Less Time To Flatten

Emotion – not reason - drives policy. Reason only serves in support. If we are to understand policy, we must first understand emotion. We use a variety of terms to describe emotion. Often such terms are misapplied. It happens quite innocently in the course of common occurrences: The wife asks, “Do you want okra or green beans for dinner?” I say, “Green beans.” She responds by saying, “I know, you hate okra.”“So why did you ask?” I say, and we’re off to the races.

In truth, I’m indifferent to both. Just because I have voiced a preference does not mean I have strong feelings either way. Yet, the word “hate” has been introduced into the conversation.

It’s no secret that Obama does not have a firm grip on the details that define the Middle East. He sees all Muslims as Muslims and all infidels as infidels - black and white. Simple. It is the same view “The Nation of Islam” here in the U.S. holds. Given such scant knowledge would be enough for any average American president to conduct foreign affairs. Unfortunately, Obama is on the wrong side.

Hatred is often mislabeled as ‘fear’. Islamists in the ME fear the West. They see their culture in danger of being diluted by western ways. That’s why they fight. Islam in the West hates the West as an expression of its own self-loathing. There is a difference.

Islam takes fear and envy and wraps them all in the same cloth and sets it on fire. For simplicity’s sake we call it ‘hatred’. They constantly misrepresent the enemy; to make him out worse than he appears. It is for this reason that Islamic nations do not welcome guests – and if they do, these are treated separately – all to maintain the ridiculous notion that all guests are pollutants.

Israel is seen as a pollutant on what Islam perceives as its land. They do not fear Israel (as Israel poses no existential threat); they fear the influence of a modern, successful, western nation in their midst. They fear not being able to maintain close theocratic control over their own, whom they view as chattel – easily distracted from the straight and narrow and apt to chase anything that glitters. They feel their hold slipping. As such, they will go to increasing lengths to see to it that their sheep, goats, camels and women stay in line.

The frustration that mounts within their populations is building to explode. Even that - by careful, systematic manipulation - can be directed to serve the theocratic regime. All the rage is channeled against Israel and the West (for protecting Israel). In this way the Islamic theocracy shields itself from having to answer for its own failures.

On Aaron Klein’s radio show today, not much was made of NABKA Day. It’s a day like any other for a nation under constant siege. What was interesting, however, was Aaron’s exchange in his last segment with Hussein. Hussein finds it inconceivable that anyone would question Obama’s legitimacy. He asks, how it could be possible for every one of America’s official high legal authorities (plus the media) to give Obama a pass without an adequate background check and takes umbrage at Aaron’s suggestions? He went on to accuse Aaron of fueling hate for hate’s sake.

We have seen other hoaxes before. Some have exploded (‘global warming’), some have not and are ongoing. Maybe freedom and liberty; rule of law; capitalism; a nod to representative governance all are hoaxes. But these are our hoaxes - hoaxes that Americans have chosen to live by. Obama’s hoaxes are entirely different. These are unwelcome. These were introduced into the body politic by stealth. They seek to tear down and destroy everything we’ve ever held dear. All we have to do is just look around: economy is in tatters, foreign policy in tatters; education in tatters; Constitution in tatters; government in tatters; etc.

The long knives are out for talk radio as well. Avlon’s article is one of these. Smerconish’s show is another. Both seek to pour oil on troubled waters. Unfortunately, I have heard, there’s not enough oil. (Can’t you just picture us throwing windmills and batteries into the drink?)

Emotion drives policy. If you hate that sandcastle on the beach with the penis shaped towers, you go over and you level it. It’s that elementary (my dear Watson). Chances are that it will take you a lot less time to flatten it than it took to build.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Closets

No doubt someone will do a word search and find how many times our media has mentioned ‘Osama’ and ‘Obama’ since Osama was killed by SEAL team 6. I wonder who would win that particular contest. Since we don’t really have all that much useful to do, we might even try to find out how often reporters and talking heads have used these two names interchangeably. They’re really quite similar – the only difference being, that one is dead and one is still alive. Both have killed, after all. (And don’t let me go into degrees of killing – killing one, or thousands – and get all caught up in an argument to determine at which point killing actually becomes a menace.)

Now you might say that one is on our side while the other one wasn’t. Fair point; but let’s define ‘sides’. Let’s say there are ‘sides’. Our side demands submission; that is to say that we expect their side to refrain from killing us. Their side appears not yet convinced that such submission is to their benefit. In Islam, submission is the ultimate goal. They will kill enough of us to convince the rest to submit. The same is true of us (in a way).

Killing is the ultimate statement anyone can make. In taking a life we become god-like, and thus assert that we exist. After one has done it, there is no walking it back. It is the finality of it that should frighten those who subsist on the illusion of death. Submission, on the other hand, is to bow to one’s fate. One continues to live, but one might as well be dead. When the Palestinian suicide bomber (whose vest failed to detonate) was asked why he did it, he claimed that he was already dead; that the Israelis had rendered him dead long ago. Another example is the phrase, “Give me liberty, or give me death” – the American apple pie version of the same thought.

It’s difficult to work things out and enter into an understanding when one has abandoned all reason; when reason needs at the very least to have a foundation on which both sides can agree, such as life being better than death. Islam doesn’t work that way. Therefore, the default position is power. Islam has discovered that the slow action of water running over a stone will over time reduce that stone. Islam has seen the action of water create great canyons. It is committed to chip away at what it believes to be evil and transient. In fact, Islam demands it.

We cannot connect. We are far too busy with our own lives to grasp the abstractions on which Islam builds its theology. We see them simply as aggressive and unyielding, without realizing that we are unyielding as well. What we call ‘advanced’, Islam calls ‘evil’. We claim to be non-violent, but it is us they are reacting to. Our money is perceived as poison by them. It threatens the purity of their abstract view. It is we who are the bulls in their china closets. What we think of as our kind-hearted outreach only shatters more of their china. They see us as aggressors. It is we who fail to recognize their purity; who label their purity as dangerous and corrupt and threaten to overwhelm it. It is they who find themselves backed into a corner from which they snarl and fight …and wear away our belief in ourselves like the stone at the edge of the ocean that eventually becomes sand.

