Study finds genetic link to violence, delinquency

The conclusions of the report below have much precedent but are of course unpopular. For some reason that escapes me, the idea of genetic influences on behaviour seems to threaten lots of people, despite the vast evidence for it. Leftists certainly seem to need to believe that only social influences can affect behaviour.

Somewhat to my surprise on the present occasion I note that a libertarian writer seems very hostile to the study too. But libertarians often do seem to have little role for genetics in their thinking. The main hole in this libertarian writer's thinking is that he seems unable to accept that genes and environment usually have to interact to produce a given result. That he has difficulty with what is a universally accepted idea among geneticists just suggests to my mind that his hostility has overcome his reason.

Nonetheless there are real criticisms that could be made of the study. Looking at Table 2 in the original research report, it would appear that there were only 11 boys in the MAOA2R group and it was only that group which had strikingly high rates of delinquency. That is a pretty slender sample size upon which to base any generalizations. Taken in conjunction with previous research (which the authors cite) the conclusions of the study are, however, reasonable. It is rare for a single study to be decisive by itself

Three genes may play a strong role in determining why some young men raised in rough neighborhoods or deprived families become violent criminals, while others do not, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. One gene called MAOA that played an especially strong role has been shown in other studies to affect antisocial behavior -- and it was disturbingly common, the team at the University of North Carolina reported.

People with a particular variation of the MAOA gene called 2R were very prone to criminal and delinquent behavior, said sociology professor Guang Guo, who led the study. "I don't want to say it is a crime gene, but 1 percent of people have it and scored very high in violence and delinquency," Guo said in a telephone interview.

His team, which studied only boys, used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a U.S. nationally representative sample of about 20,000 adolescents in grades 7 to 12. The young men in the study are interviewed in person regularly, and some give blood samples.

Guo's team constructed a "serious delinquency scale" based on some of the questions the youngsters answered. "Nonviolent delinquency includes stealing amounts larger or smaller than $50, breaking and entering, and selling drugs," they wrote in the August issue of the American Sociological Review. "Violent delinquency includes serious physical fighting that resulted in injuries needing medical treatment, use of weapons to get something from someone, involvement in physical fighting between groups, shooting or stabbing someone, deliberately damaging property, and pulling a knife or gun on someone."

GENES PLUS ENVIRONMENT

They found specific variations in three genes -- the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene, the dopamine transporter 1 (DAT1) gene and the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene -- were associated with bad behavior, but only when the boys suffered some other stress, such as family issues, low popularity and failing school.

MAOA regulates several message-carrying chemicals called neurotransmitters that are important in aggression, emotion and cognition such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

The links were very specific. The effect of repeating a grade depended on whether a boy had a certain mutation in MAOA called a 2 repeat, they found. And a certain mutation in DRD2 seemed to set off a young man if he did not have regular meals with his family. "But if people with the same gene have a parent who has regular meals with them, then the risk is gone," Guo said. "Having a family meal is probably a proxy for parental involvement," he added. "It suggests that parenting is very important." He said vulnerable children might benefit from having surrogates of some sort if their parents are unavailable.

"These results, which are among the first that link molecular genetic variants to delinquency, significantly expand our understanding of delinquent and violent behavior, and they highlight the need to simultaneously consider their social and genetic origins," the researchers said.

Guo said it was far too early to explore whether drugs might be developed to protect a young man. He also was unsure if criminals might use a "genetic defense" in court. "In some courts (the judge might) think they maybe will commit the same crime again and again, and this would make the court less willing to let them out," he said.

Source. Another account of the study here

Reference: Guo, G.; Roettger, M.E.; & Cai, T. (2008) "The Integration of Genetic Propensities into Social-Control Models of Delinquency and Violence among Male Youths" American Sociological Review, Vol. 73, No. 4. (August), pp. 543-568.

My conclusion? Among whites, the percentage of people who are criminal enough to go to prison is quite small. Figures between 2% and 5% are usually quoted. So a genetic feature which predisposes to criminality might also be expected to be relatively rare -- as the MAOA2R combination is. Nobody is however saying that criminality is all due to one gene or set of genes or due to one cause or set of causes. Low average IQ is another striking feature of criminals and that alone is known to be polygenetic in origin.

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

ELSEWHERE

The quotas that won't die: "Preferential contracting is a multibillion dollar business. According to a study by Justin Marion of the University of California at Santa Cruz, government contracting is estimated at almost 10 percent of gross domestic product and the practice of giving preferential treatment to disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) contractors and subcontractors is widespread. In 2002, 6.75 percent of federal procurement dollars, for example, were awarded through the Small Business Administration to DBEs. And between 1983 and 1999, all Department of Transportation contracts required 10 percent `goals' - their term of art for set-asides - for minority- and women-owned firms. The original intent of the DBE programs was to spread work around to a variety of struggling minority business owners, lifting them from poverty to the ranks of the successful. But study after study has shown that a small number of firms, a monopoly of just one or two in some jurisdictions, gets the overwhelming share of the contract awards."

