Brain differences in IQ

I suppose I rattle on rather a lot about IQ but the Left are so determined to ignore it that I feel a need to give countervailing attention to it. And as a much-published psychometrician myself I am in a good position to do so.

What no Leftist seems to want to believe is that IQ has a physical basis -- that smart people are born with better brains and there is not much you can do about it. Leftists hate that story because to them all the ills of society are due to things like "poverty" and it is only the deeds of a few evil people at the top who keep poor people in poverty. That a lot of poverty is due to the foolish decisions of the poor people concerned just cannot be allowed.

Anyway, there are quite a lot of brain differences that correlate with IQ but most of them require complicated instrumentation to detect. There is one, however, that can be examined very easily by anyone -- head size. People with bigger heads TEND (there are exceptions) to be smarter. The more grey matter you have, the smarter you are. Not really surprising but still anathema to the Left.

There is a research paper here which estimates that in the general population brain size (not quite the same as head size but closely related) correlates .50 with general intelligence. A correlation of .50 is quite huge in almost any study of human beings. Medical researchers would kill for a correlation like that. And the research was carried out by Phil Vernon -- one of the grand old men of psychometrics. And it was reported in one of the most widely cited journals in psychology. So even Leftists would find that hard to piss on. But the fact that Vernon studies such subjects at all makes him a "Fascist", of course.

Incidentally, autistic people, who very often have great mental abilities combined with poor social skills, also tend to have big heads and autism is an absolute plague in Silicon Valley, where you have to be REALLY smart to get anywhere. Anybody who has tried coding in "C" will know that. So it seems that, as with so many other things, you can overdo brain size too. When big-brained people in Silicon Valley mate they tend to have kids with even bigger brains and the result is a disaster. What seems to happen, as far as I can see, is that an extra large cerebral cortex firing into the rest of the brain overloads important centres in the rest of the brain. So the withdrawal that is typical of autistics is in fact an attempt to reduce stimulation that is already too great.

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A unitary Iraq is a hopeless proposition

It’s about UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the so-called “International Compact” he intends to co-launch with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki in Eygpt on Thursday. It has a lot of admirable words about the fundamental democratic rights of all Iraqi citizens, national reconciliation and the need to ensure the optimal use of the country’s resources for the common good. Noble stuff indeed; all very nice and civilised. But it’s when you get to the underlying philosophy that you realise what a load of flawed and tokenistic rubbish it really is. The plan is rooted in al-Maliki’s determination that Iraq be one united country despite the dreadful and unrelenting sectarian violence that is showing no sign of abating. In other words, it holds that Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again and that’s what the world should be working towards.

Why is the UN lending its efforts to this foolishness? Surely the time has come for the international community to dump the idea of One Iraq and start working towards partitioning the country so the killing can stop. A compelling case for the UN to adopt just such an approach was made in one of its own reports released just last week. The 11th quarterly report of the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq illuminated in graphic detail just how bad things have become.

As the UNAMI report says, the rising levels of violence, terrorist attacks and sectarian conflict are “increasingly acquiring a self-sustaining dynamic that could overwhelm the country’s fragile political processes and institutions”. If that’s not a powerful argument for partition I don’t know what is. If partition can stop people being murdered on a daily basis and ensure that kids get a decent feed and go to school, then why not? Why is the idea of One Iraq more important than that?

It means the UN should stop wasting its time trying to put all those pieces of Humpty Dumpty together and instead it should be working with the various stakeholders on the best ways to achieve two things - a peaceful partition as soon as possible and a fair and equitable means of dividing and distributing Iraq’s oil revenues after that is achieved. So far there are candidates in the US presidential race advocating the partition approach - Democrats Joe Biden and Bill Richardson and Republican Sam Brownback. There are bound to be more in the coming months.

More here (I hope Riehl World will not flay me for putting up this excerpt. He gets pretty heavy with any conservative bloggers who depart from current U.S. policy. I've got a thick hide, though and I have always thought that partition was the only way to go in Iraq. I even supported the sadly forgotten Biafra way back when).

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ELSEWHERE

TV debate last chance for desperate Segolene: "Segolene Royal, the left-wing finalist for the French presidency, has appeared to acknowledge that she needed a near-miracle from a debate on Wednesday to save her from defeat next Sunday by the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy. As opinion polls showed Mr Sarkozy maintaining a five-point lead over the 53-year-old Socialist, Ms Royal threw caution to the winds and said that she could appoint Francois Bayrou, the centrist who was eliminated on April 22, as her prime minister. Ms Royal needs most of Mr Bayrou's seven million voters from the first round if she is to have a chance of defeating Mr Sarkozy, leader of the governing Union for a Popular Movement, on May 6."

Hillary's dishonesty coming out: "Drawing on a trove of private papers from Hillary Clinton's best friend, the legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein is to publish a hard-hitting and intimate portrait of the 2008 presidential candidate, which will reveal a number of "discrepancies" in her official story. Bernstein, who was played by Dustin Hoffman in the film All the President's Men, has spent eight years researching the unauthorised 640-page biography, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. "Bernstein reaches conclusions that stand in opposition to what Senator Clinton has said in the past and has written in the past," said Paul Bogaards, a spokesman for Knopf, which publishes the book on June 19."

Fleeing France: "This Wednesday Marine Fretel, an intelligent, well-educated young French woman, will board a train to London. She has let her Paris flat, packed a large suitcase and said goodbye to family and friends. She does not expect to return. Fretel is one of the "Eurostar generation" of French professionals fleeing to London and other cities abroad in the hope of better careers in a land of opportunity. The farewell parties held each week in Paris are multiplying, and although the government puts a brave face on the exodus, this rush for the exit is an embarrassing symptom of chronic French woes as the country prepares to pick its new president. A dearth of jobs in France, the world's fifth largest economy, has turned London, less than three hours from Paris by Eurostar, into an eldorado for young professionals such as Fretel. Friends in London have told her that the British capital, unlike the one she is leaving behind, is a "city of dreams".... An estimated 300,000 French citizens live in Britain, which has the third largest expatriate community after Switzerland and America."

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

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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JEWISH SUPERIORITY CLAIMS SHOCK LEFTIST

I have got a lot of posts from Chris Brand to put up but have not had time to do so. I think however that the post below is worth a run here. Chris comments on the amazing (but yet typical) arrogance of a Leftist who admits he knows nothing about statistics but who then proceeds to pontificate on a statistical matter -- with the total disregard for the evidence that one expects of a Leftist, of course. It should not surprise anybody that the ignoramus is also anti-American

Jewish (but non-Israel-backing) New York Review of Books contributor Tony Judt complained to the Melbourne Sun Herald (10 iv) about Bell Curve author Charles Murray rehearsing claims of substantial Jewish advantage in IQ.