We stand at a crossroads. Will we stand up and fight as Krishna demanded of Arjuna during the epic battle of Kurukshetra, or will we continue to appease, knowing that appeasement – like valium - becomes addictive? We too have a right to practice what we believe. In our ever shrinking world, can we really afford to build enough closets for everyone to live separately?
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Picture: Arjuna's Penance, Mahabalipuram, India.

View from India: PAKISTAN AFTER OBL ---QUO VADIS?

by B.RAMAN

(Written at the request of the Editor, “Hindustan Times”, New Delhi)

A wave of skepticism and anger in Pakistan has greeted the clandestine raid by U.S. naval commandoes into the place of residence of Osama bin Laden at Abbottabad, near Islamabad, on the night between May 1 and 2, which resulted in his death.

The skepticism has been over the claims made by both the U.S. and Pakistan regarding the operation itself. Large sections of the Pakistani civil society believe that a chopper-borne hit and run raid of this nature could not have been carried out by the U.S. Special Forces without the acquiescence, if not the covert collaboration, of the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment.

Barring the technical break-down of a chopper which resulted in its being blown up, the entire operation lasting about two hours --- most of which was spent by the U.S. raiding team either in the Pakistani air space or territory ---- was carried out with clock-like precision. It would be very difficult to attribute the total absence of any engagement between the U.S. raiding party and the Pakistani security forces only to the remarkable capabilities of the U.S. forces alone for a clandestine operation of this nature.

There ought to have been a Pakistani role --- even if that role was only one of pre-determined inaction till the Americans had killed OBL and left ---- which ensured the success of the operation with a remarkable absence of engagement in the air or on the ground and a total lack of any collateral damage. That is what many not only in Pakistan, but also outside believe and this belief will remain strong whatever U.S. claims and explanations may say.

There have been outbursts of public anger, but surprisingly not of rage. The first Friday prayers after the raid on May 6 passed off without any serious incident of violence. The anger has been over the U.S. violation of the Pakistani sovereignty and over the suspected Pakistani collaboration with the U.S. for killing a pious Muslim, who is seen by many in the Islamic world not as a dreaded terrorist, but as a saviour and defender of Islam.

It would be difficult to assess for how long this skepticism and anger will last; but as long as it does, Pakistan will remain a vulnerable State---even more so than in the past. Its internal security situation could further deteriorate due to a possible rise in acts of suicide terrorism directed against soft as well as hard targets. At a time when the anger caused by the Pakistani commando raid into the Lal Masjid in Islamabad in July 2007 was showing signs of subsiding, there is a danger of its being re-kindled by the U.S. operation in Abbottabad.

Pakistan has been passing through a state of unstable equilibrium for some years now. This equilibrium could become even more unstable in the weeks and months to come as a consequence of the Abbottabad raid. How to prevent this unstable equilibrium from worsening further? That will be an important objective of the U.S. policy towards Pakistan.

Pakistan’s strategic importance for the U.S. will not diminish despite the elimination of OBL. Pakistani co-operation had served U.S. interests well in the past---whether it was in relation to the cold war or the U.S. rapprochement with China. It could serve U.S. interests in the Islamic world equally well in the future. There cannot be a stable Afghanistan without a stable Pakistan and vice versa. The U.S. interest in ensuring the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal will remain as strong as ever. Pakistan will continue to be a key state in the fight against Islamic extremism and jihadi terrorism.

It would be a miscalculation to think that U.S. suspicions and anger over possible local support----official or unofficial or both---to OBL in Pakistan could result in major changes in the U.S. policy in the sub-continent to the detriment of Pakistan and benefit of India. While stepping up pressure on Pakistan for more sincerity and effectiveness in dealing with jihadi terrorism, the U.S. will eschew any policies or actions which could prove detrimental to its interests in Pakistan.

Instead of hoping to be able to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Pakistan by exploiting the cloud over the sanctuary enjoyed by OBL, India should examine how the OBL incident could be used as one more argument for convincing Pakistan of the need to give up the path of terrorism. These are traumatizing moments for Pakistan and its people. We should avoid any signs of glee. That would be unwise.

The problems faced by us in our relations with Pakistan due to its use of terrorism will continue. We should seek a solution to this problem through our own genius and in our own way through an appropriate mix of policy incentives and disincentives. We need a stand-alone policy which will not depend on the U.S. policy towards Pakistan for its success. (9-5-11)

(Bahukutumbi Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinert Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi)
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My comment: It would be wrong to assume that U.S. interests are solely focused on the strategic importance of Pakistan. In my view, the Osama kill was strictly a political calculation to bolster Obama's sagging popularity. We are already seeing the American long knives coming out for Pakistan. We are witnessing a broken-down old man built up into a super-hero by the American media to make him appear a worthy prize for their own Marxist super-hero to use as a weapon against any domestic opponent. Everything else - Pakistan, India, Israel, etc. - is subservient and readily expendable to the single-minded goal of getting Barack Hussein Obama reelected.

View from India: Wake Up Call

by Parvathi

It was unexpected - the killing of Osama - in the sense, we were not aware of how hot the pursuit must have been. It was said to have taken place without anyone knowing. That's hard to believe. Either way, Pakistan is absolutely miserable about its public image - America's favorite, not being told about the operation that took place just a few miles from its capital. Or worse, did Pakistan trade Osama for Afghanistan?

Strangely enough, Osama bin Laden no longer had what it takes to evoke any great emotion. In the ten years after 9/11, Al Qaeda has morphed and metastasized into a movement in which Osama appeared no longer to be central. It had become an ideology - a social movement, some say - that can no longer be easily wiped out. Who knows, maybe Osama hiding in Pakistan hated his miserable life - whatever. The most suspicious thing to me about the whole operation were the repeated reports by the press about Osama's burial at sea, complete with proper Islamic rites. Burial at sea when he was killed on land? Islamic rites - really?

