September 04, 2006
Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.
"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.
Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.
Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.
Irwin is also known for one of the worst movies ever made -- 2002's "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course".
This is a truly sad event, especially for his wife, Terri, and their two children, daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December. May they be comforted by the fact he died doing what he loved.
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September 03, 2006
FAR-RIGHT extremists have adopted the tactics of Islamic jihadists by posting videos on the internet in which they threaten to behead British Muslims.The films show balaclava-clad white British men brandishing guns, knives and clubs, calling on all Muslims to leave the United Kingdom or be killed. One appears to be a soldier who has served in the Gulf.
In one film a man tells Muslims to “go homeâ€� or risk being burnt alive. He threatens: “I’ll cut your head off,â€� and claims to have “comradesâ€� across Britain who have “had enoughâ€�.
The videos have all been made since the arrest three weeks ago of suspects connected to the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic jets. Their style mimics the “martyrdom videosâ€� of Islamic radicals talking about their plans for terrorist outrages against the West.
The release of the videos on YouTube, an American-based open-access website, coincides with reports of a rise in the number of attacks on mosques.
I'm curious -- is there an actual rise in the number of attacks on mosques that has been documented, or are we simply talking about claims by Muslim groups of such an increase. After all, it seems like every time Islamists engage in an act of barbarism, the usual apologists for Muslim terror claim that they are te evictims of eve more hatred -- claims that are never retracted after the events are shown to be hoaxes or frauds committed by Muslims themselves.
But I do have a question about these videos -- are they really threats against Muslims, or are they parodies intended to satirize the barbarism of the jihadi pigs around the world? Not, of course, that it makes a particular difference, for the apologists for islamist terrorism won't be willing to distinguish between the two, any more than they are willing to condemn the real videos from their co-religionists engaged in terrorism around the globe.
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Surveillance video recovered by Montreal police shows a masked man throwing a firebomb at the door of an orthodox Jewish school in an attack early Saturday.The bomb started a fire but the damage was described as minimal.
Police said a neighbour heard what sounded like a window breaking just after midnight and looked out to see the main entrance of the Taldos Yakov Yosef school in Outremont in flames.
In the video, the man takes a few steps toward the entrance, then steps back to throw a lighted Molotov cocktail. He removes his mask as he steps out of the video frame, but his face is not visible.
Although officials of Jewish groups disagree, police have been unwilling to declare the attack a hate crime. In the absence of graffiti or other other evidence, it is being treated as an unexplained case of arson.
I wonder -- in the absence of a note or grafitti, would a similar attack on a Muslim institution be treated as "an unexplained case of arson"? Or would it be presumed to be a bias-related attack?
I think we can all answer that without too much trouble.
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The American Left is notoriously anti-Israel. It seems that if one is pro-choice, or pro-gay, or even pro-civil liberties, one is almost automatically against the evil theocratic military machine dug in unfairly in amongst its peace loving neighbors.Nevertheless, as I set out to continue my efforts to end the Iraq War by working as a summer intern at a major anti-war coalition based in New York City, a coalition famous for organizing some of the largest demonstrations against the war, I expected the activists who worked there to be different. I expected individuals dedicated to ending all war and the atrocities that are chained to any and every armed conflict to be able rise above the quid pro quo political banter that has dominated the Arab-Israeli conflict from its conception and simply work for peace. I was wrong.
In every instance, Israel was painted as the villain, the Jews as the agents of wrong-doing. Even when israel was teh victim of attacks, it was the wrong-doer for engaging in self-defense.
Sounds like the "anti-war" Left is simply against Jews daring to fight back.
ADDENDUM: Just a reminder of how deep Jew-hatred goes in the "mainstream" Left.
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And if you don't, you can die at the hands of the jihadi faithful. Malkin transcribes part of the video.
"Islam is the only religion acceptable to God and came with the revealed book, the Koran, which abrogates all previous revelations, like the Torah and Evangel... God recognizes no separation between religion and state...""To Americans and the rest of Christendom we say, either repent (your) misguided ways and enter into the light of truth or keep your poison to yourself and suffer the consequences in this world and the next..."
"If the Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants like Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Michael Scheuer, Steven Emerson, and yes, even the crusader-in-chief George W. Bush were to abandon their unbelief and repent and enter into the light of Islam and turn their swords against the enemies of God, it would be accepted of them and they would be our brothers in Islam. And we send a special invitation to all of you fighting Bush's crusader pipe dream in Afghanistan, Iraq, and wherever else W. has sent you to die."
So much for the believe that the God of the Jews, of the Christians, and the Muslims are the same God. They don't seem to believe that, so why should the rest of us -- no matter what my troll Ken Hoop and his "religious experts" say about the matter.
Captain Ed points to a historical analog for the American propagandist for the Religion Of Peace -- Lord Haw-Haw, the Nazi propagandist of WWII. May they meet the same fate.
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And now... the winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Empire and Apocalypse by Gates of Vienna, and Check or Checkmate? Death by Cop on the Global Stage by Kobayashi Maru. All members, please be sure to link to both winning entries (and to the full results of the vote) in a post. I actually had to break a tie in the non-council category this week... Ms. Cornelius made an interesting comparison between high school and Dante's concentric Circles of Hell, but I ultimately cast my lot for Kobayashi Maru's bleak analysis of our struggle against Islamofascism. Two members were unable to vote this week... but The Sundries Shack was the only member affected by the 2/3 vote penalty. Thanks to everyone for all the great entries this week... I'm eager to see next week's entries! Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:
Votes Council link 2 1/3 Empire and Apocalypse
Gates of Vienna2 Targeted Killings, Moral Consideration
Soccer Dad2 Meanwhile, in Darfur...
Joshuapundit1 Say Anything
AbbaGav2/3 Flag Flapped In Colorado
The Education Wonks2/3 Valid Pedagogical Purpose -– Poor Pedagogical Methodology
Rhymes With Right1/3 Save the Electoral College!
Right Wing Nut House1/3 Pluto Struck Down As Unconstitutional
Socratic Rhythm Method
Votes Non-council link 3 Check or Checkmate? Death by Cop on the Global Stage
Kobayashi Maru2 When Teaching School Is Like... A Divine Comedy
A Shrewdness of Apes1 1/3 Shaw's "But" Proves Him an Ass
Caerdroia1 Anchoress Called on to "Retract" Support for Rudy
The Anchoress1 Niall Ferguson on the 21st Century
The Belmont Club2/3 The First Scene of Ehud Olmert's Last Act
Israel Matzav2/3 All the News ThatÂ’s Fit To Blackout
Blue Crab Boulevard1/3 Walking Among the Tent Camps
Publius Pundit1/3 A Greek Tragedy: Glass Half-Empty
Pixane1/3 NYTimes Watch: It's Not Easy Being Blind
Villainous Company1/3 "Melting Pot" of Victims Shows Depth of Muslim Integration
Point Five
Congratulations all around -- especially to my Non-Council nominee, Ms. Cornelius.
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I'll be posting this article from the Washington Post in my classroom as a resource for my students.
JAMESTOWN -- They were known as the "20 and odd," the first African slaves to set foot in North America at the English colony settled in 1607.For nearly 400 years, historians believed they were transported to Virginia from the West Indies on a Dutch warship. Little else was known of the Africans, who left no trace.
