BigT’s Roundup - Monday Ed. (11-5-07)

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BigT’s Roundup - Monday Ed. (11-5-07)

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There is a reason for this picture.
If America is the hyperpower then Gisele Bundchen is the hypermodel of
the world and when she demands a certain perk in her contract then
everyone bounces to attention. The hypermodel wants to get into the hot
currencies now and requires clients to pay for her vivacious services
in something other than American dollars. But this is why this story is
so important in my mind.

The most important part of this story for me was finding out that
she has a twin! Not only that but as I was looking this important
information up online I found out there are not only two of ‘em but
many of ‘em!

To be exact there are six sisters. Oh, what, you want to know what
the falling dollar is going to mean for the future of American
supremacy? Let me put it this way: we use to be really far up on
everyone and now they’re beating us. Things can switch back in a flash
because for every percentage point our currency falls that makes our
exports that much more enticing for foreigners. Eventually we’ll right
the trade imbalance and our real estate prices are going to go back up.
Everything is not going to be fine for the next year or two and things
can always blow up but the ship will be righted. It better be with all
the good scenery we’ve got to look at.

A more serious threat to America, however, is Islamoterrorism. And
one of the things that has bothered me about the narrative surrounding
Islamoterrorism is that somehow we are responsible for them being the
way they are. Christopher Hitchens, he is one of the most influential
“conservatives” in the world (how in the heck can one consider him a
conservative?), has a piece out today called Isolationism Isn’t the Answer: Jihadists aren’t in Afghanistan—or Iraq—because we are there that deals with this vexation of mine.

The latest news is of a very nasty Islamic insurgency in
southern Thailand, butchering Buddhist villages (remember the Taliban
assault on the Buddha statues at Bamiyan?) and making demands for the
imposition of sharia law. Perhaps someone will identify for me which
Thai and Buddhist—or Western imperialist—crimes have led to this sudden
development. Or perhaps it will be admitted, however grudgingly and
belatedly, that there is something sui generis about Islamist
fanaticism: something that is looking for a confrontation with every
non-Muslim society in the world and is determined to pursue it with the
utmost violence and cruelty. It is also seeking a confrontation with
some Muslim states and societies.

I make the latter point with deliberation. Afghanistan has a
constitution that reserves special privileges for Islam. Most Afghan
women still cover at least their heads. Even those who fought long and
hard against the Taliban and al-Qaida—the Northern Alliance forces, for
instance, or the Shiite Hazara—are intensely Muslim by any non-Muslim
standard. But that does not suffice to protect them from the attentions
of suicide-murderers and throat-cutters, recruited from as far away as
Chechnya or even the Muslim areas of China. So, can we hear a bit less
about how the jihadists are responding only to those who “target”
Muslims or who are “Islamophobic”?

Why was al Qaeda in Afghanistan in the first place? Why was the
Taliban killing other Muslims there? Muslim terrorists are blowing up
things in Saudi Arabia, killing Iraqis, torturing Afghanis, and causing
havoc in every Islamic country. And even if we are attracting jihadists
to Iraq that hardly means they wouldn’t have been jihadists otherwise.
They will always be able to find someone who doesn’t live according to
their strict rules and will want to let some blood. At least we can
fight back.

One such place where we aren’t (but should have been allowed access)
is Pakistan. Things are looking bleak for the country now that Pervez
Musharraf has had to call martial law for the country. The Wall Street Journal has a piece out today that deals with how America should deal with this situation. According to the Journal

The main U.S. interest here is a stable Pakistan that
can help defeat the jihadists. That interest won’t be served by
precipitously moving to sever ties with Mr. Musharraf, or with the
Pakistan military the way the U.S. did in the 1990s. That would only
reduce whatever leverage the U.S. continues to have with Islamabad, as
well as reduce the prospects for cooperation in pursuing al Qaeda safe
havens.

The Bush Administration will have to speak clearly to Pakistanis
that its support for its government is not limited to Mr. Musharraf,
and to loudly and publicly urge the General to honor his pledge to
relinquish his military commission and hold elections as soon as
possible. After this weekend, it is clearer than ever that U.S. policy
has to prepare for the post-Musharraf era.

