Nov 18, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
The Canadian government has decided to halt its ban on FoxNews in Canada (i.e., the CRTC finally granted permission for private Canadian broadcasters to offer FoxNews to Canadians):
[...] Even though Fox News hosts have at times mocked Canadians -- calling the former prime minister a bum -- the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Thursday it has found "there is substantial demand in Canada for Fox News." [...] The CRTC said it received 531 statements supporting Fox and only 82 opposed to allowing the channel to broadcast here. The Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association had asked the CRTC to permit it to import both Fox and the NFL Network for digital tiers. [...]
The network will bring a different world view for Canadians who like their public affairs spicy, says Michael Hennessy, president of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association. "We think it's great in terms of diversity (of opinion) . . . it's controversial, which is always an excellent thing in the areas of news and public affairs," said Hennessy. [...]
One of Fox News's highest profile personalities, Bill O'Reilly, has called former Prime Minister Jean Chretien "a bum" and denounced Canada's medicare program as "socialist." O'Reilly told The Canadian Press that he was referring to newspaper staff, not Canadians in general. ["Fox News Coming to Canada", CNEWS]
Nov 17, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
From FoxNews: Bush Taps Rice to Be Secretary of State.[Condoleezza] Rice, considered more of a foreign policy hard-liner than [Secretary of State Colin] Powell, whom she calls a "dear friend and mentor," has been Bush's national security adviser for four years. ...
Rice has long been Bush's most trusted foreign-policy adviser, leading to concerns that her elevation to secretary of state might not leave room for dissent within the administration.
"When Rice travels as secretary of state to other capitals, everyone will know that what she says represents with great fidelity what the president thinks" and vice versa, former presidential adviser David Gergen told FOX News.
"I think it does ensure closer cooperation within the administration," Gergen added, but if you "essentially purge the administration" of other voices, that would leave little room for alternative perspectives.
"Colin Powell and his group were often dissenters within the administration, but on some issues they turned out to be right," Gergen continued. He envisioned that Rice would bring in a "hard-line team" of lower-level officials to help her run State.
We're all for a State Department that takes a more "hard line" approach to America's interests compared to Powell's tendency toward appeasement. Our foreign policy message to other nations should be harmonious not dissonant.Nov 17, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Violence erupted last Sunday night as Snoop Dog was about to honor Dr. Dre with a lifetime "achievement" award during taping of the Vibe Awards in Los Angeles. The incident shattered the rap and hip-hop community's long-time image as a docile harbinger of peace and tranquility, leaving millions of fans horrified and confused.
As chairs were thrown and fists flew during the bloody melee, Jimmy James Johnson had a knife plunged into his torso. Authorities are currently looking for Nashville rapper "Young Buck" in connection with the stabbing. He is expected to be hiding somewhere between the left and right pant legs of a sagging pair of 48-inch-waist jeans.Nov 17, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Writes David Holcberg of the Ayn Rand Institute:
At long last, Arafat is dead. Unfortunately, the mass murderer responsible for decades of terrorism died of a health problem, not an act of justice.
But why did Arafat survive to old age? Why didn't his victims--Palestinians, Israelis and Americans--kill him long ago?
Palestinians, who lived for years in fear under his tyrannical regime, didn't strike him down, because their desire to exterminate Jews was greater than their desire for freedom. Israelis, who lived for years in fear of Arafat's terrorist attacks, didn't kill him, because their desire to satisfy "world opinion" was greater than their desire to live. Americans, who saw their fellow citizens murdered by Arafat's orders, didn't touch a hair of Arafat's, because their desire to appease the "Arab street" and hostile Arab regimes was greater than their desire for justice. Palestinians, Israelis and Americans paid dearly for their cowardice.
Should we draw a lesson? Yes, that freedom, justice and life are worth fighting for--and killing for. Hopefully, Americans will have the moral courage to kill Bin Laden and his associates--and not wait until they too die of disease or old age.