Now, new scholarship and transatlantic detective work have solved the puzzle of who they were and where their forced journey across the Atlantic Ocean began.
The slaves were herded onto a Portuguese slave ship in Angola, in Southwest Africa. The ship was seized by British pirates on the high seas -- not brought to Virginia after a period of time in the Caribbean. The slaves represented one ethnic group, not many, as historians first believed.
The discovery has tapped a rich vein of history that will go on public view next month at the Jamestown Settlement. The museum and living history program will commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's founding by revamping the exhibits and artifacts -- as well as the story of the settlement itself.
Although historians have thoroughly documented the direct slave trade from Africa starting in the 1700s, far less was known of the first blacks who arrived in Virginia and other colonies a century earlier. A story of memory and cultural connections between Africa and the early New World is being unearthed in a state whose plantation economy set the course for the Civil War.
"We went entirely back to the drawing board," said Tom Davidson, senior curator of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. "The problem has always been that all of the things that make for a human story [of the Africans] were missing. . . . Now we can talk about the Africans with the same richness we talk about the English and the Powhatans."
Too often, people think of history as old, dead, and stagnant. The reality is that there is always more artifacts to be recovered and more old records to be discovered, and as a result there are new insights into the past that help us understand who we are as a people and how we came to be that way. I'm thankful for this article, and for the work of those at Jamestown who have provided a little insight inot the development of one of the less proud aspects of American history.
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September 02, 2006
Guess what -- the letter was not ALL he was demanding. As Bob Dunn over at Fort Bend Now points out, Don Richardson was also asking for "a check for $20,000 as a refund of my campaign expenses".
Richardson initially indicated he failed to follow through on his promise to drop out of the race because he wanted proof from national Republican officials that $4 million in funding was on its way to Sekula-Gibbs.However, a copy of a fax from Richardson to Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman reveals an additional issue.
“I will withdraw as a write-in candidate upon receipt of your letter and a check for $20,000 as a refund of my campaign expense. Please see my FEC report, filed today,” the fax, dated Aug. 25, 2006, says.
Apparently Richardson didnÂ’t get that $20,000 check, because heÂ’s still a registered write-in candidate, not to mention that heÂ’s also in the running in the special election.
For those of you who don't believe my charge against this miserable poltroon, let me supply you with a little bit of photographic evidence -- sent to all the CD22 precinct chairs by Don Richardson himself!
Now I don't know about you, but Richardson's demand for a check made out to him to cover his "expenses" certainly looks like solicitation of a bribe to me -- and given that he was communicating via fax with the RNC in Washington, DC, it would appear that he committed a federal offense in the process.
Hey, Don -- Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GOP. Do not collect $20,000!
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, Clayton from Burma.
Palestinian militants who held two Fox News journalists hostage for nearly two weeks threatened in a statement posted online Saturday to abduct non-Muslims visiting the Palestinian territories and kill them unless their demands were met.The statement, posted in the name of the Holy Jihad Brigades on a Web site frequently used by militants, said the group would kill any hostages it takes unless they converted to Islam, paid a ransom or Muslim prisoners were exchanged for their release.
"Any infidel blood will have no sanctity," the group said in the statement.
That's right -- we infidels are all targets, and we are subject to killing if we don't knuckle under to the demands of the followers of ROPMA.
I'm curious -- where are all the outraged liberals and "moderate Muslims" who were offended by Ann Coulter's comments about forcibly converting terrorists and their supporters to Christianity in the wake of 9/11? They seem strangely silent following the forced conversion of the Fox News hostages and this statement.
So let me proudly proclaim my position on this matter.
Allah is simply Satan, and Muhammad is his false prophet.
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Attorneys for Merck & Co. want to see bank and cellphone records that could show the extent of a juror's financial relationship with a plaintiff who won a $32 million verdict against the drug company in the death of a 71-year-old man who took Vioxx.Jose Manuel Rios, a $22,000-a-year school janitor who served on the panel that found Merck liable for Leonel Garza's fatal heart attack after taking the painkiller Vioxx, testified in a post-trial deposition to borrowing up to $10,000 interest-free from Garza's widow, Felicia, the plaintiff in the lawsuit against Merck. He said the loans included $2,500 that was paid off just weeks before he was selected as a juror in the case.
He said Felicia Garza also loaned money to others in the community.
Tilden Katz, a spokesman for Merck's legal team, said Merck attorneys were hoping the documents would help them ``get to the bottom of" the financial relationship.
``Everyone is entitled to a fair trial," he said. ``A financial relationship with a juror raises a serious question as to whether the Garza trial was consistent with these vital principles."
Plaintiff attorney Joe Escobedo did not return a call for comment.
Rios produced cellphone records that showed calls from his number to Garza's. He told lawyers his wife, a teacher's aide, made the calls on school business. Merck lawyers say the timing of the calls, including evening calls made days after he received his jury summons and the day before jury selection, is ``highly suspicious."
Merck lawyers requested Rios's deposition in June, after a fellow school employee alerted the local attorney to the loans.
Oneida Saenz, a textbook data specialist for the Rio Grande City school district, said she observed the financial transactions beginning in the fall of 2003.
Saenz said that she spoke to Rios in March.
``He said, `I can't wait to get back to court,' and I said, `You don't want to get me started. You know you don't belong there,' " the affadavit reads.
The case, which ended in April, was the sixth to reach a verdict among more than 11,000 lawsuits involving the blockbuster painkiller . Plaintiff attorneys hailed it as the first in which a jury found short-term usage was one of the factors leading to a heart attack.
Merck attorneys said Leonel Garza only used the drug for a week, which wasn't long enough for it to cause heart attacks. Plaintiff attorneys said he took the drug for 17 days.
Garza was a smoker with a 20-year history of heart disease, but plaintiff attorneys said recent medical tests showed his veins to be clear and his heart attack risk to be low.
Sounds to me like this was an attempt to play the jury-lottery -- and that the plaintiff and her legal team sought to rig the verdict. Toss the verdict out -- and the suit along with it.
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New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin vowed never again to call the World Trade Center site a "hole in the ground" during a visit to New York on Friday to let investors know his hurricane-devastated city is reopen for business.Nagin stopped short of again apologizing for using that description of the Twin Towers site -- where 2,759 people died in the September 11 attacks -- during a U.S. television interview that aired last week.
"I tell you what I will never do again is refer to that site as a hole. It's a sacred site that is presently in an undeveloped state," Nagin told a news conference to launch the New Orleans Rebirth economic development tour.
Nagin had drawn criticism for his remarks in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" when asked why it was taking so long to clean up New Orleans a year after Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,339 people and caused $80 billion in damage.
"You guys in New York City can't get a hole in the ground fixed and it's five years later. So let's be fair," he said on "60 Minutes."
Nagin apologized for the comment on Sunday.
If the WTC comment were his only offense, I might give him a pass. But from his incompetent handling of the evacuation of New Orleans to his histrionic attempts to blame the Bush administration for the failures of his administration and that of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, to his "chocolate city" comment to this latest outrage, it is clear that the man is an idiot -- and that the people of his city are even dumber than he is because the reelected him.