Leftism isn't progressive: "Marginal tax rates in excess of 50% aren't conducive to progress. Protectionism isn't conducive to progress. Not even if you call it `fair trade.' Price controls that reduce the returns to medical innovation aren't conducive to progress. Throwing more and more money at schools that have failed year after year to educate students adequately is not conducive to progress. Policies that discourage the accumulation of capital (e.g., income vs. consumption tax) are not conducive to progress. (Market) Liberalism is progressive. Leftism is not." (07/16/08)

Prisoner Exchange: "Israel's trauma over the release of one of the world's most contemptible murderers in exchange for the remains of the bodies of two abducted soldiers is heart-rending. And it should remind citizens of civilized nations of the most important arguments in favor of the death penalty for captured terrorists: Execution removes the incentive for further acts of terrorism intended to win their release."

British Leftists beginning to face up to the housing shortage: "Thousands of new homes are set to be built on the green belt over the next 20 years under Government plans to force local councils to allow development on previously protected land across the south east. Waste incinerators and landfill sites could also be constructed on green-belt land, parks and even areas of outstanding natural beauty, under the Government proposals released today. Ministers want almost 100 new homes to be built every day in the south east for the next 20 years and are preparing to over-rule local opposition by allowing towns to spread into the green belt. The Government is pushing ahead with the large house-building programme despite the global credit crisis leading to a slump in the house-building industry. Several of the country's biggest developers are facing difficulties and laying-off staff. Although house-building is likely to stall for the next few years, ministers hope that the industry will recover to deliver the ambitious long-term programme. Documents released today reveal that ministers have ordered that the green belts around Oxford, Guildford, Woking and other towns in the south east are reviewed."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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. See also AUSTRALIAN CARTOONS by "Zeg".

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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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

Dennis Prager: the defining characteristic of most people on the Left is naivete about evil

Christie's Auction House has sold John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to Give Peace A Chance for $833,654 dollars. Yes, it is hard to think of more stupidity in as few words, no matter what you said. If you said the Earth is flat, it would be less foolish than the lyrics to that line. First of all, as I have always felt, from the time that it was popular, is that is all they are saying. That is exactly right. They have nothing profound to say, give peace a chance. That's right. Well, you give peace a chance by using the military. That's why Ingrid Betancourt and thirteen others were liberated.

Just to let you know, and they have not revealed one third of what, and they say we're not telling. It's too humiliating, too degrading, too nightmarish. But just as one example, Ingrid Betancourt, remember this is a woman in her 40s who was running for president, by the way, on the left, a woman on the left running for president of Colombia. She went into areas where the FARC monsters had been strong to campaign, was kidnapped, and never let out. It is good to know, though, that she was a very big deal in Europe, who loved her. She was an attractive, intelligent woman who was married to a Frenchman, and so she was a French-Colombian, or a Colombian-French. And she had run for president, she was on the Green Party ticket, among other tickets. And she was just a cause celebre, a celebrated cause in Europe.

For whatever reason, that did not move the FARC monsters. It did not. The resolutions passed in Paris did not seem to move them. However, when the military showed up in a brilliant plan, brilliant, concocted over months with Americans and other help, that worked. That worked. People with weapons got her out. The military got her out. Now they got her out, by the way, without even killing anybody, which is wonderful. If the military can win without killing, I'm all for it...

I want to read to you some of the comments that she made when she got out. It was not treatment you can give to a living being. I won't even speak of the human being, Betancourt said. I wouldn't have given the treatment I had to an animal, perhaps not even to a plant. Pretty powerful, huh? When I say that they were chained, this is from CNN Carl Penhall. When I say they were chained by the neck for 24 hours a day, it wasn't just for a few days. It was for two and three years.

But here is the line that I most wanted to isolate from one of the reports. But the worst thing that happened to her, she said, was "realizing that mankind, that human beings can be so horrible to other human beings." Well, given that she was a woman of the moderate left, I mean, obviously not the far left like them, but on the left, I knew by definition she was naive about evil. That is the defining characteristic of almost everyone left of center, is naivete about evil. And that's why they caused so much trouble, even when many of them are very sweet people, as I'm sure she is. She was shocked that people cold be so cruel...

They think George Bush is evil. That's how sick, how sick the left mind is about real evil. It is. On the issue of good and evil, the leftist mind is perverse. Yeah, she just couldn't realize, she never realized that mankind, that human beings could be so horrible to other beings. Why not? Did she never read any history of the Communists in China? Of the Gulag Archipelago? Of the Holocaust? I just don't know. How did she not realize this? Well, part of the reason is that for people on the left, it has to happen to them to be real. Everything has to be personalized. Well, I never experienced it. That's why there's no wisdom on the left. You can't be wise if you don't learn from others.

More here

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

McCain sees himself in Teddy Roosevelt mold

And he's right about that. TR was a patriot but he was also the founder of the "Progressive" party, a Greenie and an enemy of business

Senator John McCain, in a wide-ranging interview, called for a government that was frugal but more active than many conservatives might prefer. He said government should play an important role in areas like addressing climate change, regulating campaign finance and taking care of "those in America who cannot take care of themselves." "I count myself as a conservative Republican, yet I view it to a large degree in the Theodore Roosevelt mold," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said, referring to Roosevelt's reputation for reform, environmentalism and tough foreign policy.

The views expressed by McCain in the 45-minute interview here Friday illustrate the challenge he faces as he tries to navigate the sensibilities of his party's conservative base and those of the moderate and independent voters he needs to defeat Senator Barack Obama, his Democratic rival.