Someone seems to have slipped up on their homework. Was it even Osama who was killed? Or was it all staged to boost President Obama's sagging public image? He now goes down in history as the man who avenged the carnage of 9/11. What about Osama's image as a martyr to the cause? What about the backlash for not giving him a proper Islamic burial (facing Mecca)? Who knows? Time will tell. My commitment to politics reaches only as far as the armchair remote; I see only generalities.

But the Islamic faith is an unique one. For one thing, it speaks of an abstract God who is beauty and truth. There is no image to focus on and pray to. Islam also recognizes that all men and women are equal: the beginnings of Socialism perhaps?

I had a wonderful experience of staying with a Hyderabadi Muslim family, years back, when I was in college. The men and women ate separately sitting round a low table. What fascinated me was this: their servants also ate with them - something I had never seen anywhere else before. These people were very rich upper class traders, but at the table all were one. I saw this again while watching a Bergman movie about the 19th century Swedish middle/upper-middle class. Of course here the men and women were not segregated as in the Muslim household. Neither way seemed particularly unnatural. It has always stayed with me, this wonderful feeling of community that came across.

This morning while walking on the beach I saw a beach party in progress. A big group of young people were celebrating someone's birthday with cake and candles. They were busy cutting pieces of cake, serving each other, drinking fizzy soda pops and all the rest of it. Standing at the fringe of it all and watching avidly were two beach urchins. The smaller one was asking his big brother questions: what are they eating? why the candles? how does a cake taste?

A man stood watching the two kids. He had a prayer cap and sported the traditional Muslim beard. He walked up to the group said something to them. The young people cut a couple of pieces and the man went up to the boys with the pieces of cake. The older one said he did not like cake, but the younger one just grabbed his and ate it with gusto. He looked positively ecstatic. The older one then reluctantly took the other piece. They thanked the man with the prayer cap. He said, "Allah is just, beautiful, and true." and walked away. The beach urchins turned and went their own way.

I never thought of telling the group to share their cake with the two kids.

-- from Parvathi's blog FINE LINE; reprinted by permission.

Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

Good story, this morning’s news. I don’t know if my heart can take it. In less than a week’s time we’ve unearthed no less than two holy grails: Obama’s alleged birth certificate and Osama Bin Laden’s alleged body. Both make Obama look like Superman, himself of now questionable citizenship.

Note that by POTUS’ own admission, we have now entered the silly season. In Obama’s mind, he sees himself as running against both Bush and Trump. Both opponents – one clearly virtual; the other quite real – have been one-two punched in early sparring. It makes Obama seem heroic and effective. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

The way our present political system is structured, we need a boogie man inspire and maintain cohesion. If bin Laden is indeed dead – as everyone is currently reporting – it would serve as somewhat of a blow to our hawkish stance re Afghanistan. I note that the president made sure to take personal credit for the kill. All that was missing was the banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”. The mystery that remains is who will be next to serve as a foil?

Unfortunately, holy grails no longer suffice to change the facts on the ground. These themselves are frequently contrived to distract from the obvious. Personally, I’m still somewhat confused. I’ve heard the phrase “architect of 9/11” applied to both KSM and Osama bin Laden. Which one is it? I’ve heard the term ‘justice’ thrown around to apply to practically anything and I note it’s even used do denote Eric Holder’s Federal fiefdom which to my mind hasn’t exactly distinguished itself.

I can hardly wait to see what the mainstream press will be making of these latest developments in the face of our continuing economic collapse and other tensions. It’s too bad that both Batchelor and Bahukutumbi Raman happen to be ‘away’ at this momentous juncture. Frankly, there are precious few others whose analysis I respect.

Suffice it to say, that we are now in full re-election mode and anything can still happen – even the improbable. Was happy to hear that bin Laden was buried at sea in full accordance with Islamic custom. I’m sure that the American military had been adequately instructed in advance. If bin Laden had been a Parsee, this exercise might have presented some logistical problems. But, never mind; what’s done is done and seems to have worked out nicely for our president and all concerned. If nothing more, Obama has discovered the power of documentation.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Chucks

We basically see what we want to see. In the process we miss what is actually there. In 2008, we pinned our hopes and dreams on Barack Hussein Obama. It soon became apparent that we had grossly miscalculated.

In her column, entitled, “Turkey’s Cautionary Tale”, in today’s Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick cites Turkey as just one example of ’Dreamland’ having been hyped by the western media as the modern face of Islam and portrayed as an example of an Islamic country that the West can actually work with. Not so fast. Glick skillfully ticks off the steps that Turkey has taken since Erdogan’s election in 2002 that puts the lie to any idea of Islamic rapprochement with the West that the western media incessantly claims. I urge you to read it.

Similarly, we’ve been steadily backsliding into the ‘Dreamland’ fantasy of ‘global warming‘, even after the whole thing has been exposed as a hoax.

We continually hear that our economy is improving. But is it? Is this even within the realm of possibility given our present leadership?

Which brings me to Trump. The Left has launched an all-out assault against Trump. This is because it fears him. Again today, on Glenn Beck’s program, Beck’s sidekicks were hammering him, replaying old sound bites in which Trump bashes Bush. Let me remind you, in those days everybody was bashing Bush. In fact, it became our national pastime (sans hot dogs and beer). You could instantly advance to your 15 minute celebrity status by bashing Bush. That’s how we got Obama.

Obama now pretends that all the criticism he’s receiving is just a part pf presidential scenery. Not so. Bush bashing was fun. Now things have turned serious and most of us have sobered up.

In those days, Trump did not speak as a politician. He spoke as himself in the current vernacular. Now he speaks as one of us, alarmed by what has happened. Sure, he knows Schumer and all the rest. He sat at their tables, and they at his. They did not speak politics per se; they spoke deals.