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Russia on Friday cast new doubt on the prospects for the Bush administrationÂ’s efforts to punish Iran for refusing to suspend its nuclear program, even as European leaders expressed wariness at moving quickly to impose sanctions.In Moscow, officials expressed regret that an Aug. 31 deadline had passed without an agreement by Iran to halt its efforts to enrich uranium that could be used for building nuclear weapons, as American and European officials believe Iran intends to do.
At the same time, Russian officials made it clear that they do not support retaliatory sanctions or other steps to isolate IranÂ’s leadership. That was a view that seemed to be widely shared across Europe, despite public consternation over IranÂ’s defiance of a United Nations Security Council resolution.
Despite weeks of diplomacy and compromise among the Security Council’s permanent members — the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia — the resolute deadline set by the Security Council for Iran to halt its nuclear work seemed fairly irresolute once it passed.
Russia’s defense minister, Sergei B. Ivanov, said that the issue of sanctions was “not acute,” and added that diplomats from the five permanent members and Germany would meet to discuss further steps. France’s Foreign Ministry said the meeting was scheduled for next Thursday in Berlin.
RussiaÂ’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said that Russia favored continued negotiations and not punitive measures, calling into question their effectiveness.
Even though Russia previously joined the other permanent members of the Security Council in setting the deadline for Iran to comply — with the implicit threat of sanctions — Mr. Lavrov left in doubt whether Russia would ever agree to any penalties. His view echoed one heard increasingly here: that sanctions could be a first step toward a new American-led military conflict in the Middle East.
In light of this, I have to ask why the US and other countries believe that the UN has any role at all in settling world problems. This sort of crap is what we see in the worst parents and worst teachers -- threats made but an unwillingness to carry out. As a result, the wrong-doers are able to continue to act at will, knowing there are no consequences to a failure to comply.
But then again, maybe we should look at history. In 1939, the Russians cut a deal with Hitler. Want to bet that they have a deal with Ahmadinejad?
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ritish police said on Saturday they had arrested 16 men in two separate anti-terrorism operations just three weeks after uncovering a suspected plot to bring down U.S.-bound airliners over the Atlantic.Fourteen of the men were held in London in an operation that a police source said focused on suspected “training, recruitment and encouraging others to take part in terrorist activity”.
Anti-terrorist police in Manchester arrested two men early on Saturday and were carrying out three searches but this was not linked to the London arrests, police there said.
Most of these arrests seem to be related to terrorist training camps within Great britain, and are unrelated to the airline bombing plot that was recently disrupted.
Furthermore, it appears that the Brits are taking no chances, and are engaged in a great deal of surveilance of those with suspected links to terrorism.
British police are currently trying to monitor "thousands" of potential security suspects, the head of the anti-terrorism unit at London's Metropolitan Police said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.In an interview recorded in July, before the arrest of more than two dozen people on suspicion of an alleged plot to blow up US-bound aircraft, Peter Clarke said Britain was facing an increasing threat from homegrown extremists.
He refused to give an exact figure about how many people he said were either directly or indirectly involved in plotting atrocities on British soil but said the number ran into four figures.
"I don't want to go down the numbers game, I don't think it's helpful," he told a BBC television programme entitled "Al-Qaida -- Time to Talk?"
"All I can say is that our knowledge is increasing and certainly in terms of broad description, the numbers of people who we have to be interested in are into the thousands."
He added: "That includes a whole range of people, not just terrorists, not just attackers, but people who might be tempted to support or encourage or to assist."
Clarke highlighted the potential for home-grown terrorism in Britain since the September 2001 attacks on the United States, implicitly citing the July 2005 London bombings carried out by four British Muslim suicide bombers.
"What we've learnt since 9/11 is that the threat is not something that's simply coming from overseas into the United Kingdom. What we've learnt, and what we've seen all too graphically and all too murderously, is that we have a threat which is being generated here within the United Kingdom."
here's hoping that we are doing the same sort of thing here in the US -- and that we can keep it secret from the ACLU, New York Times, Washington Post and other al-Qaeda associates who would rather embarrass the Bush Administration than keep America safe.
UPDATE: Surprise! Surprise! Looks like one of the targets in the current investigation may be a Muslim "school" in East Sussex. It seems like it was less interested in education students thanindotrinating them in violent jihad. So much for the "Religion of Peace".
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An enduring mystery of the C.I.A. leak case has been solved in recent days, but with a new twist: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, knew the identity of the leaker from his very first day in the special counselÂ’s chair, but kept the inquiry open for nearly two more years before indicting I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick CheneyÂ’s former chief of staff, on obstruction charges.Now, the question of whether Mr. Fitzgerald properly exercised his prosecutorial discretion in continuing to pursue possible wrongdoing in the case has become the subject of rich debate on editorial pages and in legal and political circles.
Richard L. Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state, first told the authorities in October 2003 that he had been the primary source for the July 14, 2003, column by Robert D. Novak that identified Valerie Wilson as a C.I.A. operative and set off the leak investigation.
Mr. FitzgeraldÂ’s decision to prolong the inquiry once he took over as special prosecutor in December 2003 had significant political and legal consequences. The inquiry seriously embarrassed and distracted the Bush White House for nearly two years and resulted in five felony charges against Mr. Libby, even as Mr. Fitzgerald decided not to charge Mr. Armitage or anyone else with crimes related to the leak itself.
In other words, Fitzgerald knew the leaker FROM DAY ONE. The focus of the case should therefore have been limited to Richard Armitage and his legal culpability for releasing the Plame name, which Fitzgerald quickly realized did not constitute criminal conduct. At that point, the investigation should have been closed down. But Fitzgerald continued to investigate legal activity by the administration to rebut the demonstrably false charges of an administration critic -- activities which are essential to ensuring that the people of the United States are fully informed about the conduct of their government, which is in turn essential for the healthy functioning of our representative democracy.
What also needs to be investigated are tactions by others who knew of Richard Armitage's guilt in leaking Plame's name.
On Oct. 1, 2003, Mr. Armitage was up at 4 a.m. for a predawn workout when he read a second article by Mr. Novak in which he described his primary source for his earlier column about Ms. Wilson as “no partisan gunslinger.” Mr. Armitage realized with alarm that that could only be a reference to him, according to people familiar with his role. He waited until Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, an old friend, was awake, then telephoned him. They discussed the matter with the top State Department lawyer, William H. Taft IV.Mr. Armitage had prepared a resignation letter, his associates said. But he stayed on the job because State Department officials advised that his sudden departure could lead to the disclosure of his role in the leak, the people aware of his actions said.
Later, Mr. Taft spoke with the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales, now the attorney general, and advised him that Mr. Armitage was going to speak with lawyers at the Justice Department about the matter, the people familiar with Mr. ArmitageÂ’s actions said. Mr. Taft asked Mr. Gonzales whether he wanted to be told the details and was told that he did not want to know.
As I see it, the other folks who need to be investigated here are Powell, Taft, and others who were aware of Armitage's misdeeds yet intentionally concealed them from the President. I exclude Gonzales from this group only because, in his role as White House legal councel, it was proper to decline being informed of teh leaker's identity. Such disclosure would have brought prompt presidential action which would have disrupted the investigation of the leak. Any disclosure of the leaker's identity should properly have come through either the State or justice Departments. That they did not allowed a viper to remain deeply involved in the policy process.
Here's a great analysis of the case at American Thinker.
And Fred Barnes lists all the "bad actors" in his Plamegate rogues gallery.
