Naive technophiles

Mass production will soon begin on the XO, the "$100 laptop" that MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte believes will change the world. Behind the dream of empowering children through technology, however, lies a reality more complicated and far less idealistic. Professor Negroponte believes his non-profit One Laptop per Child (OLPC) can help solve "whatever big problem you can imagine, from world peace to the environment to hunger to poverty." Early reviews of OLPC's finished product extol its many innovative features. None of these reviews, however, mention what the XO fails to provide, such as a source of clean drinking water, abundant and nutritious food, or medicines for curable diseases....

OLPC's business model actually requires substantial investment from the governments of developing countries, diverting limited resources away from a population's critical needs. The "$100 laptop," which actually costs $188, can only be purchased at a minimum quantity of 250,000. OLPC targets countries like Nigeria, where one out of three children suffer from malnutrition. There a $50 million minimum investment could instead be used to feed more than a million children for an entire year.

After unloading their product, OLPC relies on the naive assumption that governments will distribute laptops free of charge to deserving schoolchildren. This blind trust in corrupt governments will deprive children and ensure the creation of a robust XO black market.

Children will suffer if governments divert scarce resources away from essential services. To avoid that outcome, professor Negroponte should channel his ingenuity into a product compatible with existing markets. Success will be achieved not by forcing technology on children, but by bringing children to technology.

More here

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Hillary fading? "After striding surefooted through the foothills of the Democratic presidential contest, Hillary Clinton's frontrunning campaign has spent the past week tripping itself up. The mis-steps began last Wednesday with one wobbly answer in a television debate - on whether to allow illegal immigrants drivers' licences. Mrs Clinton's response, in all its varied forms, has raised fresh questions about her candidacy. Her opponents ask if she is honest... A clutch of opinion polls over the past two days suggest that her support nationally among Democratic voters has ebbed from a high of more than 50 per cent to the low to mid 40s. One poll in New Hampshire, a key early primary contest which has always been seen as her firewall if she loses the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, shows her margin over Barack Obama falling from 16 points to ten. The loss of support has been greatest among male voters, widening an existing gender gap. For instance, the New Hampshire survey found that while 40 per cent of Democratic women have a "very favourable" view of Mrs Clinton, only 22 per cent of the state's Democratic male voters say the same. A national poll yesterday suggested that only 36 per cent of women would not vote for her, compared with 50 per cent of men."

Mukasey confirmed: "The Senate late Thursday narrowly confirmed former federal Judge Michael Mukasey as the 81st attorney general, giving the nominee the lowest level of congressional support of any Justice Department leader in the past half-century. The 53-40 vote came after more than four hours of impassioned floor debate, and reflected an effort by Democrats to register their displeasure with Bush administration policies on torture and the boundaries of presidential power. Seven senators, including those running for president, did not vote."

The Dems like the idea of voter fraud: "Measures that curb voter fraud on the one hand and encourage it on the other will be central to the 2008 election. The Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of Indiana's photo ID law next spring, while lawsuits challenging Gov. Spitzer's moves will be in New York state courts. Despite her muddled comments this week, there's no doubt where Mrs. Clinton stands on ballot integrity. She opposes photo ID laws, even though they enjoy over 80% support in the polls. She has also introduced a bill to force every state to offer no-excuse absentee voting as well as Election Day registration--easy avenues for election chicanery. The bill requires that every state restore voting rights to all criminals who have completed their prison terms, parole or probation.

GOP recovery?: "Gloom hangs over Republicans when they think of next year's elections - but it shouldn't. The sea change in political fortunes between 2004 and 2006 should not remind Righties only that the winds can change quickly - from a supportive breeze at your back, to a gale-force wind in your face - they should also be reminded that the political landscape can get better fast, too. Next year could be a surprisingly good one for the GOP, though it's clearly not guaranteed. The party will need good candidate recruitment, message discipline, a clear, unifying agenda, and a bit of good luck. But on a wide variety of fronts, there are pieces of good news"



