Tom Friedman, Smartest Man on Earth, says radical Islam is losing

Tom, you are my hero (well, you and Big Al). You make so much sense, suggest such brilliant solutions, and generally agree with me on almost everything. I would like to formally submit my application to join the "Tom Friedman Mentoring Society". I may also get a "Tom Freidman is My Hero" t-shirt to go along with the "Al Gore is My Hero" shirt already in my closet.

Not kidding about the t-shirt. The sentiment happens to be true; I am a supporter of We Can Solve It and Repower America, but the shirt itself is a good way to start an argument in good old suburban North Texas.

At any rate, My Other Hero Tom wrote in yesterday's NYT about the current state of the jihad. Did you notice the radical Islamists are losing the War of Terror? Well, they are.

As Tom so deftly points out, everywhere the the Beardy Boys have taken charge (Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, etc), they have brought with them total economic stagnation (if not outright retreat), lowered standards of living and education, unnecessary and unwanted violence, repression, etc etc etc. And now we're seeing militant Islamists lose elections (Lebanon, Iraq) or steal elections (Iran). The Paki middle class is tired of bombs in the streets of Peshwar and have withdrawn support for the Taliban and foreign rebels causing trouble in the Northwest.

The bad news is that the US' friends in the Arab world, those shining examples of secular, progressive, populist democracy like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are not really "winning", despite their medieval rivals' decline. This lack of a better idea is what keeps the jihadists in business, albeit in a much more limited capacity.

Go read the op-ed, along with everything Tom Friedman has ever written. The man's a genius.

Swedish pointy-heads protest Israeli tennis

The anti-Israel Master Race in Sweden took to the streets today, battling police in an effort to interrupt an Israeli-Swedish tennis match.

A tennis match. What, they couldn't find a rhythmic gymnastics competition to disrupt?

The far left in Scandinavia is truly amazing. Blessed with a nearly homogeneous population, a wonderful little Socialist paradise of a welfare state, and a work ethic that makes the Australians look like Tom Peters, the Swedes (and the rest of the blonde-and-blue Nordics) are usually amongst the first to start pointing fingers at "injustice" wherever they can find it. I can only assume this is to assuage their feelings of complete impotence on the world stage. I mean, really; who the hell cares what Sweden thinks?

Here's an idea: Give the world something more useful than Ikea and Haagen-Dazs, and maybe we'll drum up some interest in your point of view. Oh, wait, I forgot Volvo. You got me there. I'll shut up now.

I don't know why the pointy-headed liberal Euro gets such a rise out of me, but they do, and without fail. Let's relocate Sabra and Shatila and a few of the other craphole-where-the-Arabs-dump-the-Palestinians-so-they-don't-have-to-really-deal-with-them camps up north, and then lets see what they have to say.

Effing hypocrites.

Why Isn't Matt in Colfax?

I stumbled upon this and I have smiled and smiled and smiled and smiled for so long my lips fell off (but they landed in one of the dogs' food bowls which made him smile and smile and smile).

This is how we should all be spending our time.

Thank Goat for Matt!

Happy birthday, Citroen 2CV

The Citroen 2CV, France's answer to the VW Beetle, turns 60 in Oct. This vehicle, possibly the ugliest, most under-powered piece of garbage ever foisted on the auto-buying public, has symbolized French engineering skill and expertise for since it's introduction in the late 40's.

Almost every Frenchman has owned a 2CV at some point in his/her life. Surprisingly (or not), no one else on the planet can say the same thing. Draw your own conclusions.

Russia: Remains of last Tsar's children found

According to the Russians (ITAR-TASS), the remains of Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duke and Tsarevich Alexi have been found in an unmarked pit in Yekaterinburg. The announcement comes on the 90th anniversary of the assassination of deposed Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family by Bolsheviks.

I've always been fascinated by Imperial Russia and the revolution, especially by the story of the Romanov family. Yanked from the pinnacle of luxury and power, dragged all over the western half of the country, and finally massacred in the basement of a merchant's home in Yekaterinburg, theirs is tragedy of epic proportions, worthy of scholarly books and melodramatic movies.

This announcement is likely the last chapter in the dreadful story.