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September 01, 2006
Lockheed Martin Corp. won a multibillion-dollar contract yesterday to build a vehicle to replace NASA's space shuttles, put a human on the moon for the first time since 1972 and be the precursor to a manned spaceship to Mars.The award marks NASA's most concrete step to fulfill President Bush's two-year-old, $230 billion promise that the space agency would return astronauts to the moon and restore excitement about space exploration. NASA has planned to replace the shuttles since the mid-1980s and has spent almost $5 billion to do so -- with little success so far.
"It's just thrilling, for all of us," said Skip Hatfield, NASA's project manager. The vehicle, known as Orion, is the embodiment of the "very future of human space flight," he said.
Orion will look somewhat like the three-man Apollo command module but will carry as many as six astronauts. Like the shuttle, Orion will be able to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station.
Orion is expected to make its first manned flight by 2014, four years after NASA's three operating shuttles are retired. NASA said it hopes for a moon landing by 2020.
Unlike the shuttle, which lands like an airplane on a runway, Orion will descend with the aid of a parachute to landings in the ocean or on land. NASA plans to build two of the vehicles, one for manned flight and the other for unmanned. After judging how often the spaceships can be reused, the agency will decide how many more to buy, Hatfield said.
Since this part of Houston is, in many ways, a company town, I'm particularly gratified to see that so many friends now have some idea of where the space agency is headed next.
First, back to the moon.
Next, on to Mars. . . and beyond.
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The global nuclear monitoring agency deepened suspicions on Thursday about IranÂ’s nuclear program, reporting that inspectors had discovered new traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian facility.Inspectors have found such uranium, which at extreme enrichment levels can fuel bombs, twice in the past. The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that at least some of those samples came from contaminated equipment that Iran had obtained from Pakistan.
But in this case, the nuclear fingerprint of the particles did not match the other samples, an official familiar with the inspections said, raising questions about their origin.
In a six-page report to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, the agency withheld judgment about where the material came from and whether it could be linked to a secret nuclear program.
Is it time yet for a little bit of Persian Carpet-bombing?
Iran lied about its peaceful intentions?
How can that be -- Islam is a religion of peace!
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WE'RE RELUCTANT to return to the subject of former CIA employee Valerie Plame because of our oft-stated belief that far too much attention and debate in Washington has been devoted to her story and that of her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, over the past three years. But all those who have opined on this affair ought to take note of the not-so-surprising disclosure that the primary source of the newspaper column in which Ms. Plame's cover as an agent was purportedly blown in 2003 was former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage.Mr. Armitage was one of the Bush administration officials who supported the invasion of Iraq only reluctantly. He was a political rival of the White House and Pentagon officials who championed the war and whom Mr. Wilson accused of twisting intelligence about Iraq and then plotting to destroy him. Unaware that Ms. Plame's identity was classified information, Mr. Armitage reportedly passed it along to columnist Robert D. Novak "in an offhand manner, virtually as gossip," according to a story this week by the Post's R. JeffreySmith, who quoted a former colleague of Mr. Armitage.
It follows that one of the most sensational charges leveled against the Bush White House -- that it orchestrated the leak of Ms. Plame's identity to ruin her career and thus punish Mr. Wilson -- is untrue. The partisan clamor that followed the raising of that allegation by Mr. Wilson in the summer of 2003 led to the appointment of a special prosecutor, a costly and prolonged investigation, and the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on charges of perjury. All of that might have been avoided had Mr. Armitage's identity been known three years ago.
That's not to say that Mr. Libby and other White House officials are blameless. As prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has reported, when Mr. Wilson charged that intelligence about Iraq had been twisted to make a case for war, Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney reacted by inquiring about Ms. Plame's role in recommending Mr. Wilson for a CIA-sponsored trip to Niger, where he investigated reports that Iraq had sought to purchase uranium. Mr. Libby then allegedly disclosed Ms. Plame's identity to journalists and lied to a grand jury when he said he had learned of her identity from one of those reporters. Mr. Libby and his boss, Mr. Cheney, were trying to discredit Mr. Wilson; if Mr. Fitzgerald's account is correct, they were careless about handling information that was classified.
Nevertheless, it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame's CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming -- falsely, as it turned out -- that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to senior administration officials. He ought to have expected that both those officials and journalists such as Mr. Novak would ask why a retired ambassador would have been sent on such a mission and that the answer would point to his wife. He diverted responsibility from himself and his false charges by claiming that President Bush's closest aides had engaged in an illegal conspiracy. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.
Now, when will we see the prosecution of Joe Wilson for his treasonous lies in this matter -- and when will Scooter Libby be cleared of the accusations agaoinst him, which clearly stem from a faulty memory and not a conspiracy of any sort?
Oh, no! The only liar was Joe Wilson.
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August 31, 2006
"The Scream" and another stolen masterpiece by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch were recovered by police on Thursday, two years and nine days after gunmen seized the paintings from an Oslo museum."'The Scream' and 'Madonna' are now in police possession," police chief Iver Stensrud told a news conference. "The damage is much less than we could have feared."
He said the pictures were recovered on Thursday afternoon in "a successful police operation" but dodged questions about how it was done. He said no ransom had been paid "as of today."
"The Scream," Munch's most famous work, is an icon of existential angst showing a terrified figure against a blood-red sky. "Madonna" shows a bare-breasted woman with long black hair.
The picture has become a pop-culture icon over the last several years, but has long been a favorite of art lovers. I'm thrilled to learn that this piece will be returned to its public very soon.
In honor of the recovery, all of today's posts will feature "The Scream" -- with a special caption appropriate to the story.
I'm baaaaaaack!
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Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, with his career in elective office behind him, said Thursday he has a deal to publish a book."This is a book that's going to be the history of my career, how it furthered the conservative cause, with my spiritual walk and what I think the conservative cause ought to do next," DeLay, a born-again Christian, told The Associated Press.
DeLay said he'll explain how "everything I've done in my career furthered the conservative cause" and helped change the culture of Washington.
DeLay said the working title is "No Retreat, No Surrender: The American Passion of Tom DeLay." He declined to reveal how much he'll be paid. "Not as much as I wanted," he quipped.
Yeah, Tom, right -- you certainly have done a damn fine job of advancing conservatism here in CD22. Just look at the mess you left behind in the wake of yiur decision to quit your final run for Congress. Just shut up and nove on.
Won't he ever go away!
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11:07 PM
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Congresswoman Katherine Harris holds a double-digit lead in the race for Florida's Republican U.S. Senate nomination less than a week before the primary, according to a poll released Thursday.However, the poll also indicates that a large number of Republicans haven't settled on a candidate, and about a third of those supporting Harris said they still might change their minds.
"If Rep. Harris had only one opponent she might be in deep trouble," said Peter Brown, assistant polling director for the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, which conducted the poll last week. "But having three candidates splitting the anti-Harris vote is a major plus for her."
Harris was favored by 38 percent of 317 likely Republican voters.
William McBride, a 34-year-old attorney, was supported by 22 percent; retired Navy admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. of Tampa was backed by 11 percent; and Peter Monroe, a real estate developer from Safety Harbor, received 3 percent.
The winner of the Sept. 5 primary faces incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in the November general election.
