THE DIOGENES REPORT
The Wit, Wisdom & Wituperation of
Emanuel L. Strunin
“a few steps ahead of the curve”
September 2006, VOL. VI, #14
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(Items marked with an * were written by Diogenes.)

ONCE UPON A TIME….*

Most children grow up on fairy tales, those delightful stories in which kindness always wins out over the evildoers. Defeating the evildoers is usually a simple matter like chopping down the beanstalk or pushing the witch into the oven or having the woodman kill the wolf with one stroke of his axe. As experienced through the eyes and ears of children this fairy-tale world is a wonderful place of goodness, friendliness and tranquility.

When faced with the realities of the world, most children outgrow the fantasies of the fairy-tale world. Some do not.

Those that do not, operate with a liberal/left worldview. In general, they are convinced that a little bit of “good will” can solve the world’s problems. They do not accept the premise that some 5,000 years of recorded history teaches us many lessons of the intractable nature of problems between individuals, tribes and nations. They cannot believe that even large-scale doses of “good will” will not put an end to the hard-wired nature of human aggressive behavior that also translates into similar behavior by larger social organizations. 

So emotionally enveloped are these individuals with the fairy tale world that they cannot comprehend, much less deal with the powerful evils that are an integral part of the real world. This mindset prevented many Americans from recognizing early on the evils of Nazism, Fascism and Communism. As for Europeans, a great many of them looked at these evils with favor believing that their own prejudices and material benefits would be fulfilled by those movements. In the overwhelming number of cases, their fairy-tale outlooks came crashing down on them.

Just as it was in World War II, the Western world is currently faced with another Armageddon this one against Islam, and the fairy-tale world outlook or the real-world outlook, whichever predominates, will determine the levels of carnage and casualties that the West will incur—or even whether the West is victorious.

The people with a once-upon-a-time outlook believe relations between the West and Islam will improve if we just talk to ‘them.’ Of course, a question arises when it comes to this Hydra-headed monster as to who is ‘them.’ Based on the reaction to the comments of Pope Benedict, if the talk isn’t exactly what the Muslims want to hear, all hell breaks loose fueled by the incitement of the ‘them’ with power. Their incitement calls for murder, destruction of property and economic blackmail. We also hear from the powerless ‘them’ claiming that the other ‘them’ don’t really mean all the bad things they say and, in any case, they don’t represent the true Islam. The West is being sucked into a game where Muslims make up the rules.

When it comes to dialog with Muslims, you must play by their rules. You are not permitted to say anything negative about Islam, but they can make the most vicious and degrading comments about your religion and culture. And, lastly, if they don’t like what you say, or who you are, or what you look like, they can, and often do, cut off your head. If you question this analysis, just look at the numerous examples of this Islamic behavior in recent years. 

On all fronts the evildoers of Islam are being excused by the fairy-tale people in the West. In Israel and Lebanon, the terrorists have been renamed freedom fighters. In Darfur, the powers-that-be in the West claim that the situation is not really that bad, and anyway it’s Muslims murdering Muslims. In Bosnia and Kosovo, the West is supporting the Muslims who fought on the side of Hitler against the Serbs who fought against the Nazis. In France, England and other European countries, Muslims are allowed to run wild and carry out attacks on Jews. In Iraq and Afghanistan, America is trying to win the hearts and minds of Muslims instead of using total firepower against everyone involved in attacking Americans. Syria and Iran have been allowed to carry out proxy wars against America in Iraq and Israel through Hizbullah and other Shias. And just about everyone except the United States is unwilling to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

As far as the Muslims are concerned, using dialog, restraint and the promotion of trade instead of voicing meaningful threats, are signs of weakness to be taken advantage of. Those that have matured out of their childhood fantasies recognize the reality of the Muslim threat. Those that are still attached to their childhood fantasies cannot recognize the threat, at least until a great deal more American blood is flowing in our streets. Even then there will be those who will attribute the problem to the Western victims rather than to the perpetrators. While the fairy-tale believers may mature in other aspects of their development they are hobbled in their emotional makeup throughout their lives when it comes to politics, international relations and all inter-group relations.