Brits launch new military satellite, should have thought of a better name

The Brits are nearing completion of their new military satellite comms system. They've encountered some difficulty and had to postpone the launch of the third, and last, bird, but they'll get it into orbit in short order.

Big deal, right?

I agree, except why did they have to name it "Skynet"?

Madeleine McCann: One year later

It's been a full year since little Madeleine McCann disappeared in Portugal.

No one has any idea where she is or what happened to her. Well, SOMEone knows exactly the answer to both of those questions. But we don't know who that someone is.

She's not coming home. We're never going to know what happened.

It scares me. It saddens me very much.

Please pause for a moment today, think of this little girl, and pray for her.

The most shocking sex scandal ever

Max Mosely, president of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of Formula 1, was recently captured on video in a Nazi fetish orgy with five hookers.

I'll give you a moment to compose yourself after reading that last sentence. Pretty unbelievable, huh?

Max's dad, it turns out, was Sir Oswald Mosely, the leader of the British Union of Fascists. Lovely.

I'll give old Max this much: If you're going to destroy your career in a sex scandal, you may as well floor the accelerator (if you'll pardon the pun).

Attention: Future public figures involved in sex scandals! You now have the gold standard for such things. Attempt to surpass this one, if you dare!

Daily YouTube: Munich 1972

The post from the other day regarding Olympic terrorism brought to mind the grand-daddy of 'em all - Munich 1972.

The perfect storm of guilt-wracked host country (Germany), incredible daring on the part of the terrorists (Black September was pure evil, but this operation was cold, rational genius), official incompetence, total lack of preparation by everyone involved except the Palestinians, Western arrogance and ineptitude, media frenzy, more than a bit of latent anti-Semitism, and a heapin' helping of Murphy's Law; it all combined to make for the most tragic event in Olympic history.

Daily YouTube: Crosswinds are not your friend

Gee, I can hardly wait to get on an airplane again...

Madeleine McCann - still missing

The sad, sad story of young Madeleine McCann is right where it has been for months.

The Portuguese local cops may or may not have completely screwed up the initial investigation, the Portuguese national police may or may not have further blown it, Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, may or may not have had something to do with the young girl's disappearance, and, 10 months after she disappeared from that Portuguese seaside resort, no one knows where Madeleine McCann is or what happened to her.

MSNBC has a long story about events during those weeks in May 2007 and since. They have spoken with a longtime FBI profiler who has extensive experience in these sorts of cases and got his opinion. The facts and opinion seem to lean towards a person unknown making off with little Madeleine as she slept, rather than meeting some sort of nefarious fate at the hands of her parents. In addition, the evidence seems to point to a police bungling of monumental proportions.

Whatever the story really is, and whether or not we ever learn what that story is, this story remains a tragedy in every sense of the word. It seems pretty clear that Madeleine is not coming home. I look at the banner on the left side of this blog, and I wonder if I should take it down. I have been unable to bring myself to do so yet, but it continues to trouble me every time I look at it.

Whoever was involved in Madeleine's disappearance, and whatever your role in it, as well as all those who are guilty of other crimes against young children, whether it be for profit, by accident, or to satisfy your own sick and demented wants and needs - I believe there is a particularly unpleasant sub-basement of Hell reserved just for you. Whoever you are, and for whatever reason you did what you did, all I have to say to you is: Enjoy your stay.

Daily YouTube: The Falkirk Wheel

Located in Falkirk, Scotland (the same place, I believe, William Wallace went to pick a fight about 750 years ago), the Falkirk Boat Wheel is the first, and only, device of its kind. It's function is to lift and lower boats between the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal.

I can't do it any justice in writing. Watch the video and you will understand. Is this thing worth the time, money, and effort it clearly took to build? I have no idea, but it is cool to watch:

Daily YouTube: Amy Winehouse's wheels are OFF!

Amy Winehouse performing at the MTV Europe Music Awards earlier this year. I can understand maybe 5 words, and she looks like she's about to fall over.

Winehouse has become a bigger and bigger train wreck since she hit the big time, which is a tragic shame. I love her sound, but at the rate she's going, she'll be dead before the end of 2008.

Labor Armageddon in France?

French civil servants of many different stripes are currently on strike, protesting (relatively) new President Nicolas Sarkozy's efforts to drag the French economy out of the 1960s and into present-day Western Europe.