Murray had written an article in the Jewish magazine Commentary suggesting Nebuchadnezzar, c. 600BC, had in effect created the super-intelligent Jewish race by taking off the Jerusalem Jews' elite to Babylon and letting the remaining Jews be extinguished or absorbed into other faiths. But though a 10-point Ashkenazi-Jewish IQ superiority in the USA had been documented in studies as early as 1924 and 1948 and was well attested in Israel itself by 1990 (see R. Lynn, 2006, "Race Differences in Intelligence", p. 94), and though NYU historian Judt had been an Exhibitioner at King's College Cambridge and sported a Cambridge Ph.D., Murray's mere rehearsal of the superiority shocked him into losing all credibility by opining "My own statistically naive impression these days is that intelligence ... is distributed among Jews in proportions comparable to their presence in society as a whole."

A generation previously, psychologist Marvin Zuckerman had noted "Only 3% of Americans are Jewish, but 27% of American Nobel Laureates have been Jewish (1977, Scientific Elite); and Lenin had once observed "An intelligent Russian is almost always a Jew or someone with Jewish blood in his veins" (recorded by R. Pipes, 1990, The Russian Revolution). By 1995, sociologists Seymour Lipset and Earl Raab recorded:"During the last three decades, Jews have made up 50% of the top two hundred intellectuals, 40 percent of American Nobel Prize Winners in science and economics, 20 percent of professors at the leading universities, 21 percent of high level civil servants, 40 percent of partners in the leading law firms in New York and Washington, 26% of the reporters, editors, and executives of the major print and broadcast media, 59 percent of the directors, writers, and producers of the fifty top-grossing motion pictures from 1965 to 1982, and 58 percent of directors, writers, and producers in two or more primetime television series" (Jews and the New American Scene, Harvard University Press).

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ELSEWHERE



Boris the Liberator, RIP: "Credit for the fall of communism usually is given to two sets of actors. On the one side, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and John Paul II, whose relentless pressure caused a hollowed-out system to collapse. On the other side, conventional mythology credits Mikhail Gorbachev. This is quite wrong. True, Gorbachev inadvertently caused the collapse of communism. But his intention was always to save it. To the very end, Gorbachev believed in it. His mission was to reform communism in order to make it work. To do that, the Soviet system had to become more human - i.e., more in tune with real human nature - and thus more humane. Gorbachev's problem was that humane communism is an oxymoron. The man who brought down the Soviet Union from the inside was Boris Yeltsin. In the mid-1980s, he turned decisively against communism and, fully intending its destruction, performed one of history's great acts of liberation".

Mexican-led OECD sliding into corruption: "Whereas the World Bank story is all about whether or not Mr Wolfowitz did or did not break some rules, the OECD events suggest an organisation that seems to be lacking in modern rules and practices when it comes to its own internal workings. So a 30-nation think-tank, devoted to promoting best practice in governance, has governance issues of its own. Concern over the lack of transparent competition in filling some appointments led the Canadian delegation to draw attention, in a letter to Mr Gurria dated April 4th, to the fact that "the OECD secretariat and its senior management must embody, and be seen to embody, the very highest standards of good governance. Anything less can threaten the integrity and credibility of the organisation." ... Many of the envoys had been unhappy at the pay deal Mr Gurria landed on top of the rent-free residence. His basic pay of 183,000 euros was boosted by a confidential package: an expatriate's allowance of 33,000 euros (unprecedented for the top man), a household allowance of 11,000 euros and a "representation" allowance boosted to 50,000 euros. That latter can be spent as he thinks best and is not subject to audit. A rather loose definition of "normal expenses" led to some raised eyebrows among officials who saw an invoice for a wedding anniversary dinner for Mr Gurria with his wife"

Deadly black gang brawling in London: "A churchgoing teenager who who was also the head of a South London gang was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for the murder of a schoolboy rival. Adu Sarpong had been to a Bible class with friends hours before a bloody street battle with a rival gang in which he stabbed Alex Kamondo, 15, with a kitchen knife. Sarpong, 18, who was convicted at the Old Bailey, was the leader of K Town Crew, which clashed with Kamondo's gang, Man Dem Crew, in Kennington in June. Up to 30 youths fought with knives, hammers, metal bars, bottles and a samurai-style sword... Sarpong plunged the knife into Kamondo's chest with so much force that it broke a rib and the handle snapped off. Kamondo, who lived on the nearby Kennington Park estate, suffered a single 20cm stab wound that pierced his left lung and heart. Sarpong fled but was arrested shortly afterwards. He told the Old Bailey that he had been "pumped up with adrenaline" and heard someone cry out that he had been stabbed behind him, but did not see the stabbing. However, his finger-prints were found on the murder weapon and he was picked out at a series of identity parades by members of the opposing gang."

Pakistan: The Taliban takeover: "You must understand," says Maulana Sami ul-Haq, "that Pakistan and Islam are synonymous." The principal of Darul Uloom Haqqania, a seminary in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a tall and jovial man. He grabs my hand as he takes me round the seminary. Maulana ul-Haq laughs when I ask his views on jihad. "It is the duty of all Muslims to support those groups fighting against oppression," he says.... Pakistan is reverberating with the call of jihad. For more than two months, the capital, Islamabad, has been held hostage by a group of burqa-clad women, armed with sticks and shouting: "Al-jihad, al-jihad." These female students belong to two madrasas attached to the Lal Masjid, a large mosque near one of the city's main supermarkets. I found the atmosphere around the masjid tense, with heavily armed police surrounding the building. Though the students were allowed to go in and out freely, no one else could enter the mosque. The women are demanding the imposition of sharia law and the instant abolition of all "dens of vice".

Misguided rage at US supremacy: "When the 9/11 terror attacks occurred in the US, the official reaction of the Iraqi government was ecstatic. Saddam Hussein issued a statement saying: "The American cowboy is reaping the fruits of his crimes against humanity." As two Iraqi authors write in a new study: "Saddam Hussein did his utmost to implant in the Iraqi psyche an ugly image of the US: coloniser, Zionist, bully and greedy oil thief." At the same time, the opponents of Saddam had come to be profoundly hostile to the US for exactly the opposite reason. After the 1991 US-led operation to reverse Saddam's invasion of Kuwait, the Shia in the south and the Kurds in the north rebelled against Saddam's rule, only to be savagely crushed. The Americans did not come to the aid of the rebels, who saw this, with some justice, as American betrayal. Here is a classic contradiction of anti-Americanism. The Americans are hated by one segment of Iraqi society for opposing Saddam and are hated equally by another section for not opposing Saddam enough."

