Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Time To Re-Arm Japan?



The War on Terrorism and the blunt ambitions of Iran have overshadowed an emerging competition among East Asian nations. China and India are emerging democratic VS authoritarian competitors; however East Asian eyes are slowly looking side ways at one time military super power Japan.

China, the Koreas and the Philippines in particular have publicly expressed concern that Japan may be rearming. Japan was a vicious military conqueror of those nations. On the other hand circumstances are changing in East Asia. China is becoming a legitimate military and economic super power with designs on East Asian hegemonic domination. This concerns the capitalists in Japan. Japan is slowly realizing that America's National Interest may not be capable of insuring security and stable access to resources that Japan needs. America is realizing that China is getting too big for its britches. This one reason for American overtures to India. In regard to China circumstances might entail the re-armament of the Japanese Military. That in itself is a risky proposition due to Japan's past military aggression. Japan's past aggression began to maintain its status of power by acquiring resources from other nations. This is the same problem that China is running into today and it is the obvious reason as to why China cozies up to rogue nations such as Iran.

Could a re-armed Japan be a viable balance of power in East Asia?

The Russia, China and Islamofascist Triangle




Russia has long been noted for sending technology to Iran. Apparently Communist China has been sending weapons grade technology that will enable Iran to quicken the pace to transform into a WMD state. What is the motivation behind Russia and China buffing up Iran. There is obviously no love between Russia and Islamofascists, so why ... why ... why do Russia and China deal military technology to Iran? There is only one answer. Russia and China have one goal: to disrupt American hegemony on the global scene. This is a different kind of Cold War. Nations with legitimate power are stealthily working against America to undermine America. In the past it was "Workers of the World Unite." Today it is undermine American principles by any means necessary, even if it means bringing the world to the brink of global catastrophe with WMD armed Islamofascists.

The Simple (Tax) Life

This is the Libertarian viewpoint of the CATO Institute on tax reform.


by Chris Edwards
CATO Institute
4-17-06



Chris Edwards is tax director at the Cato Institute and author of Downsizing the Federal Government.


As Americans fill out their tax returns this April, they will enjoy the benefits of President Bush's tax cuts of recent years. But they will not enjoy the increasingly complicated tax rules they have to sort through. Tax rates are down, but tax complexity is way up.


Last November, a presidential tax commission sounded the alarm regarding the need for a major tax overhaul. Unfortunately, the president has not moved ahead with the commission's proposals, and most leaders on Capitol Hill are all talk but no action on reform.

Here are some reasons why we need action on tax reform soon:

  1. The number of pages of federal tax rules and regulations increased from 40,500 in 1995 to 66,498 in 2006;
  2. The number of pages in the IRS guide for Form 1040 increased from 84 in 1995 to 142 in 2005;
  3. The number of different IRS tax forms increased from 475 in 2000 to 582 in 2006;
  4. The cost of compliance for federal taxpayers - filling out tax returns and related chores - increased from $112 billion in 1995 to $265 billion in 2005;
  5. H&R Block's revenues from tax preparation soared from $740 million in 1996 to $2.2 billion in 2005;
  6. The complex alternative minimum tax hits 4 million taxpayers today, but will hit 30 million by 2010 if not repealed.

Recent tax bills have made some pro-efficiency reforms, but they have also added many pro-complexity breaks to the tax code. The number of special tax breaks for education increased from 7 in 1995 to 16 today. The number of breaks for the energy industry jumped from 11 to 26 during the same period. Politicians are increasingly using the tax code for social engineering.


Tax complexity imposes at least four costs on society. First, it creates a large and growing "tax industry" that draws some of the nation's brightest minds into unproductive activities such as designing corporate tax shelters.


Second, tax complexity impedes efficient decision making. For businesses, complex rules for depreciation, capital gains, and other items interfere with decisions such as capital investment and mergers.


For individuals, tax complexity confuses important life choices such as saving for retirement and making the career jump to self-employment. A recent survey by tax publisher CCH found that two-thirds of taxpayers could not correctly answer basic questions about the tax rules on home sales, retirement savings, and other items.


Third, complexity promotes an invasion of privacy by the government. The IRS needs to hunt for volumes of data to enforce the rules on all of the code's special breaks, such as those for education and housing.


Fourth, complex tax rules exacerbate noncompliance with the law. A recent government report found that the gap between federal taxes owed and taxes paid is about $345 billion annually. The aggressive tax avoidance we saw with Enron and other firms is not surprising given that the corporate tax combines intense complexity with a very high tax rate.


The good news is that reducing tax avoidance, simplifying the tax code, and boosting economic growth go hand in hand. For example, the current tax code has different rules for different types of businesses and investments. Tax lobbyists are expert at combining these disparate rules in unexpected ways to avoid taxes.