Given this miraculous lead by a poorly run campaign, I'm almost willing to consider the possibility that she has backing from "the highest level" -- and I don't mean Dubya.
Oh my God!
Where's my make-up?
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Nick Lampson, the Democratic nominee to succeed former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay when Congress convenes next year, said Thursday that he has decided not to run in the special election for DeLay's unexpired term.Lampson said he wants to limit confusion at the ballot box, since the special election will coincide with the general election Nov. 7, when only two months will remain on DeLay's term.
Got that -- presenting himself in a race with a Republican candidate on teh ballot will cause confusion for the voters -- who just might be so confused that they vote their true choice, which is a Republican candidate.
So while Nick Lampson promised that he would run in the special election when the entire CD22 saga began this spring, now he has broken that committment to the people of CD22 -- which leads me to question what other committments he will break if elected. I'm bettting the first will be his "promise" not to vote for Nacy Pelosi for Speaker of the House.
But then again, maybe he is counting on the people of CD22 to be too stupid to remember his lies in 2008 if he manages to defeat Libertarian Bob Smither and write-in Republican Shelley Sekula-Gibbs -- who he is too cowardly to face head-to-head on the special election ballot.
You mean I'd have to face a Republican!
More at Texas Safety Forum and Fort Bend Now.
OPEN TRACKBACKING: Samantha Burns, Stuck On Stupid, Bacon Bits, Third World County, Pirate's Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, Dumb Ox, Adam's Blog, Is It Just Me?, Random Yak, Median Sib, Selective Amnesia, Stop the ACLU, Basil’s Blog; Comedian Jenée: People are Idiots , Woman Honor Thyself, Conservative Cat, Church and State, bRight and Early, Right Wing Nation; Jo’s Cafe, MacBro’s Page, Leaning Straight Up; The Amboy Times; Assorted Babble, NIF, Imagine Kitty, Oblogatory Anecdotes, The Uncooperative Blogger
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After 13 months of intense pressure from opposing factions, the state has adopted rules requiring written — and notarized — parental consent forms for girls under age 18 to get abortions.The new forms span six pages, warn of medical risks and tout "women's right to know" brochures backed by abortion opponents, said those on opposite sides of the issue.
"There was just so much heat from so many different sources," said Dr. Donald Patrick, executive director of the Texas Medical Board, which adopted the rules. "We were trying to tread a pretty fine line. It's just sometimes hard to do when there are two diametrically different points of view."
The board plans to send a copy of the medical records rules regarding parental consent to the Texas Register next week.
The rules would take effect 20 days later.
Patrick said the governor's office backed the final form approved late last week, which requires parents' written consent be notarized, an administrative rule not required by the consent law.
Given the number of cases of fraud that have been foundin consent cases, where someone other than the parent misrepresents tehmselves to authorize the abortion (including the responsible male, who is seeking to hide the evidence of statutory rape), the requirement that the signature be notarized is a good one.
Personally, I'd require that the parents sign in blood. Just as a reminder that they are authorizing the killing of their own innocent grandchild.
Parental consent? Informed consent?
What do they think this is -- a medical procedure?
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10:32 PM
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NASA decided to try to launch the space shuttle Atlantis next Wednesday to resume construction of the International Space Station, after a delay caused by a lightning strike and the threat of bad weather. Hopes of a liftoff before the Atlantis’s launching window closes late next week had been rekindled after Hurricane Ernesto lost intensity on its approach to Florida. “We had no damage,” Bruce Buckingham, a Kennedy Space Center spokesman, said after the hurricane left the Atlantic Coast of Florida and headed north. “Zero. Nada.” Launching pad technicians have begun reattaching equipment needed to prepare the shuttle.
Please, not another weather delay!
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August 30, 2006
The Pierce County Sheriff's Department is searching for five people who allegedly attacked a uniformed National Guardsmen walking along 138th Street in Parkland Tuesday afternoon.The soldier was walking to a convenience store when a sport utility vehicle pulled up alongside him and the driver asked if he was in the military and if he had been in any action.
The driver then got out of the vehicle, displayed a gun and shouted insults at the victim. Four other suspects exited the vehicle and knocked the soldier down, punching and kicking him.
“And during the assault the suspects called him a baby killer. At that point they got into the car and drove off and left him on the side of the road,” Detective Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
Notice, of course, that none of the scum were willing to make it a fair fight -- five-on-one and a gun gave tehm all sorts of courage that they lack as individuals.
H/T to Michelle Malkin, who also lists a number of such instances in the recent past.
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So where does the money come from for the expected materials?
The posters were hung, the scissors and glue stashed in their proper places and the bulletin boards in Brenda Burlingame's classroom at Legacy Elementary School wrapped and trimmed in a cheery color.The room simply screamed "Welcome to first grade." That feeling didn't come cheap.
"I probably spent $500 this year," Burlingame said as she shopped for a few last-minute adornments at Loudoun Learning, a teacher supplies store in Leesburg. "No matter if you've been a teacher for five minutes or five years, it has to be done."
Across the region, teachers are digging into their pockets to buy the supplies that turn four walls and a few tiny tables and chairs into the image of a child's classroom, complete with cubbyholes and attendance charts and a cozy reading corner with pillows and a rocking chair.
In a nationwide survey conducted last school year by the National School Supply and Equipment Association, 94 percent of teachers said they spent their own money on school supplies. On average, they estimated they would spend $552 of their own money on their classrooms before the school year was over.
I don't spend that much money on my materials -- because as a male high school teacher, a certain minimalism is not unheard of. I've got a lot of laminated posters hung high enough on the wall that they cannot be vandalized or destroyed, so I can reuse thm from year to year. But were I an elementary teacher, the expectations would be much higher -- and i woul be spending a lot more out of pocket. Instead of $100, I would probably be closer to the $1000 that the wife of a colleague spent last year making sure that second grade was a year of stickers, projects, and other educational activities that would have been denied if submitted on a purchase order.
A teacher expense account would be nice -- not for three-martini lunches, but for the sort of supplies and materials that contribute to student learning. Take it out of the budget for the new football stadium, athletic arena, or natatorium.
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10:28 PM
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The U.S. Census Bureau released new poverty estimates on Wednesday. The outlook for Texas is troubling indeed, and should prompt self-examination from state leaders and voters both.According to the new data, one in six Texans lived in poverty last year. And Texas was home to three of the nation's 10 poorest counties, including the top two — Cameron County, with 42 percent below the poverty level, and Hidalgo County, with 41 percent. With 29 percent of its population poor, El Paso County was listed as the country's fourth least-prosperous.
A full quarter of all Texas children are poor, the Bureau's American Community Survey found. Almost 20 percent of Texans are economically deprived, which the government defined for a family of four as earning $19,971 or less. Only 13 percent of Americans overall were found to be poor.
The news was no more heartening in Houston. A full 29 percent of black families here were impoverished, a jump from 25 percent in 2000. Among Hispanics, the number living in poverty climbed to 30 percent from 26 percent. Fewer white Houstonians, 9 percent, were found to be poor.
Look at those Hispanic statistics -- what percentage of them are among the "undocumented" community. I recognized very quickly that the counties mentioned are among the most Hispanic -- and most illegal -- in the state.
