ARE ISLAMISTS ALSO POSTMODERNISTS? Dr. Sanity quotes Stephen Hicks in railing against The Left's Theory of Relativity (hat tip: Larwyn):

The truth is that the postmodern leftists don't need to believe anything that they say. In fact, they can easily ignore evidence that contradicts their arguments; never acknowledge that their arguments (or more precisely, their beliefs) have been debunked and; and ultimately they can simply redefine words or resort to word games (the various meanings of "is" for example); or move the goalposts (those aren't the WMD's we were looking for) when convenient.

The word games and much of the use of anger and rage that are characteristic of much of their style can be a matter--not of using words to state things that they think are true--but rather of using words as weapons against and enemy that they still hope to destroy.

I don't know, but think both he and Hicks give the left and the postmodernists way too much credit. When I read that quote from Hicks, he could easily be describing the Muslim leaders and imams I hear about each day.

Technorati Tag: Postmodernism and Islam.

AFTER THE LIBBY VERDICT: James Taranto lists some of the facts that remain clear:

• On his trip to Niger, Wilson found no evidence that contradicted the famous "16 words" in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address, contrary to his New York Times op-ed claim.
  
  
• Plame, his wife, who worked for the CIA, did recommend him for the Niger junket, contrary to Wilson's denials.
  
  
• Plame was not a covert agent under the definition of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, contrary to Wilson's insinuations, which many of his backers, including in the press, presented as fact.
  
  
• No one from the White House "leaked" Plame's identity as a CIA functionary to Robert Novak, who received the information from Richard Armitage at the State Department.

When Fitzgerald began the case, in 2003, no one had committed any crime in connection with the kerfuffle, and that was fairly easy to ascertain, given that Plame was not a covert agent and Armitage had already owned up to the so-called leak.

How many of the facts will make it into the movie?

Technorati Tag: Scooter Libby and Joseph+Wilson and Valerie Plame .

IT'S NOT TOO LATE! Don't let this happen to you.

For help, see here.

Technorati Tag: Passover and Pesach and Passover Cleaning and Pesach Cleaning.

A CHICKEN IN EVERY POT; 2 KATYUSHAS IN EVERY GARAGE: On the one hand, Debka decries how Hamas is using all the money it receives in preparations for war instead of feeding hungry Palestinians. But based on the Debka article, maybe Hamas is just taking a page out of the Tennessee Valley Authority of Depression Era US:

Hundreds of laborers employed by Hamas have hauled 30,000 blocks and chunks of concrete from the rubble of Ganei Tal for lining the walls of their bunkers. The Hamas fortress has installed the water pipe system of Netzarim and Netzer Sereni.

This seems oddly appropriate: Brother Can You Spare A Dime:

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Technorati Tag: Hamas and Palestinians.

IRONY: Whatever else the Mecca Mega-Deal brokered by Saudi Arabia between Fatah and Hamas might accomplish for Palestinian Arabs, it may just have just cost the PA $86 million, now that Congress wants to hold back the money for training PA terrorists militants guerrillas forces:

They argue that the plan may violate the law forbidding the US government to use tax revenues to finance outlawed terrorist organizations. The list of illegal terror groups includes Hamas, with which Abbas's Fatah party has agreed in principle to form a coalition government.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar can always get a second suitcase.

Technorati Tag: Hamas and Fatah and US.

JERUSALEM, BRUNEI: At work I came across mention of the country of Brunei. The full name is Brunei Darussalam. Somewhere I recalled that D and J are phonetically similar and I was curious. According to the person who answered at the Brunei Embassy, Darussalem means "Dwelling of Peace"

One of explanations of the meaning of Jerusalem is Ir Shalem, which would be "City (or dwelling) of Peace". Also, Dar in Hebrew also means dwelling.

All well and good, but I'm still not clear on what Darussalam means in general to Moslems--if it is supposed to refer to Jerusalem or have some other meaning.

What does Jerusalem mean to Moslems, anyway?

Daniel Pipes writes (in "The Muslim Claim to Jerusalem"):

Jerusalem appears in the Jewish Bible 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem, sometimes the Land of Israel) 154 times, or 823 times in all. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154 times and Zion 7 times. In contrast, the columnist Moshe Kohn notes, Jerusalem and Zion appear as frequently in the Qur'an "as they do in the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita, the Taoist Tao-Te Ching, the Buddhist Dhamapada and the Zoroastrian Zend Avesta"—which is to say, not once.

Muslim interest in Jerusalem seems to ebb and flow--depending on whether anyone else is interested in it. At one point, a grandson of Saladin gave Jerusalem away:

...the Muslim ruler of Egypt and Palestine, al-Kamil (another of Saladin's grandsons and the brother of al-Mu‘azzam), offered to trade Jerusalem to the Europeans if only the latter would leave Egypt, but he had no takers. Ten years later, in 1229, just such a deal was reached when al-Kamil did cede Jerusalem to Emperor Friedrich II; in return, the German leader promised military aid to al-Kamil against al-Mu‘azzam, now a rival king. Al-Kamil insisted that the Temple Mount remain in Muslim hands and "all the practices of Islam"³⁹ continued to be exercised there, a condition Friedrich complied with. Referring to his deal with Frederick, al-Kamil wrote in a remarkably revealing description of Jerusalem, "I conceded to the Franks only ruined churches and houses."⁴⁰ In other words, the city that had been heroically regained by Saladin in 1187 was voluntarily traded away by his grandson just forty-two years later.

A 42 year attention span as compared to 2000 years.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Jerusalem and Darussalam.

GORE SHE'NAGACH: So what is it with Gore and Kristallnacht? Was the phrase "ecological holocaust" too over-the-top? Too overused?

I suppose "ecological Tiananmen Square" was too wordy.
"Ecological Dresden" too obscure.
Personally, I like "ecological churban".

What is it about Jewish suffering that provides such fodder for politicians?

In the end, Gore got his Oscar.
Just like Carter got his Nobel.

Is there a difference?
Could Ellen Degeneres host the next Nobel ceremony?

Technorati Tag: Al Gore and Global Warming.

BOKER TOV INDEED: Boker Tov, Boulder finds a site very eager to point out to her that Thomas Jefferson not only read the Quran, but learned Arabic. Maybe that was to get a better idea of the Muslims that were attacking and kidnapping Americans at the time? Meanwhile, Isragood links to an article that suggests Jefferson may have had Jewish DNA.

Technorati Tag: Thomas Jefferson.

BAGEL BLOGGER EXCLUSIVE ON PERETZ: Bagel Blogger has the latest revelation on the Peretz binocular incident--uncovering some fauxtography that would make Reuters blush.

Technorati Tag: Amir Peretz.

CAIR PACKAGE: Little Green Footballs has a scan of the letter CAIR is sending along with a copy of Carter's latest book. I suppose it was more PC than sending a copy of the Protocols. Between the books CAIR is sending and the ones Hamas is burning...

Technorati Tag: CAIR and Jimmy Carter.