Today's Links 2005 07 16 Saturday (and 17 Sunday)

Notes from here and there, having now read every new entry in the RINO and LLP community, as well as my regular blogreading.



BTW, I have what I think is a good article comparing Christian history to Islamic history going to post here Monday morning, as well as the previously mentioned consumer post on what you need to do at a mortgage closing. You might want to stop back then.

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Argghhh! has a very worthwhile essay on force building and the donkey proponents of a build up. They make a point obliquely that needs to be looked at foursquare. Forcebuilding requires the NCOs and officers to lead it. If we build these forces, we need to give those people who become the leaders to have the opportunity for a career - not "force reductions". Their leadership skills and other things around the margins are in demand outside the armed forces, but the military skills they invest the time learning are not. To induce these young folks to invest that time out of their lives learning the skills, and then cut them loose, would be unconscionable.



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Politburo Diktat tells us that Egypt is not going to hand over the chemist they arrested in connection with the London attacks.



Pole Dancing In the Dark has an article on the london bombings and the political echo chambers on both sides. I hope ethne comes back soon.



Jihad Watch has more



Tinkerty Tonk has an article telling us about an infiltration of the british media. One wonders why the terrorists bothered.



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The LLP's own AnarchAngel has had a real life fatwa issued against him by a terrorist group. Later stuff here. He explains why he did what he did



I don't care why these idiots are doing what they are doing. It is just one copy of a book that has billions more copies available. I can understand firing him if he works for you, although even that is actionable in this country. However, if you are so scared by this that you have to mark him for death, you'd better read my post coming out Monday morning comparing the history of Islam with that of Christianity. If you're threatened by shooting a few rounds at a copy of your holy book, you're going to die of a heart attack when I discuss coldly and rationally what Islam better do to survive as a religion.



Anarchangel: I don't know what, if anything, I can do for you. But you've got the email to ask.



Commissar also tells us of the arithmetic of the Iraqi suicide bombers. "8 bombers kill 22 soldiers and civilians."



If the terrorists had 8 bombers for every 22 soldiers and civilians, they could throw us out of Iraq tomorrow. Since they don't, they're running though their seed corn in the manner of a losing battle. This has been my feeling for some time. But if they stop, they stop getting recruits, and the resistance dries up altogether.



Hurl's Blog (currently serving in Iraq) has personal experiences worth reading.

HT: Dean's World



Checking in with Iraq the Model, they have some thoughts as well. more here on moving backwards.



Belmont Club adds another example of intolerant behavior to the pile-on.



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Classical Values tells us about a private enterprise space conference!



It is one of the things that I am bitter about that the space program for my generation was thrown out the airlock before I was even of voting age. I'll support everything I can so my children have at least the conceivable opportunity.



NASA keeps thinking tactically: "How can we get more money for X?" "How can we make our money go further?" It is difficult to argue with the fact that unmanned missions are more efficient, and consume fewer resources. But if they want the public 100 percent behind them, what the public cares about is "humans can do it." Question: How much popular science fiction is about robotic probes of our own solar system? The over-riding goal should to make a trip into space within the reach of middle class tourists. When that happens, you'll be able to do all the space science you want.



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In The Agora points me to an old but completely worthwhile Asymmetrical Information post on the distortions of certain consumer groups.



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Per request from Dean's World, I'm linking this Armies of Liberation post on the totalitarian instincts of the Yemeni government.



Dean also calls our attention to something we may want to shine more Searchlight on in Iraq: An Iraqi blogger has been arrested, his hard drive stolen, and no charges have yet been forthcoming. As Dean notes, Iraq is not yet the United States, but it's too damned easy to let this stuff get a foothold. I've emailed my representative and both senators. Boxer and Feinstein being democrats and wishing to get mileage from opposition misteps, the senators staffs in particular may be good bets to actually call some attention to this.



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Constitution Death Pool has an article about illegal immigration.



Sunday morning, LGFpoints us to an article with more on terrorists crossing our borders as well as CBS won't sell ad time to an anti-terror conference because they're afraid it might emotionally affect us.



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Hat tip to De Doc for pointing me to the design work for a LEGO Turing machine

here



New LLP member Forward Biased takes us to the Art of Science Competition.



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I am absolutely amazed at how many people weren't aware of all these precedencts. Even among people who obsess on the Second Amendment much stronger than I do. I've known about them for twenty-odd years, but they've been dropped down the memory hole by the legacy media.



Yet another argument for citizen journalists. Question: How far past the "piling on" stage are we?



Althouse adds another body to the pile!



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Snugg Harbor has an article correctly addressing another aspect of the China situation.



Resistance is futile has more. Having thought about it for a couple of days now, I think we ought to Officially Ignore the chinese threat to use nukes, doing everything public in all ways exactly the same as we would without said threat (i.e. defend Taiwan per our obligations), while making sure we're ready to respond with overwhelming force if they do carry through. This way we aren't upping the ante and making it more likely that they will use nukes, but we are ready in case they do. As far as I can tell, if the US Official Policy is not Ignore the threat, I can't see an operational difference. And I'm certain that our fine military folks have taken note, and are ready to go if need be. Bless you all.



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Target Centermass takes the University of California dropping the National Merit Scholarships and runs with it. This is truly PC affirmative action run amok (Yeah, I know, this is the UC system, which fought Bakke and proposition 187 to the Supreme Court, and is still thinking up dodges such as this to avoid compliance with the spirit of anti-affirmative action programs).



More on multiculturalism in Australia (HT: Tim Blair)



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Cool! Ogre directs me to an Electronic Frontier's Foundation Legal Guide for Bloggers. I've known about EFF for quite some time, and they are by and large wonderful people doing yeoman's work. This is one more example.





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Dean's World agrees with me on Rove/Plame.



If anyone wants any additional proof the Donkeys are unhinged, here is Paul Begala claiming that the elephants want to kill him so they can keep estate tax gone. Estate tax, as anyone who is familiar with it knows, is a voluntary tax on willful stupidity. And since "trust funders" are a democratic demographic, who benefits from the abolition of estate tax?



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Jeff Jarvis has a post on the end of multiculturalism in europe.



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Mrs. Greyhawk and Mudville Gazette has more perspective on Pfc. Stephen Tschiderer (the hero who medically treated the Iraqi who ambushed him) and the legacy media treatment thereof.



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Roger L. Simon has a great article out of personal experience on Hollywood egos. I must admit, I've always been mystified as to why the endorsement of someone who gets paid to mouth the words other people write in order to pretend they are somebody special for a few minutes at a time should be noteworthy. If one of them can convince us through real world means that they're worth paying attention to on a given subject, fine. But paying attention to movie stars because they're actors is a little like paying attention to the opinions of a high school sophomore because the in crowd think she's pretty.



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