What I have decided to post here is not a debate that took place recently, but it is certainly not a debate that is disappearing any time soon. It is a (8 part youtube) debate that will continue long into the future. It is the debate of Darwinism against those who oppose it. I have long been interested in this debate. The debate I am posting here includes many of the heavyweights that have been debating this issue in the recent past. What makes this debate especially interesing is that each rotating speaker is interrogated by a member of the opposing debating team.
Allow me to introduce some of the participants in the debate and start with those on the non-Darwinist side of the question. The late William F. Buckley, founder of National Review, takes part and he needs no introduction. There is also Phillip Johnson who is a former professor of law at UC Berkeley and author of "Darwin On Trial." I personally have read this book. He is credited in some ways with sparking the current intelligent design movement. Another anti-Darwinist in the debate is the mathemitician Dr. David Berlinski. He has authored several books on mathematics as well the recent "The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions." Finally, on the side against Darwin's theory is Lehigh University Professor of Biochemistry Michael Behe. Michael Behe originated the term "irreducible complexity" to describe biochemical organisms as a refutation of Darwinism and is a major player in the intelligent design movement. He is the author of "Darwin's Black Box". He was a witness for the defense in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, a case which the judge ruled in favor of only Darwinism being taught in public schools and no questions or alternatives being proposed.
Now to the heavy hitters on the evolutionist side. Barry Lynn is a liberal Christian who is the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Eugenie C. Scott is also a major player in fighting to make sure that no forms of intelligent design or anything like it enter the public school science classroom. She is a leading figure battling those who oppose evolution and has authored "Evolution Vs. Creationism." She is the executive director of the National Center for Science Education, a group dedicated to mantaining the status quo in science classrooms. Dr. Michael Ruse is another Darwinist in the debate. He is a philosopher of science that taught at the University of Guelph Canada for 35 years and who since his retirement from Guelph has taught at Florida State University. I personally heard him speak at my undergraduate college where he called the arguments for design "stupid" and dismissed them out of hand. Finally, Kenneth Miller is a biolgoy professor from Brown University that has devoted much time to refuting the arguments from intelligent design. He is the author of "Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution". Miller was the plaintiff's lead expert witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, specifically because he has dedicated so much time to fighting the intelligent design proponents.
Anyone that has followed this ongoing debate over Darwinism will realize these videos include some of the largest and most influential proponets of each side involved in this national debate. This debate took place in 1997, but virtually none of the arguments have changed. I will allow you to decide which side wins the debate, and feel free to comment on who you think won. Because this is an issue that continues to influence our educational system, science, and philosophy, and will surely not cease to be debated, I felt I should post this debate. I also believe that this is a discussion for which I am not the only one interested. If you found this type of post interesting please let me know in the comments section, and let me know whether you would like me to post similiar videos in the future.
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Saturday, August 2, 2008
The Debate: Darwin Vs. Design
Friday, August 1, 2008
Add Another One To Obama's Flip-Flop List With Drilling
The AP reports that "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday he would be willing to support limited additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and develop alternate energy sources." Obama has been very strongy opposed to offshore drilling of any kind from the beginning. He has said drilling would "merely prolong ..failed energy policies" and "drilling is not a solution" as it would have "long term consequences on our coast lines." He has talked about people inflating their tires. It is so obvious that he has finally realized that the Republicans are stronger on this issue and that Americans overwhelmingly support drilling. Let me just give you some examples of the rhetoric Obama has been using on drilling up until now:
It is obvious that this is politically motivated flip-flop. He may be a shrewd politician for flipping so that he can get on the right side of a popular issue, but he is certainly not a trustworthy one.
