October 28, 2005

Tony Blair Talks Back to Iran.

After Wednesdays display of stupid by IranÂ’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad followed almost immediately by Islamic JihadÂ’s bombing in Israel. Tony Blair has had enough. Islamic Jihad is supported by Iran and has headquarters in Damascus Syria.

Times of LondonTimes of London: Ending a one-day European Union summit, the Prime Minister called the explosive declaration by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday a disgrace. Promising discussions with Washington and other allies over how to react, Mr Blair said that he had often been urged not to take action against Iran. But he added: “If they carry on like this the question people will be asking us is — when are you going to do something about Iran? Can you imagine a State like that with an attitude like that having nuclear weapons?”

As Rusty just said Iran is raising the stakes. I think they are betting the US and Britain canÂ’t muster a response. With George W Bush and Tony Blair in the mix along with emerging democracy on two borders and an internal democracy movement I feel itÂ’s a bad bet. Yes itÂ’s time to deal with Iran and Syria. The struggle against intolerant nations will not be easily won. As you can see appeasement does not work. The EU has been trying that and Iran has thumbed their nose at all of us. If we fail to act they will only become more emboldened and dangerous.

Others: Captain Ed and USS Neverdock.

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Iranian President Reaffirms "Final Solution", Reveals Tehran's Weakness

Patriotism is not the last refuge of a scoundrel, antisemitism is. The great unifying theme of the Islamic world is hatred of Israel. Thus, when the President of Iran calls for a final solution for the Jewish state in the Middle East, and then reiterates that position again today, it is not simply an act of antisemitism, it is an act of desperation. It reveals the weakness of the Iranian theocracy's position.

Change is coming to the Middle East. Like the smell of ozone after a lightning strike it is in the air. The mullahs in Iran sense it is coming and they are afraid. Very afraid.

And what do those who have a stake in maintaining power do to distract the masses from their own plight? Blame the Jews.

There really is no "Middle Eastern culture", only "Middle Eastern cultures". Persian, Turks, Kurds and Assyrians speak different languages and have unique traditions and cultures. The "Arab street" does not exist, but there are "Arab streets". Hip-hop music, I am told, has become the language of protest for young Gazans, and while terrorist videos are sold in markets throughout the region sales of pornography are much higher.

But, if there is one thing that can unify the many Middle Eastern cultures and the many Arab streets, it is antisemitism. Nasser did not become an icononclastic hero in the Middle East for the Aswan project, he became a hero because he "stood up" to Israel.

Secular liberals, Islamists, nationalists, and even Christians in the Middle East all agree that Israel has no right to exist. Some realists might believe that peace with Israel is inevitable, but not that it is right. In the eyes of the secular left in the Middle East, and like their European and American counterparts, Israel is the last bastion of Wetern colonialism and imperialsim. To Islamists and nationalists it represents a sort of emasculation to the collective psyche. And to the long-oppressed Christians of the region it represents a source of destabilization used by their oppressors as another excuse to crack down on them. Israel, it is widely believed, is the source of injustice in the region.

So, when the President of Iran calls for the destruction of Israel the reaction from the street is a foregone conclusion: they will support him. He knows this. He is not stupid.

Iran has dreams of becoming a regional superpower. They seek nuclear power, for instance, not because the oil-rich nation really needs it, but because nuclear power represents something bigger. It puts Iran on par with the "big boys" of the industrialized world.

Iran's main disadvantage for a regional hegemony is that it is an Islamist nation unlike the larger Islamist movement. It is Shia, and compared to the Islamist theories of bin Laden or Zarqawi relatively progressive. So, what can the bin Ladenists and the followers of the Ayattolah agree upon? The destruction of the "Zionist entity."

More than this, the mullahs of Iran aren't simply trying to elevate themselves among the jihadis, they are trying to elevate themselves in the eyes of the the entire Middle East. The move to a theocratic state is probably not a great unifying theme among a region as diverse as the Middle East, but a move to wipe-out Israel is.