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

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 conservative site goes down

Just recently, "American Thinker" lost their web address to a scamster and got it back only with great difficulty. Now "Front Page" has gone down. It was still down at the time of writing this. I would not have been able to find the article below except that (as a former FrontPage author) I am on David Horowitz's mailing list. I had to substitute in the address "frontpagemagazine" for "frontpagemag".

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The Real Jimmy Carter

By Alan M. Dershowitz

I have known Jimmy Carter for years. I first met him in the spring of 1976 when, as a relatively unknown candidate for president, he sent me a handwritten letter asking for my help in his campaign on issues of crime and justice. I had just published an article in The New York Times Magazine on sentencing reform, and he expressed interest in my ideas and asked me to come up with additional ones for his campaign. Shortly thereafter, my former student, Stuart Eisenstadt, brought Carter to Harvard to meet with some faculty members, me among them. I immediately liked Jimmy Carter and saw him as a man of integrity and principle. I signed on to his campaign and worked very hard for his election.

When Newsweek magazine asked his campaign for the names of people on whom Carter relied for advice, my name was among those given out. I continued to work for Carter over the years, most recently I met him in Jerusalem a year ago, and we briefly discussed the Mid-East. Though I disagreed with some of his points, I continued to believe that he was making them out of a deep commitment to principle and to human rights.

Recent disclosures of Carter's extensive financial connections to Arab oil money, particularly from Saudi Arabia, had deeply shaken my belief in his integrity. When I was first told that he received a monetary reward in the name of Shiekh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, and kept the money, even after Harvard returned money from the same source because of its anti-Semitic history, I simply did not believe it. How could a man of such apparent integrity enrich himself with dirty money from so dirty a source?

And let there be no mistake about how dirty the Zayed Foundation is. I know because I was involved, in a small way, in helping to persuade Harvard University to return more than $2 million that the financially strapped Divinity School received from this source. Initially, I was reluctant to put pressure on Harvard to turn back money for the Divinity School, but then a student at the Divinity School, Rachael Lea Fish showed me the facts.

They were staggering. I was amazed that in the twenty-first century there were still foundations that espoused these views. The Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-up, a think-tank funded by the Shiekh and run by his son, hosted speakers who called Jews "the enemies of all nations," attributed the assassination of John Kennedy to Israel and the Mossad and the 9/11 attacks to the United States' own military, and stated that the Holocaust was a "fable." (They also hosted a speech by Jimmy Carter.) To its credit, Harvard turned the money back. To his discredit, Carter did not.

Jimmy Carter was, of course, aware of Harvard's decision, since it was highly publicized. Yet he kept the money. Indeed, this is what he said in accepting the funds: "This award has special significance for me because it is named for my personal friend, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan." Carter's personal friend, it turns out, was an unredeemable anti-Semite and all-around bigot.

In reading Carter's statements, I was reminded of the bad old Harvard of the nineteen thirties, which continued to honor Nazi academics after the anti-Semitic policies of Hitler's government became clear. Harvard of the nineteen thirties was complicit in evil. I sadly concluded that Jimmy Carter of the twenty-first century has become complicit in evil....

If money determines political and public views as Carter insists "Jewish money" does, Carter's views on the Middle East must be deemed to have been influenced by the vast sums of Arab money he has received. If he who pays the piper calls the tune, then Carter's off-key tunes have been called by his Saudi Arabian paymasters. It pains me to say this, but I now believe that there is no person in American public life today who has a lower ratio of real to apparent integrity than Jimmy Carter.

More (much more) here

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ELSEWHERE



Wal-Mart healthcare expanding: "Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., (NYSE: WMT) intends to contract with local hospitals and other organizations to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics over the next two to three years, and if current market forces continue, up to 2,000 clinics could be in Wal-Mart stores over the next five to seven years, Wal-Mart president and CEO Lee Scott will say in a speech later today at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. The clinic program's expansion is just the latest in a series of moves by Wal-Mart to help implement customer solutions to America's health care crisis, including the $4 generic drug prescription program, health information technology and participation in a major coalition supporting comprehensive healthcare reform by 2012. "We think the clinics will be a great opportunity for our business. But most importantly, they are going to provide something our customers and communities desperately need - affordable access at the local level to quality health care," Scott says."

Netherlands: School Scraps Nature Course As Pigs Enrage Muslim Pupils: "A school in Amsterdam has halted lessons on rural life because the Islamic children refused to talk about pigs. Reporting this, Alderman Lodewijk Asscher said he wants to take "tough measures." Subsidies for all kinds of dubious groups must stop and parents of unruly children penalised financially. Asscher told newspaper De Volkskrant: "A primary school in Amsterdam-Noord has decided no longer to teach about living on a farm. Various pupils began to demolish the classroom when the pig came up for discussion. Apparently it has gone that far. These children, 9, 10 years old, have not been given even the most elementary rules at home about why they must go to school."

Jewish woman suffers vicious anti-Semitic attack in France: "A 22-year-old Jewish woman suffered a vicious anti-Semitic attack by two men of Middle Eastern appearance in a train station in Marseille, France on Thursday night. The attackers tore the Star of David chain from around the young woman's neck, lifted her up, painted a swastika on her stomach and then fled the scene. Local police opened an investigation into the attack but had not yet found the assailants."

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

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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Brookes News Update

The 2008 Olympics and Beijing's crackdown on religion: Authoritarian regimes, including pre-war Japan, never had trouble in accommodating most religions. Beijing should learn to do likewise. It could start by releasing those imprisoned for their faith, insisting only that they "give to Caesar that which is Caesar's". It would pay the regime dividends to do this
Defending economic growth against leftwing fanatics, part II: Marxism is nothing but a cult whose disciples are in a constant state of denial about economic reality. This means that they must continually slander capitalism and denigrate economic success stories. They have nothing to give other than their ideological bigotry
The untold story of how Friederich von Hayek caught inflation by the balls: True story of how von Hayek - doyen of the Austrian school and Nobel Laureate in Economics - who single-handedly caught inflation by the balls
Is global warming a science?: Does climatology have a well-developed, thoroughly proven theoretical framework, derived from decades of observations and earlier discoveries? Does it have an established track record of being able to predict next week's weather, much less the next century's weather?
A global intelligence briefing for CEOs: Herbert Meyer lays out the future based on four major transformations that are shaping political, economic and world events. These transformations have profound implications for American business owners, our culture and our way of life - not to mention Europe and Australia

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The love affair of the American Left with Cuba continues

A comment on a report from Will Weissert, Havana correspondent of the Associated Press, excerpted from Taranto:

Just how biased is Weissert's piece in favor of Cuba's communist dictatorship? Consider this quote:

"Sometimes you have all you want to eat and sometimes you don't," said Raquel Naring, a 70-year-old retired gas station attendant. "But there aren't elderly people sleeping on the street like other places."

