New Respect on the World Stage

Introductions: Barack Obama’s popularity, meet Reality (click for full size)

Impossible to Hide the Decline

(H/T: The Weekly Standard)

Yid with Lid — …Great Britain, which just went through two record cold winters is in store for some more. Scientists are predicting that Britain may be facing a mini-ice age that may last for decades. It’s partly the fault of the La Nina weather pattern… The real cause for this prediction is the Sun. It has been emitting few ultra violet rays (not that you would know by looking at Snooki). …the news about the arctic ice cap may be just as depressing. So far it has been very cold in the arctic this fall, in fact it has been coldest autumn the arctic has seen in over a decade. Because of this cold the arctic has added a Manhattan-sized chunk of ice to the ice cap every 30 seconds for the last 30 days… As our President, the EPA and many other progressives work to slow down the economy with crippling regulations to reduce “greenhouse gasses,” it seems that mother earth does not want to cooperate. …

Thank You, Hollywood

The Islamist who killed two US airmen in Germany was inspired by Hollywood propaganda…

(Telegraph) — A Kosovo Albanian Islamic extremist has confessed to murdering two American airmen and has blamed a faked jihad video showing US soldiers raping a Muslim girl for inspiring his crime. In an emotional confession to a Frankfurt court as his murder trial began on Wednesday, Arid Uka said he had become radicalised by online extremist propaganda before carrying out a lone gun attack US Air Force bus in March. … Uka blamed a video purporting to show American servicemen raping a young Muslim girl for prompting him to try and stop other US soldiers from getting to Afghanistan. … But the rape footage, billed as an authentic video entitled “what was done to our sisters,” turned out to be … from the 2007 anti-Iraq war film “Redacted,” directed by Hollywood’s Brian de Palma. (H/T: WeaselZippers)

I’ll bet they’re proud on the Left Coast today!

Random Bits

Just a few quick comments on this morning’s C2 Daily Grind:

[CSM via WZ] A ship jointly owned by Swedish, Greek, and Norwegian activists hoping to join a flotilla of activist vessels challenging Israel’s economic blockade of Gaza, had its propeller cut while in Athen’s [sic] harbor today. A spokesman contacted by the Monitor said that the damage was a deliberate act of sabotage.

We need to hunt down the person or persons responsible for this criminal attack … and give them cake.

[DC] Obama admin political appointee takes heat for trips home on taxpayers’ dime. Obama political appointee Ron Sims is under scrutiny for trips he made to Seattle during the first several months after his appointment.

He’s wasting money that the Obamas need for their vacations.

[HA] Media pretty excited over Bachmann’s John Wayne gaffe in Iowa… She claimed in an interview with Fox News that she shares the spirit of another famous Waterloo, Iowa, resident, John Wayne. But John Wayne never lived in Waterloo; John Wayne Gacy did

Don’t worry; I’m sure she’ll do better in the other 56 states.

[Trib] Blagojevich on guilty verdict: ‘I, frankly, am stunned’ … In its 10th day of deliberations, the 11-woman, one-man jury convicted Blagojevich of several shakedown attempts, including allegations that he brazenly tried to sell President Barack Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat in 2008.

I’m surprised, too. This is Chicago; how could the fix have not been in?

[NB] Name That Party: Blago’s Dem Affiliation Left Out of Seven AP Stories

Talk about an “unexpected development”…

Barack Obama stops Dominique Strauss-Kahn from touching Michelle

Scottish Election Results – “Freedom”?

The recent election results in Canada have, for the time, killed any hope for Quebecois secession. The Conservatives squashed the Bloc Quebecois along with the Liberals in the rest of the country. However, in Scotland, the Liberals’ loss appears to be the secessionists’ gain.

The Telegraph — The Scottish National Party yesterday won an outright majority, the first party to do so since devolution in 1999. The victory will allow [First Minister Alex] Salmond to trigger a referendum on Scottish independence during the next five-year parliament, the first formal challenge to the Union of England and Scotland in its 304-year history. In a surprisingly emphatic win, the SNP claimed 65 seats in the 129-seat Holyrood parliament. … “In this parliament, we shall bring forward a referendum and trust the people with Scotland’s constitutional future,” he said. Before the election, Mr Salmond said a referendum would be held in the second half of the parliament, meaning 2013 at the earliest. The nationalist surge represented a humiliation for the Labour Party, which had been expected to win in Edinburgh. Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader, said he would step down this year, describing his party’s results as “dreadful”. (H/T: Soylent Green)

But will England allow them to get away scot-free?

