More on those "death-fearing" conservatives

I have received the following report from a reader. It gives us some more of that pesky general population data -- the sort of data that almost all psychologists avoid like the plague. Students are SO much better at giving responses that accord with Leftist stereotypes:

Reading John Ray's September 4, 2007 critique of the Pyszczynski et al. claim that fear of death is behind conservatism, I couldn't help but analyze data from the NORC General Social Survey, one of the most respected databases of U.S. public opinion in existence, to further explore the matter. In fact, the GSS data completely support Dr. Ray's conclusion that there are no meaningful differences whatsoever in how liberals and conservatives view death. Again, the received "wisdom" concerning the psychology of conservatism espoused by Pyszczynski and academic social science in general, is shown to be speculative and fails to survive even moderate scrutiny.

Method:

For decades, the GSS has asked respondents about their political orientations under the variable name POLVIEWS and whether they believe in life after death under the variable name POSTLIFE. I recoded the variable POLVIEWS into the following categories:

* Extremely liberal/Liberal =1,
* Slightly Liberal = 2,
* Moderate/Middle of the Road = 3,
* Slightly Conservative = 4, and
* and Conservative/Extremely Conservative = 5.

POSTLIFE was recoded into the following categories:

* Believe in life after death =1,
* Unsure = 2, and
* Don=t believe in life after death = 3.

Results:

Conservatives were much more likely than liberals to believe in life after death, with approximately 80% of conservatives/extreme conservatives reporting that they believe in life after death and only 66% of liberals/extremely liberals reporting the same. (All percentages are rounded upwards.) While a person's belief in life after death is not necessarily predictive of whether he fears death, the results are suggestive and weaken Pyszczynski's paradigm. The Pyszczynski et al theories would seem to imply that belief in life after death is a cognitive defensive mechanism but a sizable proportion of individuals with liberal orientations clearly exhibit the same phenomenon, so it is as least not a peculiarly conservative defence mechanism. And in any event, the number of people who absolutely reject the possibility of an afterlife is very small, only about 9% in this database.

To further explore whether conservatives might harbor more fear than liberals regarding death, I analyzed how respondents answered an additional set of questions asked between 1983-1987. Each respondent who reported a belief in life after death was asked a further series of questions, prefaced as follows:

Of course, no one knows exactly what life after death would be like, but here are some ideas people have had. How likely do you feel each possibility is? Very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not likely at all?

Among the various alternatives were the following descriptions of an afterlife: (1) A life of peace and tranquility (POSTLF1) and (2) A life like the one here on earth, only better (POSTLF3). There was very little meaningful difference between liberals and conservatives regarding their views on the matter. With respect to the first variable, POSTLF1, eighty-five percent of liberals/extreme liberals thought it somewhat or very likely that an afterlife would be a life of peace and tranquility, while an even greater 95% of conservatives/extreme conservatives held similarly positive views of life after death. Regarding the second variable, POSTLF3, 57% of liberals/extreme liberals thought it somewhat or very likely that an afterlife would be better than life on earth, and 59% of conservatives/extreme conservatives reported it somewhat or very likely that an afterlife would be better than life on earth. Again, all percentages are rounded.

Insofar as there is a discernable difference between liberals and conservatives in how they view death, if anything conservatives might appear to face the prospect with less fear and anxiety than those who lean leftward politically. Note that similar results are obtained when comparing respondents who are slightly liberal versus those who are slightly conservative.

If in fact conservatives have a more positive view of existence after death than that held by liberals, perhaps it explains why they seem to be at least as happy and as satisfied with life as liberals. The GSS asks respondents, "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days: Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?" (HAPPY). Eighty-eight percent of liberals/extreme liberals reported being very happy or pretty happy, and approximately 90% of conservatives/extreme conservatives reported being very happy or pretty happy. Again, the same trend is found when comparing slightly liberal respondents with slightly conservative respondents.

And on the prospects of future generations, conservatives appear to be at least as optimistic, if not more so, than liberals. The GSS asks respondents whether they agree or disagree with the following statement: "It's hardly fair to bring a child into the world with the way things look for the future." Forty percent (40%) of liberals/extreme liberals and 34% of slightly liberal respondents agreed with the statement, while 36% of conservatives/extreme conservatives and 33% of slightly conservative respondents agreed with the statement.

These findings represent yet another piece of evidence that conservatives suffer from no greater existential anxiety or dread than do liberals. The claims of a relationship between psychological maladjustment and social/political conservatism, posited by classical authoritarianism theory, are simply inaccurate.

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The Leftist "Media Matters" claims that columnists appearing in American newspapers are overwhelmingly conservative. Copious Dissent pulls their "study" apart.