Nov 16, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum: 
The full context and all relevant facts regarding the Marine-shoots-wounded-insurgent case are still not known, but the left-leaning mainstream media seem all too ready to turn the incident into the next Abu Ghraib scandal (as Charles Johnson put it). FoxNews reports: Military Probes Shooting of Prisoner.The judge advocate general heading the investigation, Lt. Col. Bob Miller, told NBC News that depending on the evidence, it could be reasonable to conclude the Marine was acting in self-defense.
"The policy of the rules of engagement authorize the Marines to use force when presented with a hostile act or hostile intent," Miller said. "So they would have to be using force in self-defense, yes."
"Any wounded -- in this case insurgents -- who don't pose a threat would not be considered hostile," said Miller.
Charles Heyman, a senior defense analyst with Jane's Consultancy Group in Britain, defended the Marine's actions, saying it was possible the wounded man was concealing a firearm or grenade.
"You can hear the tension in those Marines' voices. One is showing, 'He's faking it. He's faking it,'" Heyman said. "In a combat infantry soldier's training, he is always taught that his enemy is at his most dangerous when he is severely wounded."
If the injured man makes even the slightest move, "in my estimation they would be justified in shooting him."
Meanwhile, little attention is given to incidents that are known and can be reported: the horror of insurgent rule in Fallujah.
From today's Wall Street Journal: Semper Fi: The story of Fallujah isn't on that NBC videotape.Some 40 Marines have just lost their lives cleaning out one of the world's worst terror dens, in Fallujah, yet all the world wants to talk about is the NBC videotape of a Marine shooting a prostrate Iraqi inside a mosque. Have we lost all sense of moral proportion?
The al-Zarqawi TV network, also known as Al-Jazeera, has broadcast the tape to the Arab world, and U.S. media have also played it up. The point seems to be to conjure up images again of Abu Ghraib, further maligning the American purpose in Iraq. Never mind that the pictures don't come close to telling us about the context of the incident, much less what was on the mind of the soldier after days of combat. ...
When not disemboweling Iraqi women, these killers hide in mosques and hospitals, booby-trap dead bodies, and open fire as they pretend to surrender. Their snipers kill U.S. soldiers out of nowhere. According to one account, the Marine in the videotape had seen a member of his unit killed by another insurgent pretending to be dead. Who from the safety of his Manhattan sofa has standing to judge what that Marine did in that mosque?
Writes Jack Wakeland from TIA Daily writes: Who Will Defend War?.In what universe is it "horribly wrong"--even criminal--for a Marine Corps rifleman to shoot a wounded Iraqi militiaman lying on the floor of a mosque in a combat zone (a shooting that was captured on video by an NBC cameraman)?
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's office felt the need to issue a statement that the Iraqi leader "is very concerned by allegations of an illegal killing by multinational forces in Fallujah." The interim prime minister brought up the incident with General George Casey, commander of the multinational force.
To make matters worse, US Ambassador John Negroponte told the press that "no one can be happy" about the incident "but the important point is that the individual in question will be dealt with."
This whole line of thinking comes from the rejection of war, as such.
Nov 16, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From a previous post:
Van Gogh's assailant, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship, has been linked to an organization of Islamic terrorists recruiting youth in the Netherlands. The murder is thought to be in retaliation for van Gogh's recent anti-Islamic film, entitled "Submission," in which a Muslim woman is forced into a violent arranged marriage, raped by a relative, and punished for adultery.
His film "Submission," is now available for free viewing at IFILM. [Hat Tip: N. Provenzo]
Nov 15, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum:
From CNN: Powell resigns with three other Cabinet secretaries.Powell said Bush accepted the resignation Friday, adding, "It has always been my intention that I would serve one term." But a senior State Department official characterized Powell's departure this way: "He was not asked to stay."
From The Wall Street Journal: The Powell Lesson: Will the State Department now support American foreign policy?.[The State] department's idea of public diplomacy too often amounted to spinning itself to an obliging media as the supposed last bastion of sanity amid an Administration overrun by neocon crazies. In one example that somehow went unpunished, Mr. Powell's own chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, described his colleagues at Defense and in the White House this way: "I call them utopians. I don't care whether utopians are Vladimir Lenin on a sealed train to Moscow or Paul Wolfowitz. Utopians I don't like. You're never going to bring utopia, and you're going to hurt a lot of people in the process of trying to do it." That kind of talk may have hurt the Administration, but it hurt State far more.