AFGHAN-ISTAN AGAIN-ISTAN

When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier. 

This is the third time in the past four years that I’ve run this Rudyard Kipling quatrain, written over 100 years ago, because Uncle Sam refuses to learn from the sad experience of Britain and Russia. I will, once again offer Diogenes’ sage advice on what to do about Afghanistan: pull out all American and coalition troops and patrol the country with missile-carrying drones. Anytime the missile’s camera spots three or more Afghanis in a group—men or women—fire a missile at the gathering. That should keep the Taliban, al Qaeda and their many supporters from reestablishing Afghanistan as a terrorist base.

By the way, the Bush Administration’s claim that there has been no terrorist attacks in the US since 9/11 is poppycock, a cover-up. Our policies in Afghanistan have led to daily attacks on our streets. The Taliban eliminated poppy growing. We allowed –or encouraged—its return. Now Afghanistan is the world’s largest grower of poppies, and you can be certain the resulting cheap heroin can be found on our streets, in our schools and in our homes. If this doesn’t constitute ‘attacks,’ I don’t know what does.



HOW ISRAEL CAN WIN THE WAR AND THE PEACE

The following article by Moshe Feiglin the leader of a faction within the Likud party explains why the usual revolving door in Israel’s leadership will not solve the country’s problems. He analyzes the problems and offers, what I consider, sensible solutions.

Where Do We Go From Here by Moshe Feiglin

Everybody is talking about a commission of inquiry to investigate Israel's failure in the second Lebanon war. But the question is not who must be dismissed from his position. The answer to that is easy. The question is who -- and what -- must come in their place. Manhigut Yehudit presents the direction in which it intends to lead Israel.

Education:
The first hour of every school day will be dedicated to Jewish identity.

During the Holocaust, some Jewish children were hidden in monasteries. These children had often entered the monasteries at age two or three, and completely identified with their new saviors. But when the Jewish emissaries who searched for these children throughout Europe would enter the monastery, there was a sure way to identify them. The emissary would stand on a chair and call out, Shema Yisrael... ("Hear O' Israel...") and the Jewish children would automatically finish the sentence that had accompanied them from the time that they were born. At that point, it was easy to return them to their own nation and identity.

Although the Holocaust did not succeed in erasing the Jewish children's identity, the Israeli educational system, in many cases, has. The majority of children in the State of Israel of 2006 cannot complete the Shema Yisrael phrase. This is the phrase with which our ancestors were burned at the stake, the phrase that kept them unified as a nation during 2000 years of exile, the phrase that every Jew says when he wakes up in the morning and goes to sleep at night-- essentially it is the slogan of the Jewish nation throughout the generations.

Most of the soldiers in the Israeli army had never visited Jerusalem before they were conscripted. The products of the Israeli educational system lack basic knowledge of Jewish history, Bible and the Land of Israel. Without Jewish education there is no Jewish identity, no past and no future.

Family:
The normative family must be restored to its status as the cornerstone of society. The way that the government can encourage this is to provide families with tax breaks and other benefits.

The number of "single parent families" in Israel has climbed by 500% in the past decade. This is a severe social landslide. Without the family, society cannot exist. Of course, every person has the right to run his life as he chooses. Sometimes, parents are forced to raise their children alone, and they do it well. But, this is not the optimal situation. Ideally, a child needs both his mother and his father. There is no replacement for the family unit. It is the healthy foundation from which a person can set out on his adult life -- the cornerstone that builds society and the nation. 

The postmodern Left attacks all the traditional infrastructures of society. That is the essence of its existence. The concept, "single parent family" is a new invention. It is Orwellian "newspeak" that is not meant to help the single parents forced to raise their children alone. Instead, it is a concept coined by the Left in order to legitimize an incomplete reality and to give it equal footing with the normative family. In this way, it undermines the status of the family unit. 

