A Far Cry from Baghdad Bob

Just because I find this touching.

Strange Ways

Posting this only because as a 7th grader I was somewhat afraid of Gene Simmons. In the '70s, it was kind of faddish among evangelical Christians to fret a great deal about satanic influence in rock music -- lots of allegations about backward masking and such. It was rumored that KISS stood for Kids In Satan's Service, and it was easy to believe looking at their make-up and listening to their sound (and albums with titles like "Hotter Than Hell") that they might all be possessed.

I'm aware that in his old age Simmons has become something of a staid Libertarian spokesman, but I think he's unrepentant of his rock-star promiscuity, so a defense of the chaste Tebow and the way he seems conversant in "Jesus talk" comes as something of a surprise.

The Lady Not For Turning

I love Steve Hayward's tribute to Lady Thatcher at Powerline.

When Leo Strauss received the news that Winston Churchill had died in January 1965, he made the following spontaneous remarks in his classroom at the University of Chicago on the lessons of Churchill’s life—lessons that apply just as well to Margaret Thatcher.  His conclusion:

The death of Churchill reminds us . . . of our duty.  We have no higher duty, and no more pressing duty, than to remind ourselves and our students, of political greatness, human greatness, of the peaks of human excellence.  For we are supposed to train ourselves and others in seeing things as they are, and this means above all in seeing their greatness and their misery, their excellence and their vileness, their nobility and their triumphs, and therefore never to mistake mediocrity, however brilliant, for true greatness.

Update:  Three items.

The Argentine pope pays tribute to Lady Thatcher:

"His Holiness Pope Francis was saddened to learn of the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher," the papal message stated. "He recalls with appreciation the Christian values which underpinned her commitment to public service and to the promotion of freedom among the family of nations. Entrusting her soul to the mercy of God, and assuring her family and the British people of a remembrance in his prayers, the Holy Father invokes upon all whose lives she touched God’s abundant blessings."

Fun footage of Baronness Thatcher's last debate in Parliament below, but first an anecdote.

One of the chefs where I work (a great, robust, bass-voiced Turk) has lasting affection for Baroness Thatcher because he was on duty in the kitchen of some hotel in Colorado where she and Dennis were attending some conference or summit or some such thing. In the morning she came into the kitchen and the chef offered to make her breakfast, but she refused, saying she always made her husband's breakfast for him herself.

Now this. Wait til the end where she says she's enjoying herself.

Spengler to Joooos: Don't Be Naive. We're Next.

David Daniel Goldman:  Memo to Jews: After They Come for Catholics They Will Come for Us.

Today it is contraception and the morning-after pill. Tomorrow it will be kosher slaughter, or matrilineal descent, or circumcision, or other matters of existential importance to Jewish observance. If the Obama administration gets away with forcing Catholic institutions to step across lines of life and death in the name of “health,” the federal government will have a precedent to legislate Judaism out of existence — as several other countries have already tried to do.

I appreciate his solidarity, but go to page 2. Did you know this stuff? That a high court in England has ruled that matrilineal descent (which is how one knows who is Jewish) is racist? And that several European countries have banned Kosher slaughter?

What the hell? 

On this issue, there can be no compromise. Agudath Israel is right: Jews should stand by the right of the Catholic Church to determine what is acceptable by its standards, just as we one day will ask the Catholic Church to stand by our right to determine what is acceptable by our standards. To its credit, Britain’s Catholic Church stood by us in 2009 when the English courts shamefully and wrongly ruled that our most basic religious criteria were “racist.” Shamefully and wrongfully, some Jews have failed to stand by the Church under the Obama administration’s persecution. I appeal to these Jews: Don’t be naive. We’re next.

RTWT. Curtsy to First Things (print version)

Would These Guys Vote For Newt or Romney?

Shamelessly pinched from Bad Rachel

Bad Rachel posted this last Saturday, but I decided not to pinch it then, convinced it would be shown to be a photoshop. However, check out the sign in English at this demonstration in Kafranbel (which is in Northern Syria, and filled with Turks and Kurds, I read). It's about 15 seconds in. Same style and all...now I believe.

First Angie, Now David: Multiculturalism Has Failed

A second European leader turns against multiculturalism. Money quotes begin at 2:30 or thereabouts --stick past the parts about Islam v. Islamism. Or skip to part two. V. important.


part II.

Update: what Cameron missed.

Australia Day!

Best wishes, Oz!

Ominous Yet Beautiful

Hani Shukrallah, editorializing in an Egyptian new service on the attacks on Coptic Christians this Christmas.