Jihadi medical student caught in Dearborn, Michigan: "Zorkot, a third-year medical student at Wayne State University, was allegedly armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and dressed in black clothing with camouflage paint covering his face when he was arrested Saturday in Hemlock Park. According to police, Zorkot was observed attempting to leave the park in a black SUV after officers had received reports of a man carrying a rifle in the area. He was placed under arrest and is scheduled to undergo a preliminary examination at 9 a.m. Sept. 21 in 19th District Court.

America and libertarianism: "Why does the libertarian think America is best understood in terms of libertarian ideas, principles, theories, and ideals? Because of what the Declaration of Independence states. Libertarians hold, with that venerable document, that everyone has an unalienable right to his life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. This means that others must secure one's permission before utilizing one's labor, time, works, resources for any purpose whatever. No one may intrude on another person without that person's permission or consent."

Iraq as ant-trap: "The Left thinks Iraq is a killing field for Americans. Actually, it is a killing field for our enemies, at a very great but vitally important sacrifice. That reflects a grand strategy, tailored to the peculiar nature of the global terror threat. You don't shoot poisonous fire-ants with a BB gun; you just set an ant trap. Ant colonies are highly "distributed" biological societies, much like the world-wide web. They can't be killed with a BB or a pressure hose; even pouring flaming gasoline on an ant hill won't work. Instead, you destroy ant colonies by attracting hungry ants to a chemical bait, and then kill them all in one small place. Ant traps work. That's the Bush strategy in Iraq. Al Qaeda isn't centralized, with big cities or steel industries like Nazi Germany. So you can't destroy the enemy by hunting them one by one. Rather, you bait a trap -- provoke them to come to you, and make sure they don't get out alive".

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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SOME INCONVENIENT RECENT HISTORY: INCONVENIENT TO HILLARY

An email from David Horowitz below about the refusal to release on DVD a remarkable TV presentation

"The Path to 9/11": $40 Million to Produce ... Five hours over two nights drawing a primetime audience of 25 million viewers - Seven Emmy nominations. So why won't Disney put this historic spectacular on sale as we mark the sixth anniversary of September 11, 2001? Two words: The Clintons.

There were over 20 different DVDs slated for nationwide release yesterday, on September 11 - yet one of the absolute best, The Path to 9/11, the unvarnished, critically praised docudrama dealing with the years leading up to that horrific day wasn't among them. Why? Well one high level Disney executive secretly told 9/11's award winning writer and producer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, Path has been locked away because it would embarrass Hillary Clinton as she campaigns for president.

The simple truth is that the Clintons and their cronies have put unprecedented pressure on Disney to keep this remarkable miniseries from ever being aired again! It's an extortive power play, to be sure. It's also censorship at its worst. ...

Of course, there is far more to this than just the Clintons and their Hollywood friends pressuring Disney not to release The Path on DVD. As a result of the detailed screenplay Cyrus wrote and his work to produce this exacting account, an account that underscores how the Clinton Administration repeatedly turned a blind eye to the repeated threats of Islamic radicals... Cyrus has received death threats. When these people want to silence their critics they mean business.

With The Path to 9/11, Cyrus put together a fearless, straight-forward docudrama that tens of millions of Americans watched, that critics praised, and that drew seven nominations for television's highest award, the Emmy.

Now, six years since the barbarism of 9/11, the callous threats against Cyrus' life coupled with the shameless pandering of Disney studios to appease the Clintons seem woeful tributes to those who died and to those who courageously seek keep ours the land of the free and home of the brave.

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Do you want to be "remolded" by Hillary?: "In the spring of 1993, shortly after her husband and political benefactor Bill Clinton took office as the nation's 42nd president, Hillary Clinton delivered the commencement address at the University of Texas. In her speech, Hillary reiterated the theme that has been at the heart of her political vision from the start: "We are at a stage in history in which remolding society is one of the great challenges facing all of us in the West." "Remolding society." This is the terminology of a utopian socialist, one who seeks to remake society according to a narrow and dogmatic ideology that claims to eliminate injustice, poverty, and unhappiness, once and for all. Hillary's ideology is an amalgam of New Left marxism and grievance feminism, the kind of unwholesome stew that is commonplace on elite college campuses."

Amateur Experts: "Sometimes I feel as if I must be one of the few people left in America who is not a military expert. For example, all sorts of politicians have been talking about all sorts of ways we ought to "redeploy" our troops. The closest I ever came to deploying troops was marching a company of Marines to the mess hall for chow. But people who have never even put on a uniform are confident that they know how our troops should be redeployed. Maybe this is one of the fruits of the "self-esteem" that is taught in our schools instead of education. The biggest flurry of amateur military pronouncements occurred just before General David Petraeus testified before Congress on the situation in Iraq. Many Democrats publicly dismissed what he said before he said it, and some implied that he was a liar before he opened his mouth."