Obsolete British military equipment endangering lives: "An RAF Nimrod flying over southern Afghanistan put out a Mayday call and made an emergency landing at Kandahar air base on Monday after crew found fuel pouring into the bomb bay. The aircraft was in the middle of refuelling when the crew discovered what several sources described as "a major fuel leak" in the bomb bay. The pilot immediately declared an emergency and broke off refuelling. It is a repeat of an incident in September last year, when an RAF Nimrod exploded over Kandahar province killing all 14 on board. The board of inquiry into that incident has yet to report but that Nimrod, tail number XV230, had just refuelled in mid-air and the board's initial findings blamed pressure from the air-to-air refuelling system for forcing a serious leak. The pilot of XV230 reported a fire in his bomb bay and attempted to land at Kandahar. He dropped 20,000 feet in just 90 seconds but at 3,000 feet the starboard wing exploded, followed by the rest of the aircraft" [The Nimrods are a military version of the old De Haviland Comet of the 1950s]

Arabs seeking Israeli citizenship: "The number of East Jerusalem residents seeking Israeli citizenship has risen sharply in recent months, an Israeli official said Wednesday, as talk of a possible re-division of the city gains momentum. The Interior Ministry has received hundreds of applications for citizenship from Arab residents of East Jerusalem over the past few months, instead of the average of several dozen, said ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad. Hadad was unable to provide specific figures but said there has been an increase of hundreds... When Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967, the city's Arabs were given the opportunity to become citizens, yet they rejected it because they refused to acknowledge Israeli control over the city"



I wonder why?: "A scurrilous new e-mail is circulating about Barack Obama. Over the last few months there were the ones that suggested he was secretly hiding his Muslim faith. The messages suggest he refused to pledge allegiance this summer at a steak fry hosted by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin.

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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Justice for the English!

Get out from under those socialist Scots!

Somewhere among the stiff upper lips and a fondness for queuing, a sense of fair play is to be found in any shortlist of the traits readily associated with the English. No wonder, then, that they are animated by the "West Lothian question"-the constitutional anomaly that allows Scottish MPs to vote on laws affecting only England but, since devolution in 1999, denies English MPs a say on a wide array of matters that pertain only to Scotland.

One answer to this question-limiting the right to vote on English-only matters, including health and education, to MPs with English seats-was proposed by Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a Conservative MP, on October 28th. It is not yet party policy, but his plan for a "grand committee" of English MPs is being considered by the Tories.

The present arrangements are lop-sided but Sir Malcolm's proposals, experts say, could hasten the break-up of the United Kingdom. A government with a majority of British but not English seats might struggle to pass many of its manifesto pledges, and ministers from Scottish constituencies would be unable to vote on their own bills. This is not just a theoretical worry: the present cabinet is led by Scots, including the prime minister and his chancellor of the exchequer

Yet a glance at an electoral map explains why the Tories' views may be changing. Margaret Thatcher tried out her hated poll tax there and that, plus the impact of privatisation and union-bashing on Scotland's industrial economy, turned off voters north of the border. The Tories now have just one MP in Scotland.

More here

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Anglospheric dominance

Ever since the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Britain and America have been on the winning side, from the war of the Spanish succession to the cold war. The anglosphere's long streak of luck has preoccupied the losers more than the winners. Winston Churchill excepted, most Britons don't like being tied to modern America; Americans can't see what ancient Britain has to do with them. Yet for outsiders the link between the English-speaking peoples was horribly clear from the start: only a few years after the American revolution the French were sending back horrified reports that New England really was new England in spirit.

Mr Mead's own explanation focuses on God and gold. Britain was lucky: economically, it came good at just the right time. It had a Goldilocks location (close enough to Europe to imbibe its heat, distant enough to avoid many of its wars) and a Goldilocks state (strong enough to work, weak enough to keep out of the way). But its tolerance and brashness were also part of its economic strength: Donald Trump would have fitted into London.

More controversially, Mr Mead also claims that God was part of the anglosphere's competitive advantage. Both Britain and America kept a balance between reason, faith and tradition that their rivals did not. Religion helped to keep the state in check and supplied some of the verve to keep on trying to change the world.

Mr Mead also pinpoints an irony of Anglo-Saxon success. After each victory, the Anglo-Saxons have a rotten record of predicting what will come next, nearly always declaring some version of a new world order, only for a new evil to emerge. Often they seem blissfully unaware of the ire their success has caused. That could be the case with Islam now.

