A brief note: this is unrelated to my Arabic class, but is a general note, and one of the reasons Residence Life is evil.

The supposed goal of multiculturalism is to celebrate diversity of people and create unity. In my experience, it does the exact opposite. By making people realize that they are different, it separates people into groups easily identified and stereotyped, whether stereotypes are positive are negative.

Furthermore, by segregating people like that, it would be counter-intuitive for this to create a sense of equality. Different, yet equal, (or separate but equal) is a concept not intrinsically grasped by human beings in the same way that labeling things as the same are. As an American white male, I endure the most of this top down inequality. Because fortune has favored me to be born as who I am now, I pay for the mistakes of my ancestors. Since white males wrote western history from the dawn of Rome up until about 1960, it must be wrong. Thus, since white males were favored under the "old" system, we must be "unfavored" as much under the new system. Anything America, which is run by white males, must be inherently wrong.

Rather than proposing that people should be seperated into groups, I think a better approach to the spirit of diversity or multicuturalism would be to keep people together and celebrate individiual diversity. Take me and a friend of mine. We are both the same age, the same height (hard to believe, I know, but he exists, trust me), and are from the same geographic region (the Philadelphia area). He is very liberal, I am conservative, and we listen to very different types of music, and our majors are in different colleges. That being the obvious, we both have very different experiences, even if they are more similar than some. This also applies to any two people. Even twins raised apart can be very different people.

Now, I am not saying we celebrate differences, on the contrary, I am saying that I recognize that everyone is equal just for existing as a human being. Very unlike Kant, I know, but that is my belief. Forcing people to recognize their differences can only lead to suffering. This is my basic problem with organizations such as the NAACP (now practically as marginal as the Ku Klux Klan) and the gay pride movement. A white straight male parade would be characterized as racsist and intolerant. In the same way, gay pride parades and NAACP rallys make me feel marginalized. I do not walk around advertising I am straight, why should those who live an alternative lifestyle do the same?

Posted by Ryan S. at 7:38 PM | Permalink | |

Tomorrow is my first class in Arabic. I'm excited, and nervous, so I will keep you all updated as to my progress.

Posted by Ryan S. at 9:33 PM | Permalink | |

The New York Times:

Because hurricanes form over warm ocean water, it is easy to assume that the recent rise in their number and ferocity is because of global warming.

But that is not the case, scientists say. Instead, the severity of hurricane seasons changes with cycles of temperatures of several decades in the Atlantic Ocean. The recent onslaught "is very much natural," said William M. Gray, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University who issues forecasts for the hurricane season.

Reminds me of State of Fear, Michael Cricton's book from last winter. It is ficiton to be sure, but in it, he usues fact to demonstrate how much raw belief goes into global warming "theory."

Posted by Ryan S. at 8:03 AM | Permalink | |

And it is Conan. Conan Vs. Bear

Posted by Ryan S. at 5:01 PM | Permalink | |

This is what I would call hella cool:

If there’s one thing worse than having snipers shooting at you, it’s getting shot at and not knowing. That’s the bizarre situation US Forces have encountered in both Iraq and Afghanistan as they travel the vast distances in convoys, unable to tell if a bullet has just flown past amidst the noise, dust, and rumble of up to 100 war machines around them. DARPA and BBN Technologies decided to tackle this increasingly common problem and came up with the device at right. It’s called the Boomerang Mobile Shooter Detection System and alerts soldiers of incoming sniper fire to give them the opportunity to retreat to safety or return fire before they are hit. The Boomerang units attach to a vehicle and use seven small microphones, arranged like the spine of a sea urchin, to detect both the muzzle blast and the shock wave from a speeding bullet. Once a sniper's bullet is detected, Boomerang's display panel, which is located inside the vehicle, alerts soldiers through audio and visual signals that a bullet has been fired, its direction and elevation. Boomerang is currently being trialled on 50 Humvees in Iraq.