If an old American lady told a reporter, "Sometimes you have all you want to eat and sometimes you don't," is there any doubt he would write a story bewailing our country's shocking neglect of the elderly, poor and hungry? Why are American journalists more favorably disposed toward an America-hating communist personality cult than their own country?

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ELSEWHERE

There is a post here showing that the myth of Jessica Lynch fighting back against her Iraqi captors was an invention of the media, not an invention of the U.S. military.

How the Media Partnered With Hezbollah: Harvard's Cautionary Report: "While the war between Israel and Hezbollah raged in Lebanon and Israel last summer, it became clear that media coverage had itself started to play an important role in determining the ultimate outcome of that war. It seemed clear that news coverage would affect the course of the conflict. And it quickly transpired that Hezbollah would become the beneficiary of the media's manipulation. A close examination of the media's role during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon comes now from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, in an analysis of the war published in a paper whose subtitle should give pause to journalists covering international conflict: "The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict." Marvin Kalb, of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, methodically traces the transformation of the media "from objective observer to fiery advocate." Kalb painstakingly details how Hezbollah exercised absolute control over how journalists portrayed its side of the conflict, while Israel became "victimized by its own openness."

Another triumph of British bureaucracy: "The Government's bungling over farm subsidy payments is clearly far from resolved after it emerged one Yorkshire claimant due more than 20,000 pounds has received just 89 pounds. Susan Maudsley, 60, from near Settle, who had expected subsidies in excess of 10,000 in 2005 and 2006, is a striking example of continuing chaos at the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The RPA admitted last summer that it was at fault in her case - and yet officials are even refusing to pay out her 2006 subsidy until the previous year has been resolved. Shadow Agriculture Minister Jim Paice called the case "an outrage" that showed Ministers at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) were still failing to get a grip on the RPA which has come under fierce fire over the late payment of subsidies to thousands of farmers."

Africans for Wolfowitz : "One of the most revealing subplots in the European coup attempt against World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is who is coming to the American's defense. The rich European donor countries want him to resign, while the Africans who are the bank's major clients are encouraging him to stay.... The more telling story is the support for the bank president from reform-minded Africans. At a press conference during this month's World Bank-IMF meetings in Washington, four of the more progressive African finance ministers were asked about the Wolfowitz flap. Here's how Antoinette Sayeh, Liberia's finance minister, responded: "I would say that Wolfowitz's performance over the last several years and his leadership on African issues should certainly feature prominently in the discussions . . . . In the Liberian case and the case of many forgotten post-conflict fragile countries, he has been a visionary. He has been absolutely supportive, responsive, there for us . . . . We think that he has done a lot to bring Africa in general . . . into the limelight and has certainly championed our cause over the last two years of his leadership, and we look forward to it continuing."

More selective reporting: "The Vermont House rejected a resolution calling for President Bush and Vice President Cheney's impeachment in an 87-60 vote Wednesday, a move that puts that chamber at odds with the Senate's actions last week. Despite the fact that the vote was taken yesterday afternoon, neither NPR nor PBS have reported on it, unlike last week when the Vermont Senate voted for the resolution. The House vote must have slipped their notice... "

The Leftist elite are not taking any notice of Al Gore's climate preaching: "A flock of small jets took flight from Washington Thursday, each carrying a Democratic presidential candidate to South Carolina for the first debate of the political season. For Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, it was wheels up shortly after they voted in favor of legislation requiring that U.S. troops begin returning home from Iraq in the fall. No one jet pooled, no one took commercial flights to save money, fuel or emissions. All but Biden, who flew on a private jet, chartered their flights -- a campaign expense of between $7,500 and $9,000. Federal Election Commission rules allow candidates to pay only the equivalent of first-class fare to fly on private jets owned by corporations or other special interests".

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

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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THE REASONS FOR CONSERVATIVE CAUTION REDISCOVERED

Even the experts find that the real world is unpredictable

Mr. Taleb is fascinated by the rare but pivotal events that characterize life in the power-law world. He calls them Black Swans, after the philosopher Karl Popper's observation that only a single black swan is required to falsify the theory that "all swans are white" even when there are thousands of white swans in evidence. Provocatively, Mr. Taleb defines Black Swans as events (such as the rise of the Internet or the fall of LTCM) that are not only rare and consequential but also predictable only in retrospect. We never see them coming, but we have no trouble concocting post hoc explanations for why they should have been obvious. Surely, Mr. Taleb taunts, we won't get fooled again. But of course we will.

Writing in a style that owes as much to Stephen Colbert as it does to Michel de Montaigne, Mr. Taleb divides the world into those who "get it" and everyone else, a world partitioned into heroes (Popper, Hayek, Yogi Berra), those on notice (Harold Bloom, necktie wearers, personal-finance advisers) and entities that are dead to him (the bell curve, newspapers, the Nobel Prize in Economics).

A humanist at heart, Mr. Taleb ponders not only the effect of Black Swans but also the reason we have so much trouble acknowledging their existence. And this is where he hits his stride. We eagerly romp with him through the follies of confirmation bias (our tendency to reaffirm our beliefs rather than contradict them), narrative fallacy (our weakness for compelling stories), silent evidence (our failure to account for what we don't see), ludic fallacy (our willingness to oversimplify and take games or models too seriously), and epistemic arrogance (our habit of overestimating our knowledge and underestimating our ignorance).

For anyone who has been compelled to give a long-term vision or read a marketing forecast for the next decade, Mr. Taleb's chapter excoriating "The Scandal of Prediction" will ring painfully true. "What is surprising is not the magnitude of our forecast errors," observes Mr. Taleb, "but our absence of awareness of it." We tend to fail--miserably--at predicting the future, but such failure is little noted nor long remembered. It seems to be of remarkably little professional consequence.

I suspect that part of the explanation for this inconsistency may be found in a study of stock analysts that Mr. Taleb cites. Their predictions, while badly inaccurate, were not random but rather highly correlated with each other. The lesson, evidently, is that it's better to be wrong than alone.

If we accept Mr. Taleb's premise about power-law ascendancy, we are left with a troubling question: How do you function in a world where accurate prediction is rarely possible, where history isn't a reliable guide to the future and where the most important events cannot be anticipated?