To prevent the breakdown of the family unit and the crumbling of society, the State should provide benefits to young couples and to mothers who prefer to raise their children at home. If there is no family, there is no society, and if there is no society, there is no State.

Security:
The Likud constitution calls for the implementation of sovereignty on all parts of the Land of Israel. Security means territory. In the most basic way, a secure person is a person who has solid ground under his feet. To triumph in a war means to conquer territory. These are basic concepts that are not politically correct in our postmodern era. But in the recent Lebanon war we clearly saw that we cannot fight, we cannot win and we cannot provide Israel's citizens with security without them. On the contrary. Our enemies must know that if they attack us, they will lose their territory -- forever. 
When Israel conquered the Golan Heights in the Six Day War, the 100,000 Syrian citizens who had lived there were forced to return to Syria. Since then, the Golan Heights has been sovereign Israeli territory -- much safer than most places in Israel. This is the model that Israel should adopt for any territory that it conquers. When our enemies are convinced that we are willing to die for every particle of liberated territory, they will be convinced to live with us in peace. Of course, security is the function of a basic feeling of the justice of one's cause. We must believe that this Land belongs to us -- and only to us. Without territory there is no security and without security there is no State.

Supreme Court:
The method for electing judges must be urgently reformed. Israel's judges must be chosen by the representatives of the people and must reflect the nation's values.

Currently, the Supreme Court judges choose themselves under the facade called the Judiciary Selection Committee. The Supreme Court judges are alienated from the values of our nation and represent the "enlightened" ideals of a small, disengaged elite. When deposed Justice Minster Chaim Ramon dared demand that a protocol of the deliberations in the closed-door sessions of the Selection Committee should be kept, he was summarily disposed of. This ought to trigger loud warning bells for whoever thinks that he is living in a free country.

The Supreme Court is the root of the ills described in the above paragraphs. It is the Supreme Court that supports and promotes the self-destructive Leftist agenda from which this country suffers. A judge is supposed to guard his nation's values. He is supposed to steer the country in the direction of its values point.

LISTEN TO AN EXPERT ON ISLAM

The following news story appeared in Arutz Sheva on September 15, 2006:

Islamic History Expert: Moslem Peace with Israel? Never!
By Ezra HaLevi

Islam History Professor Moshe Sharon of Hebrew University told a counter-terrorism conference Thursday, "There is no possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians whatsoever - ever.” 

Sharon, speaking at the annual conference of Herzliya’s Counter Terrorism Institute, said that Iran is dead serious about obtaining and using nuclear weapons in order to bring about its vision of an Islamic End of Days. 

The veteran expert on Islam says that Western officials fail to grasp that the Arab and Islamic world truly see Israel’s establishment as a “reversal of history” and are therefore unable to ever accept peaceful relations with it. From Moslems’ perspective, “Islamic territory was taken away from Islam by Jews. You know by now that this can never be accepted, not even one meter. So everyone who thinks Tel Aviv is safe is making a grave mistake. Territory, which at one time was dominated by Islamic rule, now has become non-Moslem. Non-Moslems are independent of Islamic rule and Jews have created their own independent state. It is anathema. Worse, Israel, a non-Moslem state, is ruling over Moslems. It is unthinkable that non-Moslems should rule over Moslems.”

Sharon dismissed various peace treaties signed by Moslem and Arab officials over the years as "pieces of paper, parts of tactics and strategies… with no meaning."

Sharon’s assessment focused on the danger posed by Iran. From studying Iranian culture, literature, newspapers, broadcasts and interviews with major players in the Islamic regime, Sharon concludes that a deep belief in a Shiite messiah is at the root of Iran’s nuclear project. “They truly believe that the Shiite messiah, the 12th Imam (also known as the Mahdi), is here, and that he will reveal himself… What moves the Iranian government and leadership today is first and foremost the wish to bring about the 12th Imam." 