The first task of whoever replaces Mr. Powell (as we went to press, Condoleezza Rice's name was being whispered) will be to ensure that the department acts as an arm of executive power and not as the in-house opposition.
Nov 14, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Cox and Forkum: 
From The Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer: 'Moral Values' Myth.In 1994, when the Gingrich revolution swept Republicans into power, ending 40 years of Democratic hegemony in the House, the mainstream press needed to account for this inversion of the Perfect Order of Things. A myth was born. Explained the USA Today headline: "ANGRY WHITE MEN: Their votes turn the tide for GOP."
Overnight, the revolution of the Angry White Male became conventional wisdom. In the 10 years before the 1994 election there were 56 mentions of angry white men in the media, according to LexisNexis. In the next seven months there were more than 1,400.
At the time, I looked into this story line -- and found not a scintilla of evidence to support the claim. Nonetheless, it was a necessary invention, a way for the liberal elite to delegitimize a conservative victory. And, even better, a way to assuage their moral vanity: You never lose because your ideas are sclerotic or your positions retrograde, but because your opponent appealed to the baser instincts of mankind.
Plus ca change ... Ten years and another stunning Democratic defeat later, and liberals are at it again. The Angry White Male has been transmuted into the Bigoted Christian Redneck.
Nov 12, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Writes Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe [Hat Tip: H. Hacker]:
YASSER ARAFAT died at age 75, lying in bed surrounded by familiar faces. He left this world peacefully, unlike the thousands of victims he sent to early graves.
In a better world, the PLO chief would have met his end on a gallows, hanged for mass murder much as the Nazi chiefs were hanged at Nuremberg. In a better world, the French president would not have paid a visit to the bedside of such a monster. In a better world, George Bush would not have said, on hearing the first reports that Arafat had died, "God bless his soul."
God bless his soul? What a grotesque idea! Bless the soul of the man who brought modern terrorism to the world? Who sent his agents to slaughter athletes at the Olympics, blow airliners out of the sky, bomb schools and pizzerias, machine-gun passengers in airline terminals? Who lied, cheated, and stole without compunction? Who inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich? Human beings might stoop to bless a creature so evil -- as indeed Arafat was blessed, with money, deference, even a Nobel Prize -- but God, I am quite sure, will damn him for eternity.
Arafat always inspired flights of nonsense from Western journalists, and his last two weeks were no exception. [November 11, 2004]
For more on Arafat:
America's Accommodation of Evil by Adam Mossoff
It is time the US sees Arafat for what he is.
Arafat's Despotism: Innocent Palestinians are Better Under Israeli Rule by Yaron Brook
Remember the mayor of a Palestinian village, Zuhir Hamdan, who publicly stated that his villagers preferred to live, not under Arafat, but Israel?
We Are Either With Israel, Or We Are With the Terrorists by Robert W. Tracinski
Arafat and his Palestinian Authority were the world's foremost example of terrorism as a successful war strategy.
Yassar Arafat's Suicide Factory by Daniel Pipes
Convincing healthy individuals to blow themselves up is obviously not easy, but requires ideas and institutions. The process begins with the Palestinian Authority (PA) inculcating two things into its population, starting with the children: a hatred of Jews and a love of death.
Killing Arafat by Alexander Marriott
Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has been a fomenter of terrorism virtually his entire "professional" career. Killing Arafat as opposed to exiling him, where he can still communicate with terrorists on the ground, is preferable.
Casus Belli by David Harsanyi
Worldwide, leaders have announced that their support for the proposed American-led ouster of Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein hinges on President Bush making a compelling case for action. "That guy's evil" doesn't cut it with many of these heads of state, most of whom regard terrorists like Yassir Arafat as freedom fighters. Hussein's frenzied hostility towards America, uninhibited support of terrorism (illustrated by generous $25,00 gifts to Palestinian suicide bombers' families), the murder of thousands of his own citizens and his insistent efforts of adding weapons of mass destruction doesn't seem to be adequate evidence either.
