There was a cartoon on the Web last week depicting the central irony of the West's war on Islamic extremism. It showed an Israeli soldier positioned in front of a baby carriage - protecting it from the enemy - facing an Arab fighter firing from behind a baby carriage.

Amidst the gathering PR storm about civilian casualties in Lebanon, we need to keep one thing in mind: The Muslims don't give a rat's ass about women and children. In the Islamic caste system women are valued lower than goats and children are raised to be cannon fodder. (And UN peacekeeping forces? Hah!)

Women and children are not merely collateral damage: They are legitimate targets. Putting Lebanon in its proper perspective, then, we must recall the IDF gave ample warning for civilians to evacuate, but Hezbollah has stationed itself within the civilian population.

Our enemies are not religious warriors. They are a death cult, willing to cause and accept unlimited civilian casualties on their own side. We've seen a great deal of this in Iraq, but the evidence in Lebanon the past couple weeks could not be clearer. This amounts to using the West's value system as a weapon against the West. Our enemies can accept the carnage and willingly cause more because they believe we cannot accept it and will eventually be forced to retreat.

In World War II, the allies faced an enemy with a similarly inverted value system. Japan's willingness to accept massive casualties and commit civilians to suicide attacks likely played a large role in President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb to attempt to force a Japanese surrender.

Parallels to the present-day suggest a massive, inhumane application of force may be necessary to defeat this enemy. By extension, failure by the West to use overwhelming force - to attempt to prosecute the war with minimal civilian casualties on the opposing side - may well result in the West's defeat: not in a day, not in a year, but in the end. The Muslim pattern of attack, followed by an opponent's counterattack that inflicts massive civilian casualties, followed by an outpouring of horror on the Western side and, eventually, cease-fire allowing the Muslims to regroup, has been repeated often in the past several decades. It may be about to happen again as the world demands Israel end its counterattack.

This is a huge mistake. We should never forget that, in Islam, war is deceit. The cease-fire and truce are occasions for al-Taqiyya:

The word "al-Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A one-word translation would be "Dissimulation."

When those who value life - and especially the lives of the weak and vulnerable - go to war against those to whom life is cheap, there are no grounds for consensus between the parties. Treaties and cease-fires are meaningless because the death cultists will never honor them. Our enemies must be eradicated and their holy cities vaporized so the entire world will see that the supposed divine aegis protecting them was a myth. The Muslim fighters must suffer total defeat, or we will.

UPDATE: Read all of this:

...how many Lebanese would be dead or injured now if Hezbollah had not attacked Israel.

Posted by John Climacus at 11:27 | Permalink | Comments (8)

Maybe I'm just mellowing in old age, softened up by the inarguable cuteness of life. Sure, like every American, I have my "die Muslim scum!" moments. I'm not proud of them. The moments, I mean, not the Muslims.

Well, on second thought, I'm not too proud of the Muslims either:

A hospital spokesman said five women were brought in, and three of them are in critical condition. Three are in their 20s, one is 19 and the other is 43. The 43-year-old was shot in the abdomen. One of the victims is in her 17th week of pregnancy.

Namely, puppies:

UPDATE: That is one funny picture when you blow it up. It reminds me of the Firesign Theatre bit:

"I didn't breast-feed you until you were thirteen years old for this - Malcolm X John Lennon, come in here and dig your mother!"

"Aw Mom, I'm not hungry."

Posted by John Climacus at 01:35 | Permalink | Comments (3)

With the Tour de France over and not much else going on in the world, I am compelled to focus again on domestic events. The puppy and her puppies. Pardon me, please, if I happen to gloss over issues that you consider siginificant.

Older puppy news here, here, here, and here.

I just have to say: Can you believe both of these furry dudes came out of her less than three weeks ago?

We have been feeding her well, I must admit.

The father was a "Pomeranian" which means exactly diddly to me, but I'm guessing the species has a little more heft than your typical Chihuahua.

Funny how that works.

Anyway, the summer continues to be sweetness and light. Sure, I'm adding to my "deportables" list, as well as my total complete retards list, and one day I may act upon them, but the languor of the season, I suppose, has me feeling mellow for now.