As I’ve said before, Trump seems a patriot; he does not seem ideological. He appears to love America. He understands what has gone wrong. He is confident inside his own skin. He feels he can make a difference.

There are those who say he would split the Republican party and hand a win to Obama. It may well happen that way. But then again it may not. Look at it as a ’hail Mary pass’ by our side; one last chance for us to throw chucks under the runaway chuck wagon. If the wrong Republican is elected, we lose anyway.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Cucible

If any should doubt that we are deeply entrenched in a clash of cultures - a war, if you wish - I direct you to Caroline Glick’s opinion piece entitled “The West’s proxy war against the Jews” in yesterday’s Jerusalem Post. She lays it out clearly as few can and have. The crucible, in her view, is Israel. That is to say, the fate of Israel is the metric that will define the ultimate winner of the struggle.

To live side by side in relative peace (like sticks of furniture in an otherwise empty room) with the current Islamic/communist coalition assault now in full swing is out of the question. It is now fully in attack mode. One of its goals is to push Israel into the sea. (Envision anything I might mean by that.) It’ll mark the defeat of the West. The victorious coalition will at first gather ‘round to congratulate themselves; then, they will begin fighting each other, for they are only united on one issue: their hatred of Israel and western capitalism.

Whereas America will remain relatively unscathed by the fall of Jerusalem into Arab hands, Europe will likely not be so lucky. To be sure, America will have its own problems. For one thing, it will be difficult to convince the entire country to salute the red flag. This will have to play out over time.

In today’s WSJ, Mark Helprin tells of America’s retreat from the high seas in an article entitled “The Decline of U.S. Naval Power” We see it ourselves in the continuing saga of pirates successfully negotiating ransoms and killing civilians. It seems incredible that we cannot do much about it. Similarly, as pertains to Libya (or any other trouble spot on the globe), our hands appear to be tied by outside interests and internal concerns (and distractions).

The media has been gearing up to tell us just how bad Kaddafi is (and has been). This is the likely view of the Obama administration as well. It makes me suspicious, however. It’s been a long time since either the media or the government has told us the truth about anything. It may simply reflect Obama’s calculation as to what he believes Kaddafi’s staying power to be, and this administration’s scrambling to get out in front of the curve for once (of course hindered somewhat by - as JB points out - Tripoli’s long and well-established connections to radical elements in Chicago (Farrakhan).

Realistically, you’ve got to go all the way back to 1988 when Pan Am flight 103 crashed at Lockerbie following an in-flight explosion, killing all on board and scattering wreckage all over the area to pin anything of substance on Kaddafi. Since then, I’ve been under the impression that Kaddafi has undergone semi-successful rehabilitation and earned his way back into the fold of the human community. In light of what else is going on in the world today, the springing of bombing suspect Abdelbaset al-Megrahi from a Scottish hospital/jail seems more of a prank, designed to redden the faces of the pompous, than a full-blown crime against humanity.

There is no doubt in my mind that the relatively recent upheavals we are witnessing in the Middle East and elsewhere is due to America’s deliberate distancing itself from its traditional international obligations. This has, at the very least, left a vacuum for sinister forces to exploit. The end result continues to be the chaos of birth. We definitely appear to be on the cusp of some momentous change. This (chaos) is only the first step. What will eventually emerge is anybody’s guess.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

We've Dug Deep Enough

Interesting architecture to the spin coming out of the Middle East (as the region burns). At first, it was Tunisia. Then Tunisia was faulted for what happened in Egypt; then, Tunisia was all but forgotten and Egypt became the fault for what’s happening in Bahrain; and so it goes on and on: the incident previous to the last one is conveniently forgotten with the aim of burying the source of the agitation. It’s very much like our housing collapse was explained to us.

Also, Israel is hardly ever mentioned; neither is Islam. POTUS is said to be unaware and unprepared. There’s no indication that he even knows that the 5th Fleet is anchored in Bahrain - or cares.

How can he not care? How can he not know? Ask such questions and you soon stumble upon the source of it all. He knows full well. He cares a lot - but not in the way we care. Despite all those exotic names that Americans can no longer pronounce or locate on a map, the real target in all this is the U.S. and, of course, Israel.

The script was hatched in the White House and it’s global in nature. It involves everything from Pakistan to Arizona and now Wisconsin. The plan is still unfolding, perfectly coordinated. There are no surprises for those in the know.

Look all that’s happened in the past two years since Barack Hussein Obama has been in office: the economy tanking; our foreign policy in disarray; people out in the streets protesting; our states insolvent; immigration out of control; our system of governance unresponsive to the public’s demands; jobs vanishing; oil and food prices spiking; etc. I suppose we can always blame it on Bush - or George Washington.

The ride to hell is infinite. We’ve already blown by any number of major milestones. (The passage of Obamacare was one. So was the sinking of the Cheonan.) We’ve been told to ignore all that. Who among us, looking at all this wreckage, can say we’ve turned the corner? Who can honestly say things are improving; that America is scoring points? Every day we’re treated to a new and ominous reality. Every day we dig ourselves deeper. Enough with the shovel-ready jobs already! We’ve dug deep enough.

It is an accident of destiny? I maintain it’s not. And we’d better start calling a spade a spade.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Doorstop

There’s a door in our hallway that naturally closes. It has to be kept open with a doorstop - in our case, an antique Chinese casting of small dog.

I remember back around the time when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, Pakistan was regarded as ours, to do with as we wished. We had been conducting drone strikes (inside Pakistan) as a part of our effort in Afghanistan. Pakistan had been voicing its objections, but our foreign policy experts chose to continue with the strikes anyway because, they reasoned, Pakistan couldn’t do much about it. We essentially viewed it as a failed and deeply divided state - the lesser half, heavily dependent on U.S. foreign aid. Since then, Pakistan has made strides in coming together - and not necessarily in our favor.