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House Republicans Stage Protest In The Chamber Demanding A Vote On Drilling
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats adjourned the House, turning off the lights and killing the microphones. But the Republicans would have nothing of it. Republicans stayed on the floor to keep talking about gas prices. Politico reports that minority Leader John A. Boehner and dozens of other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House. They argued that Pelosi's refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. When the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber Republicans continued talking in the dark until they came back on again. They were later turned off again and the dark protest continued. C-SPAN has no control over the cameras in the chamber and so the whole protest was not caught on their cameras. "This is the people's House," said Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.). "This is not Pelosi's politiburo." Minority Whip Roy Blunt "Although this Democrat majority just adjourned for the Democrat 5-week vacation, House Republicans are continuing to fight on the House floor. Although the lights, mics and C-SPAN cameras have been turned off, House Republicans are on the floor speaking to the taxpayers in the gallery who, not surprisingly, agree with Republican energy proposals. All Republicans who are in town are encouraged to come to the House floor." Politico described the scene as "kind of crazy. Normally, members are not allowed to speak directly to the visitor galleries, and visitors are prohibited from cheering. But in this case, the members are walking up and down on the floor during their speeches, standing on chairs. The visitors are cheering loudly. Some members even brought in visitors, who are now sitting on the House floor in the seats normally filled by lawmakers, cheering and clapping. Very funny...Rep Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) just pretended to be a Democrat. He stood on the other side of the chamber and listed all of the GOP bills that the Dems killed. He then said, 'I am a Democrat, and here is my energy plan' and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it. He paraded around the House floor with the sign while the crowd cheered." The protest lasted over five hours and ended with "God Bless America."
The following is a link to a great article by Charles Krauthammer on the Democrat refusal to allow for drilling: http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2008/08/01/drilling_and_blissful_ignorance?page=full&comments=true
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McCain Ad About "The One" "Anointed" Obama
Just in case you think this point is unique to McCain, allow me to dispell that notion. Here is a clip from the primary of Senator Hillary Clinton:
The Obama camp criticized the McCain ad as a "sad" display of "juvenile antics," as "childish," and as a "political stunt." But was the Obama presidential seal not a sad political stunt? Was his speech in Berlin that implied that if the world stood together all problems would disappear not childish? Was his declaration that his winning the nomination was "the moment" sea levels began to recede not juvenile?
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David Axelrod Admits Obama Was Referring To Race While Media Reaction To Race Comments Continues To Expose Bias
Sen. Barack Obama’s chief strategist admitted that the Democratic presidential candidate was referring to race when he said Republicans would scare voters by saying Obama “doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." After being pressed to explain Obama's shameless race baiting comments, Axelrod finally told "Good Morning America" it meant, “He’s not from central casting when it comes to candidates for president of the United States. He’s new to Washington. Yes, he’s African-American.” In the very same segment, however, he claimed the McCain camp was the one creating a racial issue. There was no way to interpret those comments other than to say that Republicans will attack Obama on the fact that he looks different than other presidents, which is an obvious reference to his different skin color. You can watch Axelrod for yourself:
What is amazing is how biased the media is. Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC says that the reporters who heard Obama make the race oriented comment have "never inferred from that that he is making some kind of racial statement." They are either very stupid, or she is a liar. She is called on it by Joe Scarborough and she looks like a total fool denying the patently obvious:
The McCain camp has responded to the ridiculous New York Times editorial blog post that I discussed in an earlier post. In it they claimed a McCain TV ad was "racially tinged" when it had nothing at all to do with race. They also claimed that McCain's campaign manager was using hidden racially tinged messages in his response to Obama's comments and that Obama was in fact a victim of some sort of undercover racism. The McCain team's response is worth reading: "If the shareholders of the New York Times ever wonder why the paper’s ad revenue is plummeting and its share price tanking, they need look no further than the hysterical reaction of the paper’s editors to any slight, real or imagined, against their preferred candidate. This campaign has never engaged in ‘racially tinged attacks,’ and the Obama campaign conceded as much yesterday in a statement clarifying that 'Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue.'That the Times made this allegation in a blog post rather than running it on the editorial page indicates that they either knew the charge was bogus or they didn’t have the nerve to make their case in full view of the public. But in their new role as bloggers, the paper’s editors seem to have all the intelligence and reason of the average Daily Kos diarist sitting at home in his mother’s basement and ranting into the ether between games of dungeons and dragons. They also have about as much care for the facts–the 'board' has already been forced to append a correction."
