Breaking News

This just in....Former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, is still dead.....Film at 11...Details as they unfold....

Weekend Magazine

"Modern Retro" as a theme for car and motorcycle customizers and enthusiasts has been going strong for over a decade now. The concept combines nostalgic aesthetics harkening back to the cool, clean, defining lines of the 1950's and 60's with today's modern suspension and chassis design and computer controlled engines and transmissions, and manufacturers have gotten into the game as well - witness the latest incarnation of the Ford Mustang and the Chrysler 300, just to name two. Well, Holden, GM's subsidiary manufacturer in Australia, has gotten into the game with the EFIJY, shown above.

...the acclaimed concept car will be shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month – the first time it has been seen outside Australia. EFIJY is a contemporary reincarnation of an iconic Australian-made 1953 Holden FJ sedan, restyled as a low-slung hot rod with a supercharged six-litre V8 engine. The car has been featured in magazines, websites and television programs around the world. Its most critical acclaim came from the United States when it was named Hot Rod of the Year by the influential Hot Rod magazine.

(Emphasis mine)
Here's a little more background:

The FJ Holden is an Australian icon – Australian designed and built, the Australian public identified with the car and it remains as an instantly recognisable and much loved symbol of Australia during its most prosperous period. As the runaway best seller of the fifities, a goodly proportion of Australia’s population either owned one or was conceived in one. Now the car has been reprised by Holden in a wild 21st Century hot rod concept unveiled today at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. Known as the EFIJY (an effigy is a stylistic representation of someone or something famous) is a radical pillarless custom coupe boasting a supercharged six-litre V8 engine, a Chevrolet Corvette underbody and state-of-the-art automotive technology throughout.

That 6.0 liter V8, known as the LS2, is standard in the Corvette and in the Holden Commodore SS and various other cars in the limited edition, high performance Holden line, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV.) The normally aspirated LS2 delivers 400 horsepower and 400 lbs./ft. of torque in completely stock trim, and my experience in building quite a few 5.7 liter LS1's prior to leaving the States tells me that this supercharged LS2 should be making well over 500 horespower and near 600 lbs./ft. of torque with only low levels of boost, maintaining the driveability and reliability that the GenIII small block is reknowned for.

More photos shown here and here.
Hat tip: Vilmar
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MEDICAL NEWS - FOR THE GUYS

So, in the interest of men's health...

"Sure beats walking!"
Hat tip: Raybo

Message to Conservatives: No More Mr. Nice Guy

Colorado Congressman, Tom Tancredo(R), has been, unfortunately, one of the only truly outspoken public officials at the Federal level on the illegal immigration crisis - there should be a helluva lot more like him, including President Bush ("Where's Waldo?") who is conveniently out-to-lunch and speaks out of both sides of his mouth on this issue. Anyway, Tancredo was speaking at Michigan State University as a guest of the MSU College Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom when he was verbally attacked; the engagement was disrupted with fire alarms being set-off; and several Tancredo supporters were physically assaulted - all by the open-borders crowd, in typical, ever-tolerant, Leftist, militant fashion.

Another of my favorite "must-reads" on a near-daily basis is Michelle Malkin, who covered this incident quite well. Michelle links to Slapstick Politics who provides a link to video of the incident (be patient as it may take a while to load) and more coverage. She also links to stories of countless other incidents of conservative speakers being shouted down or otherwise assaulted - the infamous pie-throwing incident at Ann Coulter while speaking at Arizona State a few years back comes to mind. This shit just chaps my ass, and I'm tired of it.

All the Lefties can do is shout people down; on this issue they use the trendy "race card" as an attempted "argument ender" because that is all they can use. They can't use logic and reason - and let me put that in a time frame: EVER!!! - or their favorite concept, "rule of law," because that won't hold water on this one. Clearly, the illegal immigration problem could easily be eradicated and justified by the "rule of law" for the simple fact that there are laws on the books (but obviously not being enforced) that distinguish between legal and illegal immigration, the former provided for by a given set of procedures (that do NOT involve just walking across the border as one damn well pleases because they feel like it), the latter expressly prohibited.

