The Bosque Boys

Muslim violence is causing Buddhists to flee southern Thailand. Story from AP. Here. Link from Jihadwatch.

Thailand's Muslim insurgency has prompted hundreds of Buddhists to flee their homes in the restive south, creating refugee-like communities of Thais in their own country. So far, the migration is limited to a handful of villages, but it has alarmed Thai authorities who fear the daily violence of the three-year-old rebellion could provoke a larger Buddhist exodus and leave the three southern provinces exclusively Muslim. Buddhist monks have been beheaded, Buddhist teachers slain, and leaflets distributed around Buddhist villages warning that raising dogs and drinking alcohol are offensive to Muslims.

I am sure that if the US withdraws from Iraq, and Israel dissolves itself as a nation, then all this Muslim violence will end. (alert for the irony impaired)

We have lost one of the great heroes of the international relations side of the Reagan Revolution.

From the Washington Post:

"Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, a conservative political scientist who became the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, died at her home outside Washington late Thursday, colleagues announced today. She was 80" (full obit here).

We will add obits and tributes as the day progresses. You are invited to comment on the life of Kirkpatrick.

From the New York Times: “When she put her feet under the desk of the Oval Office, the president listened,” said William P. Clark, Mr. Reagan’s national security adviser during 1982 and 1983. “And he usually agreed with her" (full obit here).

Norman Podhoretz, in the Weekly Standard, offers this tribute to Kirkpatrick and a defense of neo-conservatism.

From CNN.com: the famous "Blame America First" speech at the 1984 Republican National Convention.

Islamic demands for Western humility and tolerance have all been one-way, us to them. How about a two-way street? It'll never happen, Islam is too wrapped up in its own superiority. Here is an excellent essay on what the Pope should have said in Turkey by Bruce Thornton from the Victor Davis Hanson website.

Would that the Pope had stood in Hagia Sophia and asked the Turks to restore this Christian monument to the Orthodox Church, as a sign that Turkey is sincere about entering the modern world and accepting its canons of reciprocal tolerance, not to mention showing the sort of regret for its ancestors’ crimes that the West is continually dunned to show.

Some interesting numbers on deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., courtesy of The Mudville Gazette.

Once again China leads the world in the number of jounalists imprisoned. Cuba is a trailing second. This article includes information and links on the Chinese government's moderately successful efforts to shut down free speech on the internet, a project they are receiving help with from American companies (the last two capitalists . . .). Link from Instapundit.

I cannot understand the logic of those who claim that increased economic liberalization of China will automatically lead to increased political freedom. Even Milton Friedman, if I understand him correctly, argued that economic freedom was a necessary but not a sufficient condition of political freedom.

Philosophically, I am not a fan of any theory of Determinism, including Economic Determinism.

Since World War 2 the Christian population in Muslim lands has been declining. In the Palestinian Administration area the drop has been from 20% Christian to less than 2%. By contrast, the Christian population in Israel is growing. Yet some Christian leaders (heirs of the apologists for Russia & Co. in the Cold War) want to blame Israel for the decline. See this post from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Link from Dhimmiwatch.

Some Religion of Peace and Tolerance, huh.

A great editorial on Islamic arrogance from the LA Times. The author is Raymond Ibrahim, a research librarian at the Library of Congress. His book, "The Al Qaeda Reader," translations of religious texts and propaganda, will be published in April.


Islam demands to be respected in non-Islamic countries, yet has a history of desecrating, destroying, or turning into mosques, the churches and temples of lands Muslim armies conquer. Not to mention demanding equal treatment in the West while relegating Christians and Jews to second-class citizenship in Muslim lands.

This report on Niger from Jihadwatch. The Islam in this African nation formerly was of the syncretistic variety, easy-going toward non-Muslims. In the last few years Saudi money has been supplying hard-line imams who are transforming the religion/culture of Niger.

When you drive alone, you drive with the sheiks. SUV Drivers for Wahhabism. Freeway Speeders for Radical Islam. Accountants Driving Big Pickups for Terrism.

In the words of Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

I am not sure if this article reporting on an interfaith dialogue represents sloppy reporting on the Christian theologian, or sloppy thinking on his part. Whichever the case, between his comments and those of the Muslim leader what is obvious is that Christianity and Islam in their traditional and historic forms are mutually incompatible. Moreover, they are necessarily competitors because they each make universal claims that are mutually exclusive. Each claims a revelation that supercedes all others.

Tocqeville urges a reading of this essay by Andrew J. Bacevich in Commonweal. In it the author urges us to consider our nation and its history realistically and truthfully, in order to make our way in the world. Bacevich offers a sober assessment for our consideration. Guaranteed to provoke, stimulate, and enlighten. Well worth the read, I think.