Europe graciously allows Britain to keep its own weights and measures: "Britons and the Irish can still down a pint of beer, walk a mile, covet an ounce of gold and eat a pound of bananas after the European Union ruled that they may retain measurements dating back to the Middle Ages. Under a previous EU plan, Britain and Ireland would have been forced to adopt the metric system and phase out imperial measurements by 2009. But after a vociferous anti-metric campaign by British sceptics and London's tabloid press, EU officials decided that an ounce of common sense (or 28.3 grams) suggested that granting a reprieve was better than braving a public backlash. They also feared that forcing Britain to abolish the imperial system would have damaged EU trade with the United States, one of three countries, with Liberia and Burma, that have not officially adopted the metric system."

Mexico ready to debate big tax overhaul: "Mexican lawmakers are poised to pass a major overhaul of the country's taxes, trying to fix a creaky system that has created a landscape of gleaming factories next to squalid neighborhoods of dirt streets and open sewers. The package of bills, which could go to a vote as early as today in Mexico's lower house of Congress, is an effort by President Felipe Calderon to crack down on millions of tax evaders, both businesses and individuals. The goal is to increase Mexico's tax income 30 percent, with part of the money going to build roads, sewage systems and other infrastructure. With a possible impact of $35 billion a year, it's one of the biggest structural changes in Mexico since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994."

Al Qaeda slipping: "Abdullah Mullah shuddered as he thought back to the early 1990s. In his sprawling neighborhood, the center of Egypt's radical Islamist movement, his wife was beaten on the street for wearing jeans and he was visited by thugs 'concerned' about his irregular mosque attendance. Imbaba was a place the police feared and the militants ruled. Neighborhoods like this, teaming with devout Muslims, may have been considered fertile ground for Al Qaeda's goal of building a global movement. But six years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden's group appears to have attracted few loyal followers here. In fact, the militants who once reigned in Imbaba are all but invisible."

Perpetual trade deficits can be good: "Notwithstanding its appeal to cynical anti-government readers, I think Schiff's book reinforces popular 'old school wisdom' that is simply false. Namely, Schiff buys into the argument (also made by Paul Craig Roberts) that a country needs a solid manufacturing base and trade surpluses to remain a dominant economic power. Although I do agree with Schiff that the dollar is poised for a (perhaps sharp) fall -- and I also endorse his advice to investors for protecting their wealth in this environment -- I think his arguments don't hold up in general. For the remainder of the present article, I'll try to demonstrate the weaknesses in Schiff's case."

Wal-Mart a huge benefit to the U.S. economy: "As part of the study process, Global Insight reviewed a wide range of previous studies that indicated that the efficiencies that Wal-Mart has fostered in the retail sector have led to lower prices for the U.S. consumer. These results were supported by statistical analysis which found that the expansion of Wal-Mart over the 1985 to 2004 period can be associated with a cumulative decline of 9.1% in food-at-home prices, a 4.2% decline in commodities (goods) prices, and a 3.1% decline in overall consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index-All Items, which includes both goods and services."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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BBC Hits Bottom, Digs

Post below lifted from Ed Driscoll. See the original for links

The BBC decided to set up a website explaining 911 to kids. They have several sections set up to help the kids out on understanding the war on terror the BBC way. In one section they ask, Why Did They Do It? Guess who gets the blame?

The way America has got involved in conflicts in regions like the Middle East has made some people very angry, including a group called al-Qaeda - who are widely thought to have been behind the attacks.

In the past, al-Qaeda leaders have declared a holy war - called a jihad - against the US. As part of this jihad, al-Qaeda members believe attacking US targets is something they should do.

When the attacks happened in 2001, there were a number of US troops in a country called Saudi Arabia, and the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, said he wanted them to leave.

That's right! It is the U.S. fault! We offended the world! Read the whole thing and watch your blood boil. Not a single word condemning Al Qeada in the whole thing. In fact it defends them in non judgemental terms. As your blood pressure rises keep in mind this is aimed towards children. Hopefully your head doesn't explode! As Paul at Wizbang says: unfreakinbelievable!

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Islamofascists are a tentacle of the Left: "Radicalized, fundamentalist Islam has been as thoroughly penetrated with humanist, socialist Marxism as the Democratic Party, our media, and even the first estate. Walid Phares excellent summation in the Sept. 10 edition of American Thinker correctly directed our attention to the Marxist slant in this newest Bin Laden tape, if Bin Laden it is... Which is what is at war with America. It is all-encompassing and it will never stop. Islam is the current hammer. Ferocious, deadly, and as driven as the tides. It is the ultimate of weapons from the supernatural. But Islam is not the final enemy behind all enemies. Early Communists correctly analyzed that they would never be able to produce victory over the West through force of arms. They deduced that in order to destroy us, they would have to attack like shadows. The November 2001 issue of the Weekly Standard carried as important an essay as I have found. Authored by Waller Newell, professor of political science and philosophy at Carleton University in Ottawa, it is a devastating illumination that today's radical Islamist is little more than the Left's next great act in their Death Cult. Even as they shout the name of their god, they are fodder for the Revolutionary Ethos begun by Communists nearly a century ago".