In theory, ministers at Westminster could change the law that created the Scottish Parliament to prevent the SNP holding a referendum. But [British Prime Minister David] Cameron signaled he would not try to stop a vote being held. “I will do anything as British Prime Minister to work with the Scottish First Minister and to treat the Scottish people and the Scottish government with the respect they deserve,” he said. “If they want to hold a referendum, I will campaign to keep our United Kingdom together with every single fibre that I have.” Before the election campaign began, polls gave Labour a comfortable lead over the SNP, whose promise of an independent Scotland had been battered by the financial crisis that effectively bankrupted similar-sized nations including Iceland and Ireland.

I don’t think it’s the size of the nations so much as their practices (and those of Europe as a whole) which led to the financial crises; which also affected larger nations such as Portugal and Spain. I’m not sure whether or not they should secede (that’s not for me to decide), or even if they have the right under the Treaty of Union to do so (although Ireland set a precedent in 1920); but apparently PM Cameron thinks they have the right to hold such a vote. I wonder how this relates to membership in the European Union… Would an independent Scotland be bound by agreements made by the United Kingdom, or be allowed to choose their own way? That might be a big factor in how people vote.

Sausage-Swilling Surrender Schweine

Apparently, it’s illegal in Germany to approve of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Spiegel Online — Schadenfreude, the enjoyment of others’ suffering, may be a famously German concept, but it is apparently not a feeling that many Germans aspire to. The political and public fallout following Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement on Monday that she was “glad” Osama bin Laden had been killed was among the most hotly debated topics in the German media this week. Politicians, including those within her own center-right coalition, said that no death was cause for celebration, and reproved the remark as un-Christian and vengeful. But Hamburg judge Heinz Uthmann went even further. He alleges that the chancellor’s statement was nothing short of illegal, and filed a criminal complaint against Merkel midweek … In his two-page document, Uthmann, a judge for 21 years, cites section 140 of the German Criminal Code, which forbids the “rewarding and approving” of crimes. In this case, Merkel endorsed a “homicide,” Uthmann claimed. The violation is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine. … While the judge’s reaction may seem extreme, his sentiments are apparently shared by 64 percent of the German population. That was the proportion of Germans who said bin Laden’s death was “no reason to rejoice” in a poll published by broadcaster ARD on Friday. … (H/T: Hot Air)

Why the hell do we still have all of those bases in Germany, pumping billions of dollars into their economy? To prevent the Nazis from regaining power? To keep the Soviets from invading western Europe? There was talk about closing those WWII and Cold War relics last decade, and either bringing the majority of those troops back home or basing them in “New Europe” countries like Poland and Romania who appreciate the USA, capitalism, and democracy; and who’d give us much more favorable terms for our bases. Not incidentally, that would place our personnel and materiel a lot closer to the Middle East as well. I sometimes despair as to whether or not it’s too late to save “Old Europe.”

UPDATE: Dalai Lama: Yeah, I’m Cool With Killing Bin Laden … Wait, He’s Cool With It?

The Raids Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Pakistan Army Warns U.S.: Don’t Raid Our Country Again

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s army broke its silence Thursday over the U.S. commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden, acknowledging its own “shortcomings” in efforts to find the al-Qaida leader but threatening to review cooperation with Washington if there is another similar violation of Pakistani sovereignty. The tough-sounding statement was a sign of the anger in the army. It also appeared aimed at appeasing politicians, the public and the media in the country over what’s viewed by many here as a national humiliation delivered by a deeply unpopular America. … (H/T: C2)

Fuck you sideways, Pakistan. You had Osama for years and there’s absolutely no way that you didn’t know it. If anything, further raids on Pakistan are required.