And the damn college conservative groups continue to want to use another Leftist tactic - the "victim card" - to their advantage, failing to realize this fact: Victimology only works for liberals, Leftists, minorities, and other groups that have successfully portrayed themselves as underdogs or disenfranchised. Conservatives have played the game by the rules of the Left: They call you racist; you expend energy proving you're not. They say you're intolerant; you go out of your way to prove your tolerance. And it hasn't worked. It won't work now. So STOP IT! Outside of the blogosphere and the Fox News Channel, you will not get a fair shake in the mainstream press no matter how much you play it "cool" or "by the book." Stop going on the defensive, and get on the offensive. In other words: Get Machiavellian on their ass! Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

If I were in college today and belonged to a conservative students' group, knowing what I have learned in the last 20 years, I would be much more, shall we say...pro-active...in dealing with the lunatic Left.

DISCLAIMER: I am not advocating or in any way attempting to incite violence, hatred, or intolerance toward any Leftist/Marxist liberal fucktards with opposing points of view. The following is a hypothetical scenario, easily construed as satire, which was conjured in a dream I had last night or some other night. Psychoanalysts, of whom the Left is very fond, have historically postulated that dreams are not reality and as such cannot be held or used against the dreamer in any way, shape, or form either implicitly or explicitly. MSRP is based on a survey of participating dealers. Manufacturer's limited warranty becomes void on evidence of tampering. Do not remove tag under penalty of $20,000 fine or imprisonment not to exceed 5 years, or both. Limit one per customer. Thank you; come again.

• First, I would establish an "intelligence wing" to gather intel on the enemy - (that would be all the Lefty groups on campus - the greenies, the anti-globalists, the anarchists, the gay/lesbian/transgendered/bi-sexual/asexual/multi-sexual rights groups, the minority groups - all of them). My intel operatives would not be any of my group's leaders. If necessary, they would be rank-and-file members who are not recognizable and don't stand-out in a crowd or otherwise draw attention to themselves, but, ideally, they would be trusted non-members or "freelancers" who could not be readily associated with my group. I would conduct surveillance by taking photos, getting addresses, establishing patterns of behavior and habits (where they go, when they go there, who they see, etc.) Sound covert and clandestine? It is, but knowledge is power. And I guarnatee you at least some of the Lefty groups on campuses around the US would be doing the exact same thing and have compiled similar data on me and my group.

• Second, I would establish a "security wing" within my organization. Again, these would be independent, trusted non-members who could handle themselves well in confrontations that might get physical. Ideally, these people would not even be students. "Townies" are a good source of "muscle" who may be sympathetic to combatting the Left and might do it for free or for a modest "fee." If a fee must be paid, this would be done in cash (so that I and my organization would have as much plausible deniability as possible.) I would post guards at strategic locations at our events - establishing perimeters both inside and outside the venue, and when situations start to get out of hand, the enforcers would start closing in silently on the offenders who would deny our right or that of our guest(s) to free speech. The guards would keep all exits secured while the enforcers on the floor with the rabble tighten the noose. Eventually, the enemy will realize there is an opposition force, and I would offer to allow them to either behave by engaging in respectful, meaningful dialogue via Q&A or leave peacefully. The ball would be in their court. If they refused, game on. The rank-and-file would visually record all events.

That is how I would deal with the Left. To win any war one must be willing and able to escalate to a level farther than one's enemy is willing or able to go. These open borders Leftists are well funded and rely on intimidation to silence and marginalize their oppositon. One must not only out-intimidate them, but step it up another notch, if necessary. I would not hunt them, or cause trouble at their events, or in any way try to silence them. I would simply put a mechanism in place to defend myself on my own territory so that my organization could get its message out and show the Left that we will not be intimidated and are no longer playing by their rules.

They would get the message.

Breaking News

This just in....Former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, is still dead.....Film at 11...Details as they unfold....

Ding Dong, Saddam is Dead

If you want or need to read the details, you can

go here

or here

or here

or here

or here.

Here's a nice slide show of his life in pictures.

Let the spin begin (and it already has), but no matter how they try to spin it....

...he'll still be DEAD!

Aloha Snack Bar!!!

Saddam Death Watch: Time is Running Short

Saddam Hussein could be sucking my air for only a few more hours according to reports.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein's date with death appears to be just hours away. The former president of Iraq will be hanged before 10 p.m. ET Friday night (6 a.m. Saturday in Baghdad), a top Iraqi official has told the Associated Press.

