Links and Minifeatures 08 31 Wednesday

I am thinking that this is not a good sign. Peace with Israel is wildly unpopular with the Egyptian population, largely due to state media blaming the Jooos™ for everything (go figure!). It was only a matter of time before Egypt had to take a harder line than before with Israel, simply as a bid to attract the votes of a certain kind of citizen. Peace between Israel and Egypt is in for a rough patch; the fact that I believe the end product of Egypt becoming a democracy will be superior doesn't mean there isn't going to be some nasty violence, perhaps even a war. Anwar Sadat was no saint; still I'd hate for his sacrifice to be wasted (he had to know he'd be assassinated for making peace with Israel).



Vicotr Davis Hanson has the Palestinian verus Israeli angle covered.



This at LGF

just makes my heart bleed purple peanut butter.

**********



A small ray of light for America's Finest Banana Republic City. D.A. can prosecute pension panelists. This is good news for those seeking fiduciary responsibility everywhere. It means that those responsible for administering pensions can be held responsible for trying to have their cake and eat it too. They had a certain amount of resources, which should have been used to fund future obligations, but they voted to use them to boost current goodies. If this were a corporation, the credit rating and regulators would be down on them like an avalanche, and quite likely the corporate veil would be pierced for anybody who benefitted personally from the vote. Why should it be any different because we're talking about Union heads and public officials?



**********



Captain's Quarters has his own commentary on the situation that I and Strata-Sphere covered yesterday. The Captain connects the dots a bit more solidly. Anaysis of intentions is always iffy and never certain, but when all of the omissions in the 9/11 commission report leave out data supporting the same conclusion, which conclusion those leaving it out had documented reasons for not wanting it to be reached, a reasonable person will believe it was intentional and likely malicious unless and until such time as proven otherwise.



**********



La Shawn Barber also has her head on straight on immigration and getting control of the borders. This is also another reason why my earlier article today, found here, is correct.



**********



Volokh Conspiracy debunks another smear attempt on Judge Roberts.



**********



Carnival of Liberty is up at Resistance is Futile! Recommended reads: Stop the ACLU, Individ



**********



Carnival of Vanities is up! Recommended: Mr. Snitch,



**********



Michelle Malkin is a good place to start for aftermath of Katrina blogging. I haven't said anything because I don't have anything to add to the situation except "I encourage you to donate to the emergency supplies effort." Kudos to Chevron Corporation, among others.



**********



Reason Online nails one. I can see concern with genetically modified crops, and want to see a bank of unmodified stuff kept somewhere, but bottom line, genetic modification it is just artificial acceleration and augmentation of a process that occurs constantly in nature. With the bad stuff confined to a laboratory, where it can be destroyed easily. Europe has fallen prey to a scare campaign sponsored largely by traditionalist farmers, which plays well to the activists but it still beyond reason. Luckily for this purpose, europe is accounting for less and less of global wealth, and becoming less important as more nations elsewhere join the first world. Unfortunately, the influence they have is still too much.



**********



Michael Barone makes a point about gaming affirmative action systems very eloquently. I agree with him. Countries where citizens thought of themselves as members of some sub-group first have historically, not endured as well as countries where everybody thought of themselves as citizens of the whole first, and breakups have been uglier. It's fine to be proud of your particular ancestors, as long as you're an American first.



(Besides, I've tried haggis once. Never again! And I'll discourage the girls if I can!)



**********



Indepundit reports on a successful "Operation Thank You"