In remembrance of a great artist



Luciano Pavarotti, 1935-2007: "Luciano Pavarotti, whose glorious, unforced tenor voice and gusto as a performer helped redefine tenor stardom at a level scarcely seen since Enrico Caruso, died today at his home in Modena, Italy, after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, his manager said. He was 71. ... After musical studies in Modena, Pavarotti made his operatic debut in 1961, in a production of 'La Boheme' at Reggio nell'Emilia in Northern Italy. Engagements in Amsterdam and London quickly followed, and he made his U.S. debut in 1965 with the Greater Miami Opera, stepping in as a last-minute substitute for an ailing tenor in Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' on the recommendation of soprano Joan Sutherland. His career took off soon thereafter, as companies throughout the United States and Europe clamored for his services. He recorded voluminously as well, compiling a discography that according to his official Web site extended to 110 discs. ... Pavarotti is survived by his wife, the former Nicoletta Mantovani, four daughters and a granddaughter."

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ELSEWHERE

Questions for the Left: "Seriously, for those of you in the appeasement camp, how can "we" negotiate with minds like this, that HONESTLY believe 9/11 was a government-orchestrated, Jewish-centric plot? How is it possible to reason with a portion of people who believe the vitriol that emanates from their imams, or a joke of a media outlet (Al Jazeera)? For those of you on the Left that castigate and ridicule all things Christian, how do you side with a group of people more religious and fanatical in their fervor? Why do you treat this religion with kid gloves, when this group of people loathe you for your godless ways, your tolerance of homosexuality, women's rights, pornography, etc.?"

Zimbabwe bread production stopping: "The biggest bread producer in Zimbabwe says the nationwide shortage of wheat will force it to cease production completely in two days time. The company has already laid off hundreds of staff and for months now, Zimbabwe's shops have been running out of most commodities. They are now on the verge of running out of bread. The operations director for the country's biggest baker, Lobels, told the Zimbabwe Herald they had used all 4,000 tonnes of flour that they had held as a strategic reserve and that they had finish that entirely in the next two days. Earlier the Government admitted that it did not have enough currency to pay for a consignment of 36,000 tonnes of wheat sitting in a warehouse in Mozambique."

Embedded Democrat corruption in crumbling cities: "If you want to know what Democrat corruption on the local and state level looks like watch the HBO series The Wire. It is set in Baltimore, but it could easily be in New Orleans or Newark are any other crumbling city run by Democrats. Party affiliations are never mentioned, but in these areas there are no Republicans."

Predatory Democrat politicians in New Orleans: "Washington described how the city instituted a stunning policy to allow the legal demolition of homes. Whereas once homeowners would have at least 120 days and several layers of appeals to prevent their homes from being demolished, Nagin instituted an "Imminent Health Threat Demolition" ordinance. He now gives residents only 30 days to stop demolition. To the tens of thousands of New Orleanians scattered across the country, the city's scant notice-a sticker attached to the property plus mentions on a city website and in The Times-Picayune newspaper-is clearly insufficient. According to The Times-Picayune, in addition to homes being destroyed, liens are placed on properties for the cost of the demolition, setting the stage for the displaced owners to lose their property to the city."

Left turns on Ted: "Columnist Froma Harrop of the Providence Journal reported the left has turned on Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy because he is a hypocrite. Oh, it is not his hypocrisy of opposing the military while earmarking the heck out of the Pentagon budget. Oh, it is not the hypocrisy of latching on to women's rights while defending the serial sexual harasser-in-chief. Oh, it is not the hypocrisy of decrying tax cuts for the rich while preserving for his family a king's ransom that is being passed along to its fifth generation. No, the hypocrisy that has the left all upset is his opposition to putting up windmills along Nantucket Sound. Harrop quoted Ted as saying: "But don't you realize - that's where I sail!"

Antisemitism rampant in Britain: "More worrisome was what we described as anti-Jewish discourse, a mood and tone whenever Jews are discussed, whether in the media, at universities, among the liberal media elite or at dinner parties of modish London. To express any support for Israel or any feeling for the right of a Jewish state to exist produces denunciation, even contempt."

Obviously, sports do not build character: "If you are one of those people who believe the old adage 'sports builds character,' you have some explaining to do. Why are so many professional athletes, who have spent their entire lives in organized sports, masters at cheating, serial adultery, drunkenness, compulsive gambling, drug abuse, and thuggish fighting (to name just a few of the vices)? The truth is that sports no more builds character than attending Clemson University football games qualifies you to replace Tommy Bowden as head coach."

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for readers in China or for everyone when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here or here or here

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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