Such tax rule arbitrage would be ended under a Steve Forbes-style flat tax, which would treat all businesses in the same neutral manner. Also, the low rate under the flat tax would discourage loophole lobbying. The result would be that resources flowed to their highest-value uses, not politically favored ones, thus boosting U.S. productivity and output.


These advantages of tax reform have inspired a flat tax revolution in Central and Eastern Europe. Nine countries including Russia have enacted income taxes with low, flat rates and few special breaks. Our turn at tax reform should be next - Congress should end the micromanaging of society through the tax code and adopt a flat tax system that treats Americans with fairness and equality.


This article appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, April 6, 2006.
All Rights Reserved © 2006 Cato Institute

Hamas Justifies Murder of Innocents in Homicidal Attack

Hamas leadership justified the homicidal attack of a suicide bomber that occurred recently in Israel. The Relgion of Peace Strikes Again!
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8 dead, 60 injured in Tel Aviv suicide attack
Islamic Jihad, al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades
claim responsibility on Palestinian television
ICEJ News

A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives in south Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon, killing 8 and injuring at least 60. The Magen David Adom ambulance service reported that at least 15 of the wounded are suffering from serious injuries. Monday's bombing rocked Tel Aviv's old central bus station only hours ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for Israel's 17th Knesset.

Islamic Jihad together with the al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a video released to Palestinian television, identifying the bomber as Sami Samil Mohammed Hammed, from the West Bank town of Jenin. On Sunday, the leader of Islamic Jihad said the terrorist group was making "nonstop efforts" to infiltrate suicide bombers from the West Bank into Israel. "The nonstop crackdown against our resistance might limit this effort, but it's not going to stop it," he said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah said the bombing harmed Palestinian interests, while Hamas official spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called it "a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes against our people. Our people are in a state of self-defense and have every right to use all means to defend themselves."

Israeli security forces have warned of a number of attempts by Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups to target the site of today's attack, which was hit by a similar suicide bombing four months ago. The Monday explosion ripped through the same restaurant that was hit by a bomber on January 19, injuring 20 people. The restaurant is in a bustling working class neighborhood near Tel Aviv's old central bus station.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Re-Arm Japan?

The War on Terrorism and the blunt ambitions of Iran have overshadowed an emerging competition among East Asian nations. China and India are emerging democratic VS authoritarian competitors; however East Asian eyes are slowly looking side ways at one time military super power Japan.

China, the Koreas and the Philippines in particular have publicly expressed concern that Japan may be rearming. Japan was a vicious military conqueror of those nations. On the other hand circumstances are changing in East Asia. China is becoming a legitimate military and economic super power with designs on East Asian hegemonic domination. This concerns the capitalists in Japan. Japan is slowly realizing that America's National Interest may not be capable of insuring security and stable access to resources that Japan needs. America is realizing that China is getting too big for its britches. This one reason for American overtures to India. In regard to China circumstances might entail the re-armament of the Japanese Military. That in itself is a risky proposition due to Japan's past military aggression. Japan's past aggression began to maintain its status of power by acquiring resources from other nations. This is the same problem that China is running into today and it is the obvious reason as to why China cozies up to rogue nations such as Iran.

Could a re-armed Japan be a viable balance of power in East Asia?

If you wish to further contemplate this conundrum read Japan Also Rises.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Education on the 'What If" of Mohammedan Domination

The Western world is only slowly waking up to the reality that it is in military/culture war with Mohammedanism. Once that realization becomes complete, only then will the full resources of the West be committed to the goal of any conflict - utter complete victory.

Author Henry Lamb is the executive vice president of the Environmental Conservation Organization and chairman of Sovereignty International. I am posting an essay he wrote for WorldNetDaily relating to dhimmitude.
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Will your kids be named Dhimmi?
WorldNetDaily
By Henry Lamb

The term "dhimmi" ("dh" pronounced as "Z") means "protected" and describes the status of non-Muslims who are allowed to live under conditions that render them inferior to their Muslim conquerors. This term will, no doubt, be new to many readers; it is a term that every American should understand fully.

Dan Simmons has provided a very readable and highly enlightening introduction to "dhimmi" in his April 2006 Message from Dan. This is a must read for every American.
Few Americans comprehend the magnitude of the war that was declared on Americans Feb. 23, 1998. Osama bin Laden's fatwa announced to the world that:

`We – with God's help – call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it.''

This declaration of war hardly made news in 1998. Sept. 11, 2001, did make the news, and Osama bin Laden's name became a household word. But Americans who believe that the war against terrorism is, or should be, focused on bin Laden and his tiny band of extremists fail to comprehend the real enemy, which must destroy the concept of freedom in order to survive.