His responses suggested that he was basically in sync with his party's conservative core but was not always willing to use the power of the U.S. government to impose those values. He also expressed a willingness to deploy government power and influence where free-market purists might hesitate to do so, and to consider unleashing military force for moral reasons.

In recent weeks, McCain has left many Republicans unsettled about his ideological bearings by toggling between reliably conservative issues, like support for gun owners' rights, and an emphasis on centrist messages, like his willingness to tackle global warming and to provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

McCain, who with his wife, Cindy, has an adopted daughter, said flatly that he opposed allowing gay couples to adopt. "I think that we've proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don't believe in gay adoption," he said.

But he declined to take a specific position when asked whether only evolution should be taught in public schools. "It's up to the school boards," he said. "That's why we have local control over education." McCain has said he believes in evolution.

Many social conservatives strenuously oppose California's decision to allow same-sex marriage. But McCain, who also opposes same-sex marriage, has always said that the issue is up to the states, and in the interview he said he would stick to that position as president even if California chose to continue allowing gay marriage after putting the matter to a statewide vote in November. "I respect the right of the states to make those decisions," he said.

Asked whether he considered himself an evangelical Christian, McCain responded, "I consider myself a Christian." "I attend church," he said. "My faith has sustained me in very difficult times." Asked how often he attended, he responded: "Not as often as I should." He has recently been photographed going to church as his campaign has begun to make public the times he attends services.

More here

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

ELSEWHERE

Stalinist (crooked) statistics live on in Britain: "Ministers will defy public concern over gang violence by claiming today that crime is falling at a record rate. Even before the final figures for the British Crime Survey (BCS) were in, Whitehall officials had already begun drawing up plans to trumpet the reduction in offences, The Times has learnt. The survey, published today, will state that crime is falling in all 43 police forces in England and Wales and that the Government has exceeded its key target of cutting offences by more than 15 per cent since 2003. Its release comes at a time when the credibility of official statistics is being questioned. Senior police are worried about shortcomings in recording two major areas: knife and gun crime. Despite a recent series of stabbings, the survey will conclude that knife crime is stable. The researchers interview 47,000 people aged 16 and over about their experience of crime over the previous 12 months. They cannot capture the extent of knife crime because they do not interview under16s."

Pigs do Fly... AP Announces Iraq War Basically Over : "Spc. Grover Gebhart has spent nine months at a small post on a Sunni-Shiite fault line in western Baghdad. But the 21-year-old soldier on his first tour in Iraq feels he's missing the real war - in Afghanistan, where his brother is fighting the Taliban. With violence in Iraq at its lowest level in four years and the war in Afghanistan at a peak, the soldiers serving at patrol station Maverick say Gebhart's view is increasingly common, especially among younger soldiers looking to prove themselves in battle. "I've heard it a lot since I got here," said 2nd Lt. Karl Kuechenmeister, a 2007 West Point graduate who arrived in Iraq about a week ago."

US, Afghan Troops Repel Attack from Taliban Invaders With 8:1 Advantage: "What the media didn't bother reporting. They reported, accurately, that the attack resulted in the highest number of US casualties since a helicopter was downed and all 16 lives aboard lost. They lost interest in the story when the US won, in an engagement Jeff Emmanuel calls an Alamo with a better ending."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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. See also AUSTRALIAN CARTOONS by "Zeg".

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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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

Memory and the Left

It's difficult to avoid exasperation over the left's absolute refusal to acknowledge the new realities of the Iraq war. The surge, the Anbar awakening, the collapse of the militias (particularly that belonging to everybody's favorite would-be caliph, Moqtada al-Sadr) -- it's as if none of it ever happened, as if one the most impressive turnabouts in modern military annals never took place.

The left, including its Democratic political wing and placeholders in the media, continue on with the same defeatist drone that we've heard since 2003, concentrating on lone (and mercifully rare) suicide bombers, emphasizing Coalition casualties, and highlighting the new government's difficulties. (Nowhere is this more true than in the case of Mr. B.H. Obama, a Democratic senator currently running for president. Reports last week hinted that Obama was about to climb down from his intention to abandon Iraq sixteen months after taking office. But he held tight, assuring reporters he had in no way abandoned his plan for peace in our time.)

There's no point in waiting for the nickel to drop at last. The American left has not missed the unfolding victory in Iraq, nor are they ignoring it. They have forgotten it. They have taken it in, analyzed it, weighed the results, and then flushed it from memory as completely and brutally as a Ministry of Truth goon from 1984.

The process of selective amnesia is an important and often overlooked aspect of the left-wing mentality. It's a direct inheritance from the communists, for whom the capacity to self-edit was often a matter of life and death. In Stalin's Soviet Union, honored heroes of the Revolution could suddenly turn into traitors to the Worker's Paradise and just as suddenly into nonentities on a day-to-day, if not an hour-to-hour basis. Among survivors, the capacity to manipulate memory was honed to a fine instinct. Mentioning the name of a nonperson could get you put on a list, if not shoved aboard the next cattle train headed for the Arctic. Soon, people would be forgetting about you.

More here

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

Now THAT'S a suggestion I like!