The Ray Davis affair shows that things have changed significantly; that Pakistan is now asserting itself in a way it has never done before. It doesn’t do to declare any nation a failed state simply because we happen not to like it. And , yes, we do not like the Taliban; and, yes, we do not like AQ; and, yes, we do not like Islamic extremism; shariah; and, yes, we do not like people who do not like us and pray daily for their god to hasten our demise.

At some point, Pakistan had to chose between itself and us. It has chosen itself. The Ray Davis affair has brought the rift between us into sharp focus. Surely, we have offered untold sums to settle the matter quietly. And, while this might have worked in the past, it’s not working now. The people of Pakistan see America as a hated intruder; as interloper; as propping up illegitimate and corrupt governments that only serve to oppress to undermine their true desires.

The rulers of Pakistan have had to go along with the people’s wishes in order to remain in power. Another factor is the money we’ve been doling out. It doesn’t buy as much as it used to. Even the lowliest Pakistani citizen senses that America’s power is waning; that it will no longer do to try to keep themselves warm in the fading glow of dying embers.

On the other hand, Islam is on the rise. In order to survive, it has become necessary to throw in with Islam which appears to have even the once great America shaking in it’s boots.

Hanging the bastard publicly will serve as yet another signal that America’s days in the region are essentially over.

Things have indeed changed since Obama took power in America. Some would argue it was inevitable; that the door had been torn from its hinges long ago (translation: Bush). And now the doorstop has been discarded as well.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Cowering In Egypt

Egypt is in the grip of a classic revolution. It begins with chaos and ends in tyranny. This is not to say that Mubarak represented anything other than tyranny. He knew that it was the only way he could keep his country together - that is, to keep it from descending into the even deeper hell of Tehran’s sadistic hordes. In his particular neighborhood, Mubarak knew, he was essentially spitting into the wind. Not much use in pretending that he would not eventually succumb either to death by natural causes or to go down swinging. He held up his end as long as he could.

When the Left decided to join up with the Muslim Brotherhood, he knew it was over. When the West - and, especially, the United States - turned its back on Israel, he knew it was twice finished. He sent his successor son and his family to safety. He himself would stay and fight and, if need be, go down with the ship.

Not much help from Obama who would pepper his stammering response to the chaos with “the people” to the point where it became embarrassing to listen.

In the past, the U.S. could always be counted on to intervene. It was Mubarak’s reward for making peace with Israel. With Obama’s rise to power, the contract became null and void. Mubarak would have to go it alone.

The plague haunting the world remains anti-Semitism. It’s what unites all the players in the Middle East. Once it became apparent that no one would be spared, the faint-hearted veered to the dark side. Israel was declared a pariah nation and even the West would follow suit.

Israel reminds of an Islamic woman who has sinned. Her fate is determined by shariah. They will want to dig a pit for her. And the bloodlust of their god will be satisfied (now that the secularists have also joined in the clamor).

Besides the Israelis, the secularists will also be losers. They confuse secularism with a total ban of religion. They think that this would help them escape the twin burdens of guilt and duty, not realizing that these, in the hands of men, would become even more oppressive and arbitrary. They further delude themselves in that their 'secular humanism' is much different from religion. It is as crude and intolerant as Islam itself. And its high priests are every bit as extreme as the most radical jihadist.

If you want true 'secular humanism', you need only look to India where it is not unusual for an extremely competent high-tech worker to stop at a temple on his way home to circumambulate the idol of his choosing (always keeping it to the right of him) three times before receiving the priest’s blessing and be sent on his way; or, a humble rickshaw driver inviting his priest to bless his brand new vehicle; or the bus driver stopping at a temple to have his upcoming journey blessed… Religion is woven into daily life. No one mocks it. No one feels slighted. No one is cursed, even if they choose to shun ritual.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not like that. They insist on shariah (for everyone). Atheists are not like that. They insist on religious ritual being hid under a bushel. Communists are not like that. They ban any religion, not understanding the concept of ‘giving unto Caesar…’

Islam is not celebrated for being enlightened or tolerant. It is fear that spreads it. It gives off the illusion of power. Who can resist cowering before madmen after the doors of the asylum are thrown wide open and it becomes no longer possible to avoid them?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Circuses and Rights During Wartime

Interesting how Congress has been reduced to gimmicks. Interesting how appearances are used to overshadow fundamental differences that are said to exist between Republicans and Democrats. Perhaps the lesson here is that there really is no difference; that it’s all a part of the same dysfunctional, irrelevant stew - or worse. The only voice that matters is POTUS’. Without cut-out POTUS, no one would be there, dressed in finery, kissing and hugging; beaming and patting backs. It’s a carnival barker‘s paradise put on every year for the amusement of themselves, and so-called political pundits. “…and let’s all meet afterwards for drinks.”

The public remains the foil. All that will be said and done will be tailored to appeal to TV couch potatoes. Remind that last year’s theme was ‘focusing on jobs‘ (like a laser). What happened to all those jobs? Fool me once…

The most memorable of these presidential high-performances (in my lifetime, at least) was back when LBJ announced he won’t be running for a second full term. Now that was news! It sent shock waves throughout the nation. Dare we hope for anything of substance?
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Make no mistake about it, yesterday’s bombing of the airport in Moscow was an attack on all of us. We diminish what happened when we ask why? The fact is, we do not understand the motives of terrorists. In last night’s interview with Stephen F. Cohen the word ‘Islam’ was mentioned exactly once.

The word ‘terrorist’ explains nothing - no motive; no philosophical or historical underpinnings - only nihilism. Seeking explanations under such conditions inevitably brings us back to ourselves. We are at fault - the enduring mantra of narcissists.