Source

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Business-school management and greedy unions are a great combination: "General Motors has posted a loss of $US39 billion for the third quarter on a massive accounting charge, even as it cited some improvement in its global automotive operations. The whopping loss was attributed to a $US38.6 billion non-cash charge largely related to establishing a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets in the US, Canada and Germany, as well as mortgage losses at GM's former financial arm, GMAC Financial Services. A valuation allowance is taken when the future benefit of the deferred tax assets is less likely to be realised. The net loss amounted to $US68.85 per share, compared with a net loss of $US147 million, or 26 cents per share, in the third quarter of last year.

Action on Iran soon?: "A claim by President Ahmadinejad that Iran has 3,000 working uranium-enriching centrifuges sent a tremor across the world yesterday amid fears that Israel would respond by bombing the country's nuclear facilities. Military sources in Washington said that the existence of such a large number could be a "tipping point", triggering an Israeli air strike. The Pentagon is reluctant to take military action against Iran, but officials say that Israel is a "different matter". Amid the international uproar, British MPs who were to have toured the nuclear facility were backing out of their Iran trip. Even before President Ahmadinejad's announcement, a US defence official told The Times yesterday: "Israel could do something when they get to around 3,000 working centrifuges. The Pentagon is minded to wait a little longer." US experts say 3,000 machines running for long periods could make enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb within a year."

The new France: "President Sarkozy of France yesterday dazzled President Bush and Congress by proclaiming his love for America as he sought to rekindle a long alliance that turned soured over war in Iraq. His address to both Houses of Congress was delivered in French. He began by breathing warm words of fidelity into the translation earpieces worn by almost all the US legislators. To the first of many standing ovations he spoke of the shared values and history of the two nations, dating back to the War of Independence, and declared: "France is the friend of the United States of America." At a dinner held in his honour the previous evening, Mr Sarkozy had signalled his amorous intentions when he toasted President Bush, saying: "On behalf of all Frenchmen, I want to reconquer the heart of America." Mr Bush replied by making a rare foreign-language foray, welcoming his guest with the words "Bienvenue a la Maison Blanche." The White House"

New allegations against Hillary: "A new book hit store shelves today, full of explosive revelations that could damage Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, including accusations of campaign finance violations and new revelations about harassment and threats by the Clintons and their associates. Released today by publisher World Ahead, TARGET: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton is the work of Kathleen Willey, a former White House Aide who says Bill Clinton groped her in the Oval Office. According to a press release from the book’s publisher, Willey also identifies the person who threatened her just prior to her testimony against President Clinton — a man who turned out to be linked to the Clintons."

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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Another IQ-related gene found

This is the second one within a week. See here for the earlier one. The earlier one is discussed more fully on my Food & Health blog (Scroll down)

Children with a gene known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease already show signs of reduced cognitive function, a study has found. That raises the possibility that scientists could develop therapies to block the gene's negative effectsand stave off cognitive decline starting much earlier in life than previously thought possible, the researchers said.

The investigators, with Oregon Health & Science University, found reduced spatial learning and memory skills in children with one of a family of genes implicated in development and in nerve cell regeneration and protection. The results were presented Nov. 5 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego.

Previous studies had found that a gene known as apoE4part of the socalled apolipoprotein E gene familyincreases the risk of cognitive decline due to age and brain injuries. Half of Alzheimer's patients carry apoE4, said study coauthor Jacob Raber. Many nondemented elderly also carry it, he added, but they tend to do worse than others on certain cognitive tests.

In the new study, Raber and colleagues examined 55 healthy boys and girls ages seven to 10, including eight girls and six boys who carried the apoE4 gene. The noncarriers showed better performance on a combination of paper and computerbased tests, they said. These included a virtualreality based spatial navigation task called "Memory Island" whose subjects must use memory to navigate to a location marked with a flag. The test mimics the Morris water maze, a standard tool for testing memory in rodents by training them to swim to a platform based on visual cues.

