My trump card

Next time Mrs. Salamander complains about one of my many hobbies, I will simply play this clip for her and say, "Hey, I could be into this."

She will harmuph, and then I can go back to restoring antique fishing reels in peace.

I am waiting....

Mona Eltahawy hits a pitch-perfect note. The old-line Feminists have proven in the last half-decade that they are irrelevant useful idiots of the anti-Western Left and not what they pretend to be, advocated of women.

The greatest retrograde force in the world for women is fundamentalist Islam, yet the silence from those who should be defending young women from men who want them kept as chattel and the sub-culture that enables them, is deafening.

Mona hits it just right on the lack of moral courage of the West, crippled by Political Correctness, in facing this misogynistic entity.

I am waiting for the removal of clerics and imams, who incite hate and violence with their messages about hijab. I am waiting for Muslim families to stop disowning European Muslim women for marrying non-Muslim men. And I am waiting for the end of a sometimes deadly choice Muslim women -- victims of violence -- have had to make in a post-9/11 United States, when calling the police could mean the deportation of a husband, a brother or a father.

The clash of patriarchal cultures -- from the perspective of a Muslim woman in the middle -- offers a too-familiar oppression and abuse, covered up by an equally too-familiar system of denial.

It is heartening to hear of shelters opening in the United States with the needs of Muslim women in mind. But unless we confront and resolve these difficult issues, not enough girls and women will make it to those shelters.

Yes, we are all waiting. As the father of two girls, the parallel universe these poor women exist in is almost beyond comprehension. The fact so few speak out against it, especially in academia, is a shame on us all.

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Like Mona? You can see and hear her in an interview below that is focused on the Egyptian Christian Copts. She may be from Egypt, but Mona I think represents the best of the Liberal Western tradition - Liberal in the traditional not American context. Strong moral courage; I'm going to keep an eye on her. Like we say in the Navy; Bravo Zulu, Mona - Bravo Zulu.

Terrorists double victory

As outlined very well by Nemanja Malisevic, the terrorists have started 2008 with two very solid victories.

...these victories ... were scored in Brussels and Lisbon. What is worse is that the terrorists did not even have to "work" for them.

First, the authorities in Belgium canceled the traditional New Year's Eve fireworks in Brussels because of security concerns linked to terrorism. Then, a few days later, the Paris-Dakar Rally was canceled for the first time since its inception in 1979.

The civilized world need to find its ball soon. Preemptive surrender is no way to keep your daughters out of a Burqa.

Terrorists have started the year with much momentum. Now it is up to the national authorities, the international community and individual citizens to ensure that this trend does not continue.

State and corporate resources must be made available to ensure not only that such social events are held as planned, but to protect, as much as possible, the safety of participants and audiences whenever and wherever they to take place.

Public support must be mobilized against those who aim to deprive us of these gatherings. Public discussion should go hand in hand with increased vigilance.

The statement of Dakar's organizers defiantly asserts that the "cancellation of the 2008 edition does not endanger the future" of the race. Nonetheless, it is clear that terrorist groups across the globe will take note of this development.

In the current state of fear, they do not even have to strike anymore - merely threatening to do so may already do the job.

Exactly; does anyone here think 2009 is going to be any safer than 2009? Get our game face on folks.

Service to the Nation

Don't think big gov'munt doesn't pay? Check it out and see what 'ya think. From the IBD.

Show you care about our homeless...

Yes, join IowaHawk in our concern for those who have given so much in public service.

Doesn't the self-righteousness feel wonderful?

UN Surrenders

Yes, let the tide rise higher.

The United Nations' chief envoy in Iraq gave a mixed report on the situation on Monday, saying security had improved but an Iraqi political consensus was needed for lasting stability.

"We cannot ignore the recent improvements both in the security and political situation in Iraq," Staffan de Mistura, head of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said in a speech to the Security Council.

Hat tip K-lo.

Diversity ... Shamersity

Ahem.

Most diversity training efforts at American companies are ineffective and even counterproductive in increasing the number of women and minorities in managerial positions, according to an analysis that turns decades of conventional wisdom, government policy and court rulings on their head.

A comprehensive review of 31 years of data from 830 mid-size to large U.S. workplaces found that the kind of diversity training exercises offered at most firms were followed by a 7.5 percent drop in the number of women in management. The number of black, female managers fell by 10 percent, and the number of black men in top positions fell by 12 percent. Similar effects were seen for Latinos and Asians.

The analysis did not find that all diversity training is useless. Rather, it showed that mandatory programs -- often undertaken mainly with an eye to avoiding liability in discrimination lawsuits -- were the problem. When diversity training is voluntary and undertaken to advance a company's business goals, it was associated with increased diversity in management.

Wonder what the Diversity Bullies have to say about this? Nothing much, I assume. Heck, they are so afraid of their own shadow, more often than not, they won't even say the "N-word" they say is so horrible. Can't we be grown ups and talk like adults about this stuff?

Hat tip Ramesh.