I am so appreciative of the warm response to Sarkozy and History.  These "nutshell histories," as TTPers have dubbed them, are such a hit that I have a request.  I'd really like to hear from you as to what country or period of history should be the next nutshell.

TTPer "Leebailey," for example, in our User Forum recently made an astute observation on the consequences of the fall of the Ottoman Empire on the entire Middle East. 

Given that the Ottoman remnant of Turkey is so prominent in the news right now - a predominantly Moslem country engaged in a huge tug-of-war between secularists and Islamists - wouldn't that be a good candidate?

But the world is so large, so much of import is going on within it, and history so long, that there is a plethora of such good candidates.  So I'd like to know what you guys n' gals consider your favorites.

There's a lot to choose from.  I am really intrigued by what your choices might be.  Let me know.  Thanks...

Mohammed B., the man accused of killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam last week, was born and bred in the Netherlands. Known as a “relaxed, friendly and intelligent young man," a good student, a volunteer social worker, and a serious student of information technology, he came from a close family, and the death of his mother three years ago hit him very hard.

He began to devote more time to religious studies, and in the last year became increasingly fanatic. He abandoned his social work because he refused to serve alcohol, and because the foundation where he volunteered organized events where both sexes were present. He was on welfare when he killed van Gogh.

The Dutch — like every other Old European society I know — were unwilling to recognize that they had potentially lethal enemies within, and that it was necessary to impose the rules of civil behavior on everyone within their domain. The rules of political correctness made it impossible even to criticize the jihadists, never mind compel them to observe the rules of civil society. Just look at what happened the next day: An artist in Rotterdam improvised a wall fresco that consisted of an angel and the words "Thou Shalt Not Kill." The local imam protested, and local authorities removed the fresco.

That's what happens when a culture is relativized to the point of suicide.

One of the great benefits of membership in To The Point is the exclusive columns of technology genius Dennis "The Wizard" Turner, psychologist Joel Wade, investment guru Leslie Chase, and Nasdaq mastermind Dagny D'Anconia. Many To The Pointers consider any of them alone to be easily worth TTP membership. They are exclusive to To The Point -- you can read them no where else. Dennis Turner’s “Dennis The Wizard” column focuses on how to live better and much more safely with your computer. This week we offer this bonus column (in addition to Dennis' regular colum) in full to the TTP Free List as a clear demonstration of the value of being a member of To The Point. ---JW

Snappy title, right? Fortunately, discovering the meaning of Life is simple - if you know where to look. Life is a “characteristic state or mode of living.” And a “mode” is a “manner of performance.” And a “manner” is a “way of acting or living.” Or maybe Life is “the course of existence of an individual”. And a “course”….

I could go on all day like this - if fact, I actually did go on for several hours recently, with one of the best free programs I have ever come across. A friend sent me the reference. I took one look at the web site, downloaded and installed it.

I’m taking a break from Bluetooth and security this week because this program is just too good to pass up. It’s called StarDict, the most amazing dictionary you will ever use, online, download, print or otherwise.

Serious undertakings by the Mullah Regime in Tehran require specific authorization from the supreme leader, Obama's pen pal Ali Khamenei. 

An excellent Iranian source, with an excellent track record on such matters, informs me that the supreme leader issued a fatwa on April 14th to two of Iran's most powerful killers, Generals Mohammad Ali Jafari (head of the Revolutionary Guards), and Qassem Suleimani (head of the Quds Force), authorizing them to take any and all actions to destroy the Saudi royal family and its regime.

It's a big deal.  Khamenei's move against the royal family is quite audacious,  and could bespeak several very different convictions.  He might believe that the strategic tide is running in his favor, and hence the moment favors a dramatic push against the Sunni king. 

Contrariwise, Khamenei might be concerned that things are going badly, and thus that  he needs some spectacular victory to rally his own people and the turbulent jihadis in the region.

For even though things are going swimmingly with Washington thanks to Obama, dark clouds are looming over the supreme leader's downtown palace.  The seemingly relentless march of the Iranian hegemon across the Middle East and big chunks of Africa is stalled, blocked, or actually losing. Here's what's going on.

We all know the Moslem world is a political and cultural disaster zone.

All you need to know is the spectacularly low level of book sales in the Arab world, and a similarly miserable record in winning Nobel prizes, whether in literature or hard science. 

A dozen years ago, a group of Arab scholars did a report for the United Nations that ascribed the failure of Arab society to a lack of freedom, knowledge and womenpower.  And things have gotten considerably worse since 2002;  the authors could write that there were no ethnic conflicts then.  That's long gone.

Never mind failed states -  we're talking about a failed civilization, even in the most culturally advanced Moslem domain, the Islamic Republic of Iran.  The root of their failure is the War Against Fun.  They're not only failures, but grim, humorless failures.  This is the miserable common denominator of the Moslem world.

But it is a war that is being lost.