Mr. Taleb presents a range of answers--be prepared for various outcomes, he says, and don't rush for buses--but it's clear that he remains slightly vexed by the world he describes so vividly. Then again, beatific serenity may not be the goal here. As Mr. Taleb warns, certitude is likely to be found only in a fool's (bell-curve) paradise, where we choose the comfort of the "precisely wrong" over the challenge of the "broadly correct." Beneath Mr. Taleb's blustery rhetoric lives a surprisingly humble soul who has chosen to follow a demanding and somewhat lonely path.

Source

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There is a good takedown here of some crooked public opinion polling which claims that antisemitism in Germany is decreasing.

Once again journalism's once-prestigious Pulitzer prize has been awarded to a deceitful New York Times story

Probably Bush's fault: "Several French political parties demanded the withdrawal of electronic voting machines for the second round of the presidential election after widespread problems during Sunday's ballot. The Socialists, the Communist Party and the Greens put on a rare show of unity to call the machines a "catastrophe". It is the first time the machines have been used for a presidential election in France. Amid big queues in general to vote, people using the electronic machines were forced to wait up to two hours to cast ballots. About 1.5 million voters out of the 44.5 million nationally were able to use the machines. The left wing parties complained following problems at Noisy-le-Sec, a suburb east of Paris."

Musharraf Caves to Red Mosque Demands: "Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain visited Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) and conveyed to its two leaders that the Pakistani government has accepted all of Lal Masjid's demands, including the implementation of Sharia Law in Pakistan. It is another example of the Musharraf government's inability to contain the pro-Taliban and pro-al-Qaeda Islamist movement inside Pakistan. While ceding real estate to the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance through the various `peace accords' that handed terrorists South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Bajour agencies is troubling in its own right, this latest set of concessions is more troubling still."

Toyota ends GM's 76-year streak: "TOYOTA breezed past General Motors in the first quarter to claim world sales leadership and appears to have a clear road ahead to remain No 1, except for a few potholes in its path. Industry analysts said Toyota might have too few engineers and managers trained in the company's renowned production system to continue expanding its lines and maintain its reputation for quality, which the car maker said was its top priority."

Why they hate Israel: "There is something about Israel that enrages the left- and that something has to do with having to engage evil on a daily basis. The Israelis must deal with an evil that is real, evident and clearly defined. For the left, evil can not exist because the recognition of evil forces societies and cultures to set boundaries and limitations. Even more, evil helps to define culture and communal behavior. If there is no evil, the individual and the individual's needs and wants are of paramount concern. If there is evil, then the community and the needs of the community are of concern. The needs of the individual are subjugated. For the narcissistic individual, this is a catastrophe of the highest order, and that is why for the narcissistic leftists, the only evil they can acknowledge is the evil that places the welfare pf the community or state over the welfare of the individual. In the case of Israel, that must be done every single day. To not put the safety and well being of the community at the fore would result in disaster."

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

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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MODERN CALIFORNIA RACISM AT WORK:

Note the contrast in the sentences below. Clear anti-white bias:

Black youths offered deals in race hate case: "Two black youths accused of taking part in the Halloween mob beating of three white women would spend only a few months in custody if they plead guilty to assault, a prosecutor said. The 15-year-old Jordan High School students were offered a pretrial deal Monday in Inglewood, where their case is being heard. They would spend no more than three months each in the California Youth Authority if they plead guilty to one count each of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, prosecutor Andrea Bouas said."

But much harsher sentence for whites who injured no-one: "Two young Lassen County men are facing prison sentences after pleading guilty Monday in Sacramento federal court to a race-based hate crime involving a cross-burning. Kevin William Ridenour and Nicholas Edward Craig pleaded guilty to felony interference with the housing rights of an African priest because of their hatred of black people. Ridenour and Craig admitted burning a large wooden cross early on March 23 on the street in front of the driveway of a rectory attached to Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Westwood. The rectory, which is less than half a block from where the pair resided, is occupied by the Rev. Bernardin Mugabowakigeri, a native of Rwanda. In written plea documents, Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner agreed to recommend two years in prison for Ridenour, 21, and 21 months for Craig, 18, when they are sentenced July 2."

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The great Google dinosaur does listen

But only with one ear

A couple of times recently I have had a grumble about Google not archiving stuff that I expected to find via them. There has now been a big improvement. Lots that was missing is now findable via them. I have long known that they keep close track of what people are saying about them and I have found before that they do respond quite rapidly to public criticism of what they archive.

So where almost all of my academic journal articles were unknown to them a couple of weeks ago, most are now in the Google archive, for instance. That "most" is puzzling though. All my academic papers are on the one site so why do some get the nod from Google and some not? I would understand it if the ones often referred to by others were the ones that they archive but that does not seem to be so. Academic articles are notorious for obscurity and some of mine are certainly in that category. Yet there are instances of Google indexing obscure ones and omitting less obscure ones. Clearly, their search and storage algorithms still are pretty buggy.

I guess what has happened is that Google has attempted to cope with the huge explosion of internet content by attempting to make their algorithms "smarter" (more selective). That is not working well, however. Their algorithms definitely skip far too much. Searching for academic articles on a given topic is a major search activity. Students and professors do it all the time. So ALL available academic journal articles should be findable via Google if they don't want to leave the door open for better search services. Given their huge profits Google should just invest in more storage and archive the WHOLE of any site that they spider. For there to be several copies of an article on the net with Google being unable to locate a single one of them is pretty bad but when the article concerned is (and has long been) on a site that they scan, that is pretty wacky.

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IQ COMPLEXITIES

There is a press report here which says rather gleefully that higher IQ is linked to higher earnings but not to higher wealth. The actual journal abstract from which the press report is derived is much more interesting, however so here it is:

"How important is intelligence to financial success? Using the NLSY79, which tracks a large group of young U.S. baby boomers, this research shows that each point increase in IQ test scores raises income by between $234 and $616 per year after holding a variety of factors constant. Regression results suggest no statistically distinguishable relationship between IQ scores and wealth. Financial distress, such as problems paying bills, going bankrupt or reaching credit card limits, is related to IQ scores not linearly but instead in a quadratic relationship. This means higher IQ scores sometimes increase the probability of being in financial difficulty.

So high IQ people spend their extra loot rather than saving it and risk it rather than protect it. Maybe that is smart. It could mean that people who are both smart and well-off are an important source of those risk-taking entrepreneurs we all need to create new businesses and new jobs.