Even if it is only rhetoric, it is powerful rhetoric. It is the kind of rhetoric that unifies. It is the kind of rhetoric that moves people to admiration and adoration. It is the kind of rhetoric that gives power both within a country's own borders and beyond. And when a regime feels itself vulnurable, its first move will be to bolster its power.

Expect more anti-Israeli speeches in the future. As the tides of change sweep through the Middle East we should find such rhetoric more and more common.

The last resort of the scoundrals that dominate the region will be to verbally attack Israel.

[PS-still on blog sabbatical, but felt this needed saying]

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Danes Arrest Muslims in Terror Plot

(Copenhagen, Denmark) Four male Middle Eastern Muslims, aged 16 to 20, have been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of planning a suicide terror attack in Europe.

From the BBC:

The arrests were linked to a recent inquiry in the Balkans in which arrests were made and large quantities of explosives were found, police said.

No details were given of the intended target of the group's alleged plot.

"We suspect the four young men of being participants in preparation of terrorist acts somewhere in Europe," said police spokesman Joern Bro.

The suspects are closely linked to three men arrested previously in the Balkans for planning an attack on the British or American embassies in Sarajevo. A tipster in an unnamed Balkan nation led to the arrests.

Notably, most of the reporting on this story is referring to the suspected terrorists as 'men.' In my opinion, 16-year-old boys are not men and at least one of the suspects is 16. The thought of having boys running around Europe with terrorism on their minds is frightening. Boys usually can mingle anonymously in society since they are not old enough to have graduated from school, nor to have a work history, nor to have been in the government or military. Typically, there are no photographs nor fingerprints. Spooky.

Companion at Interested-Participant.

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October 27, 2005

Welcome To The Sandcrawler

Everyone, give a warm welcome to Jane from Armies of Liberation to the Jawa Report staff.

And if any members of the Yemeni Islamofascistpricktocracy care to monitor her here like they do there, bear in mind that she is now even more carefully watched by her Uncle.

And you don't want to mess with Uncle.

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Dhimmification Denied

Stein hoist to uber-kafir Patrick for this:

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A Florida school district has decided that students will get no religious holidays from school after a debate over which religion should get the days.

Hillsborough County School Board members approved the 2006-2007 school year calendar with only three holiday days off -- Labor Day, President's Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Tampa Tribune reports.

Ahmed Bedier of the Council on American-Islamic Relations had hoped for a day off of school for the Muslim holy day of Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Bishop Chuck Leigh of the Florida Council of Churches said the board made a mistake in not granting the Muslim holiday.

But school board attorney Tom Gonzalez told the board that it was wrong to close the school for any religion.

Students who miss class for a religious holiday will not be penalized.

Wow, I was all set to do a throwdown on this school district, because at first glance it appears that they're inconveniencing everyone just to appease CAIR. Typically, that's how these things tend to work. See: 10 Commandments monuments, et.al.

But then I took a look at my kids calendar for school, where no CAIR member dare to tread, and here are the single day holidays:

Labor Day
Martin Luther King Day
President's Day
Memorial Day

So I thought, hm, they've axed Thanksgiving to appease CAIR, but then I dug out the (PDF alert!) school calendar mentioned in the article, and there it was.

What about Christmas? Still off, because it falls under the politically correctly monikered Winter Break.

So, we can give this school district kudos for telling CAIR to shove it, albeit in an offhand way. All they did was put out a press release saying that they're going to keep the same days off that they did before, but, by adding the religious angle, they get CAIR off of their backs.

There is a dark side to the tale, however. I took a look at the calendar for (PDF alert!) this school year, and compared it to the one for next, and there was a single day holiday eliminated.

Veterans Day. (if you're wondering about Memorial Day, a look at the calendar shows these schools let out before then)

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Stop Attacking the American Journalist

Thats the title of an article in the Yemen Times defending me by Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, the Yemeni editor the bloggers helped me circulate a petition for. He was granted amnesty a week later (this was back in March.) Sometimes payback is not a beeyotch.