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Thursday, July 31, 2008
Democrats Will Not Even Allow For Drilling In The Outer Continental Shelf If Gas Prices Reach $10
Watch Senator Salazar object to a resolution calling for the drilling if gas prices reach $10. Amazing:
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Obama Plays The Race Card Again
Barack Obama played the race card again today saying "nobody thinks that Bush and McCain have a real answer to the challenges we face. So what they're going to try to do is make you scared of me," Obama said. "You know, he's not patriotic enough, he's got a funny name, you know, he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." He made this stupid dollar bill comment in three seperate speeches. This is not the first time that Obama has implied that his race is an issue that Republicans will attack him on. John McCain nor anyone else has attacked Obama because of his race. Why does Barack Obama feel like he is a victim of some conspiracy to foster racism against him? Obama needs to stop these senseless lines about Republicans making race an issue. It makes him look like a petty fool with a victim complex. Perhaps he feels if he says it enough times people will actually start to believe that Republicans are attacking the color of his skin. Either way, it is inexcusable. Does anyone out there really believe this narrative that Obama is trying to create has anything to do with reality? I can already predict that if Obama loses the election they will say it was because of his race.
In case your wondering why I say Obama is playing the race card "again" it is because he has. Earlier in the campaign he had this to say. “They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?”
The New York Times jumped into the racial nonsense and falsely attacks the McCain campaign for racism. They make believe that McCain had actually done something that was racist. In an online editorial they wrote that the McCain "celebrity" ad "gave us an uneasy feeling that the McCain campaign was starting up the same sort of racially tinged attack on Mr. Obama." The ad had nothing at all to do with race. This is crazy. The New York Times also commented on Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager, and his condemnation of Obama's racial rhetoric. The NYT says Davis had a "snappy answer" when he said “Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck. It’s divisive, negative, shameful and wrong.’’ I agree with everything that Davis said, Obama was being divisive and wrong playing the race card as he did. But in the eyes of the NYT "the retort" was "not only contemptible, but shrewd. It puts the sin for the racial attack not on those who made it, but on the victim of the attack." Cry me a river for Barack Obama, who has been the victim of racism. Give me a break. There was no racial attack! How dare the NYT try to paint Obama as the victim of some racial attack by the McCain camp. It is utter and complete nonsense. The NYT continues and says that "it also — and we wish this were coincidence, but we doubt it — conjurs up another loaded racial image. The phrase dealing the race card 'from the bottom of the deck' entered the national lexicon during the O.J. Simpson saga. Robert Shapiro, one of Mr. Simpson’s lawyers, famously declared of himself, Johnny Cochran and the rest of the Simpson defense team, 'Not only did we play the race card, we dealt it from the bottom of the deck.'" Does anyone out there really believe that this was some hidden reference to O.J.? For a phrase that "entered the national lexicon" I have never heard it before, nor have I heard of anyone else that has ever heard it. Do you think that Rick Davis actually was drawing some hidden subliminal parallel between Obama and O.J. Simpson? This is conspiracy theory nonsense. This is a repulsive article that the NYT should feel ashamed of. It exposes the Times as being unbelievably biased mouthpiece for the Obama campaign, and not even a good mouthpiece either. Barack Obama was wrong for claiming McCain is making race an issue and Obama needs to cut that rhetoric out of his speeches. There is no excuse for what Barack Obama said, even if the New York Times works as hard as they can to conjure one up.
Here is the McCain "celebrity" ad that the NYT claims is "racially tinged":
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President Bush: Lowest Level of Violence in Iraq Since 2004 Due To "Success Of The Surge"
July had the lowest monthly death toll since the 2003 invasion, according to Pentagon figures, highlighting what US commanders say is a marked drop in violence. The downward trend began in the middle of last year after a US troop "surge," although there were two spikes in bloodshed in March and April when fierce fighting erupted between Shiite militiamen and US-led forces.
