The Blinne Blog

The New Curse Word of the Left: Neoconservative

One thing I noted is a new word showing up a lot. Just like the word gravitas that showed up prior to the election, the word neoconservative or neocon is showing up a lot, particularly in association with Iraq. I just did a Google News search for neoconservative and Iraq and I got 137 hits. Neocon and Iraq yielded another 41. I guess this is the new focus-grouped term to try and discredit the war.

What It's All About

The following FOXNews.com story noted the following incident in the fight for a bridge in Hindiyah. This is what it is all about.

At one point, U.S. soldiers spotted an elderly woman in black chador, lying wounded in the middle of the bridge. Using his Bradley fighting vehicle for cover, company commander Capt. Chris Carter of Watkinsville, Ga., ran out to center of the bridge, saw that she needed urgent help and called for an armored ambulance to take her to an aid station.

He used his M-16 rifle to provide cover while the medics put her on a stretcher. Carter then returned to the U.S. side of the bridge.

Update: The following story via Command Post provides some more details on this hero.

Liberate California

Via Diana Mertz Hsieh: NoodleFood with a humerous suggestion of where to go next after Iraq. Noting that on the Internet there are serious web sites that advocate soldiers frag their officers, please note that this is a joke.

Liberate California! Paul just suggested that our armed forces liberate California after we're done with Iraq. The territory is about the same size, with a great deal of desert. And Californians are living under a repressive government. Furthermore, the repressed minority of conservatives in the areas north of San Francisco would likely be willing to take up arms to overthrow the Davis regime. I just hope that the Liberals don't set the oil fields on fire...

Iranian Neutrality: Death to Everyone

Radio Free Europe reported on the current state of the war. In that article was a snippet on the schizophrenic Iranian response. Traditionally, neutrality was good will to all, but I guess not so in Iran.

Also today, the war drew large protests across Asia and the Middle East in countries from Egypt to Indonesia. Tens of thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran to chants of both "Death to America" and "Death to Saddam." Iran's government has vowed to remain neutral in the conflict.

A Noble Cause

I commend to you this BBC story.

I hope that what this Colonel is telling the troops is taken to heart. Here's a a portion of his speech:

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins gave the battlegroup of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish the pep talk as the US deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face action ticked away.

Reporters said the men listened in silence to the address at Fort Blair Mayne desert camp, 20 miles from the Iraqi border.

"We go to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country," he said.

"We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.

"If you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory.

"There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send.

"As for the others I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory.

"Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there.

"You will see things that no man could pay to see and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis.

"You will be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing.

"Don't treat them as refugees for they are in their own country. Their children will be poor, in years to come they will know that the light of liberation in their lives was brought by you.

"If there are casualties of war then remember that when they woke up and got dressed in the morning they did not plan to die this day.

"Allow them dignity in death. Bury them properly and mark their graves."

Rules for Prayer Competitors

Richard Mouw gaves some rules for prayer competitors that are good to consider in our divided World. The bulleted items are Richard Mouw's, and the interspersed comments mine.

* Keep praying about what matters to you

Don't let the fact that others disagree dissuade you from praying your heart.

* Focus on the underlying issues

In other words, no outcomes-based praying. Pray for peace, not your own approach to peace.

* Pray for those whom you consider to be your enemies -- Matthew 5:44

This should be obvious.

* Acknowledge that you might be wrong in the way you view things.

Mouw gives a great reference to Psalm 139:21-24. In verses 21-22 the Psalmist tells God that he hates God's enemies. Then comes an "oops" where in verses 23-34, the Psalmist asks God to search his heart.

The Blizzard of 2003

Here's what the blizzard looks like in Fort Collins:

Detrimental Effects of Sanctions on Human Altruism

In the recently published study of human altruism it was found that the carrot is mightier than the stick.

Detrimental effects of sanctions on human altruism

ERNST FEHR AND BETTINA ROCKENBACH.

The existence of cooperation and social order among genetically unrelated individuals is a fundamental problem in the behavioural sciences. The prevailing approaches in biology and economics view cooperation exclusively as self-interested behaviour.unrelated individuals cooperate only if they face economic rewards or sanctions rendering cooperation a self-interested choice. Whether economic incentives are perceived as just or legitimate does not matter in these theories. Fairness-based altruism is, however, a powerful source of human cooperation. Here we show experimentally that the prevailing self-interest approach has serious shortcomings because it overlooks negative effects of sanctions on human altruism. Sanctions revealing selfish or greedy intentions destroy altruistic cooperation almost completely, whereas sanctions perceived as fair leave altruism intact. These findings challenge proximate and ultimate theories of human cooperation that neglect the distinction between fair and unfair sanctions, and they are probably relevant in all domains in which voluntary compliance matters.in relations between spouses, in the education of children, in business relations and organizations as well as in markets.

Scripture could have told us that already. Philippians 4:8 says:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.if anything is excellent or praiseworthy.think about such things.

Testing Scripturize Plug In

This plug-in should give links for Bible verses such as John 3:16 and Jude 12 and don't forget Psalm 23.

Edit Link for MT That's Visible Only to Authors

Here's how I add an edit link that shows up only for authors. First, go to manage templates and set the output file for your main index to index.php. Then, goto weblog config and set the default extension for archives as php.

In your templates you add the following code wherever you want your edit link:

<?php

if(isset($_COOKIE['user'])) {

echo " | <a href=\"<$MTCGIPath$>mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&id=<$MTEntryID$>&

blog_id=<$MTBlogID$>\" target=\"_blank\">Edit";

}

?>

How it works:

When you log into MT, it sets a cookie called user that saves your login information. The PHP code checks for the set cookie. If someone is able to hack a forged cookie, the link will still fail to work because the password is wrong.