Posted by Ryan S. at 4:47 PM | Permalink | |

Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi is having a press conference now, outlining post-Katrina recovery. He outlined the recovery of infrastructure, and has said that security is a priority, as he has deployed the National Guard to be "aggressive" against looters. This is a great way for him to get onto the national stage, as bad of a tragedy as it is. Great press conference, very clear, and accurate. It is always great when a state government is able to manage a disaster such as this.

Mississippi is not reporting any casualties at this time (1:21PM).

He's now answering questions, and has said that reports are saying that the storm surge has stopped, but has not receeded. The storm surge was "extraordinary" and places flooded that did not flood during Camille.

The storm came in and hit Mississippi "like a ton of bricks."

Posted by Ryan S. at 1:15 PM | Permalink | |

Coffee might soon be considered a health drink following a study showing it is a surprisingly rich source of anti-cancer agents.
A study has found that coffee contributes more antioxidants - which have been linked with fighting heart disease and cancer - to the diet than cranberries, apples or tomatoes.

This is good, as I love coffee.


Hat Tip: Slashdot

Posted by Ryan S. at 1:03 PM | Permalink | |

After a long week of band camp and moving in, I am back in Delaware full-time, and back to blogging.

Right now the biggest story is hurricane Katrina bearing down on the city below sea-level, New Orleans, which having been there last summer, makes me worried for all those who reside in that unique city.

Here's an interesting article hailing the end of polarization.

Posted by Ryan S. at 1:24 PM | Permalink | |

At least for me the next couple of days. After that, I am taking a two-week hiatus and will be back for blogging from my new dorm room. In the meantime, enjoy the links on the sidebar.

Posted by Ryan S. at 12:45 AM | Permalink | |

Pundits everywhere, including myself, have been saying for months that Hillary cannot win the general election. Even on The Chris Matthews Show a Sunday or two ago, Matthews and David Gregory dismissed a Clinton victory offhand. However, she is liberal enough to get the nomination, and a crafty enough politician to put up a very good fight. Sure, she's polarizing, but Dubya isn't?

She has more baggage than Paris Hilton, but she still managed a Senate victory in the second largest state in the Union after having moved there to run. The other thing she has in common with Paris Hilton is celebrity. Like or not, she is the most recognizable person in the DNC on Capitol Hill, and of current politicos for the DNC, only Dean may share such noteriaty. Celebrity has worked in her favor so far, as everytime she redefines a position, Matt Drudge shares with the world. However, most of the voting public see her from the MSM POV, and thus may remember 30-second sound bites here and there.

On the upside for the GOP, if the nominee is able to define Hillary before she gets the chance to re-redefine herself for the general election, then celebrity can work against her. All of Hillary's activites from 1992-2008 will be public record, and the GOP can manipulate voter's fuzzy memories to suit its needs.

So for the same reason that Paris Hilton is a celebrity for doing nothing really, and an even bigger one for promoting herself as a celebrity, something I a) find inexplicable, and B) find disguisting, do I also not discount Hillary as a presidential candidate, should it come to that.

Posted by Ryan S. at 10:19 PM | Permalink | |

Took a trip to Delaware earlier today to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute to see Sen. Rick Santorum speak about his new book, It Takes A Family (which ISI published). Long story short, I now own a signed copy of the book. One of his points I had not heard expressed so clearly previously were that America has become "too insular in our beliefs," and that our beliefs "are not reflected in the public square." To me this is readily apparent, and we can all thank the ACLU for doing such a great job.

Senator Santorum also took time for questions, and when asked about so-called "South Park Conservatives," of my generation, whom I always took to mean those fed up with the PC-Police and the "Can't We All Just Get Along, As Long We Are All From Different Races/Socio-Economic Circles," people on the Left, Santorum stated that this view was shortsighted, and that if values are not taught by families, than "government is forced to replace the family.

Posted by Ryan S. at 11:49 PM | Permalink | |

Harry S Truman (no period on the "S," it doesn't stand for anything), as my father says, the "Last Great Democrat President," decided to drop the atom bomb rather than invade Japan. While it saved countless Japanese and American lives, anti-nuke activists and the MSM typically mark tomorrow, the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, by protesting nuclear weapons.

