No to the mega-mosque

Nancy recently asked me my opinion of the proposal to build a mega-mosque near Ground Zero. This article summarizes some of the objections to that project.

Essentially, the sponsors of this project have Islamist ties; some in fact have links to the Free Gaza group. That group, if you remember, co-sponsored the Turkish flotilla that tried to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The article states that the local group appears to have very limited funds, and that money to build the mosque will likely come from Saudi Arabia or some similar source. Why don't we make construction of the New York mosque contingent on Saudi agreement to allow the erection of a suitably imposing church or synagogue in, say, Mecca? Or Jeddah, the capital of Saudi Arabia?

Ignoring the totalitarian political ideology, masquerading as a religion, that is behind this mega mosque proposal is a cop-out, not a valiant gesture to promote freedom of religion in America.

A fool

The fool I'm talking about is the new British prime minister, David Cameron. He tried to curry favor with Turkey by slamming Israel, referring to Gaza as a 'prison camp'. Pandering may have its uses, but the current Turkish regime is most likely to pocket Cameron's groveling - and demand more concessions from him.

Meanwhile, the Wikileaks documents reveal that British forces in Afghanistan have caused at least as many civilian casualties as have the Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank. That makes the United Kingdom - which is supporting the one-sided Goldstone Report condemning Israel - itself vulnerable to attacks from the 'international community' for various purported war crimes. Fawning over the current Islamist leaders of Turkey won't ward off that problem. (Thanks to Daily Alert.)

At it again

For the second time, there is a report that Al Qaeda members were wiped out by the bubonic plague. The first incident took place in January of last year. This time, some 40 people died. Both cases occurred in training camps in Algeria.

This time, there was speculation that they were killed the traditional route (bubonic plague is transmitted by the fleas living on rats). However, "there are now claims the cell was developing the disease as a weapon to use against western cities." (Thanks to Daily Alert.)

The Arizona immigration law

Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has pulled together here some great data on illegal immigrants in the United States: literacy, numeracy (great word, huh?), and crime rates; rates of out-of-wedlock births; and costs of various social services.

Bottom line: a large illegal immigrant population is a very expensive proposition, both in financial terms, and in terms of the people involved.

Mac Donald also notes that reports of illegals leaving the country in anticipation of the law's entry into force completely refute the conventional wisdom that says there's no way to get illegal immigrants out of the country.

Her interpretation of the politics surrounding the Arizona law: "The real reason for opposition to SB 1070 is that it will make immigration enforcement a reality and in so doing will show that law enforcement works; the hue and cry over racial profiling is merely a pretext."

Let's see what the judge decides: will this law go into force or won't it? Opinions, anyone?

More on Lockerbie

I suspected at the time that the UK government would never have allowed convicted terrorist bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi to go free in Libya without having at least notified the U.S. government.

It turns out that the U.S. government gave a tacit go-ahead. According to The Sunday Times and the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. embassy in London wrote the Scottish government to say that (1) it wanted al-Megrahi to stay in prison but (2) if he didn't, it preferred compassionate release to sending him home under a Prisoner Transfer Agreement.

Now that the Scottish government is under fire, it wants the U.S. government to agree to release its documents. Too bad the Scots are refusing to testify on the Hill - if they did, this story would be very clear to all. It would certainly be educational to hear a U.S. spokesman explain just why it was preferable for al-Megrahi to go free. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)

Who's the hatemonger?

The Dutch politician Geert Wilders is usually accused, including by Fox News, of being a hatemonger. This article of his, however, presents a very different view. In it, Wilders criticizes Islam for being dehumanizing, for robbing people of their dignity, and for encouraging them to sink into apathy rather than take charge of their lives:

"As a Dutch, a European and a Western politician, my responsibility is primarily to the Dutch people, to the Europeans and the West. However, since the liberation of the Muslims from Islam, will benefit all of us, I wholeheartedly support Muslims who love freedom. My message to them is clear: "Fatalism is no option; 'Inch' Allah' is a curse;

Submission is a disgrace.

Free yourselves. It is up to you."

(Thanks to Jihad Watch.)

The 'capital strike'

Here are three good insights as to why, as a result of government policies, capital is now 'on strike'.

First, as Michael Barone describes it, American businessmen (and women) don't dare to spend when they have no idea how much of their potential profits they'll be able to keep. The uncertainty has created a 'mattress economy': "People seem to be following this investment strategy. Step one: Go to Mattress Discounters and buy the biggest mattress you can find. Step two: Take it home, and stuff all your money in it. Step three: Lie down, and get some rest."

Second, the Business Roundtable has sent a lengthy letter to the Obama adminstration listing key regulatory issues that impede economic growth and job recovery. Those issues pretty much cover the waterfront: excessive corporate taxation; proposed financial regulatory reform that will reduce efficiency, stifle competition and deter capital formation; failure to adopt trade agreements; the proposed union-backed Card Check Bill; the proposed cap and trade bill, as well as ObamaCare.

Third, a new Harvard Business School study tracks changes in congressional committee chairmanship, since once you're a chairman, you can bring home much more pork. The resulting "fiscal spending shocks appear to significantly dampen corporate sector investment activity . . . when the spending shocks reverse (through a relinquishing of chairmanship), most all of these behaviors reverse."

Makes you wonder why we're doing this to ourselves, doesn't it? We must be nuts!

Celebrating the Holocaust?

Denying the Holocaust, a pasttime of people like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinjad, is soooo yesterday. The latest, Clemens Heni reports, is celebrating it, as well as Nazism itself.

As he reports: "In Riga, capital of Latvia, Nazis will hold a remembrance march on July 1, 2010, to commemorate the German invasion of that city and country at that day in 1941."

And last May on Facebook, "dozens, hundreds, and thousands of German-Turkish citizens wrote on Facebook probably the most aggressive and pro-Nazi statements ever since 1945. They wrote 'Hitler don’t worry, we’ll take the rest of the Jews', 'Jews to the gas', 'I would like to kill Jews' etc."

Just think: Germany, Latvia and Turkey are all NATO members; Germany and Latvia also belong to the EU. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?