Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Watcher's Council nominations, 7/19/06


Every week, the Watcher's Council nominate two posts each, one from the Council members and one from outside for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week’s Council nominations can be found at our fearless leader's site Watcher of Weasels



1.J O S H U A P U N D I T: When History bites back Once there was a small democratic nation, allied to the West and surrounded by hostile, totalitarian enemies..but not the one that probably first comes to mind...read on...


2. Done With Mirrors: Kennedy in Berlin Callimachus remembers a wonderful non-diplomatic presidential outburst from the past


3.Gates of Vienna: Sovereignty, Terrorism and Those Caught Between Dymphna makes the point similar to the one I made in my article, `Terrorism' versus acts of war. I took it a step furthur, stating that both Hezbollah and Hamas are neither terrorist organizations nor were their attacks on Israel `terrorism', but acts of war by sovereign nations against another sovereign nation..but as usual, Dymphna makes the point with clarity and precision unrivaled. A must read.



4. ShrinkWrapped: The Limits of Intelligence A fascinating article by Shrinkwrapped on the limits of intel, springboarded by ex-Mossad Chief Ephraiam Halevy's book `Man in the Shadows'.

5. Juvenile crime is up, and you could knock me over with a canoe paddle : Socratic Rhythm Method Matt Barr's debut post under his new blogname..a killer dissertation on the subject.

6. The Glittering Eye : Escalation in Middle East Dave examines the ratcheting up in violence in the Middle East with his usual flair. I generally agree with his viewpoint expressed here, with one minor caveat - from the Israeli viewpoint, the violence has never stopped,not since 1948 and particularly not since Oslo. The IDF and the Shin Bet have merely performed miracles in the field of deterrance, so that for every atrocity unleashed on Israel's people we hear about, 20 or more are prevented.


7.The Education Wonks: South Carolina's "Parents" From Hell - EdWonkreturns to South Carolina to examine a particularly despicable case of child abuse...makes you want to make stuff like this a hanging matter.

8.The Strata-Sphere: Is Iran Bucking Up Syria? AJ discusses possible ties between Iran and Syria. Readers of this site know they signed a formal mutual defense pact long ago..and it's also not well known that Syria's ruling minority Alawite sect is a Shiite offshoot.


9. Rhymes With Right: VRA Renewal: Solving The Problems Of 1964 Until 2032": Greg takes a look at the ramifications of renewal of the Voting Rights Act

10.Right Wing Nut House : ENJOYING THE ACADEMIC FREEDOM TO BE AN IDIOT Rick examines the case of a University of Wisconsin-Madison part-time lecturer Kevin Barrett, who will now be teaching a class in Islam (he's a convert). Aside from teaching a white washed version of his faith and the usual anti-Americanism,Barrett will also be treating his impressionable captive audience to his views on how the Bush Adminsitration took down the Twin Towers as an `inside job' and how there are more Jewish and Christian terrorists (like our troops in Iraq) than Muslim ones. I've heard this hate-filled loony in radio interviews and the fact that he's allowed to remain in the US let alone teach is astounding. Rick takes this travesty of education apart.

11.The Sundries Shack: Blogging for dummies like me Jimmie Bise talks about why he blogs..For what it's worth Jimmie, you are far from a dummy from where I sit! A great piece on what motivates us all to do what we do.

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