I have had a quick look at the full journal article (kindly sent to me by Prof. Zagorsky) and the data do appear to be of unusually high quality so I think these findings can be relied on. It may be worth noting that the relationship between IQ and income has often been found previously.

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Leftist deceit again. There is an eyewiness account here of what actually happened in the confrontation between Greenie Sheryl Crow and Karl Rove.

Islamofascism as a mental illness: "Larwyn suggests that we consider creating a neologism to cover the obvious hatred that some Muslims display toward infidels - i.e, the rest of us. Larwyn suggests Kuffarphobia but Myrtus points out that we use the plural of kuffar to make a more easily pronounced word: Kuffarphobia doesn't flow as well as kafirophobia, which means the same thing. Kuffar is plural for kafir So hatred of infidels (CAIR? Helllooo??) now has a nice tidy term: kafirophobia. Try it on them the next time you object to some jihadist blowing people up and they try to hang an Islamophobe sign on you. Maybe we can even get kafirophobia listed in the DSM-IV or the ICD as the mental illness it obviously is. Given the many symptoms they exhibit - paranoia, hypersensitivity, feelings of narcissistic superiority, and the desire to kill those who disagree with them - kafirophobes definitely qualify for their own separate diagnostic disorder. Maybe if the world hadn't put on its Orwellian glasses just in time for the rise of the jihadists, exhibitions of such behavior would've had them in the revised edition of the DSM-IV by now.

Al Qaeda regrouping: "British authorities arrest six suspected terrorists. As discussed on yesterday's show with Melanie Phillips and Gerard Baker, and as will be discussed with Lawrence Wright today, the evidence of efforts by al Qaeda to strike in the west is growing, and the indifference of the public to the threat is astonishing. Al Qaeda is regrouping in some strange places like Mali, and while its forces in Iraq are repeatedly defeated and its leadership there killed or captured, the network's propagandists continue to push out messages claiming success there and encouraging jihadists to come to Iraq to join in the war. In the U.S., despite efforts by some serious journalists like Wright and Michael Barone to keep some focus on the threat from al Qaeda in Iraq and elsewhere across the globe, the public is repeatedly told by the Democrats and the MSM that the U.S. can withdraw from Iraq and fight terrorism effectively in Afghanistan. This is delusional and dangerous, but so seductive that it will probably take another spectacularly lethal attack for the west to confront the menace with renewed resolve". [More on the British arrests here].

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

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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ANZAC DAY TODAY

Australia's day of remembrance for our war dead: Australia's most solemn day. Commemoration began at dawn, as it traditionally does. A small excerpt from a news report below:

Thousands of people have braved a wet morning around the nation to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country at the Anzac Day dawn service. Masses assembled at the Cenotaph at Martin Place in Sydney just before 4.30am (AEST) for the ceremony to mark the ill-fated landing at Gallipoli 92 years ago. War veterans were in attendance, but the early morning crowd was a predominantly young one.

Naval Commander of Australia, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, said the Anzac story resonated with so many Australians because it was about ordinary people. .. "The wonderful thing about the Anzac story is that it's not a story that glorifies war. "It's a story about ordinary people struggling to overcome their fears and frailties but achieving extraordinary things."

He urged the crowd to direct their thoughts to the approximately 3500 Australian servicemen and women deployed in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Israel, Lebanon, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. "The Anzac tradition continues through them," he said. "Many of them were in harm's way this morning. Their service is still selfless, the mateship is as deep, the teamwork just as vital."

The early morning crowd stretched over three blocks and spilled into nearby streets, while a large screen was used to broadcast events at the Cenotaph for those who couldn't get close enough.... At 4.50am (AEST), a lone bugler sounded the last post. It was followed by a minute's silence during which the only sound that could be heard was the pattering of falling rain.

More here

IRAN IN ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

Every conversation here last week seemed to revolve around the imposition of petrol rationing on May 21. Subsidised petrol will rise from 800 riyals (about 4p) to 1,000 riyals (5p) per litre. Far worse in this sprawling traffic-choked city, only three litres a day will be available at that price. Ration cards will be issued and any purchase over the limit will be at a nonsubsidised rate that has yet to be decided.

Iranians have already been hit by a 50% rise in fares last month. Shared taxis, the favourite way to get around town, rose from 1,000 riyals to 1,500 (8p) for the shortest journey. Every such increase counts in a country where a teacher is paid about 30 pounds a week.

"The only good thing about the nuclear issue is that it seems it has brought so much pressure on this government that this might be the end of them," said Shahla, 38, standing with bags of spring onions, radishes and tomatoes outside a greengrocer's near Ahmadinejad's old house in the eastern Tehran district of Narmak. She did not buy the cucumbers she wanted because they cost too much.

"People are struggling to survive," she said. "My children should be eating fruit, but it's too expensive." A woman in a black chador, the dress of the ultra-conservative, stopped to listen. In the old days she would have been one of the unofficial guardians of the revolution and would have stopped the conversation. Instead, she chimed in. "The people's blood is boiling," she said, introducing herself as Miriam, an employee of the education department. "But we are strangled, we cannot speak."

These are the people who voted Ahmadinejad into power and they are furious that their salaries remain pitifully low while the price of food rises at a rate unofficially estimated at between 20% and 40%.

Source

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ELSEWHERE

EU proposal to bring Sharia divorce law to Europe: "A European Union proposal that would allow the laws of non-EU countries to be applicable in divorce cases ran into fierce opposition from Sweden on Thursday. Liberal Sweden strongly resists the plan, which it says could force EU member states to dissolve marriages on the basis of foreign law, including traditional Islamic law, or Sharia. "It is not acceptable that the planned rules would lead to Swedish courts having to apply foreign law," a Swedish diplomat told reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Germany is pushing for new rules under which international couples, prior to marriage, would be able to set out in a contract which country's laws will reign in a divorce court."

Over-Taxed Canadians: "Taxes are eating into Canadians' incomes more than ever, costing the average family more than food, clothing and housing combined, suggests a new survey. ...The average Canadian family earned $63,001 in 2006 and paid taxes equalling $28,311, almost 45 per cent of its income, while spending 35.6 per cent of its income on food, clothing and housing. According to the institute, 45 years ago that same family earned $5,000 and paid $1,675, or 33.5 per cent of its total income, in taxes. In 1961, the average family spent 56.5 per cent of its income on the necessities of life.