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Son Of "The Most Popular" Hamas MP Converts To Christianity And Is Speaking Out Against Palestinian Terror
Haaretz tells the story of the son of a "the most popular" Hamas member of parliament who has converted to Christianity and is risking his life to speak out against the Islamoterrorist organization that he had been a member of for years. Masab, who now calls himself Joseph, is the son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef. The following is a picture of Hassan Yousef:
"Send regards to Israel, I miss it. I respect Israel and admire it as a country," he says. "You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas. Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death." Discussing suicide bombing he says it is "more than that. An entire society sanctifies death and the suicide terrorists. In Palestinian culture a suicide terrorist becomes a hero, a martyr. Sheikhs tell their students about the 'heroism of the shaheeds.'"
Here is the link to the Haaretz story: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1007097.html
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Barack "We Can't Drive Our SUVs" Obama Drives In An SUV
Just another unsurprising example of global warming hypocrisy:
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Ehud Olmert Finally Pledges To Step Down From Prime Ministership
Ehud Olmert said Wednesday evening that he will not run in the upcoming Kadima party primary. Kadima's election committee decided on Tuesday to set an August 24 deadline to join the race, which it scheduled for September 17. The bad news is that this means there is stil going to be over six more weeks of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The bad news is also that there may not actually be a new election as to who should replace him, but Kadima may decide to mantain the current coalition propping them up in the Knesset and replace Olmert with Tzipi Livni or Shaul Mofaz. The departure of Olmert should be a chance for Israelis to decide who their leader will be, not for Kadima to choose for itself.
Ehud Olmert should have resigned and called for new elections ages ago. The 2006 summer war against Hezbollah was a complete debacle, both tactically and also in its failure to achieve stated objectives. Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbollah and Hamas in Israeli territory and they were never retrieved as a result of that war. The Prime Minister vowed that Hezbollah would be finished, but Hezbollah is even stronger now than they were two years ago. Hezbollah faced the IDF and lives to tell the tale. Hezbollah only a couple months ago achieved complete veto power over decisions of the government of Lebanon after killing dozens and dozens of fellow Arabs in Beirut. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was never killed during the 2006 battle, and now lives to continue his leadership and rant and rave in front of thousands of his loyal followers. It was also on Ehud Olmert's watch, as a result of the withdrawal from Gaza, that Hamas won the most seats in the Palestinian parliament and went on to forcibly take over all of Gaza. Gilad Shalit, one of the three Israeli soldiers kidnapped in the summer of 2006 while in undisputed Israeli territory remains in Hamas captivity. Olmert's responses to bloodthirsty terrorist attacks such as the attack by an Israeli-Arab on the young Jerusalem yeshiva students earlier this year were so weak as to be sickening. During his tenure rockets and mortars have fallen on cities in undisputed Israeli territory from Gaza in huge numbers. For example, rockets have fallen not only on the city of Sderot on the border near Gaza but also on Ashkelon, Israel's largest southern city. In March of this year Ehud Olmert had the gall to tell Ashkelon's City Council that "this is the reality of the past 60 years and we must show restraint and strength." Restraint in the face of a enemy dedicated to your destruction is weakness. Olmert further negotiated a cease fire with Hamas. Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin recently described the cease fire by saying that "we are not attacking them and we have lifted the blockade, while they have not taken upon themselves a commitment to stop their arms buildup. From the point of view of Hamas, it is the winner in the conflict, as the side that managed to hold its ground during the Israeli blockade. The lull in fighting is depicted as an impressive achievement for it." He described temporary calm as "an illusion. In our assessment, the rocket firing will start again at some point in the future." Negotiating with Hamas and allowing it to build up its arms and prepare for the next assault is a very dangerous policy for Israel, yet the Olmert government has done just this. The Israeli government under Olmert have also negotiated with Hezbollah. As you no doubt remember, Israel recently made a prisoner exchange with that terror group. In exchange for the bodies of two dead IDF soldiers the Israeli government handed Hezbollah a child killing terrorist named Samir Kuntar along with four of Kuntar's terrorist cohorts. The insanity of exchanging live terrorists for dead bodies can only seem rational in the mind of someone like Ehud Olmert. In fact, Olmert described this exchange as somehow showing "the moral and ethical power of Israel." Samir Kuntar was welcomed in Lebanon as a hero, vowing on Al-Jazeera to join Hezbollah and kill more Israelis. He was greeted by Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in front of a crowd of thousands of cheering Arabs. Nasrallah declared after being kissed by Kuntar that "the age of defeat has passed and the age of victory is upon us." Ehud Olmert is responsible for providing incentive for the future kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldiers. Olmert has also been dogged by corruption charges for quite some time now.
