Now govern.

I hate to say it because, undoubtedly, someone will take it the wrong way, but I honestly think this is a great outcome for the future of Israel and the Palestinian People. This could be the move that will bring peace to the region. I don't say this because I believe Hamas is going to be a great political force for good, but rather because I know they will fail the Palestinian people. They have no experience governing. They don't know what it takes and they'll undoubtedly fail, just like their terrorist predecessor, Yassir Arafat, failed. Convincing poor, downtrodden young men who have no future before them (mainly because of Hamas' actions) to blow themselves up is nothing compared to actually having to govern.

The question is how will the Palestinian People react when Hamas fails to bring them a better life? Will they revert to their Arafat-inspired codependence of conspiracy theories galore or will they, for once, open their eyes and see that Hamas and every other terrorist organization, not to mention every Arab nation state, uses the Palestinians for their political purposes and that, perhaps, it's time for them to step up and stop themselves from being used? If the Palestinians take the latter option, the election of Hamas---and the turmoil it will unbdoubtedly bring for the Israelis---might actually be worth it in the long term if it convinces the Palestinians to stop giving credence to what these terrorists say and brings about an era where peace will actually stick.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:09 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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The husband, God Bless him, has many problems with the Kelo decision, one of which is that he believes there won't be much of a market for home mortgages if governments can just up and give your property to someone who will pay more taxes. Free market logic follows that while lenders will be leery of lending to individuals in a post-Kelo world, they'll still lend money to developers.

But perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to condemn the bankers...

CHARLOTTE — Regional bank BB&T will make no loans to developers who plan to build commercial projects on land taken from private citizens by the government through the power of eminent domain.

"The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided; in fact it's just plain wrong," John Allison, chairman and chief executive of the Winston-Salem-based bank, said Wednesday.

No other large U.S. bank has a similar policy, according to BB&T spokesman. The bank declined to estimate how much business they expect to lose as a result of the new policy. {...}

The ninth largest bank in the United States of America just said that their non-commercial customers were more important than property developers. That's customer service.

If I lived in that neck of the woods, you could be damned sure that I'd switch my accounts to BB&T.

{Via Martini Boy and Below the Beltway}

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Can someone please tell me why I should take all of these "Europe will go to hell in a handbasket in fifteen years because they're not reproducing at a rate that will support their welfare governments, etc." demographic projections seriously?

Perhaps I should rephrase that. I know why I should take it seriously. I don't need a lecture about battling Islamofascism in the Netherlands and the death of Theo Van Gogh and how his murderer was actually a Dutch-born muslim, and that's the best example we've got of Europe's problem, etc., thank you ever so much. I don't need that explained.

Here's what I would like explained: After a lifetime of having to listen to how we human beings were going to overpopulate the planet, using up all the natural resources, and pretty much leaving the Earth as one big cesspool of toxic slime because we couldn't stop ourselves from making babies, I now have to listen to the absolute reverse. Why on Earth am I supposed to believe these new population numbers that foretell the doom of a white, Christian Europe, when the worldwide overpopulation that was widely predicted and hyped to be our doom never happened?

You can understand why I'm skeptical, right? Who am I supposed to believe?

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The Jawa Report: Helping Jail Terrorist Wannabes Since 2004

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On this day twenty-five years ago, after four hundred and fourty-four days of captivity, the U.S. embassy employees who had been taken hostage by Iranian students who had stormed the embassy were released.

Today, Iran started moving its assets out of European banks to shield them from possible UN sanctions for ignoring the world's will about their nuclear ambitions.

Did I mention that one of the main demands of the Iranian hostage takers in 1979 was the release of Iran's assets held in the U.S., which had been frozen when the Shah was deposed?

{Insert Twilight Zone Theme Music Here}

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Scary.

{...}We don't mind offering you a long-term truce on fair conditions that we adhere to. We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie and cheat. So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war. There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America who have supported Bush's election campaign with billions of dollars — which lets us understand the insistence by Bush and his gang to carry on with war.

If you (Americans) are sincere in your desire for peace and security, we have answered you. And if Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, then it would be useful for you to read the book "Rogue State," which states in its introduction: "If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all."

Finally, I say that war will go either in our favor or yours. If it is the former, it means your loss and your shame forever, and it is headed in this course. If it is the latter, read history! We are people who do not stand for injustice and we will seek revenge all our lives. The nights and days will not pass without us taking vengeance like on Sept. 11, God permitting. Your minds will be troubled and your lives embittered. As for us, we have nothing to lose. A swimmer in the ocean does not fear the rain. You have occupied our lands, offended our honor and dignity and let out our blood and stolen our money and destroyed our houses and played with our security and we will give you the same treatment.