Source

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Brookes News Update

How long can the US economy defy economic gravity?: There comes a time when every party must end. And economic booms are no different. The trick is to get the timing right. At the moment it looks very much like the US economy will be steaming into 2008, much to the chagrin of the Democrats. Still, they might get lucky before the election
What's behind the Fed's aggressive cut in interest rates?: By attempting to counter various shocks that are predominantly the product of the Fed's own policies Bernanke is very likely going to make things much worse as far as real economic fundamentals are concerned
Greenspan absolves himself from current financial markets turmoil: Greenspan is trying to distance himself from the current financial tremors that are developing. That it was his loose monetary policy that generated a massive current account deficit that eventually drove down the dollar is something he would not like to be reminded off. However, in fairness Greenspan the rest of the world's central banker are not much better
Ethanol - "Fuelish Food Policies": A Judge in Britain got it right recently when he called Gore's film a biased political document with eleven specific claims not supported by any evidence. Politicians are about to inflict huge greenhouse costs on the whole community, for nothing
101 Love Crimes and Legislative Positions: Liberal politicians quiver in bliss - stroking their delusional consciences. They pimp a provocative fantasy that liberals are born superiorly caring and compassionate. For liberals, lamenting social injustices indulges some perverse pleasures
Friends and critics of Israel: Israel bashing has become a common substitute and camouflage of ordinary anti-Semitism, which hardly bothers with facts and common courtesy! At the same time, Jews and Jewish issues have become a magnet for distorted people who thrive on and need attention from others

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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Unshattered intelligence

James Flynn has a rather curious article just up which is headed "shattering intelligence". That title would however seem to be more an aspiration than an achievement. The basic point of the article is that the environment can in some cases make a considerable difference to the development of a specific ability. But nobody has ever said otherwise. The estimates of how much of IQ is genetically determined usually range around two thirds. The other third is environmental.

So, other than the title, Flynn's article is perfectly conventional psychometrics. He explains well that there is a high degree of generality to intellectual ability (IQ or 'g') and that efforts to improve on the environmental contribution to IQ tend to have only temporary success. The genetic influence keeps re-asserting itself.

His recommendation for improving one's IQ -- that one should immerse oneself in intellectual pursuits -- is fair enough. That should be of some small help in some problem solving. But if you are not pretty smart to start with you are just not likely to immerse yourself in that sort of thing. And if you are very bright, you almost cannot help yourself from getting immersed in intellectual pursuits. You just find complex things interesting and simple things boring. I think Flynn has put the cart before the horse and is not going very far that way.

For all that, his latest article reveals Flynn as much closer to the facts than he once was. His Leftist biases have led him into some pretty strange claims in the past.

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How frustrating for miserable Leftists: "American voters are generally happy with their own lives. Eighty-six percent of Americans say they are content with their jobs, according to the General Social Survey. Seventy-six percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their family income, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Sixty-two percent of Americans expect their personal situation to get better over the next five years, according to a Harris Poll, compared with only 7 percent who expect it to get worse. Researchers from Pew found that 65 percent of Americans are satisfied over all with their own lives - one of the highest rates of personal satisfaction in the world today."

Mr. Perks goes to Lansing: "One newspaper calls Leon Drolet, head of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, 'a bully.' State Rep. Ed Gaffney calls him a 'brown-shirted, knuckle-dragging thug.' The Detroit Free Press calls him 'One of the most unpopular figures in Lansing,' Michigan's capital. What does all this name-calling mean? It means Drolet and the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA) are having a real impact. You see, the political establishment -- from politicians to special interests -- want to raise taxes. The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance does not want a tax hike. The group wants state government to make do with less, just as Michigan taxpayers are having to do during their state's recession."

Anti-Photo ID Legislation Would Promote Election Fraud, Says Group: "Legislation introduced by Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) to prohibit photo ID requirements for voting in federal elections would promote election fraud, say members of the black leadership network Project 21. "Representative Ellison's proposal is fundamentally flawed and potentially harmful to the integrity of our democratic process," said Project 21 chairman Mychal Massie. "Why invite that which can only lead to unimaginable fraud and corruption?" Imposing existing Minnesota election law on a national scale, the "Voter Access Protection Act of 2007" (H.R. 4026) would ban the use of photo ID for voter verification in federal elections. Rep. Ellison calls photo ID requirements "burdensome" and liken them to a "modern-day poll tax." He further charges that the Bush Administrations enforcement of voting rights issues effectively promotes "voter suppression of minorities, seniors and young people."