His legacy is one of immense failure and weakness in the face of a radical Islamoterrorist enemy. This is what Ehud Olmert will be remembered for. No rational person could possibly bemoan the future loss of a leader whose poll numbers in Israel make Dick Cheney look like a rock star, poll numbers so low that his supporters must be made up of only his immediate family and staff. I hope that in six weeks time the new Israeli Prime Minister will be one dedicated to confronting and not cowtowing to the terrorist enemies that constantly threaten Israel.
The following picture was taken very recently. It shows Hamas terrorists marching in a training mission conducted in Gaza City:
The following links you to the "wedding-funeral" of the first female suicide bomber broadcast on Lebanon Al-Jadid TV on July 26. This is the mindset, the death cult, that Israel faces: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1824.htm
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Obama Ad On Energy Policy And His Comments About Inflated Tires
In the Barack Obama ad the narrator says to the images of windmills that Obama will "fast-track alternatives so we stop spending billions on oil from hostile nations. What Barack Obama has proposed is not a "fast-track" at all, but rather spending $150 billion over 10 years for research into alternative energy. How could a decade long program be considered a "fast-track"? Mere research does not in and of itself gaurantee breakthroughs. Drilling at home needs to be a key aspect of any energy plan and Barack Obama and the Anti-Drilling Democrats in Congress oppose all new drilling. Just thought that was worth pointing out.
Just to give a sense of Obama's position on energy, here is a comment he made in a speech today that is extremely stupid. He says that everyone should inflate their tires and that would be just as useful as drilling:
Meanwhile CNN reportst that "President Bush on Wednesday continued the Republicans' full-court press on congressional Democrats to force a vote to lift a ban on offshore drilling. 'American drivers are counting on Congress to lift the ban, and so are American workers,' he said at a meeting with his cabinet." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed tapping into the strategic petroleum reserve. But as Bush countered, "If you agree that we need more oil, it makes no sense to say you're for draining our nation's limited strategic reserve but against tapping into the vast resources of the outer continental shelf." The president further argues that offshore drilling could produce up to 18 million barrels of oil. More than two-thirds of Americans say they favor increasing drilling efforts off America's coasts, but the Obamas and Pelosis of the House and Senate are blocking it tooth and nail. In fact, today Nancy Pelosi ridiculed the President's drilling proposals as a "hoax."
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Ludacris Raps About Hillary Being A "Bitch", Bush Being "Mentally Handicapped," And McCain Being "Paralyzed"
In an interview with Rolling Stone Barack Obama admits that he knows Ludacris and says maybe he’ll take Luda seriously when he lobbies for the role of Vice President in the song. Here are a few lines from this piece of poetry:
"Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant."
"McCain don't belong in ANY chair unless he's paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped
Ball up all of his speeches and I throw em like candy wrap
cause what you talking I hear nothing even relevant
and you the worst of all 43 presidents."