You have tried to prevent us from leading a dignified life, but you will not be able to prevent us from a dignified death. Failing to carry out jihad, which is called for in our religion, is a sin. The best death to us is under the shadows of swords. Don't let your strength and modern arms fool you. They win a few battles but lose the war. Patience and steadfastness are much better. We were patient in fighting the Soviet Union with simple weapons for 10 years and we bled their economy and now they are nothing.

In that there is a lesson for you.

I hate to be down on the Special Forces dudes---I really do---because they are working their asses off, but can we track down and kill this goatfucker already?

Posted by: Kathy at 11:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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"The message of eminent domain abuse is simple: "You aren't rich enough to deserve the land you own.""

Go read the whole thing.

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1 Those unbelievable bastards! Fuckers! Every last one of them! I'm all for capitalism, but this shit is corruption of the worst sort. It is nothing less than a signal of the decline of the United States of America and the principals upon which it was founded. Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Amendment V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. What these fuckers consider "just" is only determined by lawyers. Lawyers, by the way, like the bottom-feeders they are, who are inclined to use whatever definition best serves the host the parasites are currently feeding on. Do you think that so far these passages from the Bill of Rights may or may not be applicable? Just wait, there's more! Amendment VII In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.So any of this nonsense taking place in city council meetings, smoke-filled back rooms, or elsewhere is all shit and can be contested according to the law! in front of a jury of citizens. In this case, the peers of a case would by definition be other residents of the Cramer Hill neighborhood. The revolution draws closer...

Posted by: MRN aka "The Husband" at January 19, 2006 04:20 PM (JeBdM)

2 In the immortal words of Sergeant Hulka: Lighten up, Francis.

Posted by: Kathy at January 19, 2006 05:35 PM (JeBdM)

3 Hell no! If the erosion of our very liberties isn't enough to bother you, then consider the erosion of our entire economic system. I know you've heard me rant before about how a major cornerstone of the United States' economy is property rights. (Also one reason that the World Bank and IMF can't make any headway in developing nations - the oligarchs and kleptocrats won't allow people to own their land. Just consider, the several-hundred-billion dollars in home and property loans in this country (that finance everything from home improvements to transportation, to education, to vacations) might very suddenly be considered to be built upon a house of cards. Why? Because the value of the property that those loans are taken against has just become vastly more fluid. If some shcyster city council scumbags can suddenly and arbitrarily determine either A. the property you're sitting on has no value to "you" or B. you have no rights to that property because we want to 'improve' it, then what the hell has the bank loaned you money against? How long do you think it's going to take the banks to figure this out? The Kelo decision was the "shot nobody heard" of this new revolution. (ed: can't type m_o_r_t_g_a_g_e in the comments - apparently it's dangerous content. Strange, I can get it to post fucker just fine. Your comment could not be submitted due to questionable content: m_o_r_t_g_a_g_e)

Posted by: MRN aka "The Husband" at January 19, 2006 06:11 PM (JeBdM)

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At what point in time does a building lose the memories---bad memories, in particular---associated with it?

An article from this weekend's Financial Times looks at the controvery surrounding Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which will host the World Cup final this summer. It was one of the few Nazi buildings to survive the war---and it's been in use ever since. While it's recently received a bit of a rehab, apparently none of the new features disguise the fact Adolf Hitler had the place built to host an Olympic games where he was to prove to the world the superiority of the Aryan race.

{...}Beyond the curve of the cream-coloured new roof, the derelict Nazi structures are visible: Arno Breker-style statues venerating the Nazi physical ideal, the rotting terraces and gigantic clock tower of the old Maifeld where mass rallies were held.

{...}Many buildings were demolished straight after the war. Nothing remains of such symbolic structures as HitlerÂ’s bunker or chancellery, for example. Most of the old government buildings on Wilhelmstrasse were demolished and replaced with bland apartment blocks. The epicentre of evil, the SS quarter from which the Holocaust and other crimes were organised, was bulldozed.

The Olympic site is the largest and most perfectly preserved example of Nazi monumental architecture in the city - and Berlin is still trying to adapt, incorporate and move on from the structureÂ’s history.

The stadium survived the war almost unscathed, but by 1998 this old, grey behemoth was decrepit. Berlin had to choose whether to pull it down or restore it. They chose the latter. Two years later Germany beat England to stage the 2006 World Cup - and the Olympic Stadium was awarded six games, including the final. After a four-year refit costing Euro225m, the stadium reopened last year with concerts, fireworks and popular approval.

In the arena where Hitler received the acclaim of millions in the 1930s, fans of Berlin’s football team Hertha BSC now celebrate an easy win over a visiting team from Mainz, courtesy of two goals from their Brazilian star Marcelinho. The fans clap, wave their blue flags and chant: “sieg!... sieg!... sieg!” But this is a good-natured crowd - and the word “sieg” means “victory”. It’s their way of saying “we won the game”.