From Taranto. And it would be in accordance with the law of Moses

The Israeli government is preparing a bizarre swap, in which it will release terrorists in exchange for the return of two kidnapped soldiers--but Jerusalem doesn't know whether the soldiers are alive or dead. The Jerusalem Post reports:

Expecting that the two men, abducted on the border by Hizbullah just over two years ago, could be returned to Israel in coffins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the army has made arrangements for their military funerals to be held on Thursday, one day after the planned prisoner swap with Hizbullah.

IDF sources said it was likely that the funerals would be held in Regev and Goldwasser's hometowns of Kiryat Motzkin and Nahariya. In contrast to the IDF, the International Red Cross plans to post a doctor on either side of the border to provide treatment if needed, its spokeswoman Yael Segev-Eitan told The Jerusalem Post.

If the Israelis were clever, they would return the terrorists dead, making it at worst an even trade.

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

ELSEWHERE

NASA engineers design maverick moon rocket: "By day, the engineers work on NASA's new Ares moon rockets. By night, some go undercover to work on a competing design. These dissenting scientists and their backers insist they have created an alternative rocket that would be safer, cheaper and easier to build than the two Ares spacecraft that will replace the space shuttle. They call their project Jupiter, and like Ares, it's a brainchild of workers at the Marshall Space Flight Center and other NASA facilities."

Bolton demands US support for Israeli strike on Iran: "In a Wall Street Journal editorial, the leading voice of Washington's hawks warned that time is running out for efforts to stop the Islamic Republic's covert nuclear research programme. Recent tests of ballistic missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv had demonstrated the external threat posed to the Jewish state by a nuclear-armed Tehran. While the Bush administration no longer appears interested in military action against Iran, there is no doubt about Israel's intentions. "We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result, so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible," Mr Bolton writes. "At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel's path, and facilitate its efforts where we can."

The religion of peace? or hate?: "Tony Blair was today forced to scrap plans to visit Gaza in his new role as a Middle East peace envoy after an assassination plot warning. The former Prime Minister was warned he faced an attempt on his life after the Israeli security services received 'pinpoint information' of a threat to him. Blair's trip to Gaza was to have included meetings with local traders and UN officials - but not with leaders of Hamas - and comes after he called for a new police towards the region to aleviate the suffering of people there. A spokesman for Blair said it would have been irresponsible to visit in light of the terrorist threat, but added: "He looks forward to being able to go to Gaza again in the future and will of course in the meantime continue to work to improve the conditions for the people there."

Another violent "peace" advocate: "Peace activist Carlos Hartmann, 41, of Michigan was seeking to punish the Netherlands for its support of the war in Iraq. So, Carlos ambushed a 22-year-old Dutch student with an ax after failing to find a soldier to kill. This week the peace activist was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder. He killed the student because he was Dutch and because Dutch troops were supporting America and President Bush in the War on Terror."

President has right to order military detentions : "President Bush has the legal power to order the indefinite military detentions of civilians captured in the United States, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., ruled on Tuesday in a fractured 5-to-4 decision. The decision was a victory for the Bush administration, which had maintained that a 2001 Congressional authorization to use military force after the Sept. 11 attacks granted the president the power to detain people living in the United States. The court effectively reversed a divided three-judge panel of its own members, which ruled last year that the government lacked the power to detain civilians legally in the United States as enemy combatants."

US troops massing at Afghan Pakistan border : "US troops in Afghanistan massed close to the border yesterday for a possible attack on al-Qaeda and Taleban bases in the lawless North Waziristan tribal belt in Pakistan. Reports from the area said that hundreds of Nato troops were airlifted across the mountains from the village of Lowara Mandi, which has been an important base for cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Heavy artillery and armoured vehicles were also being moved into position. The deployment followed a claim by the Afghan Government on Monday that the Pakistani Army and its spy agency had become "the world's biggest producers of terrorism and extremism".

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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. See also AUSTRALIAN CARTOONS by "Zeg".

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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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

Democrats in the pockets of the lawyers again

Congress is taking up legislation this week that will wipe out arbitration provisions in hundreds of millions of consumer contracts -- for everything from credit-card agreements to cell phones to health-insurance policies, even a contract for the purchase of a kitchen sink. The bill is so sweeping that it wouldn't apply just to contracts consumers may sign in the future. It will cancel arbitration agreements agreed to in the past.

The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, sponsored in the Senate by Russ Feingold (D., Wis.) and in the House by Hank Johnson (D., Ga.), is scheduled to be marked up by a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow and could be taken up by the full committee on Wednesday.

This legislation is a top priority of plaintiffs' lawyers, since arbitration keeps big-dollar disputes out of the courtroom. But it's a bad deal for consumers. The law will not make arbitration "fairer"; it will make it go away, because it is very difficult to get two sides of a dispute to agree to much of anything once a dispute has started. That inconvenient reality is one that some of our lawmakers are simply ignoring.....

More here

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

DEMOCRATS, THE MILITARY, AND MCCAIN

Four years ago, Democrats couldn't laud military service -- especially that of their presidential standard-bearer -- highly enough. John Kerry's short stint in Vietnam was repeatedly invoked as evidence of his character and fitness for leadership. "If you have any question about what John Kerry's made of," his running mate John Edwards would say, "just spend three minutes with the men who served with him 30 years ago." At the Democratic National Convention in Boston, photographs of Kerry's Navy days abounded -- Kerry posing with his officer class, Kerry on the Mekong Delta, Kerry receiving a medal. One of the convention's speakers was a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who praised Kerry's "bravery and great distinction" as a naval officer, describing him as someone who "knows from experience a commander's responsibility to his troops."....