Expel Arafat Now by James Phillips
For many years now, Arafat has paid lip service to peace negotiations in English, while calling in Arabic for a jihad, or holy war, to liberate Jerusalem.
How Arafat Killed The "Peace Process" by James Phillips
Arafat's history of broken promises has convinced Israelis that Arafat is an untrustworthy negotiating partner who reverts to the "war process" when he doesn't get what he demands in the "peace process."
U.N. Call for Palestinian State Spells Suicide for Palestinians by Yaron Brook
Arafat's "Palestinian self-determination" really means more of Arafat's despotism--it means granting legitimacy to a state that is utterly hostile to its own citizens.
Israel's Deal with the Devil by Emmanuel Forgolou
After the recent outbreak of violence, world opinion once again scrambles to implicate Israel, while Palestinians led by Yasser Arafat get bolder in their demands. Having abandoned its moral stand of strong defense and having made its deal with the devil, can Israel hope for either peace or security?
Jenin: The Big Lie by Ariel Cohen
Why Arafat invented the Jenin "massacre."
Nov 11, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Debate at USC: Capitalism: Is There a Moral Alternative?
Friday, November 12, 2004
Debate between Dr. Andrew Bernstein and Dr. Peter Robertson
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, SGM-123 (Seeley G. Mudd), 6:30
Nov 11, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Who: Dr. Andrew Bernstein, philosophy professor, senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute and author of the forthcoming book The Capitalist Manifesto.
What: A talk explaining why capitalism is the only cure for oppression and poverty, followed by audience Q & A. The public and media are invited. Admission is free.
Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 17900 Jamboree Blvd., Irvine, CA
When: Thursday, November 11, 2004--Doors open at 7 PM
IRVINE, CA--The opponents of global capitalism overlook the key points in the debate. The capitalistic nations of Europe, North America and Asia are by far the wealthiest societies of history--with per capita incomes in the range of at least $20,000--$30,000 annually. But capitalism is not merely the system of prosperity; fundamentally, it is the system of individual rights and freedom.
Capitalistic nations protect their citizens' freedom of speech, of the press and of intellectual expression. Similarly, their citizens possess economic freedom, including the right to own property, to start their own businesses and to seek profit. By stark contrast, the pre-capitalist systems of history, and the non-capitalist systems of the present, are politically oppressive and economically destitute; their citizens have no rights and, consequently, little or no wealth.
What deeper principles make possible the freedom and wealth enjoyed under capitalism--and lacking in its political antipodes? How has capitalism already greatly enhanced the lives of millions of human beings in formerly impoverished Third World countries? What can the men of the free world do to further promote the spread of capitalism into the repressed nations of the globe? These are the questions addressed in this talk.Nov 7, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
You can listen to the "The Morality of War" by Dr. Yaron Brook (recorded on September 9, 2004) online for free at the website of The Ayn Rand Institute (you will have to register at no cost).
In this lecture, Dr. Brook passionately explains why America's war is being sabotaged. He blames the moral code of altruism--embodied in the "just-war" theory--that drives Washington's battle plans. It is this code of warfare that explains why victory is within our reach, but consciously forfeited.Nov 5, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Since being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, some small part of Yasir Arafat must have known how ridiculous it was for the world to extol such a notorious thug for his "contributions" to peace. And now, 48 years after founding the terrorist group Al Fatah and decades after organizing the execution of American and Belgian diplomats, the Achilles Lauro hijacking, the Munich Olympics massacre, and countless other bombings and murders, the infamous PLO leader is finally trying to set things right the only way he can: by dying.
Although not yet technically dead, sources say that Arafat has slipped into a vegetative state requiring ventilation machines to remain alive. His greatest contribution to peace is expected to follow shortly, when his heart weakens beyond repair and his lifeless flesh begins to rot away.Nov 4, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
IRVINE, CA--Veterans Day is meant to honor America's servicemen of yesteryear. But it should also be a day to pledge to our future vets in the War on Terrorism that they will not be asked to sacrifice their lives for a "selfless cause," said Dr. Edwin A. Locke, a senior writer at the Ayn Rand Institute.