We are to join in a chorus of condemnation. Jointly, Muslims and Christians, government and opposition, Church and Mosque, clerics and laypeople – all of us are going to stand up and with a single voice declare unequivocal denunciation of al-Qaeda, Islamist militants, and Muslim fanatics of every shade, hue and color; some of us will even go the extra mile to denounce salafi Islam, Islamic fundamentalism as a whole, and the Wahabi Islam which, presumably, is a Saudi import wholly alien to our Egyptian national culture.
And once again we’re going to declare the eternal unity of “the twin elements of the nation”, and hearken back the Revolution of 1919, with its hoisted banner showing the crescent embracing the cross, and giving symbolic expression to that unbreakable bond.

But...

All of it will be to no avail. We’ve been here before; we’ve done exactly that, yet the massacres continue, each more horrible than the one before it, and the bigotry and intolerance spread deeper and wider into every nook and cranny of our society. It is not easy to empty Egypt of its Christians; they’ve been here for as long as there has been Christianity in the world. Close to a millennium and half of Muslim rule did not eradicate the nation’s Christian community, rather it maintained it sufficiently strong and sufficiently vigorous so as to play a crucial role in shaping the national, political and cultural identity of modern Egypt.
Yet now, two centuries after the birth of the modern Egyptian nation state, and as we embark on the second decade of the 21^stcentury, the previously unheard of seems no longer beyond imagining: a Christian-free Egypt, one where the cross will have slipped out of the crescent’s embrace, and off the flag symbolizing our modern national identity. I hope that if and when that day comes I will have been long dead, but dead or alive, this will be an Egypt which I do not recognize and to which I have no desire to belong.

And the blame is not solely al-Qaeda's:

I accuse a government that seems to think that by outbidding the Islamists it will also outflank them.
I accuse the host of MPs and government officials who cannot help but take their own personal bigotries along to the parliament, or to the multitude of government bodies, national and local, from which they exercise unchecked, brutal yet at the same time hopelessly inept authority.
I accuse those state bodies who believe that by bolstering the Salafi trend they are undermining the Muslim Brotherhood, and who like to occasionally play to bigoted anti-Coptic sentiments, presumably as an excellent distraction from other more serious issues of government.
But most of all, I accuse the millions of supposedly moderate Muslims among us; those who’ve been growing more and more prejudiced, inclusive and narrow minded with every passing year.

A distressing message, but the fact that such an editorial is written and printed is heartening, no?

Rocks In The River

Really nice column on what B16 didn't say about condoms --and about the role of the Church in the world generally-- from Jonah Goldberg. Citing his deceased father, who loved Vatican spectacle and loved the popes as what he called "rocks in the river," he writes:

I loved the literary quality of the expression "more rocks in the river," even though the imagery doesn't quite convey what my dad really believed. Dad was a conservative, properly understood. By that I mean he didn't think conservatism was merely an act of passive and futile defiance of what Shakespeare called "devouring time." Unlike human institutions, the rocks do not fight the devouring river of time. My dad believed that conservatism was an affirmative act, a choice of prudence and will. In the cacophonous din of perpetual change, the conservative selects the notes worth savoring and repeats them for others to hear and, hopefully, appreciate.

Then a perfectly lucid explanation of the entirely preposterous condom flap. See? It's not hard for people outside the faith to understand if they care to read for understanding as opposed to what The Curt Jester calls Ginger reading (after the Far Side cartoon about what we say versus what dogs hear). Also, a cogent defense against the absurd claim that Vatican (really, orthodox Christian) opposition to sex outside of marriage is responsible for deaths in Africa. Then this nice conclusion:

As for the church's preferred approach — abstinence until marriage — it may be impractical in most parts of the world, as the critics claim. But it would undeniably save more lives than condom use if put into practice. What seems to offend many isn't the efficacy of the solution but the suggestion that such values have any place in the modern world.
The church's position is that the truest notes are those that not only celebrate life and love but cut through the whitewater racket of devouring time. As those notes become harder to hear, the answer isn't to stop playing them but to turn up the volume.

Lovely, Mr. Goldberg. Thanks.

Muslims In Defense of Free Speech

Lots of signatories to this document.