There are infinite explanations for why this may be so. The most plausible both start with ‘p’: ‘poverty’ and ‘politics’. There are infinite reasons that argue against both. This whole terror thing has become a (war) dance. The terrorists lead; we follow. We screen ourselves before getting on an airplane. The terrorists change tactics. They target innocents waiting for loved ones to arrive. We increase security perimeters. The terrorist target public places. We put up cameras on street corners. They send mail bombs consisting of wires, then powders, then liquids…

There is no winning this. We must be persuaded to lead. We must fight fire with fire. We must do as they do. Only, we must be smarter about it. We must lead. It does us no good to chuckle about Mr. Putin’s embarrassment as he chuckles about ours. We’re all in this together. We must work together - not celebrate momentary relief that it wasn‘t us (this time).

This is war. All is fair in love and war. In war, conventional niceties go out the window. We must do what they do. We must blow up their stuff. We must not play footsies with nations who sponsor terrorism - as Putin continues to do wit Iran. We cannot continually appease and change the language to reflect a fiction.

We must begin to close their mosques, bar them from our shores and send home those who are already here. Sure, it’s unfair. Many good people will suffer inconvenience. But aren’t we inconvenienced by them. Never once have anyone of us heard anything even close to condemnation from their side. Their silence makes them accomplices. Change must come from within. Perhaps once they are back home, they will change things. Why is the onus always on us - to change?

Muslim countries routinely attack Christians and Jews. In some, Christians and Jews are prohibited from even being there. Fine. It’s their turf. I know many families who wont allow smoking or guns in their homes. It is their right.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Drifting

Just finished a delightful book, “The Village By The Sea” by Anita Desai. It tells of a family in rural India - the father is a drunk, the mother is sick and dying, their 13-year old daughter is running the household, her 12-year old brother runs off to Bombay; there are also two young (school-age) girls - life looks very bleak indeed for this unfortunate family.

However, things change. And when things can’t get much worse, they often get better. The trick to survival, the author tells us, is keeping the faith. As long as you have hands and fingers to work, there’s hope.

America has had it pretty good for a long time. There’s nothing here even close to approaching conditions that exist for many Indians even now. We are often told that poverty leads to crime; that religion is all that enforces the ‘goodness’ of man; and if not religion, it is the state that must be the final arbiter in any matter.

In Desai’s book, religion plays practically no role, and neither does the state. People are ‘good’ by nature, despite their faults.

We know where Obama stands on the issue of poverty. For him, the ultimate solution is always the state. It is a philosophy he shares with Hu Jintao, his current White House guest.

Americans are almost evenly divided on the issue. Many believe that rolling back the state will bring about untold disaster. Slightly more believe that the state itself is the cause of disaster.

It is likely that we will keep vacillating between the two extremes for some time to come. Meanwhile change is inevitable. This is another theme of “Village”. Change must not necessarily be bad. It can be neutral. When Obama answers a reporter’s question by saying that “China has a different political system than we do…” he is absolutely right. He was also speaking honestly when he said that he intends to transform America.

Americans should have been astute enough to ask what exactly he meant by that. Did he mean to ease America into the Chinese system, or the Islamic system; or did he envision himself as the author of a brand-new system that has never been tried before?

We are perplexed as we watch our president work. He seems to dismiss the American system entirely. To him it is a hated relic of the past. And yet, much of what he ends up doing is following along in our previous president’s footsteps - clearly without conviction.

Perhaps Obama is impatient. He cannot wait for the changes that will come naturally. He pouts and threatens perceived enemies. He pushes and prods. And yet, he is most popular when he’s on vacation.

As far as the public is concerned, Obama’s principle problem is that he has told us nothing. He hasn’t articulated his plan. We seem to be drifting. He tells us “we’re going there“, and we end up here. And then he tells us “here is there”. It’s not something that inspires much confidence.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Tunisia: From the Frying Pan Into the Fire

I don’t claim to know the particulars, but the pattern seems set: corrupt governance the world over, often supported by the West (particularly the United States) and kept in place for its own geopolitical game-board advantage; the locals - as always, getting the shaft - are unhappy. They seek alternatives. The alternative in that part of the world is invariably state(Iran)-sponsored Islam. (Note: the words “state” and “(any)religion” used in the same sentence always amounts to an oxymoron.)

Islam offers the illusion of escape from tyranny while imposing its own tyranny, but the people do not yet know it. They embrace the notion of a caliphate which promises liberation from outside influence. In a single stroke, they think all their ‘enemies’ will now be humbled - and, for now, that is enough to rally in support.

Home-grown tyranny is always preferable because its home-grown.

Why all this now? Because the U.S. under the leadership of Barack Hussein Obama has made it clear that America will no longer fight to preserve old ways; that, frankly, it no longer cares who is in charge or what happens. Algiers, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon are all on the chopping block, along with Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Turkey has already decided to place its bet with the strong horse. You bet “Israel is watching closely”. She will soon find herself surrounded by an ever-rising (green) tide. She watches in despair as her ship takes on water: Islamic fervor from without; liberalism from within, while Gibraltar America fades in the distance.

As I continue to say, America’s break with the past - brought to the fore in its last presidential election - will continue to reverberate around the globe. No one will be spared. No one can anticipate where the chips will end up when it’s over. No one is prepared. All are in deep denial. Only China is trying. You’ve got to give them credit.

The irony is that America will be blamed for whatever happens. Despite our considerable resources, we seem to have adopted a deliberate stance of not caring - primarily about ourselves.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Swishing Swords

We don’t have a political problem. Politicians are what they are and will do what they must. What we do have is a problem with is political oversight. The press in particular has become so utterly corrupt, it’s literally mind-blowing. It all starts in the journalism schools of course - and in schools in general. It is there that the national narrative is being forged.

Islam has its madrassas in which they teach that Islam must rule the world. They prepare the young to be martyrs and practice jihad. We are on the receiving end.

So what do we do? Instead of confronting them, we counter with a parallel approach. We too, inexplicably, want to bring down our system. We recruit science. We recruit culture. We recruit (what’s left of our) religion. We recruit the impressionable; those who represent the least among us, the most vulnerable, the young, the afflicted, the perverted, the sick to join the cause. We change the language to make it seem that we have no enemies. We disarm unilaterally. We destroy our currency, our influence. We blur the line between good and evil. We ignore our own self-interest. We allow the clock to run down and, at the same time, fail to prepare for when it does.

