Feeding the Hand That Bites You?

Venezuela's current President (and future President-for-life) Hugo Chavez has generously offered assistance to the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I hope he is sincere, but it seems rather magnanimous given his rants against the U.S.A. and the prattlings of a certain religious figure. I'm more inclined to think that it's a PR move, but so what. I doubt anyone in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama will care much where the assistance comes from.

Rise From the Ruins

From the ashes of 9/11/01...

Proverbs 22:6

Pastor Steve Weaver has a post in which he recommends a series of books designed to teach 4 - 7 year olds about theology. I have not investigated them as I would if I had a child in that age range. However, for those of you with younger children, they may be worth checking out.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

[HT: BTW]

Let Them Eat Principle

I'm a U2 fan. I have been since the early 1980s. I have nothing against them and don't wish them any ill.

(Here it comes . . .)

However, when I saw that they had been given a major award by Portugal for 25 years of looking stylish while telling others that they aren't doing enough to stop hunger in Africa, I had to say something. Oh, and what has U2 been doing recently? Spending thousands and thousands of dollars on lawyers so Bono could get his hat back.

Bono said: "This case was brought very reluctantly, in the context of a larger dispute which we never invited. The point of principle involved was of much greater significance to us than any item of memorabilia."

Question: How many starving children in Africa could have been fed for the price of Bono's "principle"?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SLIMMER!

You don't look a day over your actual age minus 5 years! As usual, the card's in the mail. I'll see you soon.

Familial hugs and kisses.

Armstrong Goes Wobbly

In his recent article for TownHall.com, Armstrong Williams demonstrates that he must only read the NYT and watches Howard Dean's news conferences. It almost makes me wonder if he's found a new source of income. I said "almost".

G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton is one of the greatest writers in the English language. Unfortunately, he is also one of the most forgotten. His book "The Everlasting Man" is said to have contributed to C. S. Lewis' conversion to Christianity. "Orthodoxy" and "Heretics" are Christian classics. If you prefer fiction, the Father Brown mysteries are delightful. Now, to whet your appetite, I have provided a few Chesterton quotes:

"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions."

"If there were no God, there would be no Atheists."

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese."

"The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people."

"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."

You can find more Chesterton quotes HERE.

. . . Except That One City

Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters offers his thoughts on an article in the British newspaper, the Independent. The article discusses the impending demise of Mecca and Medina (Tom Tancredo notwithstanding) at the hands of radical Islam. The good Captain observes:

The voracious iconoclasm of Wahhabism and radical Islamists will do what Muslims feared the West wanted in the first place -- the destruction of the Prophet's cities. It won't take long before the Ka'aba stone itself will disappear as well. Once that happens, the Islamists will find themselves surrounded by a whole new class of enemies, enemies from the ranks of moderate Islam whose religion insists that Muslims must make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime.

Perhaps. Or maybe they will turn to Islam's third most holy city instead.

Interview With a Jihadist

The current issue of UK's Prospect Magazine has an interview titled Dying to Kill: Interviewing a British Jihadist. Freelance journalist Aatish Taseer interviews 25 year-old Hassan Butt (yes, his last name is Butt) of Manchester, England. Interesting (and chilling) stuff. I encourage you to read the entire interview. The following is an excerpt that I found interesting:

[Aatish] Taseer: Clearly you have a sense of an enemy. What is the face of this enemy? Is it America?

[Hassan] Butt: At the moment, America.

Taseer: Who else is part of it?

Butt: You have an apparent enemy and a hidden enemy.

Taseer: The apparent enemy?

Butt: The American enemy. As far as I'm concerned, you have America spearheading the attack, followed by Britain, France, the EU, the UN, the World Bank, the IMF…

Taseer: India?

Butt: India.

Taseer: Thailand?

Butt: Thailand, especially after what happened recently. [Attacks on Muslim rebels in the south of the country]

Taseer: What does it take to join the enemy?

Butt: To support them. The Japanese only have 500 troops in Iraq; as a result they've declared war on Islam. China from day one has been testing its nuclear missiles in the Xinjiang province; it's a Muslim province, so China is another enemy of Islam. As far as we're concerned, until an Islamic government makes treaties with these people, the world, for me, is an enemy. But there will be people who we prioritise, so I won't start attacking the South American states. I have bigger and more important enemies to deal with, those who are having direct influence in the Muslim world, like America. [Emphasis by Solaman]

So if I understand Mr. Butt, the "apparent enemies" are those having a direct influence on the Muslim world (i.e. America, Britain, France, India, China, EU, UN, etc.) Who are the "hidden enemies" then? Mr. Butt names at least some of them when he says he won't start attacking South America. In other words, the "hidden enemies" are the non-Muslim countries which are not supporting America and its allies. President Bush famously said, "You are either with us or you are with the terrorists". The terrorists believe that you are either with them or you are their enemy. There are no neutral countries in their eyes.

[HT: Limbic]

One Hit Wonders - One More Time

McSweeney's has a list of follow up songs for "one-hit-wonder" bands. See if you can recognize the original hit.


[HT: GromBlog via UKblogs]