HOT5 Daily 10/14/2010

1. "Vietnam, Israel and the Left’s Delusional Narratives" A point by point parallel.

Representative Sample: As with Vietnam, the delusion narrative used by the left originates primarily from the propaganda of the non-democratic actors. All the delusions of the “Peace” movement in Vietnam came first from communist, usually transmitted via Europe and then mindlessly accepted by leftists in America. The left in America swallowed communist propaganda as mechanically as a python engulfing a pig. Likewise, the left today will swallow any accusation against Israel.

2. "Sowell: Which one is more greedy? The private sector or the federal govt? " Guess. Links to an excellent article.

Representative Sample: Those who are always accusing people in the private sector of “greed” almost never level that charge against the government, no matter what it does. Indeed, the question of whether the government is greedy almost never comes up, so most of us probably never think about it.

3. "Allah’s existence to be debated at UK’s leading mosque" I just saw a flying pig. Opening up to debate sure beats the usual attempts to silence criticism.

Representative Sample: For the first time, the doors of a British mosque will be open to the public to critically discuss Islam, in particular the Muslim concept of God. The event has been hailed as a confirmation that the British Muslim community is willing to engage in critical dialogue concerning their faith, with their fellow non-Muslim citizens.

4. "A New Plan for Afghanistan" The subtitle is "Less counterinsurgency, more killing and capturing."Killing more enemies is a faster way to end the war? Imagine that.

Representative Sample: This new twist in the strategy seems to be having some effect. One senior officer said (and other officials confirmed) that 300 midlevel Taliban have been killed or captured in the last three months, including a number of shadow provincial governors, district commanders, and trainers or facilitators in the use of roadside bombs. In addition, more than 800 rank-and-file insurgents have been killed, and more than 2,000 have been captured.

5. "The Honest Chilean Miner" Something we probably won't hear.

Representative Sample: It's a cartoon.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

No HOT5 Today

No HOT5 today. It will return tomorrow.

HOT5 Daily 10/12/2010

1. "Liberals need a lesson on liberalization." Excellent points. 

Representative Sample:  Through the massive amounts of codification that are required to achieve social egalitarianism, the Left has knowingly or unknowingly opened the flood gates of burgeoning legislation and regulation. Thus creating an environment which is exponentially growing into the anti-thesis of a true liberal democracy.

2. "Atheists and Anger" Legitimate reasons for angry atheists to be angry. 

Representative Sample:  One of the most common criticisms lobbed at the newly-vocal atheist community is, "Why do you have to be so angry?" So I want to talk about: 1. Why atheists are angry

3. "Lawfare in Austria: Is Truth Illegal?" Yes, if Muslims and their leftist enablers don't like it.  

Representative Sample: Although the trial of Dutch MP and critic of Islam, Geert Wilders, and its serious implications for free speech in Europe, is once again creating a furor in the press, another high-profile trial of a critic of Islam — Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, in Austria — is being overlooked.

4. "Why Videogames are not Real War" Also links to an interesting interview with a marine combat veteran commenting on video games. 

Representative Sample: While critics of videogames would have you believe that they are efficient little murder simulations, an NPR editorial from Benjamin Busch begs to differ. Who is Benjamin Busch and why does his opinion carry more weight than most? Because he is an United States Marine Corps infantry officer who has served in Iraq on two combat tours.

5. "Socialism: Building a Bridge to the 18th Century" The latest example in Greece.

Representative Sample: Never mind the ways that they could be cut up, redistributive policies lead to degeneration of the WHOLE pie. It’s something that brings the motive and outcome of candidate Obama’s exchange with Joe the Plumber into sharp focus. Redistributive policies even shaft the people they try to help.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

Blow-up Weapons

Not exploding ones, weapons that are filled with air. There's an interesting article at BBC News about Russian inflatable weapons.

A turret appears, then out pops a long plastic gun barrel. This is an inflatable Russian tank. ... When the men pump up their next piece of plastic, this one expands into a S-300 rocket launcher, complete with giant truck and inflatable rockets. ... waiting to be blown up are inflatable MiG fighter jets - even entire Russian radar stations. ... They are made of a special material that tricks enemy radar and thermal imaging into thinking they are real weapons.

One thing that the Soviet military was very good at in World War Two was deception. They call it maskirovka, and it has been a fundamental feature of Soviet and now Russian military doctrine. As Globalsecurity.org points out,

The goal of maskirovka is to make the enemy concentrate his forces against false threats and uselessly expend his means of destruction on them. ... they also do it actively, through the use of dummy structures, electronic warfare, false maneuvers, and various other methods.

These blow-up dummies are cheap and have the potential to be extremely effective, not just in manipulating enemy intelligence/observations, but in causing significant diversions of resources away from real threats. These dummies might actually cause more problems for an opponent than some real weapon systems.

