Saturday, September 08, 2007

Has This Blog Lost Value?

As I started the Daily Topic a few months ago, my readership was on a steady rise. Then, suddenly, about a month ago, the number of folks visiting the site plummeted.

I ask those of you who are still visiting: has the blog lost value? Are my posts less interesting? Am I too redundant, or to unfocused?

I would appreciate any comments, because of course I'd rather see my readership increase, not decrease.

National Healthcare Means Higher Rate of Cancer Deaths

Unfortunately, this Principles in Practice post doesn't link to it, but a recent study of cancer survival rates shows why socialized medicine (think "national healthcare" or whatever you want to call it) is deadly. The money quote:

The study finds that Britain (whose much-touted "universal health care" system is held up by the left as a model for America) has among the lowest cancer survival rates in the West—drastically lower than the United States, which has the world's highest survival rate.

It's simple, really:

Researchers attribute Britain's dismal numbers primarily to late diagnoses and lengthy waiting lists for treatment. But long lines and waiting lists are necessarily endemic under socialized medicine.

The solution is less government and more individual responsibility in healthcare. That is, unless we less of a chance to live.

National Service - Slippery Slope to Slavery

I wouldn't even know where to begin in extolling the vile nature of this article on "national service." It's a very thinly veiled call for altruistic self-sacrifice in the name of "society." The writer calls for "voluntary," not mandatory nor compulsory, service, but why do we need government programs for volunteers? And, how can a program be "voluntary" if $5000 in taxes per newborn is to be spent on a "National Service Baby Bond"? It certainly wouldn't be voluntary for today's taxpayers.

Again I have little time for blogging, and so rather than attacking this topic myself I refer you to the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI), where the "national service" ideology is described as what it really is. Read the Times story, and then the ARI editorial, and see where you stand.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Only a Digg Report

Only a Digg Report for today. Hopefully, I'll finish this project and get back to normal blogging by the end of the weekend.

Digg Report

Digg Report: Today's #1 Digg, at 4550 Diggs, is a link to a rant about Internet Explorer's general lack of conformance to various Internet standards. Not much to say about that.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Light Blogging Next Few Days

Just to remind, light blogging today and probably through tomorrow, at least.

Digg Report

Digg Report: Today's #1 Digg, at 4891 Diggs, is a link to Steve Job's open letter to early iPhone adapters, wherein he explains the $200 price job after two months and offers a $100 credit at the Apple store or Web site.

It's good to see a highly Dugg story that has some relevance to it. Maybe to a select few, and the Apple faithful, but still relevant.

Sudanese Islamists: Don't Come to the Sudan, US!

Another piece from MEMRI, this time on Sudanese Islamic leaders warning the US not to send forces to Darfur. The reason? It is "the most beautiful place in which our sheikh, Bin Laden, can operate."

Of course, it's written in that strange, off-kilter way that most of these Islamist proclamations seem to be written. I don't write it all off to translation, either; they think differently than we do in the West, not just about religion, but about what words mean and how to use them.

Anyways, here are some quotes:

Dr. Hassan Al-'Audha, Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood: "America believes that it is the master of the world, and that all other people are its slaves, who are subordinate to it and must obey it. America believes that it owns the oil discovered in Sudan. These are not my words. [Former U.S. president] Carter declared some two years ago: 'We wanted the oil of Sudan to be used for the pleasure of the American people after 2005.'

Hmm, hadn't heard that one. And it would shock me--absolutely shock me--if Jimmy Carter had written anything like that (unless, of course, it was meant as an attack on the Bush Administration). And look at the US... we're really going after that Sudanese oil, aren't we?

Of course, that's ridiculous. It's the Chinese that are going after that oil. But we wouldn't expect an Islamist to recognize that, now would we?

Muhammad Ahmad Hajj Ahmad, Commander of the Popular Defense Forces: "Whoever talks about genocide and about [ethnic] cleansing and all that should tell us what is going on in Palestine, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. Throughout the history of this world, we have heard about women being raped by men. But throughout history, never have we heard about men being raped by women, except at Abu Ghureib prison."[...]

That just cracks me up. "But throughout history, never have we heard about men being raped by women..." There are so many off-color jokes there that I'll just leave it alone. However, this guy in one sentence manages to relegate Abu Ghureib (his spelling) to the annals of comic history.

"I don't want to go on, brothers. We have done talking. Let them do the talking - the Americans, the British, and NATO, who covet the Sudanese oil, and minerals of Darfur and Moya, and who look for uranium, and want to... By Allah, we don't care about any of this. All we want is to die for the sake of Allah. Just a bullet here - and you are gone. Let them come - by Allah, we will teach them a lesson."


I mean, this whole diatribe is remarkable for how out of touch with reality it really is. I mean, the US is not involved with Darfur in anything but a peripheral sense, and yet these yahoos talk as if we've already landed Marines there. And the funny thing is, here in the US, the Left would be quicker to attack us for not being involved.

Islamist Web Site in Minnesota Details Plans on Attacking US Bases

Deadlines still loom, but I thought I'd try to get in a few quick posts. Here's one from MEMRI, which discusses an Islamist Web site hosted in Minnesota containing a discussion on the best way to attack a US military installation.