And the statistics on African Americans? Do these numbers include the Katrina evacuees who we have welcomed into our midst -- many of whom are stuck in a cycle of chronic, generational dependence on public aid rather than work? We have witnessed this crew demanding ever more cash from the public teat so that they might avoid seeking and finding employment until they can return to their homes in the welfare state of Louisiana. Does this skew the numbers?
We don't get that sort of analysis -- because if such analysis was given, we might have obvious policy solutions for both that fly in the face of liberal dogman.
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10:18 PM
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he recent drop in prices at the pump could pick up steam, driving gasoline sharply lower in coming months."I'd say $2 to $2.50," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "Once you get past Sept. 15, it's really a downhill game."
Kloza said so far the average cost of a gallon of gas peaked this year at $3.036 on Aug. 10 and has come down largely thanks to diminishing hurricane fears.
"There's just nothing happening in the tropics, and the market had priced in all sorts of calamities," he said.
The motorist organization AAA reported a nationwide average of $2.82 Tuesday, the lowest since April 20.
Online gasoline price survey site Gasbuddy.com shows Wednesday's national average at $2.80.
Another analyst pointed to a 60-cent drop in wholesale and spot prices the past few weeks, noting consumers should see a similar drop in retail prices in the coming few weeks as the decline works its way through the market.
The drop in wholesale and spot prices would translate to retail gasoline prices of around $2.50 to $2.60 a gallon, analysts said.
"The levels that were in place were never justified to begin with," said Mark Gilman, an analyst with The Benchmark Co. "This is a bit of a return to reality."
Gilman said retail gasoline prices of around $2 a gallon by Thanksgiving were certainly possible, although not likely.
Gas prices dropping significantly -- possibly to $2.00 a gallon. What an accomplishment!
And while we are at it, given that he took the blame for last year's hurricane season, I assume that Democrats will also credit him with successfully decreasing the number of storms this year -- and the fact that their impact on the US has been minimal.
And if the president's detractors will not credit him with these developments, will they be honest enough to admit that increasing gas prices and the 2005 hurricane season were both beyond his control as well -- and that they were dishonest in blaming him for either?
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I finally began to gain some respect for Richardson when he came to the August 17 GOP meeting that selected Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. He spoke well and sincerely. Most importantly, he agreed to withdraw his write-in candidacy in favor of the choice of the precinct chairs if he was not chosen.
Well, guess what -- DON RICHARDSON IS A LIAR.
In yet another surprise in the race for Congressional District 22, there will be two Republican write-in candidates running against Democrat Nick Lampson and Libertarian Bob Smither.On Tuesday – the deadline for withdrawing or registering as a write-in – Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs traveled to Austin to file her papers, as expected.
But unexpectedly, by the end of the day former Republican congressional candidate and Houston businessman Don Richardson did not ask the Texas Secretary of StateÂ’s office to remove his name as a write-in candidate.
The move threatens to further confuse voters in what has already been an extremely complicated congressional campaign. And having two GOP write-in candidates in the race may jeopardize funding from national Republican Party sources.
Contacted at his home Tuesday night, Richardson said he is still in the race despite telling GOP officials and precinct chairs at an Aug. 17 gathering in Pearland that he would drop out.
At that meeting, some 83 precicnt chairs in CD-22 voted to support Sekula-Gibbs as an unofficial Republican write-in candidate, and party officials urged other GOP candidates – including Richardson and Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace – to withdraw from the race.
At the Pearland gathering, Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser “got up and said the Republican National Committee would put up $4 million if and only if” there were a single write-in candidate in the race, Richardson said.
In that case, he said, he would withdraw and allow Sekula-GibbsÂ’ campaign to benefit from the funding.
But the next morning, he called an official at the RNC in Washington, D.C. “I said put it in writing” that $4 million would be available to the single GOP candidate running as a write-in against Lampson, Richardson said.
He didnÂ’t hear back. On Friday, Richardson said, he sent a fax to RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, to the RNC official to whom heÂ’d originally spoken, and to Benkiser.
“I said look, if you’ll put it in writing about the $4 million and refund my campaign expenses…I will withdraw,” Richardson said. “I haven’t heard from anybody. So my name is still on the ballot.”
In other words, after telling the precinct chairs he would withdraw, he decided to add conditions and ultimatums to his promise. That is the sign of a man who is dishonest, dishonorable, and a disgrace to the uniform in which he served. Indeed, is character has significantly more in common with that of Tom DeLay than he would care to admit -- he has placed his own ego above the good of the voters of CD22 and the Republican Party. I'd argue that he has proven what many of us have suspected from the beginning of this process -- that he is a political opportunist whose record shows that he is not now a epublican and has not been one for years.
To borrow a phrase from an earlier era, Don Richardson is a miserable poltroon.
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An Arab human rights activist was prevented from boarding a plane at Kennedy Airport while wearing a T-shirt that read, "We will not be silent" in English and Arabic.Raed Jarrar was at the gate to board a JetBlue Airways flight to Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 12 when four officials from the airline or a government agency stopped him and told him he could not board with the shirt on, he said Wednesday.
One official told him, "Going to an airport with a T-shirt in Arabic script is like going to a bank and wearing a T-shirt that says, `I'm a robber,'" he said.
Sorry, folks, but in a day and age in which we are at war with a group of people who use Arabic to communicate their plans and their fould ideology, wearing a shirt written in Arabic to the airport or on a plane is a provocation. Don't do it.
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IÂ’m so livid at this tangible and intangible harm that I cannot imagine that the President doesnÂ’t share my fury at such damaging perfidy. If I were advising him, hereÂ’s what IÂ’d tell him:(1) He should have Attorney General Gonzales report to him everything the Department knows of the Armitage revelations and when they occurred to ascertain whether any of the Isikoff-Corn report is false.
2) Former Secretary Powell should be summoned and asked when he learned of the Armitage admission and why he failed to report this to him.
(3) If the reports that he knew in September 2003 that Armitage was the leaker prove true, the President should publicly say that he is deeply disappointed in the conduct of the former State Department officials, that he doesnÂ’t question their belief that the Armitage leaks were inadvertent but that there failure to notify him of those leaks was inexcusable.
(4) If the facts indicate that former Attorney General Ashcroft and Comey knew who NovakÂ’s source was, the President should indicate his disappointment in them for having yielded to the press frenzy in appointing a special prosecutor rather than simply having the courage to tell what happened and why.
(5) He should express regret to the country for this unnecessary and longstanding distraction occasioned by these failures.
(6) He should express special regret to Scooter Libby and his family who have been forced to endure so much for no reason whatsoever.
(7) Finally, he should express disappointment in the unprofessional conduct of the Special Prosecutor who misled the public and the Courts, among other things, and he should announce that he is instructing the Atttorney General to dismiss Fitzgerald and drop the case against Libby.
I'd personally take matters a bit further -- I'd suggest a full pardon for Libby, whose "crime" appears to be nothing more than a discrepancy between his memory and written records of events that happened at least two years earlier.
Heck -- I wonder if there is a basis for a special prosecutor to investigate the cover-up of the leaker's identity by State Department (and possibly Justice Department) officials, and the prosecutorial abuses of Patrick Fitzgerald. And when the indictments are handed down against those who have perpetrated this fraud on the American people, it will be a Merry Fitzmas indeed.