Given that effusive show of respect for military experience in 2004, you would think no Democrat this year could even contemplate disparaging John McCain's far more extensive military career. The presumptive Republican nominee, after all, spent 22 years as a naval aviator; flew 23 combat missions over North Vietnam; earned numerous combat decorations, including the Silver Star and Legion of Merit; and demonstrated courage and self-sacrifice during 5« years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. And yet in recent months, one Democrat after another has gone out of his way to diminish or criticize McCain's war record. ...

Much attention was focused on retired General Wesley Clark's comments that McCain "hasn't held executive responsibility" and that "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" is no qualification for the Oval Office. Far more obnoxious was the claim by an informal Obama adviser, Rand Beers, that McCain's national security experience is "sadly limited" because he was a POW. "He was in isolation essentially for many of those years and did not experience the turmoil" of the antiwar movement," said Beers, "or the challenges" faced by those who went ashore in Vietnam.

More here

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

The Democrats are now the party of the rich

Democratic Party was born. This new party has four critical constituencies: the post-industrial new class, African-Americans, young "net-roots" activists, and, finally, the elites of the information age. The Democrats will be running against a far weaker Republican Party than they did in the 1990s. For Senator Obama, the biggest danger comes not from the right but from his own base, whose predilections may over time limit his appeal and stunt the party's gains.

Like all classes, the new post-industrial constituency and its leaders have their own agenda. They may not be above pandering to the traditional working and middle class, but they do not have their same priorities. Fundamentally, the Obamaized Democratic Party is less about bread-and-butter issues-trade, energy prices, and competitiveness-than that of the Clintons.

Throughout the primaries, Senator Obama did best with voters, outside of African-Americans, who were themselves doing relatively well. Generally speaking, the wealthier the constituency, the better he did. Also, since the new class for the most part has little connection to the military, they are less likely to be overly concerned with national security issues (something Senator Clinton, in particular, worked hard to develop credibility on).

In contrast, Obama Democrats tend to be energized either by an antiwar message or by cultural issues-abortion, affirmative action, gay rights. Perhaps more critical for many of these voters, and interests, may be the environmental issue. Although this has not been a major topic in the primaries, the key Obama constituency among educated young voters tends to be the most fervent on issues such as global warming.

How to deal with the environment may be a critical area of conflict between the interests of the traditional middle class and the postindustrial new class. By its very nature, people working in the key institutions of the information economy-software firms, entertainment, Wall Street-are not unduly harmed by attempts to regulate reduction of carbon emissions.

In contrast, workers in transportation, wholesaling, and manufacturing sit on the carbon front lines. Radical steps to curb carbon emissions, particularly if not imposed on major competitors like India, China, and Brazil, will hurt miners in Montana, oil workers in Texas, factory workers in Michigan, and dockworkers in California far more than university professors, San Francisco graphic artists, and New York investment bankers. What's more, most middle- and working-class voters cannot afford to buy indulgences in the form of "offsets," such as purchasing parcels of rain forests. Indeed, in some ways, the current approach on carbon emissions parallels how liberals in the 1960s shifted the burden of achieving long-overdue racial integration by imposing busing or affirmative action plans on primarily working- and middle-class Americans.....

More here

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

ELSEWHERE

A German in Baghdad: "The most remarkable aspect about the German economics minister's trip to Baghdad Saturday was how unremarkable it was. The "surprise visit" by Michael Glos to Iraq, which only last year was deemed irrevocably lost, hardly made the front pages even in his own country. "The security situation has improved," Mr. Glos said, "and democracy is progressing." This good news is no thanks to Germany, which under former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder fiercely opposed the war that toppled Saddam Hussein. Angela Merkel did away with her predecessor's anti-American rhetoric, improving relations with both Washington and Baghdad. But her government's support for Iraq's fledgling democracy didn't go much beyond the humanitarian aid and training of police forces already in place under Mr. Schroeder."

There is a new lot of postings by Chris Brand just up -- on his usual vastly "incorrect" themes of race, genes, IQ etc.

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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. See also AUSTRALIAN CARTOONS by "Zeg".

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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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

The UN decision on Zimbabwe is based on neither morality nor decency

The Security Council has shown itself to be the enemy of human rights

The failure of the Security Council to agree a set of modest sanctions against Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe's henchmen - such as a freeze on financial assets and a travel ban - speaks volumes about the reality of the UN and the fatuity of those who place any moral store by its decisions. There could be no clearer case for action. No civilised nation can regard Mr Mugabe's behaviour as anything other than obscene. But decisions of the Security Council have never been based on decency or morality. They are based on realpolitik. The UN's very constitution as a body including some of the most brutal dictatorships on the planet necessitates that.

Indeed, the UN is structurally incapable of acting in accordance with the dictates of civilised behaviour. Whether it is its failure to stand up to the Burmese regime or to deal with the threat to Israel posed by a nuclear Iran, or its support for Hezbollah, the UN has shown itself to be not the promoter but the enemy of human rights.