I seriously doubt that Musharraf is going anywhere anytime soon. He
is the power behind Pakistan and the only way he is leaving now is if
he gets forced out by the United States or by the terrorists with an
IED with his name on it. Other than that he will be at the helm for
another few years at least.

Of course all of this worrying about the dollar falling and
terrorists taking over the world could very well be eclipsed by the
next ice age. Oh, wait, I’m sorry, the current environmental doomsday
prognostication revolves around the world burning up like a march
mallow that was held too close to the campfire for too long. But 112 years ago they were worried about the looming ice age
that would kill “billions.” And then a quarter century later they were
hot on global warming. That lasted until the 1950s and was followed by
a cold front that started in the middle of the 70s.

It’s almost like they’re reporting on the swings of a pendulum:
“Bill, the pendulum is going to the right and doesn’t look like it’s
going to stop! Wait, now it’s going to the left and doesn’t look like
it’s going to stop! Oh my God, I don’t know what we’re going to do!
There’s no way we can time our piano lessons now!” But this is some
serious stuff because countries are talking about spending and actually
spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the environment and many
more on regulations aimed at curbing pollution. Wouldn’t it be a kick
in the ass if another decade and a half from now we’re arguing over
what to do to prevent the coming ice age.

I remember years ago when people said those who thought anti-smoking
laws would eventually lead to an outright ban were nuts. Well it seems
like the nutsos weren’t so off. There is a movement afoot to outlaw smoking in apartments and condos.

This year, two California cities passed laws restricting
smoking inside multiunit residential buildings. In the last 14 months,
two large residential real estate companies with apartment complexes in
several states banned smoking inside units.

Thousands of smaller apartment complexes across the country have
taken similar steps, said Jim Bergman, founder of the Smoke-Free
Environments Law Project, which is based in Michigan.

And about 60 public housing authorities across the country have
smoke-free policies, compared with less than 10 three years ago, Mr.
Bergman said.

Health advocacy groups call housing one of the smoke-free movement’s final frontiers.

You have to understand that you are just too stupid to lead your own
life and if someone isn’t living their life up to your standards and
you bitch a big enough fit you will eventually get vengeance. Maybe
it’s time to start a movement aimed at eliminating whiny nanny-staters.

Maybe there is some hope because the nanny-staters’ biggest supporters, liberal newspapers, are dying off.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations released circulation
numbers for more than 700 daily newspapers this morning for the
six-month period ending September 2007. Of the top 25 papers in daily
circulation, only four showed gains.

According to an analysis of ABC figures, for 538 daily U.S.
newspapers, circulation declined 2.5% to 40,689,617. For 609 papers
that filed on Sunday, overall circulation dropped 3.5% to 46,771,486.

Here’s a link to the chart
that details this tale of woe for one of the mainstream media’s flanks.
Personally I don’t see any reason to keep my subscription to the Wall
Street Journal (OK, not a liberal paper but a paper nonetheless and the
one with the second biggest weekly subscription base, USA Today cheats
though). There is just no reason to keep it because I can get all of
that information the day before online. It just doesn’t make sense
reading through a bunch of stories I don’t care about to get to that
nugget of information that is valuable to me.

First it was models who were too skinny.

Now the weight police are after Santa’s who are too “fat.”

This is all in an effort to set a good example for impressionable
youths who will undoubtedly see Santa and think they should go all out
and get a big beer gut. It is funny that these freaks aren’t worried
about the kids kidnapping a bunch of midgets and making them into elves
because that’s what I would do if I wanted to be like Santa. Plus, if
the kids do get too fat that means they’re going to die and help
prevent overpopulation.

BigT’s Linkapalooza:

Olmert against right wing zealots in Israel.

The real Tony Soprano was arrested in Italy.

Crying about health care.

Currency down, Buchanan down.

If we torture then the terrorists might torture too! Oh, wait….

Colbert’s presidential campaign is DOA.

BigT