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A SYDNEY brothel owner has resorted to offering petrol discounts to clients in a bid to boost business.Madam Kerry's brothel in western Sydney offers clients a discount of 20c a litre if they use one of its "service providers".
Kerry said high petrol prices were hurting the sex service market as much as any other industry.
"We wanted to think outside the box, we have gone quieter with the high petrol prices and we wanted to find a way to give something back to our clients."
And on top of the money back from the brothel, motorists could still claim the 4c discount offered by service stations aligned with supermarket chains.
"They just need to bring in the docket," Kerry said.
Ah, the entrepreneurial spirit is at worl!
But I will say this -- I'm surprised the line I put in italics made it into a story that deals, even tangentially, with prostitution. "Think outside the box"? "Give something back to our clients"? Incredible!
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A) Bar her from campus until the dispute has been resolved.
B) File suit to recover the cash from the homes's sale to the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
C) Return her to her previous duties as an accounting professor.
Priscilla Slade, the former Texas Southern University president fired for her spending of school money on personal expenses, is teaching accounting courses on campus this semester.Her return to the classroom comes four weeks after a Harris Country grand jury indicted Slade and three aides for allegedly violating the university's policies and state laws in paying for household furnishings and landscaping, among other things.
* * *
Officials said the university could move to revoke her tenure, and Slade almost certainly would file a grievance. The grievance would be heard by a committee of faculty members, whose recommendation would go to the regents for the final decision.
Such a dispute would likely end up in court, officials said.
"Regardless of who it is, we have to make sure that due process is followed because faculty members nationwide have fought for the right of tenure," said Sanders Anderson, president of TSU's faculty council.
At most universities, professors with tenure have the implicit promise of a lifetime job. They cannot be dismissed, transferred or demoted, with the exception of extreme misconduct on their part or a financial emergency at the school.
And given that TSU operates like a poorly-run community college, with no admissions requirements to speak of and a sense that it can do what it wants because it is a "black thing", the odds of anybody doing anything about this travesty is pretty near zero. Heck, this is at least the third financial scandal at the place since I moved to Houston nine years ago. Maybe the alumni will create an endowed professorship in Slade's honor -- "The Priscilla Slade Endowed Chair of Crooked Accounting and Financial Fraud".
UPDATE -- 8/31/2006 -- A real newspaper would have published this editorial the same day as the original story. But then again, this is the Houston Chronicle, so a 36 hour delay isn't too bad.
Given the blizzard of bad press, the last thing TSU needs is to put its controversial former president at the head of a class while awaiting trial. Slade deserves and will get her day in court to prove her innocence of the two felony charges she faces for misapplication of fiduciary property. In the meantime, school officials should have assigned the tenured academic to non-teaching duties with a lower public profile.Such a course would have been the prudent way to minimize damage to the school's image while the question of Slade's professional future is determined. It's not too late to assign another professor to handle her teaching duties while justice takes its course.
Might I suggest having her was dishes in one of the dining halls?
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August 29, 2006
Well, that is what Robert Frost says.
But what if you are a naturalized citizen seeking to return to the United States after an extended stay in the country of your birth? Or the US native son of such a naturalized citizen, traveling with his father in the Old Country? That doesn't seem to be the opinion of the federal government in this case.
Federal authorities have prevented two relatives of a father and son convicted recently in a terrorism-related case from returning home to California from Pakistan unless they agree to be interviewed by the F.B.I.It is unclear whether the men, Muhammad Ismail, 45, and his son Jaber, 18, have a direct connection to the terrorism case or if they have been caught up in circumstance.
The United States attorneyÂ’s office in Sacramento declined Monday to answer questions about the Ismails beyond confirming that the men had not been permitted to fly into the United States and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation wanted to question them.
The United States attorney, McGregor W. Scott, reiterated a comment he had made to The San Francisco Chronicle, which reported Saturday about the IsmailsÂ’ troubles.
“They’ve been given the opportunity to meet with the F.B.I. over there and answer a few questions, and they’ve declined to do that,” Mr. Scott said through a spokeswoman, Mary Wenger.
Part of the problem is the conviction of two family members from California on terrorism charges -- charges related to their activities during a visit to Pakistan. The Ismails, however, have not been charged with any crime. But they have been placed on the "no-fly" list, and have been told they will not be permitted to enter the US without an FBI interview.
But just a moment. Upon what theory can the Federal Government effectively exile American citizens? Is there not, as held repeatedly by the Supreme Court, a right for American citizens to travel, both within the United States and abroad? And while ertain travel restrictions may reasonably be imposed (such as the ban on travel to Cuba), shouldn't such restrictions be clearly spelled out in advance and generally applicable?
We are not the old Soviet Union, with internal passports and heavy travel rsetrictions placed upon enslaved citizens. This course of action does not feel right to me. Because these are Americans, when they seek to come home, we have to take them in -- and they cannot be required to surrender their rights under the Constitution of the United States as a condition of return, which is precisely what is being demanded of them.
A number of my conservative brother and sister bloggers take the opposite position, including Stop the ACLU, Woman Honor Thyself, Cigar Intelligence Agencyand Uncooperative Blogger.
Hammer of Truth Practical Nomad, and Volokh Conspiracy (sort of) are on my side of the issue.
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Perry Calls Special Elections for DeLay, Luna and Madla Seats on Nov. 7AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today ordered special elections to be held concurrently with the Nov. 7 general election for the U.S. congressional seat vacated by Congressman Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who has resigned and removed his name from the ballot; and for state Rep. Vilma Luna, D-Corpus Christi, and state Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio, both of whom have resigned their positions in the Texas Legislature.
In his proclamation setting the special election for DeLayÂ’s seat, Perry noted that the U.S. Constitution requires that a special election be held and state law requires that it be held on the next uniform state election date, which is Nov. 7. Delay represented the 22nd Congressional District, which consists of parts of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties.
Luna represents the Texas House of Representatives District No. 33, which consists of part of Nueces County. Madla represents Texas State Senate District No. 19, which consists of Bandera, Brewster, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Reeves, Sutton, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler and parts of Bexar and El Paso counties.
Candidates who want to place their names on the ballot for DeLayÂ’s, LunaÂ’s or MadlaÂ’s district must file with the Secretary of state by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1.
This creates all sorts of interesting possibilities.
Will additional GOP candidates other than designated write-in candidate Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs try to jump into the race? Or will the Houston City Councilwoman have a clear shot at Nick Lampson? Will the presence of two races help her or hurt her in the write-in portion of the campaign? And if she wins the unexpired portion of DeLay's term (about two months),beating Lampson, will she become the undisputed front-runner in 2008, based upon having beaten lampson in a race for which she was listed on the ballot?
This makes everything quite interesting, in a year in which things have been interesting for some time.
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So no doubt the media and the Left will soon turn their attention to the vicious anti-Semitism the followers and members of a political organization that donates millions to Democratic candidates and uses the Web to whip up support for its policies.I am referring to Moveon.org; an entity that claims it is merely the vehicle of "real Americans — from carpenters to stay-at-home moms to business leaders — we work together to realize the progressive vision of our country's founders." To the extent that Moveon.org is a reflection of its membership, it is also a reflection of the opinions and sentiments it shares about its fellow Americans and citizens of the world. And boy do the Moveon folks hate Jews.