Germans utterly twisted by hate: "ZDF - one of Germany's largest state-sponsored public media networks - came out with an article promoting a documentary on September 11 conspiracy theories - just in time for the sixth anniversary of the terror attacks. The article also features a poll. Results indicate that 65% - or nearly two-thirds - of ZDF participants blame either George W. Bush (25%), US authorities (25%) or the "arms lobby" (15%) for 9/11. By comparison, only 27% selected Osama Bin Laden as the culprit and 9% said they didn't know. Deep down - far more Germans than anyone is willing to openly admit are convinced that American leaders destroyed their own buildings and thousands of their fellow citizens in a grand plot to invade the Middle East for oil." [No wonder Hitler found them so easy to con]

The French attitude to 9/11: "No, at the time, I was working in the Paris police force. And I am stating it loud and clear because I was there, smack in the middle of it: on September 12th 2001, a large majority of the French people did not shed even half of a tear over what had just happened in New York. In the end, it is nothing surprising since the typical French anti-Americanism meshes perfectly with their stupefying complacent indulgence towards Communism. Hence, on the first day of the American intervention in Iraq in March 2003, 4% were "absolutely" approving of it. 87 % disapproved"

Europeans can't figure out why Muslims hate them: "Since the terror attacks hit the United States on Sept. 11 six years ago, Europe has suffered far more than the United States from new attacks and reported plots. There were the train bombings in Madrid three years ago that killed 191 people, the London transit attack two years ago that killed 52 commuters and a string of foiled plots. Then there were the arrests last week in a plot in Germany that the police said could have caused even worse carnage than in Madrid or London. In response, Europeans for the most part are looking inward to explain why Islamic extremists have made the Continent a favored target, while the United States has been spared - despite its leadership and the anger it has stirred waging wars in two Muslim countries."

Grudging admission by the NYT: "Iraqis reflecting on the report to Congress by General David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker found themselves in a difficult spot: although there is nothing they want more than to have American soldiers leave Iraq, there is nothing they can less afford. About 20 Iraqis of different sects and ethnicities said in interviews that they viewed the report favorably because it - or at least the parts shown on television in Iraq - portrayed the situation accurately and because it signaled that there would be little change in the status quo. There is a rueful recognition of their vulnerability and that they must allow foreign troops to help keep order for some time to come."

Inflicting pain on the poor for the sins of the wealthy: "Politicians of all stripes impose needless pain and suffering on the world. In the West people tend to be wealthy enough to purchase their way around some of the misery. Political policies that drive up food costs, to benefit a few wealthy farmers, are ignored because wealthy Westerners have enough disposable income to pay the extra for food. They may bitch about food prices, and then stupidly blame the wrong cause: globalization, greedy grocers, capitalism, etc., but they don't go hungry. In poor nations hunger is their only option. The world's poor can't buy their way out of the problems inflicted on them by the political class of do-gooders. The wealthy people of the West can. The actions of our politicians are often nothing more than a minor irritation. The same actions, when their consequences are imposed on the poor nations of the world can literally kill."

American poverty: "Go into almost any store or shop and you're likely to see all types of folks walking around on their expensively clad feet, swiping their credit and ATM cards with their carefully manicured hands. Drive through any neighborhood in any town -- even in run-down areas -- and check out the crowded restaurants while perusing the satellite dishes adorning the homes; homes filled with purchases that were once considered luxury items that now grace even the most humble of abodes. So maybe you, like me, experience confusion when politicos like John Edwards incessantly trumpet two Americas; one of which apparently contains those living in dire poverty and despair."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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F.D. Thompson outlines his policies

As Thompson wended his way across Iowa, home to the early presidential caucuses, the former U.S. senator and actor outlined his positions to voters. On President Bush: "I think that we are finally on the right track in Iraq now, and we're making progress. President Bush has done a good job in terms of domestic economics. I give him credit for the Supreme Court nominations he's made."

On abortion: Thompson said anti-abortion laws should target providers, not pregnant girls and women or their families. He said he doesn't support criminal penalties for those who seek abortions.

On homosexuality: "I'm not going to pass judgment on several million of my fellow citizens. Anybody that knows me knows how I feel about the importance of a family ... of traditional marriage."

Finally, Thompson told voters in Sioux City that he supports oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, doesn't support government-run health care and believes that illegal immigrants should be deported but not necessarily prosecuted.