So all I can offer is this little diversion of hope for the future, and peace, and puppies.

Posted by John Climacus at 03:22 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by John Climacus at 02:16 | Permalink

The countdown begins.

Another resident of a colorful, multicultural, sharia-law community has been hanged from a crane:

IT WAS exactly 6am and the start of another blisteringly hot summer day when 16-year-old Atefeh Rajabi was dragged from her prison cell and taken to be executed.

Every step of the way the troubled teenager plagued by mental problems shouted "repentance, repentance" as the militiamen marched her to the town's Railway Square.

The Iranian judge who had sentenced Atefeh to death was left unmoved as he personally put the noose around her neck and signalled to the crane driver.

Kicking and screaming, Atefeh was left dangling for 45 minutes from the arm of the crane as the crowd sobbed and - under their breath - damned the mullahs.

Atefeh's crime? Offending public morality. She was found guilty of "acts incompatible with chastity" by having sex with an unmarried man, even though friends say Atefeh was in such a fragile mental state that she wasn't in a position to say no.

So, if you are keeping score:

Thus far, no condemnation by CAIR. (Um, except for condemning America for supporting the fight against sharia).

No support from the National Organization for Women for their 16-year old sister.

Not a peep from the ACLU. (Um, except to castigate America for its horrific human rights record against the sharia-meisters).

Nothing so far from the netroots. (Um...well, you know the rest).

No sympathy at Moonbat Central.

Well, I'm sure the outrage is simmering. We'll report as soon as it boils over.

Posted by John Climacus at 09:25 | Permalink | Comments (2)

This was one of the most inspiring events I've ever seen. From a massive, 10-minute collapse on Wednesday to the improbable and almost inhuman 8-minute counterattack on Thursday, Floyd Landis has established himself as one of the seven wonders of sports history. And he did it in pain, with a dead hip that will need to be replaced shortly and which likely will end his professional bike racing career.

I didn't blog the Tour this year because I just wanted to watch it. I'm glad, because I am not erudite enough to do justice to Landis' effort. All us mere mortals can do is try to hold it in mind whenever we feel the adversity of life may be too strong for us to overcome.

Posted by John Climacus at 11:43 | Permalink

Enough of the war and bombs and bad guys. Enough I say. That is not why I blog.

I blog...because I love.

Without further ado, then, I shall don my smiley face shirt and sparkly-rimmed pink sunglasses, and take you on a brief tour of my real life shorn of all false bravado.

This is our cherry tree.

One day we were watering our hanging plant and guess what we found inside?

You can probably guess what we found in there a few weeks later.

Moving on now from the cute to the ridiculously cute, we check in on the puppy project.

Would you like to see another one? Sure you would.

This thematic oscillation reveals the inner truth of this blog: Deport the Muslims...puppies; loose the dogs of war...puppies; nuke our enemies...PUPPIES! Embracing both extremes is the yin and yang, the happy middle ground, of existence.

I'm pretty sure this makes me a moderate.

We'll end on a high note. Any of you bad mo-fo's may want to cover your eyes because this next one is hyper-cuteness of a degree it might screw with your head, make you giggle like a girl and leave you weeping on your Mac-5. Your homeys don't need to see that.

Posted by John Climacus at 01:40 | Permalink | Comments (6)

I propose the reason President Bush's approval ratings with regard to the battle in Iraq are so low is because the U.S. military got sent in (good thing) but then was prevented from using overwhelming force to destroy the insurgency (very bad thing).

His father's experience should have provided a lesson: Once Saddam Hussein's military forces had been overwhelmed in the Gulf War, George H.W. Bush appeared to be a shoo-in for re-election. But when Bush decided to declare victory and retreat leaving Hussein in power, the American public's opinion of his presidency turned negative.

The American people support going to war, as long as the point is to kick holy ass.

You hear the warnings about collateral damage. The danger there is not a bunch of civilians getting blown up because there were enemy combatants hiding among them. "Collateral damage" is U.S. troops dying for a principle, forced to uphold a higher standard of battlefield conduct than the enemy's. And as it has gone for the past several years, Americans and our Iraqi supporters getting blown up and chopped up little by little by the insurgents.