It discusses the Yemeni regime's attempts to contact me before they decided to start calling me a Zionist and numerous other nasty names in the governmental papers.

So this line is pretty funny: The question, which has been raised, is that how is it possible for the PresidentÂ’s journalist Mr. Sanabani to meet a Zionist writer.

Is that snark? Translated from Arabic it still comes through as snark.

Jane

Update: me bud d-rod asks the eturnal question Why? Maybe its my articles like this one about the criminal activities of the Yemeni president or maybe this one about attacks on the Yemeni journalists. My articles also get translated into Arabic and published in Yemen, so I'm blowing their propaganda in the West and inside Yemen.

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Multinational Force Spokesman: Media Being Manipulated by Terrorists

Stating a blindingly obvious point that has somehow escaped the Western media, Army Major General Rick Lynch today said:

"Half the battle is in the battlefield of the media. The terrorists will use the media as a combat multiplier to hide their limited capabilities."
It's a shame that the General has to spoonfeed the press like this, but with the massive egos occupying the brainpans, especially in television news, of reporters there just isn't much room left over for analytic ability and common sense.

Common sense should have told even the dullest newsperson in the Palestine Hotel that it had no intrinsic military value other than as propaganda, yet each network dutifully carried water for the terrorist insurgency by replaying the "spectacular explosions" over and over.

Odd, given the broadcast media's fascination for brilliant flashes of light and shiny things that there has been an embargo of images from the 9/11 attacks for years. The excuse given is that they don't want to "inflame" the American public. Unfortunately, there seems to be no equivalent concern about inflaming the ignorant, bloodthirsty, and illiterate buffoons who make up the bulk of the "Arab street". more...

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A Little Help, Please

Who is this "Harry Etmyers" that everyone keeps talking about?

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Beheading Terrorists Killed in Mosul Raid of Safe House.

Good news, the last time we saw this guy he was personally helping to behead people. IÂ’ve inquired about which specific beheadings this now very dead man was involved in. When I find out IÂ’ll pass that along to you. We got his buddy too.

CENTCOM:An al-Qaeda terrorist cell leader who personally assisted in at least three videotaped beheadings and his assistant were killed during a Coalition raid of a suspected safe house in Mosul Oct. 22. Nashwan Mijhim Muslet (aka Abu Tayir or Abu Zaid) was a senior operational al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist cell leader who operated specifically in the Mosul area. His cell was known as the primary beheading cell for Abu Talha, the al-Qaeda in Iraq Emir of Mosul who was captured in June, 2005, and Abu Zubayr, second in command to Talha and later Emir of Mosul after Talha was detained. Zubayr was killed in August, 2005.

Good riddance I can only hope it was a slow and painful death and he was very aware he was dying the whole time. Click for photos of his ugly mug and his buddy below.

more...

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Miers Withdraws as Supreme Court Nominee

President Bush announced the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. The President reluctantly accepted her letter of withdrawal. No links yet. Developing ...


[Update 0950 EDT]

It's being reported that Miers talked to President Bush last night and asked if she could withdraw.

From the Chicago Tribune:

President Bush said he reluctantly accepted her decision to withdraw, after weeks of insisting that he did not want her to step down. He blamed her withdrawal on calls in the Senate for the release of internal White House documents that the administration has insisted were protected by executive privilege.

"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said. "Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers -- and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her."

Washington is stunned by the news since the withdrawal of a nominee is quite unusual. It has occurred with only seven of 150 nominees in the history of the Supreme Court.

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Judge Orders Release of Gitmo Records

Lawyers representing hunger-striking Guantanamo Bay detainees have convinced U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler to order the government to inform detainees' defense lawyers at least 24 hours before any force-feeding and to provide the lawyers with medical records weekly.

Julia Tarver, a lawyer for three of the detainees, asserted in court papers that when she visited her clients she found them weak and sometimes able to speak only with difficulty because of throat lesions they said were caused by having the feeding tubes forced in. Ms. Tarver said one detainee, Yousef Al-Shehri, told her that a feeding tube had been roughly inserted through his nose into his throat, causing him to spit up blood.
Notably, without the forced-feeding, the detainees likely would have died and, according to the government, none have.