Here is the ode to Obama if you would like to listen to the masterpiece for yourself:
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STEVELACKNER.COM Creates Facebook Group
STEVELACKNER.COM has created a facebook group as a forum to discuss and debate issues on the website. Feel free to join and be a part of it. Tell your friends and tell your enemies. Here is a link to the group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34751343520
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Los Angeles Blocks New Fast-Food Restaurants In Poor Areas
The AP reports that the city council of Los Angeles has unanimously approved Tuesday a one-year moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a low-income area of the city. It is interesting to point out that South L.A., where the ban is taking effect, is largely composed of minorities. This measure taken by the City Council specifically targets poor minorities. It is government infantilizing their constituents. This is complete utter nonsense. How does the City Council believe it is any of their business to regulate how many restaurants there are in any neighborhood? Does the City Council believe poor minorities are too stupid to make their own decisions as to what they eat? It is not the role of city government to regulate their constituents eating patterns or ban new fast food chains. This is paternalistic government taken to extremes. This delusional Daddy day care government has crossed the line. It is liberal nanny state nonsense. Why does the City Council believe they should end their little crusade against poor fat minorities with this? What is to stop them from banning fast-food restaurants in these communities or any other part of the city all together? What is to stop them from banning something like ice cream at the grocery store? The City Council should deal with real problems that L.A. faces not where poor Angelenos want to eat.
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Scott McClellan Says He "Messed Up" When He Said O'reilly Recieved White House Talking Points
Bill O'reilly confronts former Press Secretary Scott McClellan on his radio show about statements last week when answering a question on Chris Matthews's show. Matthews asked if he ever sent talking points to Bill or Sean and McClellan answers "certainly." It gets pretty heated and O'reilly raises his voice at some points as the two argue.
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House Majority Whip Says Global Warming Impacts Blacks More
Apparently global warming is racist. I did not know that African-Americans owned a majority of beach front properties. “It is critical our community be an integral and active part of the debate because African-Americans are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change economically, socially and through our health and well-being,” House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said July 29. Isn't it nice that even climate change has somehow become a race issue? Does identity politics need to be a part of every political conversation these days? Here is the link to the article and the video is on the side of the page: http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080729130950.aspx
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Mahmoud Ahmadenijad Blames AIDS On The West
"The big powers are going down. They have come to the end of their power, and the world is on the verge of entering a new, promising era," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told foreign ministers of the Nonaligned Movement meeting in Teheran. He also criticized the indictment of Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide in Darfur and said that charges instead should be brought against Israeli leaders. He accused the great powers of "fomenting discord .... to intensify the military and arms race" so they can feed their arms industries. AIDS, he said, also was the result of world conditions "imposed by big powers."
It's good to know that Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Mahmoud Ahmadenijad see eye to eye on AIDS being imposed by the West.
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One Of Al Qaeda's Top Chemical/Biological Weapons Experts Killed
CBS News reports that Pakistani officials have confirmed that one of al Qaeda's top chemical and biological weapons experts was killed in an air strike by a CIA pilotless drone in a remote Pakistani border region. Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri was one of six men killed and his remains had been positively identified. Al-Masri, an Egyptian national, became notorious for developing chemical and biological weapons for al Qaeda. He was known to have used a variety of animals, including dogs, cats and frogs in brutal experiments which often left the animals dead. Those killed also included Sheikh Ibrahim, a mid ranking al Qaeda operative believed to be either Egyptian or Jordanian. The other four victims were described as ordinary foot soldiers.
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Nancy Pelosi Says "The Purpose Of The Surge" Has Not Been Fulfilled
When good news becomes not good enough news, when success becomes not enough of a success. That's essentially what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is saying when it comes to Iraq and the surge. She, like Barack Obama, finds it very hard to just give the surge credit for the major accomplishments it has achieved because she was against it. Accomplishments like avoiding an all out civil war, minimizing the threat of the Sadr militia, creating immense security gains, reducing Iraqi civilian and American death tolls, and supporting the Anbar awakening.
