Month: August 2005

War on Terror: Paraguay?

Wretchard at The Belmont Club writes about The Dark Frontier[*1] :

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s press conference enroute to Paraguay is interesting for a number of reasons — the first being Paraguay itself. The Power and Interest News summarizes the region’s strategic importance to the US. South America is wracked by a confluence of resurgent Marxism, fueled by Venezuela and Cuba; failing states and coca. Of particular interest is the Tri-Border area, centered on the town of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay on the border of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. The Associated Press described it as “a key South American point for Islamic terrorist fund raising to the tune of $100 million a year.” The Tri-border area is sometimes described as the Muslim Triangle and is alleged to be one end of a conveyor belt leading to the US southern border.

Chimpanzee Culture

BBC reports[*1] chimpanzees learn culture:

“This is the first time that any scientist has experimentally created two different traditions in any primate,” Professor Andrew Whiten of the University of St Andrews told the BBC News website.

“Moreover it is the first time anyone has ever done this with tool use in any animal.”

Pat Robertson is a looney

Robertson calls for the assassination of Venezuela’s president Chavez. Scrappleface[*1] has the best spin:

(2005-08-23) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez beefed up security at his residence and offices today after reports that Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of the South American communist dictator.

Venezuelan police have begun detaining and searching “clean cut, Bible-toting men in unfashionable clothing” as likely followers of the wealthy, charismatic religious personality. However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) immediately lodged a protest with the Venezuelan government over the “profiling” of ‘700 Club’ devotees by security forces.

Mr. Robertson is revered among his fanatical TV viewers, who each year contribute millions of dollars to advance his so-called “ministry,” as much as he’s feared by the teams of U.S. journalists who track his movements and record his remarks.

The Pentagon immediately denied that Mr. Robertson’s name had previously appeared on any Defense Department “watch list,” but a spokesman discouraged news networks from airing video of the Robertson fatwa announcement, fearing his remarks might contain coded instructions for Christian cell groups around the world.

Perhaps instead of multiculturally patting radical Islamic mullahs on the head at their death-filled tirades, we should respond to them with the same derision that Robertson is rightfully receiving.

Homeland Security’s Chertoff admits border problem

The Administration, through Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, finally takes on illegal immigration[*1] :

“We have decided to stand back and take a look at how we address the problem and solve it once and for all,” Chertoff said at a breakfast meeting with reporters. “The American public is rightly distressed about a situation in which they feel we do not have the proper control over our borders.”

The unusually blunt assessment by the nation’s top immigration official follows border-related emergency declarations by the governors of New Mexico and Arizona, who cited a surge in smuggling and violence associated with the flow of illegal immigrants.

Australia says no Sharia here, please

Australian leader closes the door on enforcing Islamic Sharia law[*1] in Australia:

Australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament, Treasurer Peter Costello told national television late Tuesday.

“If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you,” said Costello, who is seen as heir-apparent to Prime Minister John Howard.

“I’d be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that that is false.

“There’s only one law in Australia — it’s the law that’s made by the parliament of Australia and enforced by our courts. There is no second law.

“If you can’t agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country which practices it, perhaps, then, that’s a better option,” Costello said.

“E pluribus unum.” One law for all.

No lip-synching in Turkmenistan

One of those stories[*1] which are funny at first glance, but get worrisome when you think about them:

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan – He has outlawed opera and ballet and railed against long hair and gold teeth, but now Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov is determined to wipe out another perceived scourge: lip synching.

Niyazov has ordered a ban on lip synching performances across the tightly controlled Central Asian nation, citing “a negative effect on the development of singing and musical art,” the president’s office said Tuesday.

Sure, lip-synching is a scourge of modern life, but does it really need to be illegal?

Morning Whip, August 23, 2005

#10: Drug reverses sleep deprivation in monkeys
#9: Official Beer of the NFL up for grabs
#8: Sprint Arena design finalized
#7: Tom Liston tees off on “Antivirus Gold” malware among other things
#6: Israel worried about armed settlers
#5: The Vietnam Syndrome
#4: Back in Iraq
#3: Europe calls off Iran nuke talks
#2: Iraqi Sunnis get U.S. support
#1: The proposed Iraqi constitution