We give comfort to our enemies. We abandon our friends. What other result can we possibly expect from such utter neglect other than to hear our enemies laughing as they draw their swords?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Crushed

Bahukutumbi Raman has been in the forefront of raising deeply troubling issues about Pakistan as it exists today. Pakistan is considered to be an ally of the U.S. Indeed, even if it weren’t, it would almost have to have been invented. Pakistan is said to have an arsenal of nuclear arms. It is one of the primary bases from which we fight terrorism in Afghanistan.

Those who have studied Pakistan have been warning that Pakistan may not be all it’s been cracked up to be. For one thing, Pakistan is deeply divided. This division has fissures extending into every Pakistani heart. On one hand, Pakistanis are a proud people who wish to join the modern world and be respected within it. On the other, there are those who have not exactly embraced modernity. This too springs of pride; only, it is a ruthless, savage pride that seeks to dominate and oppress on a most basic level. Modern weapons have exceeded their usefulness in curbing such appetites.

As such, when we speak of Pakistan, we speak of separate factions, each with its own way of doing things. An agreement with one will fail to satisfy the other.

The primary victims of Pakistani chaos are the majority of its people who are people like any other. It is they who are caught between a rock and a hard place, and suffering. Second, it is a threat to India. Pakistan has never healed from the partition which Gandhi and Jinnah engineered in the interest of peaceful coexistence. Jinnah demanded a separate Muslim nation to which Gandhi acquiesced.

The only difference between India and Pakistan is their religions. India’s (by no means less intense) devotion to Hinduism nevertheless remains tolerant of other religions and has been able to move forward in important areas under the banner of a more or less secular approach. Pakistan (and the Middle East in general) has not.

As Pakistan fell further and further behind, the need to blame others became acute. It did not help for Western nations to exploit Pakistan’s despair. Now Pakistan has become a problem that threatens to plunge the world into all-out war. It’s primary ally is China. (America only pretends to be allied with Pakistan for media consumption.) China, too, will not be able to deal with the chaos that is Pakistan. It will continue to promote and use such as it is for its own purposes.

There are now many who are deeply entrenched inside Western camps who seek to destroy capitalism. Islam’s goal is the same. Pakistan (and Islam in general) is being used to undermine the West. It is only a tool (and tools can never exceed their specific function). In the end, Islam has no prayer of winning. When all is said and done; it, along with Western liberals (useful idiots), will be crushed.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Same As The Old Boss

With the illusion of American influence in world affairs rapidly fading, there are several players already making moves to fill in the gap. Of these, perhaps the most visible, is the UN. The UN, however, represents only a small shift away from U.S. (non)-policy. It is also strapped for cash, riddled with corruption, and highly politicized. It is either unable or unwilling to use force, depending instead on containment, negotiation and the paying of bribes. The UN takes no firm positions, tending instead to go along with the strong horse.

These are also the tendencies that have led to America’s downfall. There is no reason to expect the UN to succeed with the very same methods that have rendered America clownishly irrelelevant. Therefore, a UN high-profile presence in any of the world’s trouble spots will ultimately not make a significant difference.

Thus far the UN has been used primarily to reap money and concessions from America. It is fully in support of ‘global warming’ initiatives which are then used to put pressure on the United States to give more money and retract its claws. UN soldiers have been accused of plunder and rape. They have been accused of extortion. They have been uses as human shields. Though blind themselves, they have been used as seeing eye dogs. They are well recognized scofflaws to which any cop in New York can readily testify.

Where Israel is concerned, the UN’s bias against it has been legendary. The UN is heralded by New York’s liberal elites (including Jews) and Washington progressives as the 'be all and end all'. This is in part because of the UN’s appearance of civility. Members of the UN are well paid. They are given a lofty platform from which to opine; they tend to smile a lot; except when it is in their best interest to frown for a laugh line, usually at the expense of Israel.

If the people of the Cote D’Ivoire are depending on the UN to settle things, they’ve got a long wait. They’d do much better to look to themselves if their aim is to avoid another African genocide. I understand it’s in the blood over there. A volatile mix of religion - especially Islam - and politics practically guarantees chaos. This time the U.S. won’t ride to the rescue. Look at what’s just happened in Haiti, less than a thousand miles from our shores. We’ve engaged the services of not less than three living U.S. presidents (along with much fanfare) to help. The reason there has been no reporting on this is because all three have failed.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Houston, we’ve got a problem...

Houston, we’ve got a problem! We’ve got the Democrats referring to Republicans as ‘terrorists'. And, far from repudiating such sentiments, the president goes out to echo same by painting Republicans as ‘hostage takers‘.
Sounds like a war (of words). What’s missing here is temperance. Compromise has been swept off the table.

Imagine, Republicans as terrorists! That’s strong medicine to digest. Especially since there are people out there who are actually trying to kill us; and who, we all know, it is now improper to refer to as ‘terrorists‘.

There are only a handful of extremists, we are told. Yet, the most powerful army on earth cannot defeat them. No, they must be accorded rights as if they were (American) Republicans. In fact, they must be elevated above all Americans. They must not be profiled or searched at airports - same as our star-powered political class. While Americans are made to suffer every naked indignity we can think of, are expected to give up a significant portion of their hard-earned income to support enemy outreach (as endorsed by our president), they must also be persuaded to give up their freedoms; their holy places, their prayers and celebrations as not to offend Islam (and, to a lesser extent, atheists).

But every barely functioning state needs an enemy to blame for whatever might go wrong. It’s therefore lucky we have Republicans. These will happily offer their backsides on which to paint concentric circles. Like obedient dogs they will gladly run and fetch; or heel. We can tell them one thing and do another. They will believe lies, never bothering to scratch the surface beneath which we hide our pernicious designs. They’re ever ready to line up for the showers if it guarantees a thorough cleansing - only, we will decide what the definition of ’clean’ is.