"We will outlast them" is not compelling. "We blast the crap out of them right now" would be.

From the active duty troops, veterans and family of troops I have spoken with over the past five years, the number one hint of complaint I have heard has had to do with the U.S. not doing everything necessary to win. Whether in the spirit of "not enough boots on the ground" or "there's no way we are going to change these people," the central message seems to be we are going to have to do MORE if we are going to win.

I'm going to take a flying guess here that the next polls, conducted following Israel's unabashedly offensive offensive, with the Bush administration giving wholehearted assent to Israel's actions, will show a higher approval rating for Bush's prosecution of the war. A hundred or few sorties over Iran and eastern Syria would guarantee the Republicans holding both houses of Congress next year.

Posted by John Climacus at 10:28 | Permalink

As Melanie Phillips has noted, Israel is our collective front line. It's our front line against Iran.

Inexplicably, the past three years of Iran's direct antagonism against the U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq have not been sufficient to get Iran classified under George W. Bush's 'doctrine' that those nations that support our enemies will be counted as our enemies. The notion that Iran should be considered the west's chief enemy is such a commonplace idea that it is apparently ripe for deconstruction or delegitimization, owing, presumably, to the fact that the war in Iraq is now fair game for potshots within popular culture. Our enemies cannot be identified as such because the political arguments against George W. Bush preclude any enemies named by him being acknowledged as real enemies of the west.

The current Mideast crisis should snap us out of that silly mindset. The facts are so plain in this case. Israel was attacked, and the attackers are proxies for Iran. Israel has the right to address the source of the problem.

But the U.S. has the same right. Iran has been at war with America for nearly 30 years. Regardless of the ideological underpinnings (Saudi Arabia is a chief offender), Iran has emerged as the primary military threat to Israel and America.

What are we waiting for?

Israel now has license, apparently, from several of the G-8 nations to defend itself. America should have the same license.

But America should have more. We should view the current conflict as a fight to the death, because that's what it is. Our foe is implacable. If we really mean to win, we should not limit ouselves to doing so within the constraints of civilized behavior, because our enemy is not civilized.

We should turn loose the dogs of war on Iran. Recognising we are in a war would be a valuable first step. If the goal is to win, no weapon should be ruled out. We should nuke the bastards. They are as dangerous as were the Germans and Japanese in the 1940s.

Having a strategic arsenal is pointless if it will not be used against a strategic threat.

Posted by John Climacus at 05:03 | Permalink | Comments (6)

We had considered purchasing a shotgun for home defense but decided, truth be told, we didn't need it.

Posted by John Climacus at 01:46 | Permalink | Comments (2)

The cultural foundations of Arab military ineffectiveness have been highlighted here in the past, but this article is the most thorough analysis I've seen:

Mindful of walking through a minefield of past errors and present cultural sensibilities, I offer some assessments of the role of culture in the military training of Arabic-speaking officers. I confine myself principally to training for two reasons. First, I observed much training but only one combat campaign (the Jordanian Army against the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1970). Secondly, armies fight as they train. Troops are conditioned by peacetime habits, policies, and procedures; they do not undergo a sudden metamorphosis that transforms civilians in uniform into warriors. General George Patton was fond of relating the story about Julius Caesar, who "In the winter time ... so trained his legions in all that became soldiers and so habituated them to the proper performance of their duties, that when in the spring he committed them to battle against the Gauls, it was not necessary to give them orders, for they knew what to do and how to do it."

Key themes: pride, sharp class distinctions, fear of personal accountability, and deep cultural biases against independent thinking. The only way - the only way - Islam is going to advance worldwide is through the cycle of terrorism/western multiculturalist capitulation; and, concurrently, the cradle.

Posted by John Climacus at 11:44 | Permalink

(Compared to usual I mean)

Maybe, maybe not.

Full coverage at Hot Air and Euphoric Reality (go to July 12 and scroll down).

The question is, will international condemnation again pressure Israel into backing down?