Judge Kessler acted on an emergency petition because it was "deeply troubling" that detainees had feeding tubes inserted without sedatives or anesthesia.

"If the allegations are true - and they are all explicitly, specifically and vigorously denied by the government - they describe the conduct of which the United States can hardly be proud," the judge wrote.
Although Kessler directed the government to provide notifications and records, she denied the request for the lawyers to have immediate telephone access to the detainees.

It seems that Judge Kessler's decision is based exclusively on the adequacy of the medication administered to the detainees prior to inserting the feeding tubes. Her ruling indicates that the detainees are not sufficiently drugged before having a tube shoved up their noses and down their esophaguses. I must assume that there have been past cases where judges have determined the amount medication to be administered. I'm personally uncomfortable with the idea. In my estimation, no amount of legal training and experience prepares a judge to practice medicine.

Nevertheless, ordering the release of medical documents will surely prompt the detainees' lawyers to start searching for other issues to litigate. The latest wrangling over the medication issue is part of an ongoing campaign by human rights advocates to force the government into giving the detainees more legal rights.

It's unknown whether the government will appeal.

Companion at Interested-Participant.

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Iran to launch recon satellite

I know a few things about Iran but I was not aware that they had a space program. Well, actually, they are shooting a Chinese "Sina" satellite on top of a Russian rocket from a Russian launch pad. So they outsourced it. But pretty soon they'll have an eye in the sky--several, actually, with more launches planned.

Why are they doing this? Iran's embassy in Moscow "said Sina would be capable of monitoring natural disasters and urban growth."

Oh, right. Sure. Got it. Mmmhm. Yep.

If you believe that's what it's for, you probably just can't wait for that peaceful, energy-generating Iranian nuclear program to come on line.

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October 26, 2005

Jawa Hath Ith Privilegeth

One of the joys of being a Jawa Report poster is being on the inside, being in the know, ever mindful of the fact that yes, one day, I may too become an anonymous high ranking official who asked not to be named.

And the icing on the cake is being the blogson. Being the blogson gives me access to Rusty that even Howie can only dream of.

What is the point of all this? Well, I have excellent news. Because of my special relationship with my blogfather, I am the only blogger here who has seen the fruits of his labors, the sweat of his brow, the baby that he is soon to deliver with all the pain and agony that birthing a masterpiece entails.

I have the first page of the first chapter of the book that Rusty is putting his final touches on, and I have been granted permission to post it here.

So without further ado, because he who hestitates, well, you know the rest... more...

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Kerry: Bring 20,000 Troops Home from Iraq

The irrelevent one speaks. Odd position considering it wasn't long ago he was screaming for more troops. Obviously been hanging at the Waffle House again.

Sen. John Kerry says President Bush should bring home 20,000 troops from Iraq over the Christmas holidays if the December parliamentary elections there are successful.

Defeated by Bush last year and a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, Kerry called for a "reasonable time frame" for pulling back troops rather than a full-scale withdrawal advocated by some Democrats. He said it could be completed in 12 to 15 months.

"It will be hard for this administration, but it is essential to acknowledge that the insurgency will not be defeated unless our troop levels are drawn down, starting immediately after successful elections in December," Kerry said in a speech prepared for delivery Wednesday at Georgetown University. Excerpts of the speech were obtained by the Associated Press.

Now that's what I call some seriously contorted reasoning.