Islam is the religion of more than 1 billion Muslims around the world. Like Christianity, Islam is divided into many sects that generally fall into one of two persuasions: Sunni, or Shiah. This split came after Muhammad's death when the Sunnis chose to follow the leader Abu Bakr, rather than Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali.

Muhammad was poisoned in 632 after a rather dubious victory over the Jewish settlement of Khaibar. The practice of "dhimmitude" can be traced to the agreement reached with the survivors of this battle.

For more than a thousand years, Islam spread across the Middle East, Africa, throughout Turkey and eastern Europe. In the last century, the continuing spread of Islam has become a significant factor throughout all of Europe, America and much of the Western world.

American values, arising from the principles of freedom, have collided head-on with the principles of Islam. The Shia branch of Islam cannot coexist with American values or the principles of freedom. It is not at all certain that the Sunni branch of Islam can coexist with either American values or the Shia vision of what Islam should be. Terrorism is the tactic of choice for both Islamic branches involved in this collision of ideas.

The war against terrorism, therefore, cannot focus on simply bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack on the World Trade Center, or the latest crop of bombers in Baghdad, or the kidnappers of Western journalists. The war on terrorism must focus on the real enemy, which is the driving force that has marched Islam around the globe. That is, the Shia belief that Muslims must subjugate, or kill, all non-Muslims.

Clearly, not all Muslims subscribe to this belief. Osama bin Laden does, as do his followers. And those who do not know full well that they are not immune from the atrocities of those who do. Although the vast majority of Muslims around the world subscribe to some version of the Sunni branch, both Iraq and Iran are dominated by Shia. These two branches of Islam have warred with each other throughout history, but when confronted by an infidel nation, such as the United States, their Islamic roots are stronger than their differences.

The Iraqi Sunnis are perfectly willing to allow Al Zarqawi to bomb Shia mosques in an effort to prevent the creation of a government dominated by the Shia, which they fear will exact revenge for 30 years of subjugation of the Shia under Saddam Hussein. Should American forces leave Iraq, Iran would most certainly enter the fray on the side of the Shia, with whatever force necessary for the Shia to take control. With both Iraq and Iran under Shia dominance, the Shia brand of butchery would prevail in the Middle East.

This outcome draws closer each day the new parliament in Iraq fails to form a new unity government. Ibrahim Al Jaffari, the prime minister designate, is a Shia, supported by the Shia religious leader. The Sunnis want someone else. Regardless of who is named as the initial prime minister, this struggle for dominance between the two branches of Islam in Iraq will continue for years to come. The only question yet unanswered is will the struggle be at the ballot box, or continue to be with bombs in the streets?

This struggle between Islamic values and Western values of individual freedom will continue for years, perhaps throughout the century, as Dan Simmons suggests in his message. Should American forces leave Iraq before a unity government is formed and functioning, the struggle in the streets of Baghdad will be brief, and then spread to the streets of Islam's most hated enemies.

Americans who demand that the troops be withdrawn now either don't know the consequences, or don't care. This unwillingness to recognize and engage the real enemy wherever it may be found increases the chances that a future generation of American kids will either be Muslim, or named "dhimmi."

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All Rights Reserved. WorldNetDaily.com Inc.

CAIR Spanked By The Courts Again

Hat tip to ACAIR.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations took another legal spanking in the courts.
CAIR claimed its good [sic] name was impugned by a retired Congressman. Federal Court said "bologne," then the Apellate Court backed up the Federal Court.
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NewsObserver.com
Published: Apr 12, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: Apr 12, 2006 02:30 AM
AP


Appeals court says judge was right to scuttle suit

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of an American Muslim civil rights group's defamation lawsuit against former U.S. Rep. Cass Ballenger, who linked the group to terrorists in a 2003 interview.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations sued Ballenger for $2 million, saying the congressman's comments damaged its reputation and good name. The group has denied any links to terrorism.

In the October 2003 interview with The Charlotte Observer, Ballenger blamed the breakup of his 50-year marriage partly on the stress of living near CAIR's headquarters, which was close enough to the U.S. Capitol that, he said, he and his wife worried "they could blow the place up." He also called CAIR "the fundraising arm for Hezbollah."
A three-judge appeals court panel in Washington upheld the March 2005 decision of a federal district court judge to dismiss the case.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon agreed with Ballenger that the comments were made in his capacity as a federal employee and that the lawsuit should be converted into one against the U.S. government.

Then, because the doctrine of sovereign immunity bars most lawsuits against the federal government, Leon threw the case out.

Ballenger retired from his 10th District seat in 2004 after nine terms and was succeeded by fellow Republican Patrick McHenry.

© Copyright 2006, The News & Observer Publishing Company