But

Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for a stay of execution. The 21-page request was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Attorneys argued that because Hussein also faces a civil lawsuit in Washington, he has rights as a civil defendant that would be violated if he is executed. He has not received notice of those rights and the consequences that the lawsuit would have on his estate, his attorneys said.

"To protect those rights, defendant Saddam Hussein requests an order of this court providing a stay of his execution until further notice of this court," attorney Nicholas Gilman wrote.

WTF, mate? Hey, Nick, this is waaaaayyyy beyond you and some civil lawsuit now. How the hell can you twist it so that somehow Saddam has rights protected by the US Constitution? What happens in law schools that turns otherwise sane people into self-absorbed, ego-maniacal lunatics? It's an Iraqi matter now, you fuckwits! Just shut-up and go away already!

Personally, I think Saddam should have been shot on the spot by the guys who found him cowering in his little hole and buried there...after they sent his head to al-Jazeera.

Message to Saddam: Aloha, Snack Bar, mother fucker!

Get Into the Grind

Lisa at the Urban Grind has a great post about Leftist obssession with income re-distribution, wealth disparity, and class struggle.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: One of the ingredients needed for the Left to succeed is a group that can be portrayed as disenfranchised or oppressed and exploit them for political gain that most always results in restriction of personal freedom and higher taxes.

Vilmar's Corner

Our good blogging friend, Vilmar, the sole proprietor of the now-defunct Right Wing Howler, is out of the blogging game for now. I'll get into the why and how of it in a post later this weekend, but if you click on the link to his former site, you may get some indicator of what transpired a few weeks back.

Vilmar was my mentor. My association with him began over two years ago when he co-hosted at Barking Moonbat, and our on-line friendship grew when he left that endeavor to start his own blogging project. He inspired me to start our former blog, Bohemian Conservative, and allowed me the privilege of guest writing at his new blog. Many in our blogging community were saddened to see Vilmar leave the blogging scene (especially under the controversial circumstances), but I understand his reasons for doing so and support his decision.

Anyway, Vilmar sends me news links on a regular basis, so it's the least I can do to post those links along with his accompanying commentary. So here is Vilmar's Corner:

• Trash police in England give HUGE fines for putting Christmas wrapping paper in recycle bins. The enviro-nazis are trying to do the same thing here (in the US). Give them a few more years.
• Our military is bending over backwards to make it easier for muslims to join....to include prayer rooms at installations. Funny how the ACLU is not getting its knickers in a twist over this one. Will the military give the Episcopalians or Methodists or Jews their own worship facilities? NO! They have to share the base chapel. But Muslims? Give ‘em anything they want!

These two are closer to home. Down Under readers take heed:


• The Australian version of CAIR gets a big defeat in a Victoria Supreme Court case where two pastors were arrested for “vilifying” muslims by quoting the Koran. Imagine that! You can’t even speak your opinion in a church without getting ARRESTED in Australia! Imagine if they were common citizens without the resources to fight this in court? They’d be rotting in jails right now.
• Religion of tolerance proves their intolerance in Malaysia

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. Two Pictures?...

American Daughter has the story.

Islamofascist Response to a Real Battle: RUN AWAY!!!!

Synopsis:

• 1991 - In one of many civil rebellions, Somali dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre, was ousted, and the country fell into complete chaos with rival warlords vying for power.
• November-December 1992 - President George H.W. Bush began sending US troops (of which I was one), and other allied troops under US command arrived and began Operation "Restore Hope," successfully reigning in the warlords and getting relief to the starving refugees stacked-up along the Ethiopian border.
  
• May 1993 - Pakistani General assumed command of international forces now under the ausipces of the UN.
  
• October 1993 - The famous "Blackhawk Down" incident occurred in the successful attempt to capture the two closest advisers to number 1 warlord, Mohamed Aidid. Delta Force got his two advisers. Our 140 Rangers, outnumbered 10-to-1 and largely cut-off from reinforcements, suffered 19 deaths; the Somali guerillas suffered 1500-2000. Shortly afterward, President Clinton withdrew our troops.
  