Companion OpiniPundit

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Another Al Qaeda Smithereen Commando Suffers Premature Evisceration

From an American Forces Press Service news release we learn that an Al Qaeda suicide bomber managed to blow up his suicide vest while still in the car with his accomplices:

Three people were seen in the vehicle before it exploded, officials said. One bomber was wearing a suicide vest, which apparently detonated early, killing the bomber and another occupant, while a third terrorist jumped from the moving vehicle in time to avoid being killed. Iraqi Police arrested the surviving insurgent. Iraqi explosive ordnance experts later cleared the scene.
It is believed that, because of his incompetence, Allah will not provide him with the traditional 72 raisins:
But Manji says recent research shows all that virgin stuff was based on an erroneous translation of the Koran: what awaits in heaven are 72 raisins. What? Could 54 people really have been blown up for a bag of raisins? “Well in 7th century Arabia raisins were so exalted as to be promoted to paradise.”

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

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A Note to Fellow Academic Bloggers: Follow Chomsky's Lead

I'm just checking in to let you all know that I am alive. I appreciate the work Howie, See-Dubya, Vinnie, Mike Pechar, Traderrob, Chris Short, Bluto, & the Demosophist have been doing in my absence. It looks like my book project may go a little longer than I anticpated, but only by a couple of weeks. I will be back, so please have patience.

What have I learned from writing this thing? Absolutely nothing. Oh, except, never write a book-length manuscript before submitting chapters to your editor. Trust me on this one.

On another topic, Spoons says goodbye to blogging. Wait, you mean Spoons was a lawyer? I never knew that.

This reminds me of a bit of advice I've been meaning to relay to academic bloggers: follow Chomsky's lead.

Follow Chomsky, you say, why that's an odd bit of advice coming from the Right?

Indeed it is. What I mean by that is you need to separate your academic work from your polemic work. Chomsky, as you may know, is a noted linguist. But, is Chomsky famous because he is a linguist? No. Please name his linguistic theory? He is famous because he is a critic of U.S. foreign policy. He is not an IR specialist nor does he have any training in political science. His tenure at MIT is based on his linguistic work, not on his foreign policy analysis. His foreign policy analysis is basically a polemic shaped by an ideology and world view. It is blogging before the advent of blogs.

If you are an academic blogger, follow Chomsky's lead and do not blog on your field of expertise. This may come as quite a shock to some of my readers, but I am not an IR specialist nor is my academic work related--even peripherally--to the Global War on Terror and Islamofascist ideologies.

In my role as a blogger I am just like you: I am a citizen journalist.

So, note to fellow bloggers in academia: leave the "expert opinions" to the peer reviewed journals. As for your blog, keep it simple, know its limitations, and do not tout your academic credentials in order to give some authority to your pontifications.

As for that last recommendation, do not follow Chomsky's lead. I'm not sure that it's Chomsky's fault that his followers rely on the logical fallacy of resorting to authority when quoting him. You can't say Chomsky's theories are stupid, they say, Chomsky works at MIT. As if the fact that Chomsky works at MIT as a linguist gives his theories on why U.S. foreign policy is (and has always been) bad mmmmmkay, some extra credibility.

The truth is that I started blogging using the name "Dr. Rusty Shackleford" as a joke. Give Dale Gribble a Ph.D. and this is what you get. Only recently have I begun to realize how much faith people put in that "Dr." aspect of my fictional name. Ultimately, the validity of this blog rests not on my education level or my professional activitiy, but on the quality of the posts and the facts or theories presented therein.

I don't post on my academic area of expertise for the very same reason Chomsky does not lecture outside of MIT on his: I know the difference between peer reviewed theories put under academic scrutiny and theories about world politics driven by my ideology. Hopefully, the latter--my opinions about the war on terror--are accurate. What they definitely are not, though, are rigorously thought out analysis in the same manner as my academic work is. None of my posts--as far as I can tell--has ever produced a hypothesis that any one -- as far as I can tell -- has tested.

So, to fellow bloggers in academia remember what your blog is and what it is not. It is a place to post random thoughts and observations. It is a place to stroke your own ego. It is a place to editorialize. It is a place to say inane, meaningless, and occasionally offensive things. It is a place where on a rare occasion you might just get an important point across. However, it is not a place to further your academic career nor is it a place that your credentials have any meaning.