Daily Mail — American bloggers have hit back at Europeans who have criticised the outpouring of joy over the death of Osama Bin Laden. While thousands of U.S citizens took to the streets to celebrate the killing, the reaction in Europe was far more muted. And some are so angered by what they see as a judgmental stance from across The Pond, they have gone online to hit back at the “cheese-eating surrender monkeys.” …

I should just call this post the “fuck you sideways” edition, if that expression weren’t more suitable elsewhere.

Man in UK Arrested for Singing “Kung Fu Fighting”

The Sun — A pub singer was arrested for alleged “racism” after belting out the chart hit “Kung Fu Fighting” as two Chinese people walked past. One of them complained to cops, who later nicked (arrested) stunned Simon Ledger – in a Chinese restaurant. Simon, 34, often performs the song in Sandown, Isle of Wight. He said: “I hadn’t even seen these two.” Now he fears he could get a criminal record. … Simon, who has performed on TV with Michael Barrymore, was doing a spot with a pal at the town’s Driftwood Beach Bar on Sunday afternoon. … Simon said: “We were performing ‘Kung Fu Fighting,’ as we do during all our sets. People of all races were loving it. Chinese people have never been offended by it before. …” (H/T: iOwnTheWorld)

I guess I need to be more careful. I like that song and have also sung it… and I’ve done the song in the video below he cut as well. Of course, since racism and civil rights prosecutions only go in one direction, no one will ever be prosecuted for singing “Play that funky music, white boy. Lay down the boogie and play that funky music ’til you die” no matter how much it would be treated as a hatey-hate death threat if you replaced “white” with any one of several other adjectives.

Muslim Population is Exploding

Islam is not a race.

(Story H/T: WeaselZippers; Buzzsawmonkey suggested that I make a poster out of it with the caption parodying René Magritte‘s “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.”) Click to enlarge (which is almost always the case with pictures in this blog).

*This* is “Truth to Power”

I got this video from I Hate the Media! “Who the hell do you think you are? The Euro game is up!”

…Consider it the European equivalent to that moment that moment when Rick Santelli erupted on CNBC and the Tea Party was created. The scene is European Parliament in Strasbourg on November 24. Nigel Farage, a member of the European Parliament representing the United Kingdom, is involved in a debate about economic governance when he loses it. “Who the hell do you think you are? The Euro game is up! … We don’t want that flag, we don’t want the anthem, we don’t want this political class. We want the whole thing consigned to the dust bin of history … You are very, very dangerous people indeed. Your obsession with creating this Euro-state means that you’re happy to destroy democracy. You appear to be happy for millions and millions of people to be unemployed and to be poor. Untold millions must suffer so that your Euro-dream can continue …”

Funny, that last bit sounds very similar to the situation and complaints back here in the states, too. “I should thank you! You should perhaps be the pinup boy of the EuroSkeptic movement!”

You Gonna Get Groped

Continuing the Fly the Sexual Abuse Skies topic (check the comments there for several updates), we only have one piece of good news: Muslims are not going to get a religious exemption to TSA screenings. Apparently even our government is incapable of breaking that far from reality (at least, not after the recent elections). As it turns out, there’s no law requiring airports to use TSA security personnel; so Minneapolis airport has apparently hinted that it’s considering private screeners instead of TSA. Not that this is a cause for optimism, since private screeners would be unlikely to be too different or more effective than the TSA. If they actually tried common-sense procedures (including profiling) they’d be sued back into the stone age by Islamic groups like CAIR (who’ve only recently left the stone age and thus know the way). They’d certainly never be able to adopt the procedures used by Israel which make them the safest in the world without requiring airport security to physically count the number of testicles each man is carrying.

(Picture H/T: Iowahawk)

Former TSA security director Mo McGowan admits that the Fourth Amendment is being violated but insists “we’re going to have to do it” anyway. The TSA is actually investigating John Tyner, threatening fines over $10,000, for refusing to be searched and leaving the airport. Others are bringing suits against the TSA:

“In one shocking incident, TSA goons pulled down woman’s blouse, exposing her breasts, and laughed about it.”

And this is all before the latest expansion of TSA procedures which allows them to put their hands down your pants. As someone observed, we’ve been getting screwed by the government for years – now they’re finally giving us foreplay.