Source

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Murdoch hatred: "It was no secret Dow Jones and its owners, the Bancroft family, disliked the thought of the media magnate Rupert Murdoch getting his hands on the venerable Wall Street Journal. But just how desperately they searched for a white knight has been revealed in regulatory filings, which show the company talked to 21 "potential transaction partners", including General Electric, Microsoft and even an international gas company, in its quest to fend off News Corp's controversial $US5 billion takeover bid. But Mr Murdoch emerged the winner. Dow Jones was forced to accept his $US60-a-share offer in early August, ending the Bancroft family's 105 years of stewardship, after the three-month search failed to produce a "competitive alternative proposal", documents filed with the US stock market regulator on Friday show. The publisher also agreed to pay News Corp $US165 million should it back out and let the deal collapse, the filing reveals. Mr Murdoch said he had to endure criticism "normally levelled at some sort of genocidal tyrant" during the protracted negotiations... But the media magnate's offer was just too high to ignore. News Corp bid 65 per cent more than Dow Jones's share price before the offer, making it virtually impossible for the board to say no"

Big Oil and the Dems' supply of gas: "The New York Post rightly notes that the FTC has cleared "Big Oil" of manipulating oil prices, citing the fact that market forces and Congress' liquid pork ethanol program drove them up. Surprisingly little media coverage was given the FTC opinion and despite it NY's senatorial delegation, Schumer and Hillary, are gasbagging the "issue" again."

Bush as Hitler poster in BBC newsroom: "Robin Aitken, author of Can We Trust the BBC?, talks about the fact that a depiction of George W Bush as Adolf Hitler was posted in the main current affairs office of the BBC and no-one objected. Mr Aitken, a BBC journalist for 25 years, discusses the contrasting BBC treatment of George W Bush and Bill Clinton.

History Made in Military Aviation: "The US army has hailed the killing of two suspected insurgents in northern Iraq by a drone as a landmark in combat aviation history. A statement said that a Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully killed two "unknown enemies" in Nineveh province after ground troops requested backup. According to the Pentagon, this represented the first time a fully-armed UAV had been launched. The military claims that soldiers identified two potential bombers at a "major thoroughfare" used by coalition troops. Before they could deploy roadside bombs - or improvised explosive devices - as suspected, the Hunter was guided in by pilots and its "precise munition" released; killing both men".

Employment Discrimination against American Muslims a Myth: "A groundbreaking study published late last week investigates the skyrocketing trend of employment discrimination claims filed by members of the American Muslim community and finds that repeated assertions of a post-9/11 backlash against Muslims in the workplace are pure fiction. The report by Jeffrey Breinholt of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, "Muslim Employment Discrimination: A Legal Examination", goes so far as to conclude that these discrimination claims have correlated closely with the rise of Islamic terrorism directed at the US."

Morocco Islamists lose vote: "Voters in Morocco deprived an Islamist party of an expected parliamentary victory, handing it instead to a secular conservative party that is a member of the ruling coalition. The country's oldest political party, Istiqlal, emerged as the biggest in parliament after an election marred by the lowest turnout ever recorded in the North African nation. Unemployment, corruption and poverty were voters' top concerns, not religion. But the vote raised broader questions about the growing strength of political Islam in Morocco and beyond. The Islamist party cried foul after failing to become the biggest party, as it had hoped. But international poll monitors gave the vote their stamp of approval. "Overall, the vote was conducted in an orderly manner, even if the members of the delegation were informed of isolated irregularities on election day," the monitors said in a preliminary report. The nationalist Istiqlal won 52 seats, five more than the PJD, according to preliminary results quoted by Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa. The Union of Socialist Popular Forces was third with 36 seats. Held back by Morocco's proportional representation system, no party has a majority and intense negotiations over forming a governing coalition will now follow."

British red tape stifles science: "One of Britain's leading scientists has been forced to move groundbreaking organ transplant research to the United States, after he was blocked by red tape from conducting a key experiment in this country. Restrictions on animal research have prevented a company set up by Lord Winston, the fertility specialist, from breeding pigs using a new genetic engineering technique that has the potential to produce "humanised" animal organs for transplant. Instead, the work will take place in Missouri. The ban on the work proposed by Atazoa has raised fresh concern that the brain drain to the US is being revived by an excessive bureaucracy attached to British science. It is also a blow to Gordon Brown's attempts to ensure that British medical research is commercially exploited in this country rather than abroad."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED ON AMERICA'S SECOND "DAY OF INFAMY"

The first day of infamy was eventually avenged with nukes. The Islamic madmen seem to be pushing for a repeat.

See here for a touching 9/11 tribute from Poland. I have always admired the heroism and spirit of the Polish people.

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Huge Leftist spin put on a simple psychological experiment

I have for some time been pointing out the very strong evidence that a Leftist or conservative orientation is largely hereditary. So politics do clearly have a physical basis. They do not materialize out of thin air. Just exactly what is inherited, however, no-one has so far conclusively shown. I myself would expect that conservatives have better reality contact and have less need for praise (i.e. healthier egos). Deficient reality contact is the prime symptom of schizophrenia so something as broad as loss of reality contact can indeed be inherited. At the moment, however, the detailed mechanisms are all speculation.

That does not hold up our propagandizing Leftists, however. There is a report here of a recent psychological experiment that involved tapping a keyboard in response to a flashing letter. It was found that conservatives and Leftists differed somewhat in the detail of their responses.

