(The title being a reference to the stupendous amount of rain we received last night; "buckets" would be an understatement of gigantic proportions. Which is neither here nor there. Well, it IS here... But let's get started.)
Courtesy of the NYT… “The Jihadi’s Guidebook.”
With Islamist violence brewing in various parts of the world, the set of rules that seek to guide and justify the killing that militants do is growing more complex.
This jihad etiquette is not written down, and for good reason. It varies as much in interpretation and practice as extremist groups vary in their goals. But the rules have some general themes that underlie actions ranging from the recent rash of suicide bombings in
There are rules, according to the authors of this piece, and I find them somewhat interesting, if only for the rationalizations and excuses employed by jihadis when they violate the Koran’s teachings. Other than that? Not so much… Perhaps I should lend a little more credence to the content of this article than I do, but the whole jihad thing still strikes me as a 17th Century movement based upon barbaric and bankrupt principles.
George Will, writing in the NYT Sunday Book Review (Land of Plenty):
Ever since mass affluence, a phenomenon without precedent in the human story, exploded upon postwar
Well, yes. Yes, it has. Whereas Will goes to great length to justify his conclusion, extensively quoting from obscure (to me, at least, but probably not unfamiliar to habitual NYT readers) philosophers and economists, any fool with a passing knowledge of our history and our present circumstances realizes we are clearly much better off than we were, say, 100 years ago. I think 12 million illegal immigrants also make the point quite effectively, as well. Why else would they come here?
Robert McFarlane (Marine officer and former Security Advisor to President Reagan), writing in today’s Opinion Journal:
Thirty-nine years ago, halfway through my second tour in
[…]
Today, four years into the war in
The truly good news is that the results are being felt. Sheiks and tribal leaders watching the changes being made in Anbar are coming our way, and offering various kinds of support to help root out al Qaeda and deal with the insurgents. Yet news of these successes is very hard to find in our mainstream media. It's February '68 redux--with far greater consequences I fear.
This is not news…rather it’s a familiar meme that’s appearing more and more often today in places like the WSJ, the Weekly Standard, and other right-of-center publications and blogs. Yet mainstream
I remember 1968. Mr. McFarlane is spot on: the parallels are both eerie and scary. And the stakes are MUCH higher, this time around.
Today’s Pic: The plane Dubya flew during his stint with the
LOTS of rain here too. We are very pleased by it, because that rain should put us at enough ground moisture to plant our hay in the next couple of weeks. When hay gets planted and comes up, we can go on vacation!! Yippee!!
ReplyDeleteI'm very bothered by the way the media portrays everything about the war. It's very one-sided. The only way you hear of good things being done are thru forwarded emails.
How's the racket by your neck of the woods? Getting lots of noise from the rodeo in your backyard? Heritage Days is next weekend, lots of music and a carshow this year. Maybe see you there?
How's the racket by your neck of the woods? Getting lots of noise from the rodeo in your backyard?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't that bad...I could hear the announcer on the PA system, but not well enough to understand what he was saying...just sort of an electronic mumble. And the occasional whoop and holler, of course. ;-)
Heritage Days? In Floyd?
The MSM thing is not new, but it constantly needs to be brought up in conversations, blogs, and articles. McFarlane says it well. I never get tired of your links, Buck.
ReplyDeleteNo, Heritage days in P-ville! LOL! Like we could have something like that out HERE. August 4th will come close. Every 5 years we have an All School reunion. It's for all the classes that ever graduated (or even attended) Floyd. Because it would be pointless really to have a class reunion for 1 class when only 7 graduated that year. LOL! Think we are going to try to have a dance even!
ReplyDeleteI finally saw the signs for Heritage Days when I was out and about this morning, Jenny. Sorry 'bout that! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment on my links, Lou. Hopefully I'll never tire of posting the things...