Addressing the theological doctrine of how exactly the Messiah will be revealed, Sharon explained: "How will they bring him? Through an apocalypse. He (the Mahdi) needs a war. He cannot come into this world without an Armageddon. He wants an Armageddon. The earlier we understand this the better. Ahmadinejad wants nuclear weapons for this!" 

Sharon has in the past insisted that the Western world was engaging in great folly by differentiating between radical and peaceful Islam. “All of a sudden we see that the greatest interpreters of Islam are politicians in the Western world,” he wrote sarcastically. “They know better than all the speakers in the mosques, all those who deliver terrible sermons against anything that is either Christian or Jewish. These Western politicians know that there is good Islam and bad Islam. They know even how to differentiate between the two - except that none of them know how to read a word of Arabic.”

“The difference between Judaism, Christianity and Islam is as follows: Judaism speaks about national salvation - namely, that at the end of the story, when the world becomes a better place, Israel will be in its own land, ruled by its own king and serving G-d. Christianity speaks about the idea that every single person in the world can be saved from his sins, while Islam speaks about ruling the world. I can quote here in Arabic, but there is no point in quoting Arabic, so let me quote a verse in English: ‘Allah sent Mohammed with the true religion so that it should rule over all the religions.’

“The idea, then, is not that the whole world would necessarily become Moslem at this time, but that the whole world would be subdued under the rule of Islam.” 

That, Sharon insists, is the plan, in black-and-white, of the Iranian regime. 

“This is why [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad seeks nuclear weapons,” he emphasized. “The faster we realize this, the better.”

HOW THE NEW YORK TIMES MIGHT HAVE HANDLED THE HOLOCAUST IF THEY HAD COVERED THE HOLOCAUST

HEADLINES AND COMMENTS*
Headlines from the world’s press. Comments by Diogenes.

Man Arrested For Blowing Shofar At Western Wall 
Obviously, the thinking that lost the war in Lebanon is still alive and ruling in Israel.

Only 1/4 of Israeli-Arabs Supported Israel In War, As Predicted
This ¼ doesn’t mean a fourth column; it means a fifth column.

Kosher Bottled Water: Pure Distilled Drinking Water (ad headline in a Jewish newspaper)
Is this what they call Jewish holy water?

Liquid Threat Is Hard To Detect
Don’t be silly; you can smell it on their breath.

Help Is Not On The, Way For Darfur
1. Of course not, when Muslims commit the murders it’s not genocide—especially when they’re murdering blacks.
2. It’s amazing at how fast the European nations were when it came to robbing the Africans and how they drag their feet when it comes to helping the Africans.

Harvard Dean Stands By Khatami Invitation: Dialogue With Foes Called Valuable
I believe he means dialogue with his Muslim friends. If anyone had any doubts about the Dean’s motivation for writing his anti-Israel, anti-Jewish paper, this should end their doubts.

Muslim Candidate Plays Defense
This former supporter of Farrakhan now has a stamp of approval from Democratic Party Jews in Minnesota. Maybe it’s time for the Democrats to open a fund-raising office in Riyadh.

Iraqi Premier Will Visit Iran To ‘Enhance’ Ties 
He’s looking for some stronger ropes to tie down the Sunnis and Kurds.

At A Secret Interrogation, Dispute Flared Over Tactics
It should be noted that some men’s torture are other men’s S & M.

Cancer Surgery For Pakistan Atomic Scientist
Poor A. Q. Kahn, they couldn’t give him the radiation treatment he needed because he sold the equipment to Iran.

Medicare Premiums To Rise 5.6% in '07
It’s OK with me; I’ll pay anything to rebuild Iraq.

Man Seized On Flight To Dulles: Passenger Attempts To Open Cabin Door
He had to go badly and the lavatories were occupied.