Just what one can conclude from the results is not at all clear. What the results showed was more emotional activity in the brains of Leftists when presented with a difficult task so I would see the results as yet another example of Leftists being more emotional -- as being emotionally-driven rather than reason-driven. I suspect that most readers of this blog would see Leftists that way.

That old anti-scientist, Frank Sulloway, however has a much more florid interpretation. We read:

Sulloway said the results could explain why President Bush demonstrated a single-minded commitment to the Iraq war and why some people perceived Sen. John F. Kerry, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat who opposed Bush in the 2004 presidential race, as a "flip-flopper" for changing his mind about the conflict.

Based on the results, he said, liberals could be expected to more readily accept new social, scientific or religious ideas. "There is ample data from the history of science showing that social and political liberals indeed do tend to support major revolutions in science," said Sulloway, who has written about the history of science and has studied behavioral differences between conservatives and liberals.

Fortunately, the actual authors of the study were more in touch with reality:

Lead author David Amodio, an assistant professor of psychology at New York University, cautioned that the study looked at a narrow range of human behavior and that it would be a mistake to conclude that one political orientation was better. The tendency of conservatives to block distracting information could be a good thing depending on the situation, he said.

For a comment on the parody of science that Sulloway's "studies of behavioral differences between conservatives and liberals" constitute, see here

The LA Times journalist who summarized the research led off with this:

Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work

I would have thought that the study showed the opposite: That Leftists get more het up in an ambiguous situation. But the reason for the vast over-interpretion by the journalist is that it is a very old Leftist trope that conservatives do not tolerate ambiguity well. It is seen as part of a syndrome of "mental rigidity". The only trouble, however, is that there appears to be no such thing. It has also been known for many years that some people are more rigid in some situations and some are more rigid in others. There is no overall trait of intolerance of ambiguity or rigidy for anyone to have -- be they Leftists or Rightists. See here for some references and a fuller treatment here.

And "intolerance of ambiguity" is in any case usually little more than an abusive spin on what would once have been seen as a desire for order. And seeking order in the world is what scientists do. So we could reasonably say that any evidence showing conservatives as "intolerant of ambiguity" is fact shows conservatives as more scientifically oriented. I would not argue with that!

Ace has some mocking comments on the nonsense.

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There is a short explanation of Jewish New Year (Sept. 12 this year) on ICJS. Note that the "Mr Shuldig" in the toon above is Yiddish for "Mr Guilty".

Dems Step on Third Rail to Vilify Petraeus: "Weeks of franticly subverting the long-awaited Petraeus Iraq progress report have seen Democratic leaders demoting a four star General to Bush marionette and left-wing hacks attacking his very credibility, and, collaterally, that of the American military itself. But this weekend witnessed an even more appalling shift from recent liberal heed to steer clear of assaulting our armed services -- suggestions of Petraeus' disloyalty. Having voted unanimously for the promotion of the Iraq Multi-National-Force commander in January, Dems now find themselves in the untenable position of labeling him "untrustworthy." Selling this nonsense in order to preempt anticipated positive "surge" news is further complicated by the reality that Americans hold their military leaders in much higher regard than they do their politicians."

Military Seen as Best Able to Guide War: "Fascinating new NYT/CBS poll finds Americans trust the military more than Bush or Congress to bring the war to a successful end. There are a lot of jokes in there. Readers are encouraged to mine them in comments. But here's one that isn't a joke at all. NYT/CBS apparently had the good sense not to ask Americans what they think about the ability of NYT and CBS to bring the war to a successful end. Good thing. Practitioners of "yeah but" journalism with an expressed preference for genocide who can barely manage to report a war, much less prosecute one . probably wouldn't poll too well on that issue."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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There's still some life left in that old time religion

In the Mormon version, anyway

The co-president of a Gold Coast Mormon church says he is proud of the Helensvale rugby union players who have refused to play in Sunday's local semifinals because of religious beliefs. The Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday revealed that up to 13 Helensvale Hogs players -- eight first grade and five from the second grade -- would not play in tomorrow's semi-finals because their religion forbids sport on Sunday.

While all games during the Gold Coast Rugby home-and-away season are played on Saturdays, the minor semi-final clash has traditionally always taken place on a Sunday. The club tried to have the first and second grade semi-finals moved, but Rugby Gold Coast was unable to do so after spending three days trying to resolve the issue.

Yesterday, the 13 Mormon players, who told the club they would not take the field, received support from the Isle of Capri-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of the church's co-presidents, Riki Horomona, said the Sabbath was very significant for people of the Mormon faith. "What happens is we teach the young people the principles of keeping the Sabbath day sacred and attending church on Sunday," he said.

When asked if he was proud of the players for their defiant stance, Mr Horomona said: "Absolutely. Yes, I absolutely am."Because we are a Christian church we believe in the Ten Commandments and the observance of the Sabbath day."...