The most bizarre reaction to the Security Council's rejection of sanctions is disappointment. Could anyone seriously expect the Chinese Government, which locks up and tortures dissidents and props up the Mugabe regime to further its own economic interests, to overturn decades of foreign policy and act in support of democracy and human rights? In 2005 the Chinese signed an aid agreement with Zimbabwe and made an explicit promise not to interfere in its "internal affairs", saying that it "trusts Zimbabwe's Government and people have the ability to deal properly with their own matters".

The idea that the UN holds some special legitimacy and moral worth is not merely naive - it can make a bad situation worse. Mugabe now claims that he has been exonerated by the UN. Had the UN not existed, no attention would be paid to the failure of Russia and China to criticise him, because that is entirely to be expected. And if, as they should, the EU's member states were to impose stronger sanctions, that would not be seen as somehow in opposition to the UN.

The UN has never had greater moral legitimacy than any other ad hoc assemblage of states. Far more legitimacy would attach to a league of democracies, as suggested by the US presidential candidate John McCain. Its decisions would have the moral force of democratic backing. It is time to say goodbye to the moral bankruptcy of the UN.

Source. The WSJ expresses similar views to the above.

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

Dem Leader: Global Warming & Darfur(?) Led to Black Hawk Down

More Reason Why Democrats Cannot Be Trusted With National Security... Or, Geography Classes-- Do you remember the tragic 1993 Battle of Mogadishu? This was one of the conflicts where "liberal hawk" John Murtha called for defeat. It was also a decisive win for Al-Qaeda after Bill Clinton cut and run. This "victory" was later used by Osama bin Laden to mock America, the paper tiger, and rally his goons. Well, leave it to a liberal representative from Massachusetts to rewrite the history and geography books on this one...

Top Democrat Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) claims that climate change caused Black Hawk Down. CNS News reported: "A top Democrat told high school students gathered at the U.S. Capitol Thursday that climate change caused Hurricane Katrina and the conflict in Darfur, which led to the "black hawk down" battle between U.S. troops and Somali rebels."



Darfur is a region in western Sudan and Mogadishu is on the coast of East Africa. The Darfur crisis had nothing to do with the Battle of Mogadishu. The factional wars between warlords led to the destruction of the agriculture of Somalia, not the crisis in Darfur. Does Rep. Markey even know where Mogadishu is?

Source

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

Good advice for McCain

If Mr. McCain wants to turn his floundering campaign around, he should heed the advice offered by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:8: "If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle?" ...

Mr. McCain has said (for him) some remarkably sensible things recently about energy. He's for drilling off our coasts. He wants to build more nuclear power plants. He's one of the few members of Congress to have opposed from the get-go the biofuels fraud, which, according to a recent World Bank study, has forced up global food prices 75 percent while only negligibly reducing demand for oil.

Opinion polls show a large majority of Americans favor drilling off our coasts, and comfortable majorities favor drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve and building nuclear plants. A majority (even in Iowa!) now opposes ethanol mandates. Energy policy could be a game changer, as potent an issue for Republicans in 2008 as the war in Iraq was for Democrats in 2006.

But Mr. McCain has been Hamlet when he needs to be Henry V. He is discarding a strong hand through mixed messages and equivocation. He supports drilling on the outer continental shelf, but opposes it in ANWR. He backs a "cap and trade" program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that would devastate our economy. Nuance is important in policy-making, but can be disastrous in political campaigning. If the trumpet be uncertain .

Mr. McCain needs to decide, pronto, which is more important to him: Winning the election or receiving an occasional kind word from liberal pundits who will vote against him. If he wants to win, Mr. McCain needs to demonstrate in a dramatic way he'll take every reasonable step to increase energy supplies - including drilling in ANWR.

More here

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

ELSEWHERE

It's "Open Season" on Egypt's large Christian minority, a minority that goes back to the time of Christ. Those charming Muslims at work again, of course. Details here

GWB backs Israeli plan for strike on Iran: "President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an "amber light" to an Israeli plan to attack Iran's main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times. "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you're ready," the official said. But the Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use US military bases in Iraq for logistical support."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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

Fluff-headed British journalist reports about Israel

It may not even be bias -- just stupidity and ignorance. Sad to see in my favourite newspaper

An interview with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared in the Sunday Times this week. The interview took place in Jerusalem's American Colony Hotel. It was concerned with Blair's role as the Quartet's Middle East envoy, and was written by journalist Lesley White. Journalist Lesley White is evidently not a specialist on the Middle East. I say "evidently" because the article contains a series of ludicrous errors which leave one slack-jawed in astonishment at the standards apparently now prevailing in this august publication.

Lesley White starts as she means to go on. Lunch with Blair, we are told, takes place under parasols which overlook "east Jerusalem's temples and mosques." I have lived in Jerusalem for just under two decades. It does contain quite a large number of mosques. Temples, however, are conspicuous largely by their absence. The clue is that religions worshipping in temples - Hindus, Buddhists - have scant regard for Jerusalem, and hence don't bother to build facilities for worship in it.

There was of course a quite important Temple in Jerusalem at one time. But this particular one, built by the Jews, was destroyed by the Romans in ad 70, and a rather large Mosque currently coincidentally stands where it once stood, so it's unlikely that Lesley White saw it, unless she was being unwittingly affected by a bout of the well-known "Jerusalem Syndrome." This syndrome causes visitors to Jerusalem to imagine themselves as Biblical figures, and experience visions and hallucinations. An additional religion that has facilities called temples - US Reform Judaism,- is also not known to have constructed any places of worship of this type in the area of the American Colony Hotel, where the White-Blair lunch occurred.