• 1993-present - The UN completely withdrew in 1995 and the country returned to chaotic infighting, regional secessions, famine and suffering. The officially recognized government, the TFG, opposed to extremist islam, arose. Radical muslim leadership, the IC (Islamic Court) or SICC, gained overwhelming, Taliban-like strength, imposing Sharia law, and began a rebellion against the TFG, pushing it back to reign only in their capitol, Baidoa. The Islamic Court radicals declared war on Ethiopia which backed the TFG and swore to protect it. Ethiopia invades.

• Today - The Ehtiopians took Mogadishu and kicked the islamofascist's asses who ran away in defeat. Like most bullies, islamofascists are cowards and chicken-shits when they do not have numbers on their side and/or the other side is unarmed.

For more background on the history of chaos in Somalia go here. One thing is for sure: The Ethiopians do not give a rat's ass about world opinion, and if the Islamofascists mount a guerilla campaign against them or the TFG, the Ethiopians will not fight with one hand tied behind their backs. Blood will be shed, and heads will roll.

Edwards Throws in His Bid For '08

Big fucking deal. Just what we need...another liberal scumbag trial lawyer.

Trump's Pole Too Big

...his flag pole, that is. Seems the Trumpster's 80' flag pole and the 15-by-25-foot American flag that flys on it is just too damn big for city hall. So they issued citations of ordinance violations, and now Trump is suing:

Donald Trump is suing the oceanside town of Palm Beach, Fla., for $10 million after being cited for flying an oversized American flag over his Mar-a-Lago Club.

Attorneys for the club filed a complaint Thursday, saying that flying the flag is a constitutionally protected expression of free speech - and that the large flag is a proper match for the size of the real-estate mogul's patriotism.

Apparently, to Donald the Trump's legal team, size DOES matter:

"A smaller flag and pole on Mar-A-Lago's property would be lost given its massive size, look silly instead of make a statement, and most importantly would fail to appropriately express the magnitude of Donald J. Trump's and the Club's members' patriotism," the lawsuit says.

...The citation was for having a flagpole taller than 42 feet, for not obtaining a building permit and for not getting permission from the landmarks board.

According to the article, Trump will donate any money awarded in his favor to veterans of the Iraq war.

Say what you want about the Trumpster, but how can you argue with this?

"The day you need a permit to put up the American flag, that will be a sad day for this country," Trump said in October.

Amen.

Hat Tip: BobF

Wouldn't It Be Nice

I really have a hard time giving my government in the US, be it Democrat or Republican, much credit for having much foresight or being very bright, despite the presence of intelligent and thoughtful persons who often give the correct analysis and advice which, probably more often than not, is not heeded. What I do think happens more often than not is that events precipitate in such a way that favorable opportunities present themselves. I do believe our involvement in Iraq is such a case...maybe...if our leaders and their advisers notice and act quickly.

Unless you've been living under a rock or are blinded by a particular agenda (ie, "Bush is Hitler," or, conversely, "Bush is the best thing since sliced bread"), you will no doubt know by now that Iraq is in, for all practical purposes, the beginning of a potential civil war between its Shia majority and Sunni minority. Most of the violence in the last six months has been less directed at our troops and more frequently perpetrated by one of these factions against the other. We know that Iran, which borders Iraq to the east, is mostly Shia and has been fuelling, funding, and in most every other way supporting the Shia faction in Iraq; the US and her allies are the only thing standing in the way of the annihilation of the Sunnis...for now. Saudi Arabia, which borders Iraq to the south-west, is mostly Sunni. Could it be?...

Well, one of my weekly reads - and it should be yours too; the link is in the "News Links" on the right - is Spengler, the columnist with near mystical, dispassionate, Machiavellian insight who writes for the Asia Times Online. (Spengler is a nom de plum, taken from Oswald Spengler, the late 19th century-early 20th century German historian, philosopher, and social critic best known for his book The Decline of the West.) Spengler's column from Dec. 5 deals with just the scenario I introduced above. Here's a taste of that article, "Civil Wars, or Proxy Wars:"

...What formerly were civil wars (or prospective civil wars) in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine have become three fronts in a Sunni-Shi'ite war, in which the local contestants are mere proxies....

How does this fit into our plans?