Republicans. Poor, hapless saps. We’ve got them by the short hairs; running around like maniacs now, proclaiming victory; convinced that the tea parties have saved them and turned the diabolic Obama away from his original sin. He has heard the cry of the electorate: no more taxes! And now they swoon at the sight of him. “We have won!” they shout from the rooftops. Now we can return home and relax. All will be right with the world.

What will they say when the blessed cuts don’t materialize; when January 1st their paychecks shrink? They’ll blame Congress, of course; they’ll blame the system. Still they’ll take comfort in the fact (as they see it) that Obama is with them now. He too wanted tax cuts. The prodigal son has returned.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Sex and Blood

The Wikileaks commotion has taken another astounding turn. Under vicious assault, the West has retreated into it’s comfort zone: sex. Sex seems to be all we have left to stand up to the barbarian hoards. We disseminate sex in international airport terminals, in major news dispatches; we use it to crucify our politicians; we stream it over the internet; we march en masse for (what we term) 'human rights' causes involving sex; we spend great sums on sex and its consequences. We have made sex into a god with multiple faces and each one is worshipped by its own exclusive sect of ecstatic revelers.

Islam is devoted to blood: the blood of their animals; the blood of its tireless fighters; the blood of their enemies; their own blood grievance and revenge.

We, on the other hand, can’t stand the sight of blood and Islam knows this. So, they inundate us with blood and we, in turn, inundate them with sex (which we know they can’t stand). There seems to be no common ground where we can meet and discuss things calmly. This struggle is destined to go on and on, as we are not about to accept their blood (sacrifice); and they’re not about to be intimidated by sex.

Assange feels perfectly safe. Sex has never been known to kill outright.

Went to a Christmas party at my mother’s church today. It was her first outing since falling ill three months ago. There were mostly elderly people. The pastor sat at our table. He related some experiences he had while serving as a missionary in Malawi. He said that the plight of women in Africa improved wherever Christianity was introduced. I wanted to ask (but held my tongue), “By whose standards?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Dreams of My Father

The Democrat Blue Dogs are gone – most of them – leaving behind a much more toxic mix. ‘Democrat’ has become a misnomer.

“National Democratic revolution” comes immediately to mind, along with “ideological integration, revolutionary imperative, minority domination, liberation alliance, unity…, infiltration, incursion, viable agency for change, reformist option, armed tactics, mass political mobilization in combination with legal, semi-legal and clandestine methods"; add to this: wealth re-distribution, protest, strike, disruption, shortages, smear campaigns, property confiscation, resistance; the breakdown of civility, morality; family, security, identity – all to create a general climate of collapse within which a Marxist solution becomes possible.

How far we have come since Obama’s election! - a man we knew next to nothing about. How much we have learned in the past two years! – about communism and Islam (which share similar goals).

We’ve gone from anointing a savior, to suspecting an incompetent, to tolerating an imbecile, to fearing an enemy. And still we submit to the theft of our privacy, to the judgment of medical death panels (what else would you call them) to be groped by minimum wage airport thugs – burka wearers excluded, of course.
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Italics taken from Nadine Gordimer’s “Burgers Daughter”.

We're Cooked

One does a disservice to Obama to call him a rock star. The proper identifier should actually be ‘revolutionary’. As such, Obama represents far more than a rock n’ roll opera - entertainment for fiberglass-filled talking heads. He represents a clear and present danger to the Republic.

JB has already noted that Obama is likely to turn hard left after Tuesday’s midterm trouncing. He will do so, not only for ideological reasons, but to throw this nation into such chaos the likes of which it hasn’t seen since the Civil War. By the time 2012 rolls around, we will no longer have a functioning representative government, and elections will likely be a thing of the past.

We look at the man and ask, How could a nice young man be doing all that within the span of a single term in office? It is indeed tempting to focus on the lanky figure with the Dumbo ears and draw one’s conclusions. In truth, he has a whole cadre of powerful allies, both foreign and domestic.

We’ve heard - but don’t yet believe - that Islamists want us either dead or shariah-bound. We’ve heard what they say about us, and witnessed first-hand their determination to bleed us dry. We’ve seen our own official reaction to their challenge as tepid. We console ourselves by saying that these are the hateful words and actions of a handful of crazies, not realizing that this is precisely the same thing they say about us.

We taunt them at every turn. On a stop-over in Brussels last month, I once again had to go through extensive security. After gathering my things together, we were herded to an incline that took us to the departure lounge one flight up. At the end of the incline - directly in front of us - was a huge poster of a pretty lingerie model. I noted that a good portion of my fellow ascendants were Arabs, whose sensibilities were no doubt offended.

They offend us equally, by stoning women, blowing up worshippers, severing heads and hands; paralyzing spinal columns, etc. We have excuses to overlook such things. It’s their culture. It’s thousands of years old. Who is to say that, barring our addiction to Twinkies, we would not be doing the same?

As far as the upcoming elections are concerned - forget about Democrats vs. Republicans - right now, we have three groups in this country: (1) those committed to overthrowing our nation; (2) those consisting of what Stalin once referred to as ‘useful idiots’; and (3) those (and this now comprises an ever expanding majority) that are just beginning to sense an existential danger.

Nobody can yet be certain to which of the first two groups our president belongs to. In view of the complete lack of transparency with regard to Obama’s background, I have long suspected that Obama belongs to the first. I have previously stated my belief that Obama represents the third attack on our nation (the first and second being the attacks on the World Trade Center They used our own planes...; they used our own election system to plant a Trojan horse among us.) It’s difficult to come to any other conclusion given all he has managed to do thus far. Our system of governance remains at high risk; as does our economy. If any one of these should fall, we are cooked.

We already have so much on our table domestically, it’s difficult to focus on international affairs. Suffice it to say, it doesn’t look good for Israel, historically speaking, our most loyal and trusted ally.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/