On the March

Two forces are thriving at the moment. Jihad, from the Taliban surge in Pakistan to resurgent bombings in Iraq, across other parts of the globe where Islamism rears its violent head, and socialism which dominates Europe and is through Obamism, capturing America. Citi and Bank of America may need more capital despite an already $45 billion bailout. Chrysler is, as was predicted here, going to be taken over largely by the United Auto Workers, and GM may well be on the way to nationalization. The Obama administration imposes the socialism and hardly even pays lip service to blocking aggressive expansionist Islam. With the Islamic bomb of Pakistan potentially falling into the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda and with Iranian fanatics rushing to produce their own atomic weapon, the world is in as perilous state as in any time since World War II. And with Obama overturning free market capitalism and supplanting it with an admixture of Marx and neo-fascism and using each crisis for tactical advantage, we have no prospect of recovery.

Jihad Strikes Again

Two days ago, Lahore, Pakistan was rocked by violence as the Sri Lankan national cricket team came under attack by fourteen(14) gunmen. By miracle, none of the young athletes were slain but six of their Pakistani protectors were, along with an innocent bystander. The culprits made a clean escape after the sustained attack. This outrage bears the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda assault. Never forget the Bali bombings coincided with a large, well-publicized international rugby competition, and in that massacre, some of the athletes sadly were amongst the many innocents murdered. That these terrorists would gladly assail sportsmen from a strife torn country like the former Ceylon is ghastly as cricket is one of the few things that unite Sri Lankans whether they are Sinhalese, Tamil, or even members of the Muslim minority. Once again-those committing violence in the name of Allah managed to murder their own coreligionists. Like so much of world Jihad, the objectives of this attack seemed more nihilistic than devout.

The Survival Instinct

The BBC showed a massive crowd in Mumbai chanting "death to Pakistan". With these rival nations as the sub-continent's nuclear powers, many observers are alarmed by these bellicose Indian demonstrations. Other observers were gladdened that somewhere the people were not so weakened as to abandon the primordial calling to endure, to cling to the killer instinct that has allowed man to survive against the ravages of nature and of other predators even against the predation of one's fellow man. When the hunter becomes the hunted, he must have the will to use all the tools in his arsenal, all the arrows in the quiver despite what UN General Assembly resolutions might say or war crimes proceedings in the Hague. No comparable fervor to the righteous rage of Mumbai existed in the US after 9/11. I saw no gathered masses shouting "death to Afghanistan", "death to the terrorists", or even "death to the Taliban" after the bloodletting. We are so restrained in the USA that we take al Qaeda murderers to a tropical island and fete them with new prayer rugs and Korans and ethnically appropriate food while they cut their captives' heads off with rusty knives. Why, we are so civilized that we are working out trial procedures for Osama bin Laden for the eventuality of his capture. It seems resistance to our own annihilation has been bred out of many Americans. Thankfully, there are still fighters in the ranks who have what it takes. Certainly not all of the warriors are in uniform. Would anyone be surprised to see an automotive worker someday flatten Brian Ross whose catty report about private jets broke the momentum for the Big Three bailout? Most UAW members still have the backbone to defend their livelihoods and the continued prosperity of their families. A nation and her people need hard men to keep them safe -even if the hard man is an inarticulate bumbler climbing on a fire engine or wearing a skirt as in the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher.