 2007
Some LYA vids
LG Xi [CF] - Lee Young Ae [Interview]
LGXi Prestige [CF]
Making
Lee Young Ae 19.4 Z:IN
Lee Young Ae China Harbin 2007 Trip Video 1
in Hong Kong, pt 1
pt 2
LGXi Prestige [CF]
Making
Lee Young Ae 19.4 Z:IN
Lee Young Ae China Harbin 2007 Trip Video 1
in Hong Kong, pt 1
pt 2
Tenet and His Masters
Incompetence at the Top
Tenet and His Masters
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Not too many people are buying the version of events that he is presenting with the publication of his new book.
Tenet and His Masters
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Not too many people are buying the version of events that he is presenting with the publication of his new book.
Working Replica of Noah's Ark Opens
Via NOR
Working Replica of Noah's Ark Opens
By TOBY STERLING
AP
You can find the usual scoffing by atheists over at Science Blogs.
Another example of what is acceptable "intellectual discourse" at Science Blogs:
Catholic intellectualism: unclear on the concept
Why stuff likes this gets to have the prestige value of being associated with a group of blogs that has the name "science" attached to it... Now, not all may advocate naturalism and materialism in the guise of science, but those who are vocal supporters are enough to taint the rest and to call the whole endeavor into question.
"We are the intellectual elite. You will accept what we say."
"The fool says in his heart..."
Working Replica of Noah's Ark Opens
By TOBY STERLING
AP
You can find the usual scoffing by atheists over at Science Blogs.
Another example of what is acceptable "intellectual discourse" at Science Blogs:
Catholic intellectualism: unclear on the concept
Why stuff likes this gets to have the prestige value of being associated with a group of blogs that has the name "science" attached to it... Now, not all may advocate naturalism and materialism in the guise of science, but those who are vocal supporters are enough to taint the rest and to call the whole endeavor into question.
"We are the intellectual elite. You will accept what we say."
"The fool says in his heart..."
What in the world?
From Global Guerillas:
Walmart???
JOURNAL: Private CIAs
A strong sign that the nation-state is in decay is the frequency we see announcements of companies that are replicating some of the most sensitive government services. The most recent mover is Walmart, which is in the process of putting together its own intelligence arm (it's being built by a former CIA/FBI officer Kenneth Senser). For those unable to afford their own global intelligence unit, Blackwater's Cofer Black is building one called Total Intelligence Solutions.
If you want to get up to speed quickly, the background for this is available in BNW.
Walmart???
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