Lesley White mentions the "Palestinians I spoke to" in her article. These, however, do not seem to have been offset by any Israelis that were "spoken to" - at least they appear nowhere in the text. This perhaps explains another, more interesting error. Lesley White refers to a person described as Israel's "head of security." This person, apparently, is called Gabi Ashkenazi, and he is, Lesley White tells us, "considered by many the nation's de facto leader."

Well, Lesley White, first of all allow me to tell you that Israel, like most other countries, doesn't have a post called "head of security." The Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel has a head of security. I dare say Annabel's nightclub in London has a "head of security." The State of Israel doesn't. What Israel does have is its armed forces, and Gabi Ashkenazi is currently what is called the Chief of Staff of the said armed forces.

Israel has some other things, too. Israel has universal adult suffrage, a parliament, regular free elections, a defence minister, a prime minister and a president. Not all of these necessarily always contribute to effective or wise decision-making. But Lesley White, if she had found the time to talk to any Israelis, might have learned a little about these institutions, and would have discovered that Israel is a democracy, and that Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi is no more "de facto ruler" of Israel than is General Sir Richard Dannatt the de facto ruler of Great Britain.

Would a little fact-checking have been so difficult? This article was, after all, not just any old article. It was an interview with a former British Prime Minister. It did, after all, appear in a newspaper - and not just any old newspaper. The Times, including its Sunday edition, used to be one of the most venerable publications in the western world, with a reputation based on the delivery of meticulous, carefully examined information. Not any more, apparently.

More here

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

ELSEWHERE

Women in Britain having more children: "Women are having more children than at any time since the 1970s, with almost one in four born to foreign mothers, official figures show. Each woman now has 1.91 children on average - the highest since 1973 - according to the Office for National Statistics. As a result the number of births - 690,000 - increased by 20,000 in 2007 compared to the previous year, when there were 1.86 children per woman. A third of those were born to British mothers and the rest to women originally from overseas. One factor in the rise is the tendency for foreign-born mothers, particularly from the Indian sub-continent, to have large families. Another is women choosing to have children when they are in their more fertile 20s, rather than delaying until they are in their 30s and 40s. However, those who do delay are having more children due to improvements in fertility treatment. The figures, which relate to England and Wales, indicate the overall fertility rate has now increased for six successive years. Its lowest point came in 2001 when it sank to 1.63 children per woman."

Stupid Democrat Congressman: "Senator Chuck "The Camera Hunter" Schumer decided to bill taxpayers tens of billions of dollars by starting a bank run. The run on the bank came after a critical letter about the bank from Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. Federal regulators said on Friday that Mr. Schumer's letter had prompted the collapse by causing the run and scaring away potential acquirers. "The senator made comments in his letter questioning the viability of the institution," John M. Reich, director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, said in a phone call with reporters. "When a member of the United States Senate makes such a statement, it frightens depositors."

One Year After Endorsing Genocide-- Old Gray Lady Eats Iraqi Crow: "Don Surber reminded us yesterday that it was the one year anniversary of The New York Times startling editorial endorsing surrender in Iraq even if it led to genocide. Nice group of writers, huh? Of course, Barack Obama felt the same way last year and said so. He was for genocide in Iraq before he was against it. But, fortunately they did not get their way. The Bush surge worked so well that the president is now considering withdrawing additional troops from Iraq."

The non-citizen electorate: "Amid all the talk of new voters becoming involved in the election, hopefully one group of voters will not vote in November - non-citizens, many of whom are illegally registered to vote all over the country, particularly in the southwest. Although there is no reliable method to determine the exact number registered aliens, there is evidence that this is a significant and growing problem. The Government Accountability Office estimated that up to 3 percent of individuals called for jury duty from voter registration rolls in just one U.S. district court were not U.S. citizens. While that may not seem like a large number, it's more than enough to tip close elections - say, Florida in 2000.. Florida has over a million illegal aliens, and the Justice Department has prosecuted non-citizens, including a state-legislature candidate, for voting there. After a grand-jury investigation of the 1982 Illinois governor's race resulted in the conviction of aliens for illegally registering and voting, the U.S. Attorney estimated that there were 80,000 non-citizens registered to vote in Chicago."

Another black crook in Congress: "While aggressive evictions are making rent-stabilized apartments increasingly scarce in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them, including three adjacent apartments in a sprawling penthouse overlooking Upper Manhattan, courtesy of one of New York's premier real estate developers. Mr. Rangel, the powerful Democrat who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, uses his fourth apartment, six floors below, as a campaign office, despite state and city regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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

Emerging Trends of the Presidential Campaign

Pew issued a report yesterday with new numbers on the presidential race that underscore some themes likely to endure throughout the campaign. A few points deserve special note. First, Pew highlights a point I expect we'll hear repeatedly for the balance of the campaign: This is no Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum election. Americans hold very divergent views of the two candidates. For example, they think Obama has new ideas, but they believe McCain is more qualified to be president. Pew writes this:

Voters see the candidates' personal strengths and weaknesses in starkly different terms. Fully 74% of voters, including a solid majority of McCain supporters (58%), say that Obama rather than McCain "has new ideas." McCain holds about a two-to-one advantage in views of which candidate is "personally qualified to be president" (55% to 27%). In previous campaigns, voters' assessments of the candidates' traits were more evenly balanced.