Rugby Gold Coast CEO Tim Rowlands yesterday said it was likely this year would be the last that semi-finals were scheduled on a Sunday. "As a total supporter of the Super 14 finals format -- which is first versus fourth and second versus third with the winners going straight to the grand final -- I will be moving that we adopt this format going forward," he said. "This would also mean Rugby Gold Coast will not be playing any senior finals football on a Sunday again."

Mr Rowlands said the decision by Rugby Gold Coast was not made lightly."Rugby Gold Coast is totally sympathetic to the Helensvale players' plight, which is why our staff spent three days this week trying to resolve the issue to give those players the opportunity to play in the finals," he said.

More here

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'I'd Rather Return to Guantanamo': "When two Tunisian men were sent home after five years in Guantanamo, they thought they would be free. Instead, they faced imprisonment, abuse, threats and solitary confinement. Now they say things were better back in the US prison camp. Release from Guantanamo Bay may not be the end of the prisoner's ordeal. Many of the detainees sitting in Guantanamo Bay hail from countries with a terrible record of torturing and abusing prisoners. While they may want to see an end to their ordeal in the US prison camp, they also have reason to dread the treatment they could face back home. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the US government is not doing enough to ensure that prisoners sent back home are not subjected to ill treatment"

Germans embrace the new Fascism: "The German authorities are watching the rising tide of conversion to Islam with some concern, the daily Berliner Zeitung reported Thursday. The newspaper cited figures compiled by a Muslim group that showed that 4,000 Germans had converted last year, compared with just 1,000 in 2005. It was common knowledge that the German authorities were monitoring converts to Islam closely, it said. Quoting Interior Ministry officials, the newspaper said there had been a rise internationally in the number of converts involved in Islamist terrorist acts. Among them are "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, a Briton who tried to blow up an American Airlines flight in December 2001, and Muriel Degauque, a Belgian suicide bomber who blew herself up in Iraq in November 2005. Guido Steinberg, who researches Islamic issues, said extremists were targeting new converts, and terrorist expert Rolf Tophoven said converts tended to be fanatical....

Sweden still not tolerant enough: "Ambassadors from Muslim countries have indicated that they intend to present the Swedish prime minister with a list of demands when they meet for talks on Friday. Fredrik Reinfeldt invited the ambassadors from 20 Muslim countries to government offices on Friday following a wave of protests from Muslim countries after the publication of a caricature of Muhammad in local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda. Egyptian ambassador Mohamed Sotouhi told news agency TT that he and a group of fellow ambassadors had agreed on a list of measures Sweden needed to take if it was to secure a long-term solution to the Muhammad cartoon controversy. According to Sotouhi, "comprehensive measures" were required if Sweden was to prevent some "amateur artist" from reawakening tensions every other month. "We want to see action, not just nice words. We have to push for a change in the law," he said. "Muslims need legal protection against the desecration of the Prophet Muhammad"

Bureaucrats resent being shown up: "In an effort to provide better control and coordination, the federal government is starting an ID program for rescue workers to keep everyday people from swarming to a disaster scene. Proponents say the system will get professionals on scene quicker and keep untrained volunteers from making tough work more difficult. But they also know it is a touchy subject, particularly for those devoted to helping in moments of crisis... The Federal Emergency Management Agency came up with the ID-card idea after the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when countless Americans rushed to help - unasked, undirected and sometimes unwanted. [And who did a lot more good than FEMA]

Insecure Muslims: "The kidnapping of South Korean Christian missionaries by the Afghan Taliban was almost inevitable. Islam has traditionally protected itself from outside influences and deviations of ideology by imposing strict prohibitions against apostasy. In March 2006, Algeria passed a law banning the "urging or forcing or tempting, to convert a Muslim to another religion." Penalties included a fine of $6,000 to $12,000 and imprisonment from two to three years. Morocco under King Mohammed VI purports to be moderate, yet in November, 2006, a German man was jailed for six months for trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. He was found guilty under legislation which outlaws "anyone who employs incitements to shake the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion."

The Blue Dog Fraud: "Many of the newly-elected Democrats in the House of Representatives campaigned as fiscally-conservative independents, but the Wall Street Journal reveals that these so-clalled blue-dog Democrats generally have been supporters of higher taxes and bigger government. Too bad these fiscal frauds aren't more like the "Boll Weevil" Democrats, members of Congress who provided the margin of victory for many reforms to limit the burden of government during the Reagan years"

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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"Truthers" and worldview defense



I had a bit of a laugh recently about the "worldview defense" research of Pyszczynski and friends. I could see no good evidence for his claim that conservative views arise out of a need to defend a worldview.

The evidence Prof. P. offers for his claims concerns attitudes. What students say about their views is the foundation of his theory. I replied by pointing out (among other things) that proper general population survey research into conservative attitudes does not reveal the correlations to be expected from Prof. P.'s theory.