As historian Niall Ferguson observed in his November 27 Los Angeles Times column, "some civil wars never end", although he neglected to add why this is the case: it is because someone on the outside keeps adding fuel to the fire. The classic example is the great German civil war, namely the 30 Years' War of 1618-48. The Catholic and Protestant Germans, with roughly equal strength, battered each other through two generations because France sneakily shifted resources to whichever side seemed likely to fold. I have contended for years that the United States ultimately will adopt the perpetual-warfare doctrine that so well served Cardinal Richelieu and made France the master of Europe for a century...

Spengler then cites Iran's deteriorating economy and social fabric as contributing factors in its obsessive-compulsive stance on acquiring nuclear power and President I'm-in-a-dinner-jacket's increasingly Hitler-esque, anti-Semitic rhetoric:

Iran, I warned on September 13, 2005, is running short of oil and soldiers. Its oil exports could fall to zero within only 10 years, according to new studies reviewed in the December 11 Business Week. Iran's circumstances appear far more pressing than I believed a year ago, when the consensus estimate gave Iran another 20 years' worth of oil exports. Apart from oil, Iran exports only dried fruit, pistachio nuts, carpets, caviar and, more recently, prostitutes.

Iran covets the oil reserves of southeastern Iraq, southern Azerbaijan, and northwestern Saudi Arabia. With 30% youth unemployment, 10% inflation, epidemic prostitution and drug addiction, Iran's fraying social fabric depends on an oil-derived government dole. Within a generation it will have half as many men of military age, and four times as many pensioners. As currently configured, Iran faces economic and demographic collapse eventually. If, as Business Week reports, Iran's oil exports are falling by one-seventh each year, the reckoning might come sooner rather than later. The theocratic regime is a wounded and dangerous beast, prone to hunt outside its own preserve.

Enter the Saudis:

"There are two sorts of rat/The hungry and the fat," wrote Heinrich Heine. The fault line between hungry Iranians and the fat Saudis may take precedence over the civilization divide between Muslims and the West, at least for the time being. That is why the Israelis have rediscovered the 2003 Saudi peace plan. The Saudi kingdom has threatened to intervene on the side of the beleaguered Sunnis of Iraq, and Iran (through Hezbollah) is seeking to overthrow the Saudi-allied government of Lebanon, as well as dominate the rejectionist wing of the Palestinians...

...In late October, Israeli officials, starting with Defense Minister Amir Peretz, cited the 2003 Saudi peace plan as a possible "basis for negotiations". It amounted simply to recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in return for Israel's withdrawal to 1967 borders. All this occurred prior to the US elections and the advent of the James Baker-Lee Hamilton Iraq Study Group.

So maybe, just maybe the Baker Commission (I hate the term "study group"...sounds like a bunch of college kids cramming for an exam...) was paying attention - for completely different reasons than the moronic imbeciles in the mainstream press would have us believe. Here's more:

...Iran has sufficient influence among the Palestinians to ensure that Hamas rejects a Palestinian national-unity government, leaving Israel no one with whom to negotiate, and a relatively free hand for the occasional raid. Jerusalem can stretch one hand in peace toward the Saudis, and hammer Iran's ally, Hamas, with the other.

If I read this right (and, more importantly, the bureaucrats in Washington do so as well) this could be a win-win for the US and Israel. I like how Spengler sums it up:

I do not know how close Iran might be to obtaining a deployable nuclear weapon. If it appears close to that goal, either the United States or Israel will attack Iranian nuclear facilities. But if the West as well as the Saudis is confident that nuclear weapons remain out of Iranian reach, the Richelieu strategy of slow and bloody attrition might be just as effective.

As a portent of good things to (hopefully) come, randomly cueing-up right now on my Winamp media player is the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice."

President Gerald R. Ford has Died

Well, after taking a break over Christmas, I thought I would start putting a few things on the blog. A few weeks ago we started getting Fox News on the satellite here in NZ, so I went downstairs to see how Michelle Malkin was doing filling-in for O'Reilly on the "Factor." Then this news flash:

Former President Ford Dead at 93

Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.

Ford had battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments _ including an angioplasty _ in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93. Ford had been living at his desert home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.

Ford was an accidental president, Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straight-forward as Nixon was tightly-controlled and conspiratorial.

I remember the day Nixon resigned and Ford took office. I also remember the day that Ford lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter - the beginning of the demise of the US as far as I'm concerned. I thought Ford was a good man, stuck between a rock and a hard place, who served our country well in his too-limited time in office.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Ford.