The fall of America

My apologies to Nero for the comparison, but it begs to be made: Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Obama golfed while embassies burned.

The Roman Empire took about four centuries to fully disintegrate: the second sack of Rome occurred in AD 455 and Nero fiddled in AD 64.

I don’t think we have that long to wait before America falls: it is spending and aborting itself to death far too enthusiastically to totter on for another 400 years.

What both Rome and the USA have in common at the beginning of their disintegration is leaders who were callously indifferent to their citizens. Obama and his admirers go one step further: they blame the values of their own country – free speech in this case – for the vile deeds of their country’s enemies.

How long before the barbarian hordes are sacking North American cities? No-one knows, of course, but it can’t be too long: Islamists are strenuously testing the resolve of America – and they are finding that there isn’t any.

From here:

Last week, after issuing a statement at the White House about the murder of the American ambassador in Libya, President Barack Obama hopped aboard Air Force One and headed for Vegas. At a campaign rally to cap off his day, he spoke about the murdered ambassador and went on to say, “We are the one indispensable power in the world. And if we are going to see peace and security for our children and our grandchildren, then that means that this generation of Americans has to lead.”

As embassy after embassy is attacked, the United States does not look like an indispensable power. And it does not look like it because it has largely dispensed with its leadership in the Middle East.

[…]

The ability of protesters to attack with impunity American embassies, and for it to be taken in campaign stride by America’s leaders, is a sign of a new day in the Middle East. At the end of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France extended their influence as custodians of the region. After the Second World War and the creation of the State of Israel, the United States took over as the protector — of Israel, and later of Egypt, of Kuwait, of Turkey and even of Afghanistan against the Soviets. That period is over, and a new era is being born. At the moment it is only a post-American order. Will it become an era dominated by militant Islam?

A new day begins with the dawn’s early light. It is already past dawn, but what the day will bring is unknown, and fearfully so.

More on that film

The U.S. has responded to the murder of its diplomat and destruction of its property by hunting down and killing the murderers? By cutting off financial aid to the countries responsible? By treating the well organised invasion of its territory as an act of war and responding accordingly? By withdrawing embassy staff from unstable Middle–Eastern countries – those still living – and cutting off diplomatic relations? Not exactly. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department is interviewing Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, maker of the film that is the latest flimsy excuse for Muslim hatred of the West.

Toronto Hindus are going to screen “Innocence of Muslims” at an undisclosed location amid heavy security. There is currently no estimate of how many viewers will die of boredom.

Muslims in Niger destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary because they don’t like “Innocence of Muslims”. Western countries are on high alert in preparation for the inevitable violence from rampaging Catholics.

Muslims in London and Sydney are rioting in protest against “Innocence of Muslims”; none of them have actually seen the film, but they are all unemployed, have nothing better to do, and, riot or no riot, will continue to receive their welfare cheques, so why not indulge in a little recreational rioting?

Egypt’s PM, Hisham Qandil, sees it all as a series of “unfortunate events”: as Exodus 20:13 admonishes: “You shall not murder because it would be an unfortunate event”. Qandil goes on to note that it is unacceptable to insult our prophet – peace be upon him and that the West needs to curtail its unfortunate tendency to allow speech free enough to insult our prophet – peace be upon him. The thing is, the true identity of Muslims is that they are peace loving; unless you insult their prophet – peace be upon him – because then they will want to behead you. So we must put a stop to these films so that Muslims can live according to their true identity. For their prophet – who absolutely loved peace in the sparsely occasional moments he wasn’t at war. Peace be upon him.

“Innocence of Muslims” film maker identified

The film that has become the latest excuse for Islamist mayhem was, according to the FBI, created by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a character on probation for “financial crimes” living in California.

Watching the trailer is enough to convince any sane person that the entire film must be execrable tripe. Tripe or not, Islamist reaction to it was predictably demented and, even though he made a dismal job of it, it’s pretty clear that Nakoula intended his creation to inflame those eager to vent their righteous indignation by murdering people.

In the almost civilised West, one of the things we do is allow people to say insulting, aggravating things about anything they like – in public. It’s called free speech. The ludicrous thing about what has happened is that Islamists have been set off, not by the best we have to offer, but by an atrocious piece of drivel so badly executed that it should never have seen the light of day.

This is not so much a clash of civilisations as a clash of barbarities.

The clip is below for those with sufficiently numbed sensibilities.

From here:

Federal authorities have identified a Coptic Christian in southern California who is on probation after his conviction for financial crimes as the key figure behind the anti-Muslim film that ignited mob violence against U.S. embassies across the Mideast, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The official said Thursday that authorities had concluded that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, was behind Innocence of Muslims, a film that denigrated Islam and the prophet Muhammad and sparked protests earlier this week in Egypt, Libya and most recently in Yemen. It was not immediately clear whether Nakoula was the target of a criminal investigation or part of the broader investigation into the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya during a terrorist attack.