Drug test welfare recipients: "Fortunately, there are a few simple common-sense actions we could take to stem our country's reliance on illegal drugs. For instance, it only makes sense that welfare recipients should have to take drug tests in order to qualify for benefits. Before you assume that this is an unfair burden, consider the fact that many workers must submit to drug tests before they're even called in for a job interview. Companies and even federal agencies realize that illegal drug use can lead to a host of problems on the job-lost productivity, absenteeism, undependability, and even violence. For the proper functioning of businesses and government offices, a drug-free workplace simply must be maintained. If drug tests are required for those who work, it only makes sense that they should also be mandated for individuals who are being supported by our tax dollars. After all, what incentive does a welfare recipient have to kick cocaine, as long as he has money in his pocket provided by Uncle Sam? Such a policy would not be punitive. Rather, it would actually be quite benevolent. For, if you truly care about the poor, you'll be concerned enough to help relieve them of dependence on illegal chemicals to cope with the stresses and strains of life."

The closing of the European mind: "A timely warning here about the way in which the EU is shutting down freedom of expression in the name of `human rights'. The story ran in the Financial Times two days ago. Ostensibly about criminalising denial or trivialisation of the Holocaust, the measure will also make it make it mandatory for all EU member states to punish public incitement `to violence or hatred directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin'. As was said repeatedly in the debates over Britain's proposed law against incitement to religious hatred, hatred is a slippery concept and this would criminalise essential debate. Once ideas are criminalised — including Holocaust denial — we are all sunk. What's more, this is being imposed upon us by the EU, to whom we in the UK have sold our democratic birthright. The British Parliament eventually neutered its own proposed law against incitement to religious hatred - only to have it introduced now, apparently, through the European back door.

A good quote from Ayn Rand: "So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Anconia. ``Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil? When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor - your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?"

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

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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RUSSIAN REVIEW

The fearsome Russian Bear appears to be coming out of a 16-year hibernation. President Vladimir Putin says he wants to regain Russia's prominence in the world community, and his actions are backing up his words. Unencumbered by Marxist dogma, he is attempting to regain Russia's superpower status by the old Soviet method of intimidation.

Putin has directed the seizure of assets of the oil giant Yukos, and restricted oil supplies to Eastern Europe. But if he can decree such gross confiscation of property, then there is no rule of law and Russia's reforms mean nothing. Moreover, Moscow has drastically raised energy prices and threatened an oil cutoff in former client nations that have had the dared to pursue economic and political independence apart from Russia.

Putin sees Russia's vast petroleum reserves as more than a means to economic growth, but as an avenue to superpower status once again. Last year, Russia was the second-highest oil producer in the world after Saudi Arabia. Their GDP has grown at an average rate of 5.5% since 2000, largely by energy exports. Now that world oil prices are high, and rising, his strategy is working. But if they fall, Russia will be in trouble, as was the USSR following the price collapse of oil in the 1980s.

Russians wearily remember the early days of democracy following the collapse of the USSR. That was a time when an erratic, and perhaps alcoholic President Yeltsin governed the country. It was a time when their money became worthless, and crime ran wild.

Most Russians would rather have a strong and secure nation than one that guarantees personal freedoms. This sentiment, and the growing economy, is the basis for Putin's broad popularity. A recent poll found only 16 percent of Russians surveyed want to see Western-style democracy remain in their country. Predictability is perhaps the greatest comfort to the average Russian.

Demographically, however, Russia is a nation that is slowly dying. The country has dwindling birthrates, and amazingly, declining life expectancy. That portends a bleak economic outlook unless they can leverage their energy resources to attain higher growth rates. This is Putin's strategy. Since he became president, rising oil revenues have allowed the Russian defense budget to grow enormously. Defense outlays for 2007 are at a post-Soviet high of $32.4 billion, rising 23 percent in the past year, and four times expenditures of 2001.....

These days, the most important political question in Russia is over who will succeed Putin when his second term expires in 2008. He is much admired, and almost certainly would be reelected if he were eligible to run. Though the Russian Constitution forbids him from running for a third term, it doesn't stop conjecture that he may do so anyway. No matter what the law or his legitimacy may be, many believe he has the support and authority to stay in power. His actions in 2008 will foretell much about which direction, whether cooperative or confrontational, the country is heading.

Russia's culture and history are tied to Western civilization. While recent events may give pause, we should encourage those foundations, and work to advance our common interests. The fight against radical Islam -- whether in Iran, Iraq, Chechnya, or elsewhere -- is one that Russia should unite with the West.

More here

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The above graphic is from Gateway Pundit -- which see for commentary -- if any is necessary.

France to get a Conservative President: "Conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy finished first in the opening round of France's presidential election on Sunday and will meet his Socialist rival Segolene Royal in a runoff vote, television polls showed. Projections by four polling institutions showed Sarkozy leading the field with from 29 to 30 per cent of the vote, Royal in second place on around 25-26 per cent and centrist Francois Bayrou in third place on around 18-19 per cent. Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who stunned France by coming second in the 2002 election, looked set to finish a distant fourth with around 11 per cent. As expected, no-one won an absolute majority, so the top two candidates will go forward to a second-round ballot on May 6. Initial estimates pointed to a huge turnout of up to 85 per cent, which if confirmed would be a record for a first-round vote in more than 40 years and stand in a sharp contrast to the 2002 ballot when the turnout was just 73 per cent.... Whoever replaces Chirac will inherit a fractured, fragile country that has the highest unemployment rate of any major industrial power, poor, multi-ethnic suburbs simmering with discontent and a dominant state sector resistant to reform. Sarkozy wants the French to work harder and pay less tax, and is promising a deluge of reforms in his first 100 days to curb some union powers, slim down the government and toughen sentencing for repeat offenders. France's head of state is among the most powerful in the West. The president is commander-in-chief, dictates foreign and defence policy, appoints the prime minister, presides over Cabinet meetings and can dissolve parliament. [Sarko will get the NF votes in the runoff so should be a shoo-in]

It takes an intellectual to be really stupid: "A third of women graduates will never have children, research has concluded. The number of highly educated women who are starting families has plummeted in the past decade, according to findings that provide the most detailed insight yet into education and fertility. While some women are making a conscious decision not to have children, others are simply leaving it too late after taking years to build their careers, buy a home and find the right partner. Graduates who do become mothers are having fewer children, and later. If the low birth rate trend continues, then the eventual rate of childlessness among graduates now aged in their twenties is likely to be even higher than a third".