Hopefully, this Web site has been shut down and the hosting site cautioned to keep their eye out for such stuff. Obviously, this goes beyond any rational notion of "freedom of speech" and is instead directly aimed at harming the security of the US.

We shouldn't expect such Web sites to be hosted in the US.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Might be Some Light Blogging Next Couple of Days

Might be some light blogging over the next few days, some deadlines are looming.

Jimmy Carter's Impact on the Evolution of Iran

Here's an interesting post on Jimmy Carter's impact on the Shah of Iran and his eventual downfall to the Islamic totalitarian, terrorist-supporting government that exists today. Probably, much of this information needs to be vetted, since this isn't exactly a known resource, but it paints an interesting picture.

The gist:

In accordance with the pleasant US-Iran relations then-existing, President Carter spent New Year's Eve in 1977 with the Shah and toasted Iran as "an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world". Nonetheless, between 1975 and 1978, the Shah's popularity fell due to the Carter administration's misguided implementation of human rights policies. The election of Mr. Carter as president of the United States in 1976, with his vocal emphasis on the importance of human rights in international affairs, was a turning point in US-Iran relations. The Shah of Iran was accused of torturing over 3000 prisoners. Under the banner of promoting human rights, Carter made excessive demands of the Shah, threatening to withhold military and social aid. Carter pressured the Shah to release "political prisoners", whose ranks included radical fundamentalists, communists and terrorists. Many of these individuals are now among the opponents we face in our "war on terrorism".

The result:

When the Shah was unable to meet the Carter Administration and British demands, the Carter Administration ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to stop $4 million per year in funding to religious Mullahs who then became outspoken and vehement opponents of the Shah. Unfortunately, the Shah's efforts to defuse the volatile situation in Iran failed, despite the grant even of free and democratic elections. Confronted with lack of US support and unleashed Mullah fury, the Shah of Iran fled the country.

Subsequent to the Carter Administration's ill-conceived foreign policy initiative, Iran is now a dungeon. Ayatollah Khomeini's dictatorship executed the Shah's prisoners, predominantly communist militants, along with more than 20,000 pro-Western Iranians. Women were sent back into servitude. Citizens were arrested merely for owning satellite dishes that could tune to Western programs. American diplomats were taken hostage, and the Soviet Union invaded Iran's eastern neighbor Afghanistan as a result of this chaos, allowing it to secure greater influence in Iran and Pakistan. The struggle against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and the defeat of this invading Superpower with help from the United States under President Reagan gave rise to the radicalization and emergence of Muslim zealots like Osama bin Laden. Moreover, within a year of the Shah's ouster, Iran on its western flank was locked into the Iran-Iraq War, in which the U.S. sided with secular Iraq and its military dictator Saddam Hussein.

Maybe a bit of a stretch, although it's compelling:

Thus Jimmy Carter's misguided implementation of human rights policies not only indirectly led to overthrow of the Shah of Iran, but also paved the way for loss of more than 600,000 lives, Iran's rule by Ayatollahs, the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait and Desert Storm, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the mass murder of Americans and destruction of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001.

Jimmy Carter Thinks Middle East Debate "Unbalanced" In Favor of Israel

It's remarkable that Jimmy Carter would call for "balanced" Middle East debate, when the mainstream media does everything it can to make the Palestinians look like victims and Israel look like a brutal oppressor. I meet very few people who have a clear understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, with their opinions tracking pretty much along the lines of whatever they're fed by the MSM.

The very best place to go to get an idea of how biased is the coverage of Israel and the Palestinians is Little Green Footballs. That guy has a seemingly unlimited amount of time to amass amazing amounts of information showing just how bad the coverage really is.

Russia Helps Iran out of a Tough Spot

Many thanks to Russia for minimizing the impact of American and European sanctions against Iran. This time, it's in the area of Iran's aviation industry that Russia is helping a known terrorist-supporting government maintain its viability.

Some quotes:

Aviation chief Saeed Hesami said Russian planes were Iran's best option, according to IRNA, despite a string of crashes in recent years involving Russian-made aircraft that have killed hundreds of people.

"We have no option but to buy Russian planes because we have to meet the air transportation needs of the nation," Hesami was quoted as saying by IRNA. "Iran won't allow ... U.S. sanctions to ground its aviation fleet."

Actually, it looks to me like Russia won't allow US sanctions to ground Iran's aviation fleet.

And perhaps the money quote:

In 2002, Iran's transportation minister at the time, Ahmad Khorram, told parliament that Iran's air industry had reached "a crisis point" and was suffering from U.S. sanctions.

Digg Report

Digg Report: Today's #1 Digg, at 3968 Diggs, is about Apple's announcement of new iPods. This is tech reporting, I suppose, so kudos to Digg for getting the word out. Not that a million other sites haven't already trumpeted the news, but you can't blame Digg for trying.