Second, while McCain suffers from an "enthusiasm" gap, as Stephen Hayes, among others, has noted, Obama continues to struggle with consolidating his own Democratic base. According to Pew:

John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, has an enthusiasm problem. McCain engenders less strong support than does Obama and has much weaker support than George W. Bush did at this stage in his presidential campaigns.

While Obama draws more enthusiastic support, he has a unity problem. Clinton's former supporters have moved in Obama's direction since the primaries ended, but significant numbers remain undecided or say they might vote for McCain in the fall.

Third, McCain continues to do well with "independents," a significant voter group both campaigns are working hard to persuade. "Independents remain evenly split, as was the case in late May; 42 percent support Obama while 41 percent support McCain," according to Pew. Finally, compared to 2004, a larger percentage of these independent voters remain undecided.

Compared with four years ago, a much greater share of independents are either undecided or say they might change their minds between now and the election. Nearly half of independents (46%) are undecided or may change their minds, up from 28% in June 2004.

Candidate differences, voter enthusiasm, consolidating base voters and winning the swing population are all topics I expect we'll hear a lot about in months ahead.

Source

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

British troops betrayed by their Leftist government

Research conducted by the Ministry of Defence, and published this week, showed the shocking finding that around half of the brave men and women in our Forces are suffering low morale. Many would leave if they could.

It is, of course, demoralising for our Forces to be caught up in two apparently unwinnable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, those who join the Services do so with a view to the possibility of having to go into battle, and to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country and for the civilised values of our nation.

What they do not expect is to go into battle with inferior equipment that makes them sitting ducks for a vicious enemy. Nor do they expect the politicians who take the decisions that affect their deployment to lie to them about why they are in the front line, or to lie about the quality of the kit that they are expected to use when engaging the enemy. This is the root of the betrayal of every soldier, sailor and airman in our Forces: and it is a betrayal not merely of the poor bloody infantry, or of cannon-fodder among the enlisted men and women, but of the most senior officers too.

Almost daily we hear of brave soldiers being blown up in Afghanistan because their Land Rovers are useless, or being killed or injured because their air transport falls out of the sky. If you talk to Labour loyalists about this - not that there are many of those left these days - you are fed the line that there used to be problems with kit, but these have been resolved. They jolly well haven't. But when anyone in authority seeks to argue the contrary they are summarily dealt with.

Look at the case of General Sir Richard Dannatt, an honourable man and Christian soldier in the most literal sense of the term. Distressed by the offhand treatment of soldiers for whom, as Chief of the General Staff, he is ultimately responsible, he has made his feelings known regularly since taking up that post. This is the highest mark of honour for him, and the right thing to do on behalf of his subordinates: but it has, inevitably, simply attracted contempt from his political masters.

What will happen to our Armed Forces if this goes on is all too clear. Patriotic and brave young people simply won't want to join them. Those in the ranks will leave at an ever-higher rate, fed up with the contempt with which they are being treated. Officers, depressed at the treatment they and those under them are getting, will simply choose a better-paid job in civilian life. If you doubt any of this, go to the internet and look at some of the blogs run by services insiders to see just how shamefully bad things are, not least in the MoD itself.

More here

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

ELSEWHERE

British blog, "Harry's Place", which is critical of Islam, is being sued by an Islamist for accurate reporting about the Islamist. Under English libel law, the Islamist is at an advantage. So Harry may need financial support to fight the matter through the courts. I will certainly donate if that need arises.

Media slime: "The L.A. Times, out of the thin blue air - apropos of no legitimate news angle - decided to run a 1,700-word feature on the Republican's first marriage and 1980 divorce. An unapologetic slime job with no possible justification as news. It's kind of funny how anyone who raises Obama's Indonesian education (which dates to the same era as McCain's first marriage) is slammed as a smear artist. But 30-year-old news about the Republican's divorce - hey, that's relevant and timely!"

Gasoline Is So Expensive, They're Resorting to Pedal-By Shootings: "Two men with gang affiliations were shot by a person on a mountain bike Wednesday afternoon in the Northwest Side's Avondale neighborhood. The shooting happened about 4:20 p.m. in the 2900 block of North Elston Avenue, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said. Two men were on the street when an unknown person riding a mountain bike fired shots at them, Mirabelli said. The shooting is believed to be gang-related" (H/T Taranto)

The destructive drug "war": "Ever since the Progressive Era the United States government has pursued a policy relying primarily on punishment to curb drug abuse, with abuse and use being considered largely synonymous. While the program has always been a mixture of state coercion and drug treatment, the bulk of the funding has gone into maintaining prohibition. As a result, this country has a racially biased overcrowded prison system on the verge of collapse. We have a law enforcement system employing often very brutal tactics which accomplish very little in way of ending drug use. Our medical system is denying people in pain the medication they need to ease their suffering. And, the nation's economic system must come up with billions of dollars each year to pay for this activity."

For more postings from me, see OBAMA WATCH, 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

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

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" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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