Saving Afghan kids: "About 90,000 children who would have died before the age of 5 under Taleban rule in Afghanistan will stay alive this year because of advances in medical care, according to President Karzai, who thanked international aid agencies and Afghan health workers yesterday. The under5 mortality rate has declined from an estimated 257 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to about 191 per 1,000 in 2006, according to a study by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Some 250,000 underfives are still dying each year mainly from malnutrition, TB and malaria."

Lucky Belgium. No government! ""Belgium is heading for a record 150 days with no government unless the Christian Democrat and Liberal election winners resolve a spat blocking their bid to form a coalition. ... There is no deadline for forming a government, but the deadlock could lead some politicians to break from the effort and force the King to appoint a different Prime Minister-designate for new negotiations. Belgium faces the 150-day mark without a government on Wednesday."

Despite the Gloom, More Bush Boom: "If things are so bad, why are they so good? With all the gloom coming out of Wall Street, the Democrats on the campaign trail, and the mainstream media, a remarkable thing just happened: Real gross domestic product, the best summary report of the American economy, came in at a breathtaking 3.9 percent annual rate for the third quarter. In fact, following the 3.8 percent growth rate for the second quarter, the U.S. economy has posted its strongest quarterly growth in four years. The economy actually appears to be speeding up, following the relatively sluggish performance of the prior 18 months."

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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Olmert, the suicidal dreamer

Post below excerpted from Powerline. See the original for links and much more

What is being said about the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian talks in Annapolis is beyond delusional. The appalling Ehud Olmert sets the stage:

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he may be able to make peace with the Palestinians by the end of 2008 as the United States vowed to defend Israel's security during the difficult process. "If we act decisively together, we and the Palestinians, there is a chance for us to reach real achievements, maybe even before the end of President (George W.) Bush's term," he said at the Saban Forum think-tank in Jerusalem.

Sure, peace by the end of 2008! This is just what we don't need: another American President looking for a "legacy" in the Middle East. Olmert digs himself in deeper:

"There is no intention to drag out the negotiations without end. There is no reason to again hit the foot-dragging that characterised our talks in the past," the premier said.

Foot-dragging? What foot-dragging? At Oslo, Israeli diplomats raced to give away the store, and a lot of good it did them. Let's not confuse "foot-dragging" with the genocidal patience with which the Palestinian Arabs and their supporters have plotted the destruction of Israel for two generations. AFP, the source of this particular news story, shares with other news agencies an odd incuriosity about the recent history of the region:

The two sides plan to launch intensive bilateral talks on a permanent agreement following the international meeting, aimed at reviving a peace process that has been dormant for seven years.

Gosh! Why has the "peace process" been "dormant" for seven years? I suppose AFP meant to tie this "dormancy" to the seven years that President Bush has been in office. In reality, however, the "peace process" is dormant because the Palestinians have failed to live up to any of the commitments they made in Oslo, and instead have continued to murder Israelis with rockets and suicide bomb belts.

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The REAL doers of good

Post below excerpted from Rand Simberg. See the original for links

Who is it that really changes the world, and for the better? I would argue that it is the people like Bill Gates, or Henry Ford, or Thomas Edison, or the Wright brothers, who have a much larger and more beneficial effect on the world than people who "want to make a difference."

Who is more of a humanitarian, a Norman Borlaug, who through his technological efforts saved untold millions from hunger, and even starvation, and was reasonably compensated for it, or an Albert Schweitzer or Mother Theresa, who labored to help a relatively few poor and ill, while living in relative poverty? Obviously the latter derived personal satisfaction from their hands-on retail efforts, but I don't think that they ever whined about their lifestyle.

These people do in fact need to grow up, and understand that there are other ways to help people than forming non-profits and NGOs, or working for a government bureaucracy. People are helped most by technological advances that make essential items--food, transportation, communication, shelter--more affordable and accessible to them, not by those who provide them with handouts and sympathy, and keep them in a state of perpetual dependency.