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Obama Believes If Palestinians Get A State Then It Will Be Both "Easier" For Arab States To Support America And To Weaken Iran
Barack Obama holds the position that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is the root cause of problems in the Middle East. It is an attitude that essentially places blame on Israel for the radicalism, terrorism, despotism, anti-Americanism, and Jihadism found in the Arab states. Yesterday Barack Obama was interviewed by Tom Brokaw on Meet The Press and specifically asked about Israel. Obama said that if the US can "solve" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "then that will make it easier for Arab states and the Gulf States to support us when it comes to issues like Iraq and Afghanistan. It will also weaken Iran, which has been using Hamas and Hizbullah as a way to stir up mischief in the region. If we've gotten an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, maybe at the same time peeling Syria out of the Iranian orbit, that makes it easier to isolate Iran so that they have a tougher time developing a nuclear weapon."
I believe that this is an extremely naive view of the problems that confront America in the Middle East. Obama seems to think that if you could wave a magic wand and create a peaceful Palestinian state willing to live with a Jewish State next door, and that would have to be a very magical wand, then America would be able to confront the problems with rest of the region. The idea that the Iranian nuclear issue will become easier to solve if there is a Palestinian State is ridiculous and makes the assumption that Iran is seeking weapons for self-defense against the evil Israelis. Hamas and Hezbollah have been doing more than merely "stirring up mischief." Hamas has taken over Gaza and Hezbollah has veto power of the Lebanese government. They are bent on Israel's destruction and seek no state. I think it places too much credence on Arab propaganda to believe that Israel is the central reason for Jihadism around the world. Furthermore, whenever a politician with the outlook that the Israel-Palestinian conflict must be solved for any other Middle East issue to be resolved, they are immediately talking about forcing Israel to make further concessions in the face of a dangerous terrorist foe. This idea that every problem in the region is somehow linked to Israel should not be one that we want the future president to take with him to the White House.
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1/3 Of British Muslim Students Support Killing In The Name Of Religion
The Jerusalem Post reportst that "nearly a third of British Muslim students polled in a new report to be published on Monday said that killing in the name of religion could be justified. The report by the London-based Center for Social Cohesion (CfSC), entitled 'Islam on Campus: A Survey of UK Student Opinion,' showed that 32 percent of Muslim students said killing in the name of religion could be justified, while 60% of active members of on-campus Islamic societies said the same. Only 2% of non-Muslims polled felt this way...
Forty percent of Muslim students polled supported the introduction of Sharia into British law for Muslims, and a third supported the introduction of a worldwide caliphate based on Sharia law; 58% of active members of Islamic societies supported the idea."
Remember, these are students in British schools. They are in the West and they are being educated. The typical "root causes" or excuses for these attitudes such as poverty, lack of education, or dictatorial regimes cannot apply to students being educated in Britain. Yet there are a troubling and high number of Muslims that believe in killing in the name of Islam, introducing Shaaria to Britain, and a worldwide Shaaria-based caliphate. This is truly scary. If these are the statitistics when it comes to students in a western country, can you imagine what the statistics are in Islamic countries?!
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Shock Poll: McCain %49, Obama %45 Among Likely Voters
I am not usually one to put too much focus on the polls especially this early in the game, but this may very well be the first poll that puts McCain ahead of Obama. The USA Today/Gallup Poll reports that "the Friday-Sunday poll, mostly conducted as Obama was returning from his much-publicized overseas trip and released just this hour, shows McCain now ahead 49%-45% among voters that Gallup believes are most likely to go to the polls in November." Of course this is only one poll, and other polls such as Rasmussen that puts Obama ahead by %3. This still comes as a surprise because this poll seems to suggest that the Obama world tour and the media circus that gave it all the attention ended up not helping the Democratic candidate. This is also shocking because I have always thought that this was the Democrat's election to win. President Bush has a disapproval rating hovering around seventy percent and you would think that the Democratic candidate would be able to tap into that frustration and gain a strong lead. This does not seem to be the case. We are now in the 100 day stretch to the election and this race may end up being tighter than people imagined. I think Obama should be somewhat worried if all-consuming attention and speeches in Berlin do not even end up helping him in the polls. I repeat, however, that polls are very often unreliable and the only poll that truly counts is the vote in November.