We, the undersigned, unconditionally condemn any intimidation or threats of violence directed against any individual or group exercising the rights of freedom of religion and speech; even when that speech may be perceived as hurtful or reprehensible.
We are concerned and saddened by the recent wave of vitriolic anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiment that is being expressed across our nation. 
We are even more concerned and saddened by threats that have been made against individual writers, cartoonists, and others by a minority of Muslims.  We see these as a greater offense against Islam than any cartoon, Qur’an burning, or other speech could ever be deemed.
We affirm the right of free speech for Molly Norris, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and all others including ourselves.
As Muslims, we must set an example of justice, patience, tolerance,  respect, and forgiveness.
The Qur’an enjoins Muslims to:
* bear witness to Islam through our good example (2:143);
* restrain anger and pardon people (3:133-134 and 24:22);
* remain patient in adversity (3186);
* stand firmly for justice (4:135); 
* not let the hatred of others swerve us from justice (5:8);
* respect the sanctity of life (5:32);
* turn away from those who mock Islam (6:68 and 28:55); 
* hold to forgiveness, command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant (7:199);
* restrain ourselves from rash responses (16:125-128); 
* pass by worthless talk with dignity (25:72); and
* repel evil with what is better (41:34).
Islam calls for vigorous condemnation of both hateful speech and hateful acts, but always within the boundaries of the law. It is of the utmost importance that we react, not out of reflexive emotion, but with dignity and intelligence, in accordance with both our religious precepts and the laws of our country.
We uphold the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Both protect freedom of religion and speech, because both protections are fundamental to defending minorities from the whims of the majority.
We therefore call on all Muslims in the United States, Canada and abroad to refrain from violence.  We should see the challenges we face today as an opportunity to sideline the voices of hate—not reward them with further attention—by engaging our communities in constructive dialogue about the true principles of Islam, and the true principles of democracy, both of which stress the importance of freedom of religion and tolerance. 

Benedict's Tartan

While the Brits are busy being stupid and ornery about the Pope's visit, the Scots have rolled out a new tartan for him.

Cardinal O’Brien said: “It’s a great honour to be able to hand over the first ever tartan created for a papal visit as a thank you to all the Holyrood parliamentarians who have been so overwhelmingly supportive of this visit, knowing it means so much to the Catholic community and many others in this country.

Yay,the Scots!

A Hitch In Recovery

Everyone's praying for Christopher Hitchens' recovery from throat cancer, but here's a particularly nice column on that from Austin Ruse. Meanwhile, Christopher Blosser's found the most insightful analysis of Hitchens' atheism I've seen.

because so much has already been said about what makes Hitchens interesting, and because, thanks to this memoir, it is so easy to verify for one’s self that this is so, I’d like to spend this review pointing out the one way in which Hitchens has become less interesting in the second half of his life: his loss of faith. Not his faith in God - in his memoir, Hitchens says that he probably never had much of a faith in God to begin with - but his faith in Marxism. Not (as the pundits would have it) his supposed switch from “leftist” to “neocon,” but rather his much more dramatic, and underappreciated, transformation from being a revolutionary to just another voter like the rest of us.

No One's Going To Help You Bake That Cake

It's the feast of St. Martha. And Alexis de Tocqueville's birthday.

My New BFF

I've been enjoying Simcha Fisher's columns and blogging at Inside Catholic. Like this follow-up to a testy commenter. (Which was prompted by this). Hee.

Turns out she has her own blog again after a hiatus, where even the FAQs tell you she's funny.

Bibi Gets It Worse Than Gordon Brown

Great. We'll meet terrorist states without pre-conditions, but play hardball with our friends.

the meeting began with the president presenting a list of 13 demands to Netanyahu. These included a complete freeze on Jewish building in eastern Jerusalem. When Netanyahu did not immediately accede to this diktat, Obama left him saying he was going to go eat dinner with his wife and daughters. Netanyahu and his party were left to wait for over an hour for Obama’s return. The paper claims that as Obama left, he told the prime minister to consider “the error of his ways.” Yediot Ahronot reported that Obama merely said, “I’m still around. Let me know if there is anything new.”

A second brief meeting followed, which apparently consisted of the president restating his demands. As a punishment for Netanyahu’s failure to immediately bend to Obama’s ultimatum, there was no joint statement issued about the meeting and no press coverage of the visit. Friday’s Ma’ariv describes the scene thusly: “There is no humiliation exercise that the Americans did not try on the prime minister and his entourage. Bibi received in the White House the treatment reserved for the president of Equatorial Guinea.”

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Obama wants an answer to his demands by Saturday so he can then present them to a meeting of the Arab League going on in Libya...

I thought we were going to be civil in cases of plain disagreement on policy? We have had this disagreement with Israel since the Clinton presidency. What gives the President the right to behave this way about it?