In many ways, Sam Walton was one of the great humanitarians of our time, in bringing our nation's poor closer to a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle, and he seemed to do pretty well by doing good. But don't expect very many of these idealistic overgrown adolescents to want to emulate him. Actually increasing wealth, for themselves and others, would go against everything they believe

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ELSEWHERE

Of two Swedish men, one is very pro-Israel and the other mourns the death of Arafat. Which gets called a "Nazi"? I think you can guess. The pro-Israel man belongs to a party that wants to restrict Muslim immigration into Sweden, you see. Details here. Rather strangely, it seems mainly to be LGF who is circulating the "Nazi" allegations in the English-speaking world. Gates of Vienna seems to agree that the Nazi allegations are Leftist in origin.

There is a recent interview with Ann Coulter here in which she is her usual witty self.

Even Maureen Dowd of the NYT is laughing at Hillary: "Women need to rally to support Hillary and send her money because there are men, men like Tim Russert, who have the temerity to ask her questions during a debate. If there are six male rivals on stage and two male moderators and heaven knows how many men manning lights and boom mikes, the one woman should have the right to have it two ways. It's simple math, really, an estrogen equation. If she wants to run on her record as first lady while keeping the lid on her first lady record, that's only fair for the fairer sex. And if she wants to have it both ways on illegal immigrants getting driver's licenses, then she should, especially if those illegal immigrants are men, or if Lou Dobbs is ranting on the issue, because he's not only a man, he's a grumpy, cranky, border-crazed man. She should certainly be allowed to play the gender card two ways, or even triangulate it. As her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, said after the debate, she is "one strong woman," who has dwarfed male rivals and shown she's tough enough to deal with terrorism and play on the world stage. But she can break, just like a little girl, when male chauvinists are rude enough to catch her red-handed being slippery and opportunistic."

Even the abortionists are not impressed by Hillary's flip-flopping: "Kate Michelman, a former NARAL President and admitted Edwards supporter posts at Open Left: "As a woman who's been in the public eye and experienced scrutiny, as a woman who knows how hard it can be for women to earn their seat at the leadership table, how hard women have to work just to get the same opportunities, this distresses me. It is not presidential. Any serious candidate for president should have to answer tough questions and defend their record. Any serious candidate for president should make their views clear and let the American people know where they stand on issues. And any serious candidate for president should be held to the same standard - whether man or woman. Have we have come a long way? Well, far enough to know better than to use our gender as a shield when the questions get too hot."

Crazy college costs: "Since 1990, the cost of tuition and fees at the University of California and the California State University system has climbed by 350 percent, while the general cost of living has increased during that time by 44 percent and personal income in California has grown 70 percent."

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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Leftist logic again

Leftists repeatedly do everything they can to avoid looking at the facts of any issue they discuss. Instead they use moral outrage, ad hominem arguments, appeals to dubious authority, whatever.

Egregious Leftist columnist Dana Milbank is a good example. He appears to have been present at a launch at AEI of a new book "Abraham's Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People" written by Jon Entine. You may remember that Entine got into a lot of trouble a few years ago for arguing that blacks have a genetic advantage in certain sporting events -- an advantage any Olympic games spectator could see with their own eyes. Entine appears not to have been deterred by his critics however. The new book argues that the average Jewish IQ is unusually high and that the advantage is genetically inherited. The IQ research certainly supports that (See here and here) but it is again pretty obvious if you look at who is teaching in the universities etc.

Milbank reports that the arguments of the new book were generally accepted by the audience and then goes on to say:

Left unchallenged was the question of whether Jews are indeed smarter than others -- even though it would have only required a walk down the hall to the office of new AEI visiting fellow Paul Wolfowitz, whose leadership on the Iraq war and conflicts of interest as head of the World Bank demonstrate that Jews are capable of questionable judgment.

Where do I begin to comment on that pathetic apology for an argument? He thinks that the "questionable" judgment of one Jewish man is a serious challenge to generalizations about Jews as a whole. It would be equally logical to deny that dogs bark because some dogs do not.

But that's the sort of thing that Leftists do when all the evidence is against them. Anything rather than abandon the simplistic illusions that they so obviously desperately need.