"It is often said that our soldiers must selflessly sacrifice themselves for their country," noted Dr. Locke. "But this is precisely what we in the United States must not ask them to do. We should ask them to go to war only when America's self-defense requires it. If a serviceman risks his life, thinking ‘I would rather die than live in constant fear of being killed by a terrorist,' his death would be a tragic loss--but it is not a sacrifice. Such a hero acts in his own self-interest to protect his most precious values--his home, his loved ones, his freedom, his life. But if a soldier is ordered to give aid and succor to an enemy trying to kill him, that would be a true sacrifice--and morally obscene."
"The best way we can honor our veterans and give real meaning to Veterans Day--aside from ceremonies honoring their bravery and dedication to their values--is to pledge that we will fight this war with all the means at our disposal because our individual rights and America's interests as a free nation are under attack," said Dr. Locke. "Then, instead of saying ‘My country right or wrong,' every American could proudly declare, ‘My country--because it stands for what is right.'"Nov 4, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
From Yahoo News:
"In an election where voters said moral values were the primary issue, Bush cautioned against suggestions that the United States was becoming politically divided by religion. 'I will be your president regardless of your faith, and I don't expect you to agree with me necessarily on religion,' Bush said. 'As a matter of fact, no president should ever try to impose religion on our society. ...The great thing that unites is the fact you can worship freely if you choose, and if you -- you don't have to worship.'" [Yahoo News]
Comments CM reader Steve Mason:
These do not sound like the words of someone seeking to establish a theocracy in the US. Whatever Bush's faults and mixed premises --and he has many -- statements like the following increase my confidence that voting for him was the right choice and that, philosophically, he is not planning pogroms against non-believers.
We certainly hope so. Let's wait and see.Nov 4, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Since being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, some small part of Yasir Arafat must have known how ridiculous it was for the world to extol such a notorious thug for his "contributions" to peace. And now, 48 years after founding the terrorist group Al Fatah and decades after organizing the execution of American and Belgian diplomats, the Achilles Lauro hijacking, the Munich Olympics massacre, and countless other bombings and murders, the infamous PLO leader is finally trying to set things right the only way he can: by dying.
Although not yet technically dead, sources say that Arafat has slipped into a vegetative state requiring ventilation machines to remain alive. His greatest contribution to peace is expected to follow shortly, when his heart weakens beyond repair and his lifeless flesh begins to rot away.
From Cox and Forkum:
Nov 3, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Wrotes Robert Tracinski in his daily news letter, TIA Daily:
Even the New York Times recognizes that President Bush was given a mandate by the American people. But what was the nature of the mandate? Bush's own views were made clear in his victory speech: it is a mandate for more tax cuts, for Social Security semi-quasi-privatization, and for finishing the war in Iraq, with only a small reference to religious "values." Cheney agreed, saying that the administration had "reasserted a confident American role in the world."
From a transcript of President Bush's Speech:
"We will continue our economic progress. We'll reform our outdated tax code. We'll strengthen the Social Security for the next generation. We'll make public schools all they can be. And we will uphold our deepest values of family and faith. We'll help the emerging democracies of Iraq and Afghanistan so they can grow in strength and defend their freedom. And then our service men and women will come home with the honor they have earned. With good allies at our side, we will fight this war on terror with every resource of our national power so our children can live in freedom and in peace."
Related Reading: Anti-Bushites for BushNov 3, 2004 | Dollars & Crosses
Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, distant relative of 19th century painter Vincent van Gogh, received a belly full of Islamic peace and love yesterday when he was brutally murdered on the streets of Amsterdam. Shot and stabbed in broad daylight at the front door of the city council office, 47 year-old van Gogh managed to flee to the other side of the street, where he was shot and stabbed again, and died.
Van Gogh's assailant, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship, has been linked to an organization of Islamic terrorists recruiting youth in the Netherlands. The murder is thought to be in retaliation for van Gogh's recent anti-Islamic film, entitled "Submission," in which a Muslim woman is forced into a violent arranged marriage, raped by a relative, and punished for adultery.
And so, to protest the film's depiction of Islam as a violent, cruel, anti-human religion, angry Muslims shot and stabbed the director. Point made.