There is however abroad these days one very strange set of attitudes: The attitudes of the "truthers" -- people who believe that the dumb but strangely clever George Bush conspired with the neocons, the Jews and various others to blow up the twin towers on 9/11. Apparently the twin towers were deliberately detonated by GWB rather than being knocked out by bin Laden's henchmen flying hijacked airliners. Some of the claims of the truthers have a superficial plausibility but all have often been debunked (e.g. here).

The interesting thing about truther theory is that, for all its vast implausibility, it is widely believed. According to a general population poll carried out by Zogby 42.6% of Democrat voters believe some version of it versus 19.2% of Republican voters. Nearly half of Left-leaning voters say they believe in a total absurdity!

So why do they do that? A simple answer: It is BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). Bush is so hated by many on the Left that they cannot accept any evidence that might support his policies. Their worldview requires that Bush be (as they often say) akin to Hitler and the embodiment of all evil. That he might have had reasonable grounds for his overthrow of two aggressive Islamic regimes (in Afghansistan and Iraq) just cannot be accepted. Rather than accept that it is preferable to believe a total absurdity.

So if that is not worldview defense I would like to know what would be. It is worldview defense carried to the extent of an extreme mental pathology. So, as I have often previously remarked, Leftists are great projectors -- they attribute to others things that are really true of themselves. So to find out what is true of them, just listen to what they say about conservatives. Prof. P. was so alive to the phenomenon of worldview defense precisely because it fills the heads of many of his fellow Leftists -- and maybe even his own head.

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Left-wing cant and the indefensible

There's a special sort of piece that appears only in The Guardian (or The New York Times) that deserves to be recognised as a journalistic genre in its own right. They masquerade as balanced and judicious profiles of individuals. But in fact they are vigorous defences, or at least pleas in mitigation, for people who cannot be allowed to be seen as guilty of any great sin because they're On The Left.

We had two this weekend. We discovered last week that the playwright Arthur Miller, who abandoned his disabled son after the child was born because he was, in Miller's words, "a mongoloid", avoided all contact with the child until they met, to the playwright's surprise, at a meeting where Miller was championing a better deal for disabled people. This sort of behaviour is beyond satire. To seek applause for your stance on behalf of suffering in general, while being so indifferent to the fate of individual suffering, is the quintessence of canting left-wingery. But for The Guardian Miller was as much the victim as anyone.

But their treatment of Miller was positively caustic besides their lionising of one of Britain's most shameless intellectual apologists for evil. A fawning tribute to the Eric Hobsbawm, 90, made light of his championing of Soviet communism and his support for Stalin, the gulag and totalitarian tyranny. I'm happy to leave the old devil in peace to enjoy his dotage. But can we at least be spared any more laying of garlands at the feet of this man who supported mass murder?

Source

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Keeping the voices alive: "In short, the land line telephone business faces very serious problems across the board. This paper strives to convey two messages. First, traditional land line telephone service transmitted over copper and coaxial cable -- the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) -- faces serious peril and could well disappear in the medium- to long-term, at least for residential use. Second, if we wish to maintain universal land line telephone service in the United States, we must leave new voice telecom technologies -- VoIP and Device-Based Telephony -- as lightly regulated as possible."

Credit crunch, character crisis: "The global financial markets' August upheavals have generated endless commentaries on the reasons for their liquidity problems. The identified culprits range from American subprime mortgage-lenders, to securities-rating agencies, to central banks. Characteristic of these analyses is a tendency to study the crisis in strictly economic terms. Phrases such as 'overexposure to high-risk investments,' 'suspension of withdrawals from funds invested in illiquid credit securities,' and 'margin-calls forcing hedge funds to liquidate good assets' dominate the discussion."

The Joooos again? "Colonies of honeybees (an invasive exotic species) have been dying off in the last year. Some ideological environmentalists--the Sierra Club--attempted to blame biotech crops as the cause. However, as I pointed out, even the research the Sierra Club cited indicated that biotech crops were unlikely to be the cause for colony collapse disorder. Today, Science is publishing a fascinating metagenomic study which strongly suggests that a new viral infection is killing off bees, specifically, Israeli acute paralysis virus".

Leftists condone infanticide: "Although I can see no meaningful difference between killing a child in the womb and killing a child in the cradle, I have grown used to the idea that some people do not consider the former to be infanticide. The decision to legalize pre-birth infanticide was made before I was born. I have never known a world in which killing a baby in the womb was actually called by its proper name. As long as I can remember, it's always been called "choice." Still, I thought that everyone could agree that killing a child after birth was murder. I thought that everyone knew that every child has human rights. I was wrong. If you've heard of partial birth abortion, get used to post-birth abortion. Around the world, the same excuses that have been used to kill the unborn are now be used to kill children who have already been born. Holland recently passed a law legalizing "baby euthanasia," according to a March 2006 article in the The Times in the United Kingdom. If a child is born sick, her parents can choose to kill her."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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