Blogs are the great levellers of our day. Whether auto-mechanic or nuclear physicist, the opinions of both are of equal importance in the blogosphere. Blogs have made Chomskys of us all. And that, believe it or not, is a good thing.

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Iran says, “Israel, Wipe Them Out”

IranÂ’s new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dropped the Mr. Nice guy lately.

Yahoo News: Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury, any (Islamic leader) who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world," Ahmadinejad said. Ahmadinejad also repeated the words of the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who called for the destruction of Israel. "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map," said Ahmadinejad, who came to power in August.

So Mr. Ahmadinejad just how do you propose to do that with all peaceful nuclear technology you are working on that you just transferred to your military? The radical shift in Iran shows how much pressure having two democratic states on their borders added to the domestic cry for freedom is having. They must paint everyone as an enemy of Iran and create a struggle to maintain enough support to stop freedom. Current political problems in the US have left an opening for other nations to pour on pressure. Several have been taking advantage this week including Canada on timber and NAFTA.

Others : Captains Quarters and Jihad Watch.

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Islamic Army in Iraq New Video

This week on Infovlad a new and old video were posted from Islamic Army in Iraq. So what is the big deal? IÂ’ll tell you, the new video lacked a header, singing voices and all the other post production details and fancy bells and whistles. Also after Al-Qaeda announced a weekly news program they have failed to deliver the goods. Add to that the capture of their main webmaster and you see why. See itÂ’s not so much the machines but the people to run them as well.

Then terrorists attacked the Palestine hotel attempting to capture journalists or possibly take the building for a 1970's Olympics style operation. They failed, while they killed some people the IraqiÂ’s and Americans they had much bigger plans. Also think about the not so obvious targets there equipment, producers and technicians. So while they are bound to pop up the 2 month drought combined with the low quality release make this Jawa feel pretty good.

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WTW Cube Farm Living at Ground Zero.

A while back I told you about having to make our cubicles all neat and stuff. I had to take down the tower of stupidity. I gave some big speech how it was going back up. Well there have been some problems. First the tower was deconstructed leaving a large empty area in my cube. The teenage mutant frogs and the lizards were in charge of grounds keeping and damaged two philodendrons. While I’m nursing them back to health Aussie decides to put his apple core in there for fun. Killed them suckers dead. Then Quailman and Johnny Bravo who were in charge of the redesign and construction can’t decide how many spires go on top or if the base is protected against flying “yogurt lid of death” projectiles. This has resulted in weeks of delay and haggling, meanwhile the empty spot just sits there. Roy looks so lonely up there on his magnet without characters in the Tower of Stupidity to keep him company. It just doesn’t feel right. On other news Jack Frost visited Bumfuct Egypt for the first time day a full 10 days late. I siphoned off a fifth of that home made wine last weekend. Had to be tested you know. Good stuff, I’ll bottle err uh plastic jug that this weekend.

Here are your White Trash Wednesday bloggers


more...

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Wal-Mart Attacked

In an effort to reduce employee health care costs and enhance profitability, a memo recommending the hiring of more part-time workers and discouraging the hiring of unhealthy people was drafted for submittal to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors. In draft form, the memo was intercepted and anonymously sent to Wal-Mart Watch, a union-backed activist group, which claims that a 'secret memo' was uncovered. On the other hand, it appears that Wal-Mart just considered the memo to be an internal document which was freely released in updated form when it was asked for.

Nonetheless, the union-backed team at Wal-Mart Watch is attempting to demonize Wal-Mart in its seemingly reasonable attempt to develop ideas and methods to reduce health care costs. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything wrong with part-time workers or discouraging the hiring of unhealthy workers. Nor do I see anything wrong with trying to enhance profitability.

Without scrutinizing the Wal-Mart memo, it's impossible to determine the reasonableness of the proposed changes. On the surface, it appears to reflect nothing more than a day in the operation and administration of a business. Unfortunately, and I've witnessed it already, the mainstream media have been characterizing the memo as an indication of a sinister and evil conspiracy to discriminate and subjugate. more...

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