Newly Banned Items Often Fly Past Airport Screeners
Not to worry, sometimes the items are caught by their Seeing-Eye dogs.

USinternetworking Agrees To $300 Million Acquisition By AT& T
The evil stepmother, “Ma Bell” is preparing to become the dominatrix again.

To Stay Alive, Iraqis Change Their Names
You have the wrong man, my name isn’t Muhammad it’s Goldberg.

Over U.S. Objections, Israel Approves West Bank Homes
Are you sure it’s West Bank and not West Side?

Ney to Plead Guilty in Scandal
Ney decided to say yea.

Writing May Be Oldest In Western Hemisphere
This 3,000-year-old stone slab told the Aztecs where to best cross the river to avoid the Hopi and other tribes.

Remarks by Pope Prompt Muslim Outrage, Protests
Reminds me of the graffiti: “support mental health or I’ll kill you.”



QUOTES I LIKE
Diogenes considers them clever and/or informative, 
Not that he necessarily agrees with them. Not even with his own.

It may be time to revive Saddam’s old battle cry: “Kill the Persians.”
- Diogenes

Everybody in Hollywood is still buzzing about Mel Gibson’s drunken, some say anti-Semitic, DUI stuff. Mr. Gibson announced that he will be entering rehab—the Betty Ford Center for his alcoholism and I believe the Henry Ford Center for anti-Semitism.
- Jon Stewart

Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.
- John Kenneth Galbraith

The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.
- Albert Einstein

What does a drop in the national unemployment figures mean? It ‘s a sure sign that Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Denny’s continue to open new stores.
- Diogenes

The Germans are exceedingly fond of Rhine wines; they are put up in tall, slender bottles, and are considered a pleasant beverage. One tells them from vinegar by the label.
- Mark Twain 

Anyone who is less observant than me is a bad Jew; anyone who is more observant than me is a fanatic.
- Anonymous

You see, those are the people who have been overcharging us—selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. First it was the Jews, then the Koreans and now it’s Arabs.
- Andrew Young (Explaining, as a Wal-Mart spokesperson, why it’s a good thing to wipe out mom and pop stores. He forgot to blame the mom and pop stores in the black neighborhoods for extending credit to their customers when the chain stores would not. This may have gotten them hooked on buying on credit, even though it enabled poor black families to eat and furnish their homes.)

Australia: where else in the world is a generous man defined as one who would give you his arsehole and shit through his ribs?
- Germaine Greer

A group of innocent American tourists was taken on a tour bus through a country the members later described as ‘either France or Sweden’, and subjected to three days of looking at dirty old buildings where it was not possible to get a cheeseburger.
- Dave Barry

Nature fits all her children with something to do;
He who would write and can’t write, can surely review.
- James Russell Lowell

A German asks: What does the man do?
An American asks: How much is he worth?
A Frenchman asks: What is his family background?
A Viennese asks: Where does he publish?
A Hungarian doesn’t ask: He knows the man and owes him money.
- Kurt Tucholsky

The trouble with Islamic fascism or Islamicism or Islamic fundamentalism or Islam (or whatever you want to call it) ain’t ideology… it’s theology.
- Diogenes

Some problems are just too complicated for rational, logical solutions. They admit of insights, not answers.
- Jerome Wiesner

Q: What are you giving the bride and groom?
A: Oh, about three months.
- Overheard at a Hollywood wedding reception

This is what we should be hearing!!
GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
Press "1" for English.
Press "2" to disconnect until you have learned to speak English
- E-mail message

For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free,” here's an update for you. Now 80% of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig, just to get a little sausage.
- Andy Rooney

Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.
- Anonymous

Krauthammer's Law: Everyone is Jewish until proven otherwise.
- Charles Krauthammer

Visit my new blog, DIOGENES # XXI at http://diogenesxxi.blogspot.com/


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