Olmert's labeling of the kidnappings as an act of war got my attention, because I've wondered why all the other stuff that has happened in Israel for the past six or so years has never constituted an "act of war" and has in fact led to Israeli concessions of territory.

Here are a couple interesting side notes: Debka is reporting Iran’s national security adviser Ali Larijani is in Damascus. Yeah, it's Debka, but bear with me. Other sources confirm. Last week I heard somewhere Iran had an observer in North Korea on July 4 for the missile tests.

One gets a faint picture of a potentially nasty situation.

If Israel indeed declares war on Hamas/Palestine, I'm not sure how many of us would spew coffee out of our noses, for the reason given above. If they declare war on Lebanon, I imagine the rest of the global community will join me in asking, "Lebanon? What the hell is Lebanon, anyway? I thought that was a province of Syria."

If Israel declares war on Syria, though, the picture suddenly has sharper detail. Syria is de facto at war with the U.S. already, in Iraq, just like it's been de facto at war with Israel since roughly the past 50 years. Just like the U.S. has been de facto at war with Iran since 1979. And Iran is supposedly pledging to back Syria, and also might have some double secret arrangement with North Korea.

If Israel declares war on Syria or vice-versa, you can just imagine the headline: "Bush Dispatches Sec. Rice to Middle East for Emergency Negotiations"

Followed by the headline "Rice: 'Are you fucking nuts? I mean, I regret to announce I have accepted the position of Deputy Commissioner of Major League Baseball'."

Followed by the headline: "Congress cancels subsidies to sugar-growers, aid to Palestinians. Ups defense budget by 50%"

Followed by an analysis piece in the Washington Post titled "Tactical Nukes: How they work"

Then, presumably, President Bush would assemble the Joint Chiefs, Strategic Air Command, all those guys, and say "Let's hypothetically set aside everything I said about how democracy is a natural yearning of humankind, and just focus strictly on the idea we need to completely win a military victory. What would you all suggest we do right now?"

And afterwards, we would hope, he would nod in approval and dismiss them with the words of Al Davis: "Just win, baby."

UPDATE: I've said it before, read Ledeen:

Iran has been at war with us all along, because that’s what the world’s leading terror state does. The scariest thing about this moment is that the Iranians have convinced themselves that they are winning, and we are powerless to reverse the tide. As I reported here several months ago, Khamenei told his top people late last year that the Americans and Israelis are both politically paralyzed. Neither can take decisive action against Iran, neither can sustain prolonged conflict and significant casualties. Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader said, the terrorists are all working for Iran, and we will expand the terror war.

Don’t think for a moment that they worry about victims in Gaza or Lebanon. They are delighted to see Israel fighting on two fronts, because they will use the pictures from the battlefield to consolidate their hold over the fascist forces in the region. After a few days of fighting, I would not be surprised to see some new kind of terrorist attack against Israel, or against an American facility in the region. An escalation to chemical weapons, for example, or even the fulfillment of the longstanding Iranian promise to launch something nuclear at Israel. They meant it when they said it, don’t you know?

Posted by John Climacus at 01:56 | Permalink

An 'Islamic Reformation' It has been a topic here for over two year. This is from MEMRI:

Telquel: "You characterize yourself as one who interprets the Koran rationally. What do you mean by that?"

Tahhan: "To read the Koran rationally is to accept that the Koran is open [to interpretation] and has many meanings. The tradition regards the Koran as one-dimensional and fixed. This approach is not rationalist. To be a rationalist is to accept that each era, with its [particular] methods and discoveries, presents its own reading of the Koran, and this is the way it will be until the end of days. To be a rationalist is to acknowledge that the orthodox approach is fundamentally wrong since it does not accept the multiplicity of readings."

Telquel: "You are one of a handful of experts around the world on the different versions of the Koran. How did you come to have a passion for this topic?"

Tahhan: "Let me remind you of a historical fact that is accepted by all. In the year 901 - an unfortunate year for Muslims - a Muslim qadi named Ibn Mujahid canonized [one version of] the Koran. Before that, there were many different versions of the Koran, and this did not upset the good Muslims!"

