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al-Qaeda’s six point plan for defeating terrorism
This week the Economist has a special report on al-Qaeda and refers to an internet video in September 2007 of Abu Yahya al-Libi. He is a prominent al-Qaeda leader and mockingly (though you would have to say, rather conveniently) gave six handy tips to wage ideological warfare. His suggestions included:
1) highlight the views of jihadists who renounce violence;
2) publicise stories about jihadist atrocities against Muslims;
3) enlist Muslim religious leaders to denounce jihadists as heretics;
4) back Islamic movements that emphasise politics over jihad;
5) discredit and neutralise jihadist ideologues;
6) play up personal or doctrinal disputes among jihadists.
These handy hints actual seem reasonable. I’m not an analyst for the NSA but they do make a lot of sense. I think this is important to note as one of the significant things the CIA are actually doing to win TWOT is working on the plan to bomb Iran. The Democrat majority Congress actually endorsed a Presidential directive for $400 million for clandestine operations to destabilise Iran. None of the above points suggest this.
Tags: george w bush , Afghanistan , citizen journalism , democracy , culture wars , defence Comments (0)
The coming Australian property crunch
Over the past two years, we’ve seen property bubbles burst across the rich world: in Spain, in Ireland, in the UK and of course most damagingly of all, in the United States. All of these markets saw classic asset price bubbles, with rising prices fuelling massive and unsustainable property booms, followed by equally painful crashes.
Yet real estate prices in Australia just keep on rising in defiance of both gravity and international example. It couldn’t happen here, could it?
Oh yes, it could. Continue Reading »
Tags: housing , interest rates , economics Comments (4)
What a life you lead
Cross-posted on BPWWOO .
Ron Delezio has been officially overwhelmed.
As he says, “This is the best thing that’s ever happened apart from Sophie’s survival from her accidents - just unreal.”
Mind you, when the best thing that’s ever happened to you is your daughter not quite dying, perhaps the bar has been set slightly low.
The Pope meanwhile, as God’s vessel upon Earth, has said the Lord will take Sophie’s request to please stop trying to kill her “into consideration”, along with other submissions on the matter from bodies including Satan and the Association of Elderly Motorists (AEM).
Tags: Uncategorized Comments (4)
What happened to you China? You used to be cool
Cross-posted on BPWWOO
“Beijing CBD businesses are reporting increasingly bizarre restrictions on couriers. This includes a ban on transporting CD-ROMs through the city, and mobile phones or GPS devices can only be sent if their batteries are delivered separately. This is on top of postal restrictions on sending liquids and powders.”
That’s not that bizarre. If they were serious about bizarre restrictions on couriers, they would require them all to ride penny farthings and carry everything in their mouths.
“Beijing police have been visiting bar owners in the popular Sanlitun area and asking them to sign pledges agreeing to not serve black people or Mongolians and ban activities including dancing.”
That shouldn’t cause too much of a stir, really - traditionally, black people play very little part in the Olympic Games.
It’s a fairly bigoted article actually, in that the fears of a “no-fun” Olympics really only apply to those who don’t find repression of ethnic minorities fun.
And how many of us can honestly say that?
Tags: china Comments (0)
WYD: Media Finally Learns Good Things Come to Those Who Publish Happy Stories About Happy Shoppers
Simon Canning in the Media section of the Oz today has suggested the atheist mouthpieces, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald have softened their coverage of WYD. Apparently this is ‘in the wake of reader and viewer disapproval of the negative reporting’. I have to say I agree, who wants to read about old wounds anyway?
I’d prefer to read Caroline Overington. Overington is a great journalist but last year wasn’t so good for her. After the Kev07 election she disappeared but as of July 1 she’s back blogging and writing for the Oz. Her World Youth Day coverage has been wonderful. To the point that I actually feel like I’ve been participating in WYD as a pilgrim, except I’m on Xanax. Continue Reading »
Tags: online media , citizen journalism , media , religion , culture wars , youth Comments (0)
WYD: Tempted by Christ? He is sacri-licious
With 250,000 200,000 possibly 150,000 pilgrims, thousands of priests and at least hundreds of nuns in Sydney, what are the chances a miracle will take place during the six days of World Youth Day?
Under Morris Iemma, Sydney has dropped in the popularity stakes from World’s Best City to World Knows It’s Still Real Pretty But What a Chaotic Shambles City. I think we (Catholics and Unbelievers) could all benefit from Sydney being known as the City of Miracles.
Surely with such so much of Sydney’s hard earned money invested in WYD, and the fact that we’ve opened up our streets, transport system, homes and schools - we’ve all earned the right to a bit of God’s glory.