There is nothing wrong with using examples and anecdotes to make vivid a statistical generalization but to use one example to challenge a statistical generalization is brain-dead. To challenge a statistical generalization you have to look at the evidence for and against it, and where IQ is concerned, Leftists avoid doing that like the plague. No mystery why.

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An amazing twist

At first it's just the Democrat corruption you expect... and then we find that the Dems have been in cahoots with one of the world's naughtiest men. It is probably more proof of how smart Watson is. He figured what he needed to do to get Federal funding for his lab

Lawmakers, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, have taken thousands in campaign cash from an embattled Nobel-prize winning scientist while earmarking federal money for his New York lab. Mrs. Clinton and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, also a New York Democrat, requested a $900,000 earmark in June for the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where James D. Watson served as chancellor before resigning last week after apologizing for comments that suggested that people descending from Africa aren't as intelligent as those from Europe.

Federal campaign filings show that Mr. Watson has donated more than $70,000 to candidates and their political causes, including a total of $3,000 to Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign on May 17 and June 25. Two days later, a Senate committee report showed that Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Schumer earmarked $900,000 for the lab. The majority of Mr. Watson's donations over the years have gone to Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, who has received more than $30,000 from the scientist, records show. Mr. Harkin is chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health, human services and education.

Phillippe Reines, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, yesterday referred all questions about the earmark to Mr. Harkin's office but added that there was no connection between political donations and the earmark. "One thing had nothing to do with the other," he said. [Oh, no!]

More here

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ELSEWHERE

Surge in American Anti-Semitism : "This is a rather disturbing trend and it's likely a result of the nonstop Israel bashing by the left, who see a neo-con around every corner. Nearly 35 million American adults - 15 percent - hold views consistent with making them anti-Semitic, according to a survey released yesterday. The Anti-Defamation League survey, conducted from between Oct. 6 and 19, also showed that 31 percent of Americans believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America, and just over a quarter - 27 percent - believe that Jews were responsible for the death of Christ. The survey showed that the nearly 35 million adults Americans who held views making them "unquestionably anti-Semitic" increased the rating 1 percentage point from the 14 percent of the 2005 survey".

Money Train. Another subsidy, no real reforms for Amtrak: "Ronald Utt of the Heritage Foundation notes that in 2006, Amtrak lost enough money per passenger on at least three of their long-distance routes - Orlando to L.A., ($436 per passenger), Seattle to L.A. ($227), and New York to Florida ($132) - that they could have easily come out ahead by collecting passengers' fares and handing them round-trip airline tickets. As of August, Amtrak had lost approximately $845 million for the year.... It could not be clearer that inter-city passenger rail has lost its raison d'etre. Rail is a good way to move cows, logs, grain, and cars. It is not a good way to move people, except the ones who are willing to pay far too much (even after the subsidy) for a trip that takes far too long. Other industrialized nations are already privatizing - it is about time Congress gave someone else a chance to improve the margins on the most cost-efficient routes (in the northeast), and stop running the ones that lose the most money."

Thousands of Iraqis returning to Baghdad: "In a dramatic turnaround, more than 3,000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the past three months as sectarian violence has dropped, the government said Saturday. Saad al-Azawi, his wife and four children are among them. They fled to Syria six months ago, leaving behind what had become one of the capital's more dangerous districts - west Baghdad's largely Sunni Khadra region."

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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Times editorial: `Serious success in Iraq is not being recognised as it should be'

Post below lifted from Don Surber

Not the New York Times. Not the Los Angeles Times. Not the Washington Times. Not the St. Petersburg Times. Keep guessing. The Times of London editorializes:

"Is no news good news or bad news? In Iraq, it seems good news is deemed no news. There has been striking success in the past few months in the attempt to improve security, defeat al-Qaeda sympathisers and create the political conditions in which a settlement between the Shia and the Sunni communities can be reached. This has not been an accident but the consequence of a strategy overseen by General David Petraeus in the past several months."

Yes. We are winning. This isn't some no-neck blogger or goofball columnist. This is the best newspaper in the world saying this. The war is not won, but we are winning. The Times of London wrote:

"The current achievements, and they are achievements, are being treated as almost an embarrassment in certain quarters. The entire context of the contest for the Democratic nomination for president has been based on the conclusion that Iraq is an absolute disaster and the first task of the next president is to extricate the United States at maximum speed. Democrats who voted for the war have either repudiated their past support completely (John Edwards) or engaged in a convoluted partial retraction (Hillary Clinton). Congressional Democrats have spent most of this year trying (and failing) to impose a timetable for an outright exit."