Telquel: "For many, 'Islam' and 'Protestant' [are concepts that] do not go together. How do you reconcile them?"

Tahhan: "We should found a new community: the community of Protestant Muslims. Its roots already exist in [Muslim] history. This community would promote a return to the word of God, since the overwhelming majority of prophetic hadiths are subject to serious questioning and suspicion. A Protestant Muslim has only one goal: to track down the truth to its very source. He has only one guiding principle: never to let himself be content with the so-called revealed truth. Freedom of thought is a God-given gift that should be honored by Muslims."

You can support MEMRI - one of the most important sites on the entire Internet - by going here.

Posted by John Climacus at 11:21 | Permalink

As evidenced in the comments to the previous post, it is difficult to find common ground between the most extreme elements of the U.S. right wing (i.e., me) and many of our fellow global citizens. But I think I have a solution.

I invited an audience of typical Europeans, representative of the citizenry across the pond, for a brief presentation on my proposal. Following is a transcript of the seminar.

ME: Welcome to our European guests, and members of the international media.

AUDIENCE: (grumbling, scattered coughs and squeaking of chairs)

ME: Despite our many differences on the "issues of the day," I feel heartened by the fact that we all are, in essence, joined by the common bond of humanity.

AUDIENCE: (grumbling)

ME: Therefore, I intend to show each of you that there is a middle ground between us on at least one very important topic. As most of you know, the Alpaca Burger Forum has recently opined that orthodox Islam is incompatible with western civilization...

AUDIENCE: (loud grumbling, scribbling of pencils)

ME: I know, I know, this is a "sticky wicket," as some of you might say...

AUDIENCE: (silence, a single "Harrumph!")

ME: We have suggested that Islam may not belong in America - whereas most of you have welcomed it into your own countries and in fact subsidize its growth with your own tax dollars. So the rumination here that Muslims might be encouraged to "self-deport" from American soil was met with doubtful, even angry responses from our friends in Europe...

AUDIENCE: BOO! BOO! (one voice: "You're a racist!")

ME: But I have given some serious thought to your concerns. I never suggested that Islam should be removed from the U.S. by force - although I suppose one could read that into some of the Alpaca Burger Forum posts - and I can tell you now, while I still believe Islam might best exist within a very different cultural rubric, I do not envision Muslim people being chased from this land by angry mobs wielding guns and scimitars.

AUDIENCE: BOO! (loud grumbling)

ME: Let me direct your attention to the screen. As we know, dogs are not highly esteemed in Islamic societies. Some might say, dogs are despised. Within our culture, broadly speaking, however, we love dogs. You see this puppy? We call it a "lap-top dog" because it is smaller than an i-Book.

AUDIENCE: Awwww! (scattered chuckling)

ME: She was pregnant in this photo, by the way - maybe that's why she seems pensive. Anyway, pet ownership is on the rise in America - in a big way. And this trend seems, if anything, to be increasing dramatically. So what about this: What if, throughout American culture, in every socioeconomic strata, we were to have a massive, ongoing PR campaign saluting and promoting the canine species as an integral element in our cultural lives.

AUDIENCE: (silence)

ME: I'm thinking: "Take a doggie to work" day - once every month! "Dog-friendly" public buildings as ubiquitous as fire hydrants. Obedience classes conducted alongside Sunday school hours (you see where I'm going with this?). And innumerable little fragments of popular culture - bumper stickers saying "I don't see a dog in your car, you ingrate!" "Real men dig puppies" and "No dog? No mercy!" - gradually forming a bigger picture: This is a dog-friendly nation. "America: Love dogs or leave it!"

AUDIENCE: (grumbling)

ME: Ok, ok, maybe I'm not doing a very good job explaining this...I'm not saying, all Muslims need to leave. I'm saying, they need to either CHANGE, or leave. They need to redact or edit or update that wicked book of theirs. They need a "New" hadith. They need a friggin' Reformation, is what they need. They need to either become fully westernized and roundly denounce the ideology of orthodox Islam, or leave the West. But how are we to accomplish this? I can tell by your grumbling you are hesitant to embrace the idea. But tell me: Would you embrace...