And I'm actually surprised that this wasn't Dugg more. Diggsters seem to like Apple products.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Cox and Forkum on Edward's Oppressive Healthcare Scheme

Cox and Forkum on Presidential Candidate John Edward's plan to make various preventive care activities (annual physicals, mammograms, etc.) mandatory. I haven't written on this because, basically, I'm still having a hard time believing it. I mean, literally: I'm struggling to digest the idea that an American Presidential candidate could be calling for government-mandated doctor visits, and how anybody--anybody--can evade the Orwellian nature of such an idea and support it.

It's not even a slippery slope. It's the end of the slide. One needn't even go into what else might be required. Just the simple annual physical is enough to render this plan dictatorial. If Edwards were elected and this plan implemented, I do believe the Constitution would spontaneously combust.

Are Our Military Networks Safe?

This Ars Technica story highlights the importance of securing our military networks. I am continuously impressed by how powerful our military is becoming through networked systems, with information flowing up from the ground troops, ships, planes, etc., to commanders, who are provided with an unprecedented level of battlefield awareness and thus control.

However, with the Chinese knocking satellites out of the sky and the seeming inability to secure a network from hacking, I wonder what will happen if this mesh of information gets disturbed. Will our military be able to continue functioning, or will it have come to rely too much on vulnerable technology?

I hope there's someone paying very close attention to this, I really do.

Ahmadinejad Continues to Sound Crazier and Crazier

And, once again, more from Iranian President Imajihadi (or whatever his name is). From AFP, some quotes:

"The Iranian nation has withstood and it will withstand intimidation. It will never bow to any intimidation in the nuclear issue and in other matters," state broadcasting quoted Khamenei as telling a group of elite students.

"Iran will defeat these drunken and arrogant powers using its artful and wise ways," he added.

And this is just literally nuts:

In a speech the day earlier he sought to justify his confidence that the United States would not attack Iran, saying the proof comes from his mathematical skills as an engineer and his faith in God.

He said he told people who believed otherwise: "I am an engineer and I am a master in calculation and tabulation.

"I draw up tables. For hours, I write out different hypotheses. I reject, I reason. I reason with planning and I make a conclusion. They cannot make problems for Iran."

Ahmadinejad has long expressed pride in his academic prowess. He has a PhD in transport engineering and planning from Tehran's Science and Technology University and is the author of several scientific papers.

The deeply religious president said his second reason was: "I believe in what God says.

Now, that last sentence would seem a little heretical to me. Shouldn't he be putting God's words above his own scientific prowess? Oops.

Trouble at the Daily Kos?

Speaking of the Daily Kos, it looks like they're having a little bit o' trouble. Seems as if the founder of the site himself, Markos Moulitsas, ripped into his comrades for being gullible.

The gist from NewsBusters:

Such was the case with the posters on the favorite "progressive" blog of the MSM, the Daily Kos, when its founder, Markos Moulitsas, tore into them for being suckers because they fell for a story about a supposed imminent U.S. invasion of Iran based on the fantasies of a blogger with a history of fabulist tall tales.

Of course, the responses at the site were as to be expected. A couple of examples:

Gee, it's all a bit much and roundabout and blaming the victim, when the great god Kos and frontpagers in the know could simply disappear the troll diary, or ban the troll diarist.
...

If you knew it from the beginning then, damn it, why didn't you bring it up at the beginning? And if you didn't know it from the beginning then don't pretend that you did. And if you've got any administrative abilities, ban the person in question and just say "gosh we were taken in for a while, but we've got it now!" and be done with it.

Hee hee hee.

Hillary Clinton in Bed With Same Chinese as Bill

As I've said before, I believe the Monica Lewinsky "scandal" was a front for Bill Clinton's (treasonous?) provision of ballistic missile technology to China after receiving large campaign donations from the Chinese. There was the beginning of a buzz, and then WHAM! it was all Monica from then on. In my mind, this was a worse betrayal than anything we know about, including Watergate and whatever the Left wants to pin on Bush.

Now, one of the men associated with Bill Clinton's nefarious actions has been associated with Hillary Clinton and her campaign. Norman Hsu, who's recently been arrested for fraud, is known to have been involved in the transfer of missile technology. Hillary's "given back" the money, but that didn't stop her from accepting it in the first place.

Here's a quote from the Daily Kos, of all places:

Bernard L. Schwartz, who worked for the chinese shell company that the clintons gave the ballisitc missle technology to after bill clintons re-election put Norman Hsu on the Board of Trustees of the New School in N.Y

hillary clinton ear-marked 750,000 dollars to the new school recently as a pork barrel project.

Bernard L. Schwartz taught the Communist Chinese party how to build ICBM's which could make it out of the lower atmosphere.

this was one of the main reasons that china was able to destroy a satellite in space this year, touching of fears of a new arms race in space.

because of the technology that the clinton's gave to Bernard L. Schwartz, who worked with china.

Actually, I quoted that just because I'm surprised to see it on the most Leftist site on the planet. Nevertheless, poor punctuation and writing aside, this post makes the point.

Digg Report

Digg Report: Today's #1 Digg, at 2852 Diggs, is a link to an SNL animation about the MSM that was pulled, apparently, by NBC. I'm sure somewhere in the comments someone will complain about "censorship," even though NBC has every right to broadcast or not broadcast whatever they want.

Anyways, slow day on Digg.