Sarkozy was elected on a platform of reducing the incredibly inefficient socialist labor bureaucracy and making French business competitive on the global playing field. The French workers, conditioned by decades of socialist labor union coddling, are not too terribly thrilled with the idea of having to actually work for a living, and are letting Sarkozy know it.

I expect Sarkozy to stand his ground. He was elected to get control of this thing, to reduce unemployment from the stratospheric current numbers, to increase efficiency, and to generally make French goods attractive on the world market, which they currently are not. He had to have expected a showdown with the local commies was coming sooner rather than later, and has to have a plan for it.

This is no more than round one in what promises to be a long battle, one Sarkozy has to win if France is ever going to be relevant again.

Russia: Now ruled by spies

A very interesting post on Bruce Sterling's Wired blog regarding the new ruling elite of Russia.

In the past 100 years, the rulers of Russia have included delusional, inbred royalty; psychotic criminals; ponderous bureaucrats; dynamic world-changers; drunken populists; fantastically wealthy, business savvy gangsters; and now spies.

Ex-FSB head Vlad Putin has stocked the government with former KGB and FSB officers. He's been slow, sure, and methodical in doing it. And now he's completed the job.

Is this better or worse than any of the previous groups?

Daily YouTube: Ali G in Northern Ireland

Since some of today's CIT activity involves Northern Ireland, here's Ali G, from his Brit TV show, interviewing various innocents and not-so-innocents from the Six Counties.

World news scattershooting

Had a chance to peruse the Beeb at lunch today, for the first time in WEEKS. A few items caught my eye:

• Greek and Kuwaiti archaeologists are excavating on the Persian Gulf island of Failaka. They are hoping to find artifacts from Alexander the Great's army, which had an outpost on the island in the 4th Century BC. I am fascinated by archaeology since long before Raiders of the Lost Ark and, as a kid, I had a fondness for all thing ancient Greek. This is one I'll be watching.
• First gasoline, now milk. The Chinese, long noted as culturally lactose-intolerant, have developed a fondness for milk. Thus, the price of your Papa John's order may be going up.
• Brit pop chanteuse Lilly Allen has had her US work visa revoked, putting a major crimp into plans for her US tour scheduled for September. Apparently, the row stems from Allen's arrest for an alleged assault in London back in June. Allen, in the US for the MTV Video Music Awards launch, was detained at LAX, questioned, and strip-searched. Seems a bit over the top by US officials, but, hey, it was a chance to see Lilly Allen naked, which probably does something for some. There have to be some perks to the boring job of Immigration officer, right?

British Army closes shop in South Armagh

In a sign of just how far Northern Ireland has come, and one of hope for just about every area of conflict around the world, the British Army has completed it's Northern Ireland stand-down. The last installations to close were in the legendary "Bandit Country" of South Armagh.

Interestingly, and equally hopeful, tourism is now the big business in South Armagh. And not "Troubles" tourism, but legit cultural tourism. I did not know how important County Armagh is in the history of Christianity in Ireland.

Madeleine McCann: Day 76

Four-year-old Brit Madeleine McCann has been missing for 76 days now. As you'll recall from an earlier CIT post, as well as about a billion news stories in the international press, she went missing from her family's hotel room in Portugal as her parents ate dinner within sight of the room.

The banner to the left stays there until this thing is resolved. Go check out the linked page and, maybe, donate a bit.

Burma: A deal for helicopters from India

India plans to sell military helicopters to the Burmese junta, according to a new report from Amnesty International. India has no arms embargo against the Burmese thugs, er, I mean "government", so why is this news?

The news is the helicopters, India's "Advanced Light Helicopter", are bolted together from a mishmash of Western European components. Loaded up with guns and engines from France, gearboxes from the UK, rocket launchers from Belgium, brakes from Italy, and design elements from Germany (among others), this is, by no stretch of the imagination, a solely "Indian" weapons system.

All of the above-mentioned EU countries DO have trade embargoes against the Pyinmana hoods. If that's the case, shouldn't systems using components from the EU also be embargoed? Especially since Than Shwe and his minions will likely use their new toys directly against their beaten-down populace?