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Former Wisconsin Democrat Delegate "Finished With The Party" And Supporting McCain
Debra Bartoshevich was a duly elected Democratic Party delegate for Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin. She was extremely loyal to Clinton and has since been kicked out by the state party and barred from attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver next month. I'm not sure what the rules are when it comes to kicking out an elected Wisconsin delegate to be able to judge whether the Wisconsin Democrat party were within their rights to do this. Either way, the following clip from a recent interview might give you a sense of what motivated the Democratic party. She says she has "respect for Senator McCain" and delcares, "I'm finished with the party, the Democratic party." Take a look:
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Gallup Poll: Political Ideology And Belief In God Or "Higher Power"
Gallup conducted a very interesting poll measuring belief in God or a higher power people who identify as conservative, liberal, and moderate. What is perhaps somewhat surprising is that only %2 of conservatives do not believe in God or a higher power. Moderates interestingly fall inbetween conservatives and liberals on every measure, but that might be expected. Looking at the liberals on this question is interesting. Only %62 (versus %89 with conservatives) believe in a God, though %24 more believe in a higher power. A full %13 of liberals do not believe in a God or higher power. The only stat that is actually surprising is the virtual nonexistence of atheists among conservatives. Make of this what you will, I merely felt a poll comparing ideology and religous belief to be interesting and should be brought to your attention.
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
Egyptian Muslim Preacher 'Amr Khaled: "Within 20 Years, The Muslims Will Be A Majority" In Europe
Follow this link to watch the video: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1821.htm
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The AP Admits "The United States Is Now Winning The War That Two Years Ago Seemed Lost."
The following (according to the bios at the bottom of the article) was written by Robert Burns, the Associated Press's chief military reporter. It was also written by Robert Reid, the AP's chief of bureau in Baghdad. The AP says that Reid has covered the war from his post in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in March 2003 while Burns based in Washington has made 21 reporting trips to Iraq. On Burns's latest trip in July, he spent nearly three weeks in central and northern Iraq, observing military operations and interviewing both U.S. and Iraqi officers. Naturally, these AP journalists are not working for Dick Cheney but are providing an unbiased portrait as they see it. The following links you to what these guys had to say:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzxqARN0Huv38n5pgDfdBRwuoiZgD925HT7G0
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Ret. Lt. Col. Joe Repya Slams Obama For Not Visiting Wounded Troops In Germany
Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Joe Repya served 30 years of duty and three wars, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was born in 1946 in Gary, Indiana. He was the oldest son of a disabled combat wounded veteran of the European Campaign of World War II. Awarded an ROTC scholarship he attended Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, graduating in 1969. Upon graduation he was appointed to the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. His 30 years of service in the US Army (12 years Active and 18 years in the National Guard & Reserves) lasted from 1969 until 2006. He served as a Combat Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader in Viet Nam in 1970/71 with the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (Band of Brothers “Currahee’s”), and an Aero Rifle Platoon Leader with A Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. In Desert Storm 1990/91, he served as a Combat Helicopter Pilot and Staff Officer with the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One). He initially retired in 1998. After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, he was one of 12,000 US Army retirees who volunteered for Retiree Recall to Active US Army duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom. LTC Repya was selected as one of only 350 retirees who were returned to active duty status. At 58 years old on October 1, 2004 he returned as an Aviation Branch Officer for two more additional years of active duty service with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY. He served for nine months as the G-3 Air for the Division. In 2005 he served as the Senior Liaison Officer for the 101st Airborne Division with the Multi National Corps Headquarters at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. He reentered retired status at the end of September 2006 at the age of 60. He had this to say:
“The most solemn duty of a commander in chief is to fulfill his responsibility to the men and women who serve this country in uniform. Barack Obama had scheduled a visit with wounded American troops who have served with honor and distinction in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he broke that commitment, instead flitting from one European capital to the next. Several explanations were offered, none was convincing and each was at odds with the statements of American military leaders in Germany and Washington. For a young man so apt at playing president, Barack Obama badly misjudged the important demands of the office he seeks. Visits with world leaders and speeches to cheering Europeans shouldn’t be a substitute for comforting injured American heroes.”
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