Why Republicans Will Not Miss Obama

Jonathan Chait has an article in the New Republic called, "Republican Clinton Nostalgia." It can be quickly summarized as follows: those crazy Republicans hated Bill Clinton, and believed the worst of him at the time, and now they like him; today they are unhinged about Obama, but someday they'll look back on him with nostalgia just like Clinton. Chait helpfully demonstrates once again that many liberals are simply out of touch with reality.

There are a couple of reasons some, and only some Republicans, now have a more positive view of Bill Clinton. The most obvious is that he is not in power and no longer a threat. But more importantly, the economy was good under Clinton. Regardless of his personal problems, some Republicans view Bill Clinton as a competent politician who had a generally successful two-term presidency. And of course he looks good by comparison with the current occupant of the White House. Unless Obama's job performance changes drastically, there is no way he's going to be looked back on with nostalgia.

A much better comparison than Clinton, which Chait completely ignores, is Jimmy Carter. If anything, most Republicans despise Carter more now than when he was president. The vast majority of Republicans -- and others -- see a similar level of incompetent leadership. At the moment it is far more likely that Obama will be viewed as another Jimmy Carter, a figure of derision among Republicans and an example of the worst of Democratic leadership. If a GOP or partially GOP Congress is voted in, Obama moderates his views, works with Republicans, the economy turns around, the wars are brought to successful conclusions and various other major changes take place, Chait might have a legitimate point. But that's a whole lot of if's. As of now though, his assertion is pretty laughable.

HOT5 Daily 10/11/2010

1. "Obama's Janus-faced campaign against American businesses" And people wonder why Obama gets accused of being a socialist.. 

Representative Sample: Obama's recent attack on The Chamber of Commerce reveals his underlying disdain of private enterprise, and how he believes there is a cabal of businesses not yet pleased being under government control which are fighting against the progressive agenda. 

2. "The Double Standard of the West Toward Israel" Pretty much nails it. 

Representative Sample: when a Jew sneezes on a Muslim, it is reported in the Israeli newspapers, Israelis discuss the right and wrong of it, the UN severely condemns the action, Muslim sympathizers call it a massacre, and self-loathing American idiot Jews write articles about the Israeli apartheid state.

3. "Forget the Trinity – America Has 4 (Or More) Gods!" Very interesting analysis that breaks down categories of belief about God, and how those beliefs affect other attitudes.  

Representative Sample: In a new book entitled, America’s Four Gods, Professors Paul Froese and Christopher Bader, of Baylor University, contend that American conceptions of their god tend to fall into four distinct types: authoritarian, benevolent, critical and distant.

4. "When We Decided to Lose" In the words of Napoleon, "The moral is to the physical as three to one."

Representative Sample: On such decisions are victories and defeats made. They are not inevitable. The results may seem clear and inevitable after the fact, but when the result is in the balance, our choices can make the difference.

5. "Why [is] China's Air Force in Turkey?" A look at the implications.

Representative Sample: Sometime during September, an unknown number of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force Russian-built Su-27 and Mig-29 fighters landed at the huge Konya airbase in Turkey's central Anatolia region.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

HOT5 Daily 10/10/2010

1. "They can’t handle the truth" Democrats just can't figure out why people don't like their message. 

Representative Sample: Most people have seen plenty enough evidence by now of what they really stand for: more government, more spending, more bureaucracy, more regulation, more taxes, less freedom, and ever-shrinking horizons and possibilities.

2. "Who Are Israel’s Friends?" Breaking down a recent survey. 

Representative Sample: I’ll begin with a general observation: almost all the support for Israel statistically comes from non-Jews. This is simply a mathematical reality. The poll sampled 1,000 voters, only 1.6 percent of whom were Jewish (slightly below the commonly used 2 percent figure). Fifty-eight percent were Protestant, and 25 percent were Catholic. That means the overwhelming number of those who support Israel, as is the case in the general population, are non-Jews.

3. "I Feel Sorry For John Amato" A nice take-down of leftist idiocy.  

Representative Sample: This mindset, simplified, is that whatever you say that I don't like is racist, and therefore, I win. It is their ultimate, catch-all defense mechanism, now worn to the point of toothlessness.

4. "2010 Physics Nobel Well Deserved" Includes interesting link to article about graphene. 

Representative Sample:  this year the Swedish Academy has really done themselves proud, granting the prize to two University of Manchester researchers (Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov) who did pioneering work on graphene.

5. "Why The B-52 Got $11.9 Billion" Actually it's very unclear. But the B-52's longevity and versatility is amazing.

Representative Sample: When the Air Force announced an $11.9 billion sustainment contract to Boeing last week for the venerable and enduring B-52 eyebrows shot up along the Potomac, especially on Capitol Hill.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.