The President's character is tyrannical. He treats other free peoples with childish petulance, demanding his way and being swift to anger if he doesn't get it. And with those over whom we wield power, he smiles and bows with the condescension of the slavemaster. This is not the humble foreign policy we were promised: quite the opposite.

In Case You Really Do Miss Him...

President Bush has a blog. Or rather, the George W. Bush Institute he set up does. (Did you know a founder of Iran's Revolutionary Guard now works for Bush?)

On Dialogue With Our Allies

It turns out improving relations with our allies requires actually having a relationship with them. Who knew?

Thatcher To Reagan

A hand-written note from the Iron Lady to the Gipper, during the height of Iran-Contra. (And do I understand from the intro that Don Regan tried to keep it from the President? Yikes.)

Dear Ron

I was glad that we were able to talk on the telephone the other day so that I could tell you directly how very much you and Nancy are in my thoughts at this difficult time. The press and media are always so ready to criticise and get people down. I know what it's like.

But your achievements in restoring America's pride and confidence and in giving the West the leadership it needs are far too substantial to suffer any lasting damage., The message I give to everyone is that anything which weakens you, weakens America, and anything that weakens America weakens the whole free world.

Whatever happened over Iran is in the past and nothing can change it. I fervently believe that the message now should be that there is important work to be done and that you are going to do it.

You will find great support for that over here in Europe - and I am sure in America too.

If you would like to talk about the issues on which we need to press ahead, I hope that you will call me.

Denis joins me in sending you and Nancy our affectionate good wishes and support.

Yours ever

Margaret

/dabs eyes

Freedom Occurs Offline

Will Heaven has a word or two for internet activists: you're impotent.

What if Twitter had been around during the Spanish Civil War? Would George Orwell have journeyed to Catalonia to fight the fascists? Perhaps not. Judging by events in 2009, maybe “@GeorgeOrwell“ would simply have tinged his avatar red and used the hashtag #spanishcivilwar to undermine his Nationalist enemy.

And you're making things worse.

In this month’s edition of Prospect,Evgeny Morozov argues (as I did in July) that social networking has made it easier to gather intelligence about activists working in dangerous countries:"Even a tiny security flaw in the settings of one Facebook profile can compromise the security of many others."

He especially mocks the notion that Twitter helped Iran.

The use of Twitter during the Iranian post-election protests, for example, recently won a Webby Award (yes, really) for being “one of the top ten internet moments of the decade”. Let me tell you why I find that deeply depressing. There wasn’t a revolution in Iran. There was only violently suppressed protest: death sentences and lengthy jail terms for opponents of the Mullahs’ regime; young women raped and beaten in Tehran’s darkest prisons; dormitories raided and ransacked at the country’s universities; and long lists of missing men and women, many of them presumed dead and buried in mass graves.

Well, yes. However: Western self-congratulation for having the right sentiments is not an internet phenomenon, as illustrated by the lyrics to Tom Lehrer's Folk-Song Army, which includes this bridge:

Remember the war against Franco? That's the kind where each of us belongs. Though he may have won all the battles..... WE had all the good songs!

With respect, however, perhaps Mr. Heaven should dial down his expectations for the internet. Of course a virtual medium isn't going to stop any actual beatings. The net, however, is a form of samizdat --a highly effective form at that-- and samizdat is vital to undermining oppressive regimes.

The bad guys use the form to find dissidents? Yes, and? That's what bad guys do. I had a Polish roommate in college whose father was a prominent Polish chemist on good terms with the state. He was allowed to travel abroad. Their family's status as good Communists gave her "freedom" to carry and distribute samizdat papers. There was always the possibility that she'd be caught --and if she had been, her family's entire dissident ring would probably have been caught also. That comes with the territory.

Plus: hope is something. Soviet dissidents reported at the time how much hope it gave them when Reagan said the words, "Evil Empire." It heartened them, made them feel that someone in the West knew what they were up against and they weren't alone. So, yes, the mere fact that millions of people in the West know that the mullahs beat their people makes a difference. Not an immediate difference, but an important one. The biggest disappointment of the Iranian uprising is that while many Western internet users provided moral support to the marchers, the President of the United States did not, nor did the Prime Minister of Britain.
Curtsy: Holy Smoke's Twitter feed.

Royal Thanksgiving

Reuters/Hans Deryk

Her Majesty is in Bermuda for its Thanksgiving Day --celebrating the island's 400th anniversary. And doesn't the Royal Consort look dapper?