SADDAM HUSSEIN AS A PAGAN GOD-KING

Shishir Yerramilli wrote to me recently noting the fact that Saddam's Ba'ath Socialist party was founded by Michel Aflaq -- who formed his ideas in the coffeehouses of Europe in the 1920s. Shishir also notes that the Fascism/socialism that Aflaq was fascinated by would have made him aware of the veneration that Mussolini at the time gave to pre-Christian religions -- which modern-day Leftists also at times claim to respect, of course. Shishir then points out:

Few people are aware that Saddam's Arab pride is a sham! He views himself as a second Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed in a bizarre ceremony in 1988 (after the end of the Iran war) at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (renovated) ... or the Ishtar gate .. I'm not sure .. he anointed himself as the second Nebuchadnezzar. Like Mussolini he has chosen a pre-Christian, pre-Islamic, quasi religious figure to model himself on! Though Saddam would risk destabilizing his regime if he actually chose to say that Ishtar or Shamash were his dieties.

People like us are in a peculiar position: We abhor Islam and welcome alternate dieties to it but then we also dislike Saddam Hussein and we also realize that Nebuchadnezzar was not exactly a friend of the Jews!

I believe that the man is twisted to enough to consider himself a manifestation of the divine. My father used to work and live in Iraq and I have visited the country for a couple of summers. His portraits are ubiquitous. There is a very bizarre museum called "Old Soldiers Monument" which would terrify any freedom loving person. For better or worse ultimately Saddam cannot be considered a Muslim.

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KOREA AND JAPAN

I posted another email from Shishir recently about anti-Americanism -- which said in passing that Korea had been subservient to Japan for 800 years. The brilliant Marc Miyake (who seems to be able to read almost every major Asian language there is) has picked up that error in an email to me which briefly outlines the historical relationships between Japan, Korea and China --- including mention of the amazing fact that the Koreans were using ironclad warships hundreds of years before they were first introduced in the West during the American Civil War. I have posted the email here.

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"CARING" SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

"Stop panicking, calm down."

Comment made by the woman who answered a Scottish couple's call for help on the emergency telephone number when they called because their baby stopped breathing and had turned blue, while being placed on hold, ultimately for 10 minutes.

Help finally came after the father ran into the street shouting for help and a neighbor, who happened to be a medical doctor, came over. The neighbor was able to keep the girl breathing until the ambulance arrived 40 minutes later.

Source. Summary by Jerry Lerman

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ALL THAT LOVELY "GOODNESS"

There is a good article by Dennis Prager here (go to the bottom and click his article of December 31st) about the Leftist gospel that human nature is "good". Excerpt:

If you believe people are basically good, you, of course, believe that you are good -- and therefore those who disagree with you must be bad, not merely wrong. You also believe that the more power that you and those you agree with have, the better the society will be. That is why such people are so committed to powerful government.

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THE NEUROSCIENCE OF HUMAN NATURE

Leftists have a big problem with human nature. They either deny that it exists at all or say that it is "good". The truth is of course far more complex than that. There is an article here by Joseph LeDoux (a neuroscientist) that gives you a good overview of the current state of research. Leftists (and many others) will hate his conclusion: �it's practically a truism to say that the self is synaptic� -- but the article is in fact a very balanced one that points out that both genetics and experience are ways of altering brain wiring.

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ELSEWHERE

Paddy McGuinness has written an excellent article that points out that the recent controversy about how the blacks were treated in Australia's early days is not over whether the blacks suffered or not. It is about whether or not our Left-leaning university historians are capable of sticking to the truth. Clearly they are in fact a bunch of liars. Read the evidence if you doubt it.

The Infidel has an excellent transcript of a White-house press conference in which a Leftist journalist attacked American Iraq policy on the grounds that it was up to the Iraqui people to kick out Saddam! As if they had a choice! What it really shows about the Leftist mentality is that Leftists care about nobody but themselves.

Heretical ideas has posts defending both lawyers and maggots! No connection, of course.

Chris Brand is pleased that the movement for voluntary sterilization of drug addicted mothers seems to be gathering pace.

The Wicked one has posts about lifesaving politicians, powerless media and an arrested Mufti.

The Yobbo notes that gun crime in Australia has gone up again despite our Federal government's various anti-gun pantomines.

Michael Darby has another post from libertarian farmer Viv Forbes -- about how he sees only a brownhouse effect, not a greenhouse effect.

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