James Clyburn was right. Victory in Iraq is a very big problem for the party of defeat. The cheese-eating surrender monkey has replaced the jackass as the party's symbol. That is not an improvement. The bottom line of the editorial is the bottomline of the war:

"The instinct of too many people is that if Iraq is going badly we should get out because it is going badly and if it is getting better we should get out because it is getting better. This is a catastrophic miscalculation. Iraq is getting better. That is good, not bad, news."

The entire editorial is here. I trust the Washington Post, which has supported the war through thin and thinner, will top that editorial on Sunday - if only to show its news editors who really is the voice of the newspaper.

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Republicans have TWO enemies to combat: The Democrats and the media



Just like so many reports before it, a joint survey by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy - hardly a bastion of conservative orthodoxy - found that in covering the current presidential race, the media are sympathetic to Democrats and hostile to Republicans. Democrats are not only favored in the tone of the coverage. They get more coverage period. This is particularly evident on morning news shows, which "produced almost twice as many stories (51% to 27%) focused on Democratic candidates than on Republicans."

The most flagrant bias, however, was found in newspapers. In reviewing front-page coverage in 11 newspapers, the study found the tone positive in nearly six times as many stories about Democrats as it was negative. Breaking it down by candidates, the survey found that Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the favorites. "Obama's front page coverage was 70% positive and 9% negative, and Clinton's was similarly 61% positive and 13% negative." In stories about Republicans, on the other hand, the tone was positive in only a quarter of the stories; in four in 10 it was negative.

Much more here

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ELSEWHERE

Great! Spammer jailed for two years: "A 28-YEAR-OLD man from the US state of New Jersey has been jailed for more than two years by a New York judge for his part in a spamming operation that sent out millions of unsolicited emails. Todd Moeller was today sentenced to a 27-month term and fined more than $US180,000 after pleading guilty earlier this year to sending out spam emails. Moeller was caught in a sting operation after agreeing to send junk email advertising an unspecified commercial product to around 1.2 million customers of internet service provider America Online (AOL)."

Leftist moral imbecility: "Like the infamous Newsweek cover that inspired it, this documentary treats both girls - Palestinian Ayat al-Akhras and Israeli Rachel Levy - as victims of "faith or fate that brought each of them to the end of her life in such a tragic manner." Appallingly, the filmmakers blur the distinction between murderer and victim, evil and innocence. The Israeli girl went to the market to buy Sabbath supplies; the Palestinian girl went there to murder strangers in a homicide bombing".

Leftist philosopher Peter Singer opposes censorship of IQ research: "Putting aside the specific claims that Watson made in his Sunday Times interview, a difficult question remains: should scientists investigate the possibility of a link between race and intelligence? Is the question too sensitive for science to explore? Is the danger of misuse of the results of such research too great? The dangers are obvious enough. Racist stereotyping harms the prospects of many non-whites, especially those of African descent..... Yet to say that we should not carry out research in this area is equivalent to saying that we should reject open-minded investigation of the causes of inequalities in income, education, and health between people of different racial or ethnic groups. When faced with such problems, a preference for ignorance over knowledge is difficult to defend."

Finally Filling the Fifth: "It's about time. On Thursday, October 24, by a vote of 59-38, the Senate confirmed Judge Leslie H. Southwick to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. That might not seem like much. But if you've been following the "Judges War" since George W. Bush moved into the White House, then you'd know it's actually quite something after all. The judicial seat now filled by Judge Southwick has been without a Senate-confirmed jurist for more than eight years now"

Why Mrs. Clinton Wants Illegals to Have Driver's Licenses: "The background here is the National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as "Motor Voter," that President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1993. It required all states to offer voter registration to anyone getting a driver's license. One simply fills out a form and checks a box stating he is a citizen; he is then registered and in most states does not have to show any ID to vote. But no one checks if the person registering to vote is indeed a citizen"

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

****************************

"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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