Job hiring, a notoriously lagging economic indicator, is finally picking up.

The improvement in the labor market is not a surprise to Roy Krause, president of Spherion, an employment agency based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "We have more jobs and orders than people," he says, including a surge in permanent hiring. Finding quality candidates is proving difficult, he says.

On Victor Davis Hanson's web site, Bruce Thornton discusses Robert Spencer's latest book, The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims:

As for those fantasies of intercultural harmony entertained by many Western multiculturalists, consider this verse from the Qur'an: “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turn to them (for friendship) is of them.” As Spencer reminds us, “This is the Qur'an that pious Muslims cherish and memorize in its entirety; it is for them their primary guide to understanding how they should make their way in the world and deal with other people. It is nothing short of staggering that the myth of Islamic tolerance could have gained such currency in the teeth of the Qur'an's open contempt and hatred for Jews and Christians and incitements to violence against them.” Spencer's survey of the Hadith, the words and deeds attributed to Muhammed and second in authority to the Qur'an; the interpretations of the Hadith and Qur'an by centuries of Islamic jurisprudence; and the writings of modern Islamic radicals like Sayyid Qutb, the premier theorist of modern jihad, testifies to a consistent tradition of intolerance towards non-Muslims and the divine sanction to subdue them to Islam.

In the final analysis, either Islam will need to reform itself away from its intolerance of other cultures and its unity of religion and state, or we will need to surrender (literally "submit") to Islam. It is not a question of "tolerance," it is a question of survival.

Western liberalism (i.e. freedom and liberty) and Islam as currently interpreted are polar opposites, and there can be no compromise. One will triumph, and the other will either change drastically or perish from the Earth.

That's the elephant in the living room that precious few people are talking about. Victor Hanson and Bruce Thornton are two of those who are beginning to address the issue.

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2004. President Bush met with her and other Iraqi casualty families in a closed-door meeting in June, 2004. Here is what the story was then:

"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us," Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.

Here is what the story is now:

SHEEHAN: . . . Joe Hagan, the deputy chief of staff, said that, "I can tell you the president really cares." And I said, "You can't tell me that because I've met with him and I know that he doesn't care."

OK, so in 2004, the President was "sorry and feels some pain for our loss" but today, Sheehan says of the same meeting " I know that he doesn't care."

Say what you want of Bush, but every story you see (except Sheehan's) portrays a man with considerable personal magnetism and true caring for those he is with. Mrs. Sheehan's loss can not be undone with any words. But it would appear that bitterness, founded in her inital opposition of the Iraqi war and fueled by the vocal opposition of the media nad the far left have claimed Mrs. Sheehan. And that's truly a shame.

This story won't make Snookums happy:

The Mail quoted researcher Michael Hunter as saying, "The female voice is actually more complex than the male voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between men and women, and also due to women having greater natural 'melody' in their voices.

"This causes a more complex range of sound frequencies than in a male voice."

What was that again, Dear?

Emphasizing my earlier point, Scott Ott at Scrappleface weighs in:

(2005-08-07) -- In a novel approach for the Democrat party, a group of left-leaning investors said it has raised $80 million in pledges to fund thinking, in hopes that thought and actual policies might be the secret to victory in coming elections.

The dramatic reversal of strategy comes not from the Democrat National Committee (DNC) itself, but from a group of 80 wealthy progressives who each pledged $1 million in an effort to emulate the conservative think-tanks which have developed during the past three decades.

Via Reuters.

"The operation is finished. At 7:17 a.m., the submarine broke the surface. The crew opened the hatch on their own," Rear Admiral Vladimir Pepelyaev said on state television.

He said the seamen were put on a rescue ship to be taken to hospital in the far eastern Pacific port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for further observation.

Intercepted enemy communications. From Blackanthem.

In the letter to al-Zarqawi the author, Abu Zayd, a terrorist operating out of Mosul, complained of the poor leadership in Mosul and mistreatment of foreign fighters.

Abu Zayd informs in his letter to the "Sheikh" that, "This is a clarification of what has become of the situation in Mosul, and it is no secret to you the noticeable decrease in the attacks carried out by the Mujahidin, from not long ago when Mosul was in the hands of the Mujahidin…" Abu Zayd continues by listing the multiple reasons why the "Mujahidin" have been less effective recently.

Abu Zayd claims that the Mosul Emirs are incompetent; attacks lack diversity; suicide bombings are focused more on quantity and not quality; those who are in the network are disobedient; a legitimate organization in Mosul does not exist; collaboration between the Emirs is lacking; "Muslim money" is squandered on petty expenses; numerous security violations occur; "inaccurate and blurred" updates to the Sheikh are reported; and foreign fighters endure "deplorable" conditions to include lack of pay, housing problems and marginalization.

Similar complaints to the "Sheikh" regarding lack of leadership were found in a letter written by a known terrorist cell leader who fought in Fallujah. Multi-National forces found this letter, authored by Abu Asim al-Qusaymi al-Yemeni and dated Apr. 27, during a raid in Baghdad in May.

Abu Zayd proposed a few solutions to the many problems he outlined to include a warning that if focus and pursuit of development is not provided to Mosul, "…the fall of Mosul in the hands of the Mujahidin is possible, and because it relieves the pressure off the other cities such as Al-Qa’im, Tal’afar."

Remember this the next time you see another "we're losing in Iraq" news article. Via Chrenkoff.

The New York Times is disturbed with Georgia's voting law:

Georgia has passed a disturbing new law that bars people from voting without government-issued photo identification.

My God, what next? Speed limits? Requiring drivers to have insurance? Outlawing lying to courts? Where is this country headed? Something Must Be Done! Via Fark.

Instapundit offers an opinion.

The answer, of course, is that those of us who are getting our war reporting from the right places are hearing about them, while those of us who are still relying on the Times probably aren't.

From the Telegraph.

A total of six people have now been charged under the Terrorism Act with failing to disclose information that could have helped police investigating the July 21 attacks.