“What can you do?” shrugs Andreas Nachama, former leader of Berlin’s Jewish community. “It’s the German language, and you can’t change the language. You can’t erase the history either. Part of being in the new Germany is that we live in the grounds and buildings of the remnants of the Third Reich. Yes, Berlin was the centre of Nazi evil, but there is a new spirit here, a new state, a new generation has taken over.”{...}

To get an idea of what we're talking about:

The renovation by architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners is impressive but disconcerting. Inside the arena everything is new, more comfortable and softer-looking than before. ItÂ’s still unsatisfactory for watching football because the running track distances the crowd from the pitch. But the stands have been rebuilt with better seating. The VIP areas look like the lobbies of swanky hotels. The new giant screens, sound and floodlight systems are state-of-the-art. Even the toilets gleam.

From outside, however, apart from a slight change to the roofline, everything looks much as Hitler wanted it back in 1936 when it was the biggest, most proudly fascist piece of architecture in the world. The hard, clean, lines of the building are intact. So are the colonnades, the imposing symmetry and the distinctive open end with its “Marathon Tower” and Olympic flame urn. Spectators still approach the stadium across a great empty space, through two imposing towers between which hang the Olympic rings.{...}

While I don't think that buildings that leaned heavily toward Neo-Classicism necessarily can be equated with the descriptor "proudly fascist" I nonetheless take the author's point. (If this was true, think of what he would have to say about this stadium and its subsequent redesign. "Mistake by the Lake" indeed.) The stadium is still pretty much the same. It is an imposing piece of architecture, as all Nazi buildings were. But the stadium served a bit of a different purpose than, say, the Chancellery: it not only needed to intimidate and impress visitors to the Olympic Games, the stadium needed to seduce them as well; it needed to show people that beauty was possible in the Third Reich. For the raving lunatic that the man was, Hitler was also pretty smart in that he tried to offer the Full Meal Deal Society to the German people: one free of Jews, full of blonde haired, blue-eyed Aryans, with crisply cornered, broad shouldered stone buildings that appealed to the perenially tidy German sense of self.

But Hitler is long gone, as is the political party he founded and the war he started. It shouldn't mean anything to anyone that this building is still in use; that it was rehabbed because it was cheaper than building a new stadium; that it will be home to the final game in the World Cup of 2006---which will absolutely be the sporting event with the largest television audience ever. The choice of this stadium is simply incidental to the fact Berlin is the capitol of Germany. Mortar, stone and rebar have no memory, after all.

Yet, this stadium has a lot of memories attached to it. It has many, many ghosts. Millions of ghosts. Because Berlin's Olympic Stadium wasn't built just because they needed a track; it was built to showcase the glories of the Aryan race and the benefits of membership of National Socialism to the entire world. It was built for Nazi public relations purposes. This stadium was never neutral sporting territory; it was the first battlefield of the Second World War.

Which brings us back to the original question: At what point in time does a building lose the memories---bad memories, in particular---associated with it? When does usefulness trump bad memories?

I don't know the answer, and I surely don't expect anyone else to, either, but it's interesting to ponder.

Posted by: Kathy at 02:00 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 How about we think of it as the stadium where Jesse Owens proved Hitler was full of shite with his Aryan Superiority BS once and for all?

Posted by: caltechgirl at January 16, 2006 04:03 AM (uI/79)

2 I like to think of the following quote by John Toland: “There are no simple lessons in history, that it is human nature that repeats itself, not history.” A building is but a building, sure, we MUST remember the past least we repeat it, but as said, the language remains the same and CalTechGirl hit the “mark” on the head.

Posted by: Edd at January 16, 2006 07:27 AM (W4pRM)

3 CTG beat me to it. As for your question, you're right, I don't have an answer. But an intersting thing to ponder.

Posted by: Ith at January 16, 2006 12:54 PM (+T0G3)

4 "Which brings us back to the original question: At what point in time does a building lose the memories---bad memories, in particular---associated with it? When does usefulness trump bad memories?" CTG beat ME to it. I was honored to attend the very high school where Archie Williams was a math teacher in the 1970's. I am honored that I had the chance to shake hands with him. THAT is the everlasting memory that I associate with the Berlin Olympics, and his and Jesse Owens' ghosts are the ones that linger there, not those of the members of the "master race" whom they put in their place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Williams

Posted by: Mark at January 17, 2006 10:11 AM (IPp2K)

5 It's a building, fer krissake- it's glass and steel and pipes and whatnot. The Clintons lived in the White House for 8 years, and somehow I still think it's a lovely house. Like the US Capitol Building- it's peopled by snake oil salesmen, liars, and money-whores, yet it's still a beatiful building.

Posted by: barry at January 22, 2006 04:43 AM (kKjaJ)

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Mayor Bloomberg made a big boo-boo.

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