Students getting high on righteousness: "Stanford University officials agreed to pay its "living wage" to all contract workers, ending a nine-day hunger strike by some student protesters. Officials on Friday revised the school's policy to include all employees hired through contractors. Loopholes in the wage policies previously allowed the university to pay less than the "living wage" - $11.15 to $12.59 per hour - to contracted employees who work less than 30 hours per week. "We're very happy to have reached this agreement," Stanford spokesman Alan Acosta said. Protesters with the Stanford Labor Action Coalition celebrated with food and music at their 10-tent encampment in the campus' White Plaza after Friday's meeting announcing the changes. "The process is not over by any means, but we felt like we have reached a point where we could stop fasting," said Daniel Weissman, 22, one of four students who began a hunger strike April 12."

WaPo now basically supports Wolfowitz: "Despite having megaphoned distortions of what happened at the World Bank for over a week after the exculpatory documents were made public, the editors of the Washington Post finally seems to be backing off and supporting Wolfowitz"

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

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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Was Cho taught to hate?

Re: The Va. Tech. massacre:

Yes, I know. Tens of thousands of ordinary college students are lonely, full of rage, lost and frustrated. A few percent are psychotically disturbed, and some of them can kill. Our big factory colleges are alienating. Take millions of adolescents, and at any time there are bound to be quite a few confused and seething souls walking loose. Just visit downtown in any American or European city, and you can see all the lost and disturbed living in their private hells. And no, that doesn't excuse executing thirty-two innocents.

Still, I wonder --- was Cho taught to hate? Whatever he learned in his classes --- did it enable him to rage at his host country, to hate the students he envied so murderously? Was he subtly encouraged to aggrandize himself by destroying others? Was his pathology enabled by the PC university? Or to ask the question differently --- was Cho ever taught to respect others, to admire the good things about his host country, and to discipline himself to build a positive life?

And that answer is readily available on the websites of Cho's English Department at Virginia Tech. This is a wonder world of PC weirdness. English studies at VT are a post-modern Disney World in which nihilism, moral and sexual boundary breaking, and fantasies of Marxist revolutionary violence are celebrated. They show up in a lot of faculty writing. Not by all the faculty, but probably by more than half.

More here

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ELSEWHERE



Britain does NOT support its troops: "The defence secretary, Des Browne, is facing accusations that the government has put cost-cutting before the welfare of the services by failing to remedy safety faults that led to a Nimrod spy plane blowing up over Afghanistan. The Sunday Times has established that a fleet of refurbished Nimrods will contain the same ageing and leaking fuel systems that caused last year's disaster in which 14 crew died. The decision to keep the system, which will reduce the cost of the revamped jets, comes despite repetitions of the leaks that caused the explosion. A Nimrod returned to base recently with seven tons of fuel "sloshing around" after it leaked into its bomb bay. Andy Knight, whose brother Sergeant Ben Knight, 25, was one of the men killed, said: "The Ministry of Defence was prepared to risk the loss of a 70 million pound-plus jet and its crew, rather than spending the money needed to make the fleet safe. "I have seen nothing since the accident that suggests it has changed its stance."

Huge British voting fraud: "More than 1m "ghost" voters have been uncovered who threaten to undermine the result of next month's local council elections. An analysis by Britain's electoral watchdog has estimated that there are at least 1m and possibly up to 3.5m people whose names appear on the electoral roll even though they are ineligible to vote. The disclosure will fuel concerns over the extent of electoral fraud, which critics claim the government has down-played in order to extend postal voting, which benefits Labour candidates. The names include illegal immigrants, bogus voters, foreign residents and those who are registered at more than one address. Officials fear that in marginal areas, election results could be affected by abuse of "ghost" votes. The Electoral Commission is using pollster GfK NOP to interview thousands of voters to accurately quantify the level of fraudulent voting"

It's the Joooos' fault: "The 59th Annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner was held last night in Hartford, Connecticut with special guest Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was a grand time... A standing ovation for failed candidate Ned Lamont, no pictures or mention of former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate and war defender Joe Lieberman, more attacks on Lieberman, and anti-Semitic remarks to the press! It was a great evening for all involved! .... Lieberman, who did not attend the fundraising dinner because of his customary observance of the Jewish Sabbath, also was notably absent from the long list of party leaders cited in Democratic State Chairman Nancy DiNardo's welcoming remarks. ..... Matt McLaughlin, a 22-year-old college student from Glastonbury, said Democrats should be more vehemently against the war. "If they didn't pass a bill authorizing more money, our troops would be out of there within a month," he said. "The problem is all the vested interests in Washington like the energy lobby and the Israel lobby."

Iraqi insurgents now fighting each other: "At least two major insurgent groups are battling al-Qaida in provinces outside Baghdad, American military commanders said Friday, an indication of a deepening rift between Sunni guerrilla groups in Iraq. U.S. officers say a growing number of Sunni tribes are turning against al-Qaida, repelled by the terror group's sheer brutality and austere religious extremism. The tribes are competing with al-Qaida for influence and control over diminishing territory in the face of U.S. assaults, the officers say. The influx of Sunni fighters to areas outside the capital in advance of the security crackdown in Baghdad may have further unsettled the region. "This is a big turning point," U.S. Maj. David Baker said Friday in the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba. "If they are fighting against each other, it's better than them fighting against us." Even Sunnis who want to cooperate with the Shiite-led government are becoming more emboldened to speak out against al-Qaida. In Anbar province, more than 200 Sunni sheiks have decided to form a political party to oppose the terror group, participants said Friday."

The madness of gettinging ethanol from corn: "The U.S. ethanol boom could push lofty natural gas prices even higher as the explosion of new distilleries and a soaring corn crop raise industrial and agricultural demand. Ethanol refineries tend to use natural gas-fueled boilers, and natural gas is also used in the production of fertilizer for corn, which is the main feedstock for ethanol in North America. (Sugar cane is the main feedstock in South America.) "It's another way we're becoming dependent on natural gas," said senior analyst Christopher Jarvis at Caprock Risk Management. "A rise in gas demand is in the cards for this year, and next, and an additional uptick from ethanol could definitely have a material impact." Experts said that the ethanol boom - which has already contributed to inflation in the prices of bread, meat and diesel fuel - could add roughly 1 percent to U.S. natural gas demand within a year and a half, magnifying an already tight balance between production and rising consumption from homes" [Getting ethanol from sugarcane requires NO external fuel source!]

L.A. Times sagging: "About 150 jobs at the Los Angeles Times are expected to be cut next week amid a recent earnings report from parent Tribune Co. that show slumping revenue, the newspaper reported Friday. The cuts, expected to be announced Monday, would constitute more than 5 percent of the work force and include 70 newsroom positions, unnamed Los Angeles Times executives said in a story posted on the newspaper's Web site. Newspaper executives believe many of the cuts will come through voluntary buyouts." [It might help to ease up on the Leftist bias!]

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

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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.

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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