No one does mysticism quite like Catholicism. The Lutherans may have found a tyre marked Jesus in a garage, LDS have witnessed Christ ‘Their’ Saviour appearing in ice cream but only Catholics can arouse such miracles as Holy Mary (the mother of God) appearing by the beach on a fence post.
Mary MacKillop was truly great but she was born in Fitzroy and there wasn’t a lot of razzle dazzle. Sydney loves anything which is bright, shiney, makes noise or appears and then disappears just quick enough for you to be able to say, “I was there!’ So far the pilgrims have been fantastic ambassadors for their faith - though it’s only Day Two and the glowing chirpiness is a little creepy.
To really hit paydirt and fill the Churches post-WYD, George Pell will be praying for God’s power on display, violating at least a handful of the laws of nature. Good for the Church and good for Sydney, I think we deserve it.
Tags: morris iemma , religion , culture wars , youth , Uncategorized Comments (1)
WYD: Catholics Gone Wild!
I know that’s not the current Pope. His Holiness is resting at Opus Dei’s Rancho Relaxo, happily texting pilgrims with his new cat and piano. (Can WYD get any goofier?) The Pontiff’s duties won’t start until Thursday through Sunday for World Youth Day.
In the meantime, as pilgrims continue to arrive for Day 1 of WYD, let’s hope any unmarried pilgrims choose to ignore Cardinal George Pell. Yesterday Pell told a media conference we should be breeding more. Apparently the future of Australian society (and other Western societies - he was unable to just say ‘other white societies like ours’) requires more babies to remain ’stable’. Hopefully this won’t cross the minds of too many pilgrims as they sleep together under the stars (thousands of them) at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday night!
It’s always reassuring to be told by a single, 67 year old male who wears frocks and a red hat such things as, ‘breed more’ or ‘climate change is a symptom of pagan emptiness’.
Hopefully the only thing most visiting pilgrims will have to say about George Pell is, ‘Who was that guy with the miserable sounding voice?’
In other WYD news, Morris Iemma has blamed God for the appalling state of mental health, disability services and housing in NSW.
Tags: environment , health , online media , morris iemma , climate change , religion , youth , culture wars , labor , Uncategorized Comments (2)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The US financial crisis rolls on and on, with the latest victims being giant mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
These corporations (their weird-sounding names come from the nicknames stock brokers gave them years ago) were created by Roosevelt in the 1930’s (at least Fannie Mae was; Freddie was only created in 1970) to deal with a previous financial mess - the failure of tens of thousands of banks in the Great Depression. For decades, they served out a dull, worthy existence as the guarantors of home mortgages - as Katie Benner at Forbes.com explains:
Their mandate is to maintain a market for mortgages - buying loans from banks, repackaging them as bonds, and selling those securities to investors with a guarantee that they will be paid.
Privatised in the 90’s, the banks became subject to market forces - including greed. But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not sub-prime lenders: in fact, they were required by law to only guarantee sound mortgages. Unfortunately, as Paul Krugman writes in today’s New Yortk Times, the scale of the American property crash has now caused many “prime” mortgages to fail too. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were left holding the bag.
The scale of the disaster in American property markets is breath-taking. The two corporations together guarantee something like $5 trillion in mortgage debt. They are simply too big to be allowed to fail, something US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson acknolwedged on Sunday with an announcement that the US taxpayer would bail them out.
It’s another instance of the US economy’s rampant tendency to privatise profits, but socialise losses. As Christopher Whalen tells Forbes, “Nobody every believed that Fannie and Freddie were truly private and they never should have been.”
Tags: economics Comments (1)
Dream It’s Over
Sadly, I can offer you yet no lachrymose crowning. Oh, those Venezuelan girls are so pretty when they cry. Here, however, are Monsieur Trump’s finest reprazenting in Nha Trang City in da swimsuits.
To those shattered many holding hope aloft for our dear little Australian psychology student: my sympathies. It’s over. The little lamb who suggested that ladies use less hair spray in a selfless quest for environmental regeneration has lost.
Tags: Uncategorized Comments (0)
Chiffon and Chavez
Well. What does Venezuela have that we don’t? Apart from brio, a jaunty middle finger stuck up at the US and inexpensive fuel?
They’ve got the Miss Universe tiara. Again.
I wonder if daring globalization critic Hugo Chávez will ask the 22 year old beauty from Caracas to shred her sash in homage to the Fifth Republic. Prolly not. How many crowns can a single oil rich country claim.
As Channel Seven will cruelly make me abide until 10 30 PM AEST to watch the event, I cannot yet offer my assessment of Jerry and Mel’s (no doubt stellar) performance. If you see a generous youtuber offer the televised tears of the graceful young commie, let me know.
Tags: Uncategorized Comments (4)