Not only was the bomb necessary in 1945, but it is necessary still some 60 years later. Nuclear weapons are insurance against large scale attacks from other nations- even those who also have nuclear capabilities. Since the Revolution, the United States has won wars by innovation. Washington's Army used tactics that created weaknesses in the British brigade line tactics. In the Civil War, the C.S.A. was outmuscled by superior supplies. The United States must continue to foster its technological superiority in war.

I am not calling for building more nuclear weapons of the kind we already have, but to increase our aresenal with better weapons, and to equip our military with superior technology to fight terror and tyranny across the globe.

Roosevelt, Truman, and Reagan all realized this. That is why American won World War II and the Cold War. And why we will win the War on Terror.

Posted by Ryan S. at 1:32 PM | Permalink | |

Veronique de Rugy and James Jay Carafano:

If power companies invested in infrastructure like the Department of Homeland Security fights terrorism then a resident in New York City wouldn't be able to run a hairdryer but every cowboy in Bozeman, Mont., could light up a stadium.

Because of the rules set by Congress, Homeland Security provides every state with a guaranteed minimum amount of grants regardless of risk, need or how they support national priorities and the goal of making all Americans safer.
* * *
The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is first and foremost to prevent another September 11. It isn't to subsidize local fire stations so they can buy health club memberships like they did in Massachusetts and other places.

Read the whole thing.

Posted by Ryan S. at 1:13 PM | Permalink | |

Because I'd be moving to Chile. Seems like an economic paradise:

In the 1970s, tariffs were 1000%. The average weighted tariff is now 2%, thanks substantially to Chile's role as a global champion -- together with Mexico -- of free-trade agreements. The country has completed 47, with new deals being negotiated with China, and with a group incorporating New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei. Seventy-five per cent of the economy is traded. The peso is strengthening. Interest rates are at U.S. levels, 2.5 % or so. The result has been steady economic growth, averaging 6.4% through the 1990s and 5.9% last year, including 7.3% in the final quarter. Debt is down to 11% of GDP while the government has produced a 2% budget surplus this year. And the poverty level, 50% in 1988, is about 6% today.

Posted by Ryan S. at 1:09 PM | Permalink | |

So Zawahri released a new video on al-Jazeera today. He blames Tony Blair's support for Iraq for the London bombings. Some great logic there. We invade Iraq and Afghanistan to stop terrorism and threats to our nations, and they attack us, citing our attack as their reason for attacking us. However, this is flawed because they attacked us in the first place.

What was their "reason" to attack the United States on 9-11? Hatred. They hate the way we live and the fact that we are living. They hate us for having freedom, a prospering free market economy, and a supportave government. They want to spread hatred across Asia and Europe inciting those who are downtrodden to blame the United States for their troubles. This radical Islamist doctrine must be rejected by the world and by moderate Muslems, as it is illegitimate and perverted.

Posted by Ryan S. at 12:48 PM | Permalink | |

A military coup happened in a place I have never heard of. Let's go to the map:

The man who was the dictator former leader of the country was out of the country attending the funeral of King Fahd. The people are apparently very happy:

"There was no democracy here, there was just slavery. We have been freed from a dictatorship," said one man, Bilal, aged around 45, watching from a side street.

"It's like we've been imprisoned for decades. I'm so happy. Change is good. We've been disappointed by the regime," shouted Mohammed, in his early 20s, as he ran down the street.

The big question is "Now what?" and the answer seems to be that military rule will happen for two years. PubliusPundit says that this will be an interesting thing to watch:

There are significant challenges that are posed to the Bush Doctrine by this situation. First of all, Mauritania is an Islamic Republic whose system of law is based partially on sharia. There are some pretty radical Islamic leaders, and certainly there are elements of Al Qaeda in and around the country. Since the country doesn’t have a liberal civil society yet, elections would only bring into power other dictators. The other question that has to be wondered about is whether a military coup can assuredly bring about democracy.

Posted by Ryan S. at 2:08 PM | Permalink | |