...these??

AUDIENCE: Awwww! AWWWW! (applause, relieved laughter all around)

ME: Ha ha, yes these are the PUPPIES of the lap-top dog: puppies of the puppy, if you will. How cute are they?

AUDIENCE: (Ewwing, ahhing, laughter and tittering conversation)

ME: Can't we get the Muslims on board with this? C'MON!! What kind of society do we want to leave to our children? What kind of day do we want to wake up and greet? What do these puppies say to you? They say to me, "Meep! Meep! Meep!" - cause that's what they really say!! C'MON! Where's your heart? Where's your soul? Where's the LOVE, Islam? Who loves puppies?

AUDIENCE: (tittering conversation)

ME: I said, Who. Loves. PUPPIES?! Let me hear it - do you love puppies?

AUDIENCE: Yes, yes (scattered giggling, one voice: "Quite right!")

ME: DO YOU LOVE PUPPIES?

AUDIENCE: YES!

ME: Ok, then. I love puppies. You love puppies. We ALL love puppies. That's the end of today's presentation. You'll notice on the table near the door is a large box full of puppies; I encourage you each to take one home with you, and do as we will be doing: Visit one of your Muslim neighbors, and bring the puppy. Let's melt that ruthless, legalistic ideology and those hearts of stone. I know they can change, they are human after all, just like you and me. At very least, we can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Also, please feel free to pick up some bumper stickers on your way out.

Posted by John Climacus at 09:27 | Permalink | Comments (8)

Christopher Hitchens on the polls on how the rest of the world thinks about the U.S.

A country that attempted to be in everybody’s good books would be quite paralyzed. The last time everybody said they liked the United States (or said that they said they liked the United States) was just after Sept. 11, when the nation was panicked and traumatized and trying to count its dead. Well, no thanks. This is too high a price to be paid for being popular...

If I was to interrupt this article every few sentences, asking you whether or not I was making a good impression on you, I hope and believe that you would think I was a servile jerk. Yet this is what our politicians are doing in every speech (most notably in the absurd recent debate on “flag-burning”) and this is apparently what we hire Karen Hughes to do in our public diplomacy.

Consequently, the U.S. taxpayer - he of minimal vacation time and competitive work environment - is subsidizing our European brethren and sistren in their generous social welfare and annual six weeks of "holiday."

We are their benefactors and therefore they resent us.

And with our supposed closest cultural neighbors looking at America with the eyes of spoiled children, we in the U.S. are supposed to give a piddling crap about what the rest of the world thinks? I don't think so.

Also in my worst moments, I think those vacationing existential lightweights are setting themselves up for a time when, in the next generation, they will be heeding the call to "prayer" five times a day and selling their daughters to the highest bidder.

But I hold out hope Europe will wake up and cast out - or revoke the invitation of - the invaders. It is a tall hill our fellow westerners have to climb. Their challenge is much larger than simply understanding America is saving their collective asses.

Posted by John Climacus at 01:07 | Permalink | Comments (5)

Ohhhh.

"Acidman" Rob, of Gut Rumbles, has died.

I can't add much to what others who knew Rob are saying. I've read Gut Rumbles on and off for the past couple years. He had some great posts.

He had to quit drinking about a year ago for health reasons, which hits sort of close to home in these parts.

More here, here, here, and here.

Posted by John Climacus at 04:49 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our everlasting gratitude to Drudge for disseminating the truth most folks just can't handle.

Study: Even one drink can be dangerous

SEATTLE, June 30 (UPI) -- A University of Washington study warns that even a single strong drink can make a person "blind drunk" and impair the drinker's driving abilities.

The 20th century trend in which the traditional "tumbler" increased in capacity from 6 oz. to 16 oz., dramatically changed the face of modern tippling, and thereby engendered diseases of modernity such as public foolhardiness, "sleeping around," operating heavy machinery in a silly manner and, generally, talking a lot of shit.

I hope these important new studies will convince Americans that the time has come to take a critical look at the ever-increasing size of our goblets. Sometimes, smaller IS better.

Posted by John Climacus at 04:21 | Permalink