Every week, the Watcher's Council members 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 the site of our fearless leader, the infamousWatcher of Weasels
Do take the time and check out the non-Council links..they are always rewarding.
Here's this week's Council lineup....
1. JOSHUAPUNDIT : Osama's Real Message Osama bin-Laden chose the time of General Petraeus' report on Iraq and the anniversary of 9/11 to get in touch with us. I don't think that coincidental.
We've been very lucky and have gotten fairly complacent over the last 6 years...and I hope that's not about to change.
For the record,after a careful comparison with other tapes I agree with the CIA that it was in fact him, but I also feel that whether it was or wasn't, this is still al-Qaeda's message to America...and thus worth taking notice of.
I analyze Osama's use of the talking points of the Angry Left and his `invitation' to America to accept Islam or be destroyed and show why I am fairly convinced that something is in the works...especially given that Osama's new tape just released calls for a `caravan of martyrs'.
2. Done With Mirrors: Bremer Redux Callimachus talks about Paul Bremer's claim that he didn't dismantle the Iraqi army but that it was the exact right thing to do anyway.
I think Bremer ( and Cal) are likely correct that there was a certain degree of `melt away', and that given the ethnic tensions in Iraq, and the Preident's rushing the Iraqis into `Arab democracy' to empower the Shiites, an intact Iraqi army probably wasn't much of a factor anyway.
3. Soccer Dad: Missile-leading Modifiers Soccer Dad has a post that reveals what some of us have known for quite some time...that to a large part of the dinosaur media, Israeli blood is a fairly cheap commodity.
One wonders how these reporters would write about a `crude' or `largely ineffective' Qassam if it hit their children's school or killed one of their relatives.
4. The Glittering Eye : Taking Notice This week, The Glittering Eye's Dave Schuler highlights two news stories that he felt did not receive sufficient attention...the move by Iran back towards traditional Islamic banking ( a misnomer, if one examines what it actually is)and an article I highlighted here on JoshuaPundit, the Islamist takeover of Britain's mosques and madrassahs by the hardline wahabi offshoot, the Deobandi sect.
5. Bookworm Room: 50 Million Intellectuals Can Be Wrong Ms. Bookworm examines the phenomenon of the self-dubbed `intelligensia,'(and yes, they came up with that term themselves) the so-called `public' intellectuals who assume the posture of the elites but more often than not are revealed as either hypocritical, illogical, amoral, or a combination of the three.
In Plato's `Da Republica' he postulated a benign dictatorial government of the elite. While a nice idea in theory, in reality it doesn't work over the long term because of human nature ( what the Israelis refer to as `proteksia', AKA influence or the Old Boy Network) and because such an elite soon becomes removed from everyday experience and common sense.
6. Rhymes With Right:Voter Racism Must Be Condemned! Ha! Greg takes on an interesting double standard. Apparently,in Memphis there is a move to unseat white Congressman Steve Cohen by local blacks on the grounds that, not being black, he can't adequately represent them!
I love this quote, from the Rev. Robert Poindexter:"He's not black, and he can't represent me. That's the bottom line."
So much for Dr. King's message, hmm?
As Greg points out, Senator Barack Obama represents a constituency that is 75% white. Can you imagine the editorials, the condemnations, the furor if whites in Illinois crusaded to get him out of the senate on the basis of his race?
As Greg also points out, the black perpetrators of this are Democrats.Think we can expect any condemnation of this blatant racism from the DNC?
I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
7.Colossus of Rhodey:Proof:News Journal Provides Forum For What We All Knew Hube cites his local paper for providing a forum for an obvious fact: that Section 8 housing usually results in a neighborhood getting worse instead of better.
That was by no means always the case, and it still isn't always the case is some of the more `traditional' parts of America, where people take a certain amount of pride in themselves and how they are perceived.
8. Cheat Seeking Missiles: Give Peace A Chance Laer's inspiration this week is a ridiculous bumper sticker seen around lately, composed of different religious symbols and saying `co-exist'.
Laer writes about what `givng peace a chance ' might actually look like, and he has some real fun with taking it ad absurdium.
One very minor caveat, my friend. The Israelis have already experimented with not retaliting for Palestinian savagery with the idea that it will `promote the peace process'. It's never worked, not even one iota.
On the other hand, harsh retaliations against Arab terorrism almost always have, when they are consistently applied.
9. 2001 -- Our Own Odyssey Began On 9/11 by Okie On The Lam This week, Okie relives his experiences on 9/11, and writes about what's gone on in the interim.
I don't think any of us will forget that day as long as we live.
10. Right Wing Nuthouse: The Way We Were Rick also reminices about 9/11 and where we are today, using the interesting device of a photgraph of himself taken that day as a reference point.
11.The Education Wonks: Wonkitorial Comment: Six Years After 9-11
Ahh, EdWonk likewise has a relection on 9/11, and I must say, it's one of the few I've seen that has sentiments in the `sphere somewhat like my own.
We did indeed handle these scum far better after the last time we were attacked on our soil, at Pearl Harbor.
If one recalls the energy and unity of our nation after 9/11, it's obvious that the country hasn't changed, but our leadership certainly has...and I think that a solicitousness towards the Saudis and other Arab nations - `realpolitik' had a lot to do with the way that energy and unity were deliberately misdirected and thus squandered.
We will undoubtedly be forced to endure another wake up call because of that, but my hope is that it will sweep away a number of misconceptions as we do what America does best when we successfully wage war...put the fear of G-d into our enemies and make them curse the day they ever dared attack our beloved country.
12. Big Lizards: Bush Moves The Goal Post From Security-- To Security Daffyd Ab Hugh has a piece here that examines how President Bush has stubbornly stayed with his own standards for measuring progress in Iraq, while the Left has shifted theirs.
That's this week's lineup..enjoy
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