Watcher's Council Nominations, 9/26/07

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 infamous Watcher 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 : How The Arab Lobby Works There been a lot of talk lately about the `zionist lobby' here in America, and lately, this age old lie that dates back to the Protocals of Zion has even acquired a new pedigree courtesy of the likes of Mearshimer and Walt, Noam Chomsky and the wit and wisdom of Jimmy Carter, among others. What never gets discussed much is the enormously well funded and egregious buying and selling of influential Americans using Arab petro-dollars to shill for Islamist causes and the continued export of wahabism into America.

The dinosaur media isn't reporting it, for the most part, but the Holy Land Foundation trial in Texas is about all that and more, and it brought one of these creatures out of the woodwork to testify, someone frequently quoted as a `Middle East Expert' by the dino press. Who he is and who owns him provides a unique look at how the Arab lobby works here in America.


2. Done With Mirrors: What Do Wahabis Want? Callimachus asks the question, and explores the appeal of Osama bin-Laden to disaffected Muslims.

I would disagree with him on one small point, where he appears to say that most of Osama's symphathizers don't share his desire for an all encompasing Muslim caliphate.

That is in fact exactly what the Qu'ran and the hadiths say, what Mohammed told his followers to achieve, and bin-Laden is merely another proponent of this doctrine. Wahabism, the Twelvers in Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Deobandis all come from the same place...an Islamic `reformation' back to `pure Islam'and return to this dream of Muslim rule and domination over the earth. That's the core of its appeal.

It's not mere disaffection, but true religious ferver that fuels this..which is why it's so dangerous.

3. Soccer Dad: A Big Hole in the Desert (and in the story) This week Soccer Dad covers the Israeli strike in Syria on what appears to have been a nuclear/chemical weapons site and the farcical way some of the dinosaur media covered it.

To those so-called experts who persist in thinking this was phonied up, I offer the evidence that only a major threat to Israel's security would have prompted the likes of Ehud Olmert and some of the minions surrounding him to act and actually defend Israel for a change.

4. The Glittering Eye : The Point Of Inflection Dave uses a Paul Krugman NYT column and ponders the numbers on economic growth and change and comes up with some interesting conclusion.

5. Bookworm Room: Cosmic Ironies Ms. Bookworm allows us a peak into some fascinating family history and looks at how G-d and the universe sometimes work in strange ways..to say the least!

6. Rhymes With Right:Krugman Spews Race-Baiting Bile It appears that New York Times `economist' Paul Krugman had some readers on the Council this week! Greg's post deals with Krugman's frenzied attempt to attach the `racist' label to the Republican Party.

7.Colossus of Rhodey:"Jena 6" Update I confess to not having followed this story much. Hube does a good job of examining the salient points.

8. Cheat Seeking Missiles: Gate's Iraq Agenda Short On Democracy
Laer parses SecDef Robert Gate's plans for Iraq and is concerned over the lack of any agenda for democracy or for any longterm US bases in the country.

Here's a hint as to why Gates is taking this stance, Laer. While he was out of government, Robert Gates was the recipiant of a number of lucrative `speaking fees' and `honarariums' by the Saudis and the UAE..and he still sings their tune, so to speak, as does James Baker and other foreign policy `realists'.

The last thing people like the Saudis want is a functioning Arab democracy next door to give people ideas.

9. Columbia Dhimmis Get Ahmedinejad Earful! Some Applaud, Some Laugh -- We All Should Just Cry...by Okie On The Lam This week, Okie writes about Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia.

He gloms on to the truth of the matter, something a number of other commentators have missed - that no matter what sort of `challenges' President Lee Bollinger came up with as an excuse for having him there, the questions and responses will be edited easily, given today's technology..and Ahmadinejad will be portrayed as a hero inthe Muslim world with its controlled press, answering Bollinger's questions corrctly and getting a round of applause from the students at one of America's most famous ( I will not say `prestigious') universities. I've already seen what some of the Iranian media has done with this.

Cozying up with Jew haters might almost be called a proud Columbia tradition. Please see an excellent post in the non-Council links, "Rafael Medoff: Columbia "Invites Hitler to Campus" -- As it Did in 1933" for further details.


10. Right Wing Nuthouse: The World Is Still Here Rick also covers Ahmadinejad's speech this week, and appears surprised that so many on the Left seemed to applaud what he had to say...with the exception of his single gaffe on homosexuals.

I'm not surprisd in the least. Ahmadinejad, like Osama has learned the talking points of the left quite well and uses them efectively, much the way Hitler manipulated the appeasers in the 1930's. For that matter, it's well to remember that the Left in America had few criticisms of Hitler..until he attacked their hero Stalin.


11.The Education Wonks:The Free Radical Approach to Education Reform EdWonk highlights some radical ideas for reforming education advanced by economist and former University of Georgia President Charles Knapp, chairman of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce.

His proposals include "ending high school at age 16, taking schools away from school districts and school boards and giving them to hired private contractors, most likely liability corporations owned and run by teachers. Fund schools from the state rather locally. Pay teachers $95,000 a year, but demand quality."

Kapp also expects today's members of the NEA to abjure their pensions in exchange for the higher salaries....and says that it will take 15 years at least for his reforms to take effect.

I have a much quicker and easier solution, Edwonk..two words...`school choice'.
Break the educrats monopoly on public education and let working families ( and all those federal dollars) vote with their feet and watch how quickly the public schools start putting out a quality product and firing the incompetents in their midst.

12. Big Lizards: "Surge A Failure, Democrats Tell General" Daffyd Ab Hugh writes about the practical necessities of allowing people from nations sponsoring terrorism to come to the US..provided they're vetted properly.

That's this week's lineup..enjoy