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After Sen. Joe Lieberman lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut, one Moveon member stated: "Jew Lieberman first step. Corporate Clinton will be next. Impeachment of BushCo will be third." This one came in with 95 percent of Moveon members responding approving the "Jew Lieberman" post. (Moveon helpfully records the percent of people agreeing with each post.)
Many postings creatively connect the need to eliminate Jewish influence with the goal of impeaching President Bush: Here's a typical one, which also received a high approval rating:
"I was reading some where someone posting about how Israel has lost world respect because of their murderous rampage throughout Lebanon?Talk about loss of respect? What do you think the rest of the world thinks of ZioUSA now after seeing the BushCo spectacle, with Rice & Bolton flailing in the wind for the Zionazis against all world opinion?
Loss of respect is putting it mildly.
Impeachment of Bush is the only remedy."
Yeah, there is Bush plenty of Bush Derangement Syndrome at work, but the really vile stuff is the anti-Semitism. Calling a respected senator “Jew Lieberman” really crosses a line in this context, because it is premeditated and there was the option to edit and moderate the bigotry within. But the Democrats and media do not denounce this – though they were quick to pounce on a congressman several years back when, in a slip of the tongue which was immediately retracted, he referred to a certain homosexual congressman as “Barney Fag”. Or, as the article points out, there is the stupid “Macaca” comment of George Allen – a slur so obscure that I at one point was willing to believe that there was nothing to it, but an ongoing controversy which continues to be the fodder for political commentary and late-night humor.
I am personally struck by this comment.
"Why are the Jews so Jew-y?"
Those damn Jews – they are just so Jew-like. What next? A complaint that African-Americans are too “nigger-y”? Come on!
America has striven to slay the balrog of bigotry for many decades. Our most shining moment as a nation was the civil rights movement and the strength with which most Americans rejected such hatred as contrary to our national ethos. The Democrats, long the party of slavery, segregation, and the KKK, rejected its heritage of hate and sought to join the GOP in supporting freedom and equality of opportunity and rights for all Americans. Yet today it seems clear that a perverse pride in prejudice has taken hold in the activist wing of the Democrat party, re-embracing the night-riding nastiness of a bygone era.
And yet the decent people within the Democrat Party – and the media – stand by in silence while this horrifying freak-show continues to gain ascendancy on the Left. Dare they speak out? Or are the too filled with fear – or too much in agreement – to denounce this dangerous dogma of destruction?
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Three former New Mexico State University football players – all Muslims – on Monday sued the university and coach Hal Mumme, alleging they were dismissed from the team because of their religious beliefs.The federal lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Mu'Ammar Ali and brothers Anthony and Vincent Thompson. The lawsuit alleges religious discrimination and violations of the athletes' right to freely exercise their religion.
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In response to the allegations, New Mexico State hired an Albuquerque law firm to investigate and the law firm concluded the football program had not engaged in religious discrimination against the three Muslim athletes.
The investigation by Albuquerque law firm Miller Stratvery found that the players were released from the team based on their performance and attitudes, not because of religion. The probe included interviews with the football coaching staff, athletics department personnel and student-athletes.
Simonson at the time questioned the fairness of the investigation.
“I think it's very troubling that the university could not find any basis for these allegations whatsoever when three very sincere individuals came forward with such serious allegations,” he said. “It really raises questions in my mind about the university's commitment to diversity and racial equality and issues of equality.”
In other words, the only good investigation is one that finds what the ACLU and its fellow-travelers claim to be true. Any other finding, no matter how supported by the facts, is troubling and indicative of a lack of commitment to diversity and equality. I guess a commitment to truth simply pales beside those two.
But I have to wonder – given the status of pigs in the eyes of Muslims, how can they play football at all? After all, it isn’t called a pigskin for nothing.
Maybe the coach was just looking out for their spiritual best interest – both by putting them off the team, and by encouraging Christian brotherhood (which unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, won’t kidnap you, kill you, or force you to convert at gunpoint).
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10:54 AM
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AN INTERNATIONAL hunt has been launched for a 12-year-old girl after she was allegedly abducted from her home in Stornoway and taken to Pakistan, amid reports she is to be married to a man of 25.Molly Campbell went missing from school on Friday. It is believed she was taken by her father and elder sister and flew with them to Lahore.
Police say they want to reunite the girl with her mother, Louise Campbell, her legal guardian.
Last night reports quoted Molly's grandmother as saying she feared the schoolgirl had been taken to become a child bride.
Violet Robertson, 67, said: "It's just terrible. Molly is only a little girl. It's an arranged marriage.
"She doesn't know the man. He's 25. Molly doesn't want to go to Pakistan. She wants to stay with her mum."
Molly, also known as Misbah Iram Ahmed Rana, was last seen at 10:50am on Friday in the grounds of her school, the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway.
Northern Constabulary believe she was met there by her sister, Tahmina, 18, and the pair took a taxi to Stornoway Airport before flying to Glasgow.They then met their father, Sajad Ahmed Rana, and all three boarded the 2:55pm Emirates flight to Lahore.
Just following the example of Muhammad, I guess. I recall that he liked sex with little girls, too.
Would somebody please remind me – what is there in Islam that is good and noble?
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10:47 AM
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Kids Watch As Clown Is Crushed to Death
Admit it. It sounds sort of like something out of The Onion.
Unfortunately, the story is much more tragic – and all too true.
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August 28, 2006
Running back Domanick Davis, the Texans' career rushing leader, is in danger of not making the team this season.Davis, who missed five games in 2005, has not practiced since the first week of preseason because of a bruised left knee that is unrelated to the arthroscopic surgery he underwent on the same knee in December.
Unlike Wali Lundy and Vernand Morency, Davis has been unable to be on the field to impress his new coaching staff, specifically head coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun. Kubiak said Monday that if the regular season began today, Lundy would start against Philadelphia.
Each day, Kubiak grows more concerned about Davis' lack of availability. The roster will be reduced to a final 53 on Friday, one day after the Texans close the preseason at home against Tampa Bay.
"I'm very concerned," Kubiak said. "There's not much we can do about it, but I'm very concerned about that situation.
"It'll be a tough decision for the final 53. We'll make the decision based on what's best for Domanick and the team."
The Texans will have several options. They can make Davis, 25, part of the final roster and wait for him to get healthy. They can place him on waivers. They can put him on injured reserve, which means he wouldn't play this season. They also could trade him, which is unlikely because he's damaged goods.
We here in houston -- especially the season ticketholders -- will be waiting to see what happens here.
And for the first time, I wonder if we didn't make a mistake in letting Reggie Bush slip to the number 2 pick in the draft by picking Mario Williams, who has not developed quite as fast as some of us have been hoping.
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Yesterday, at the invitation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), they held a forum at the National Press Club to expand on their allegations about the Israel lobby. Blurring the line between academics and activism, they accepted a button proclaiming "Fight the Israel Lobby" and won cheers from the Muslim group for their denunciation of Israel and its friends in the United States.Whatever motivated the performance, the result wasn't exactly scholarly.
Walt singled out two Jews who worked at the Pentagon for their pro-Israel views. "People like Paul Wolfowitz or Doug Feith . . . advocate policies they think are good for Israel and the United States alike," he said. "We don't think there's anything wrong with that, but we also don't think there's anything wrong for others to point out that these individuals do have attachments that shape how they think about the Middle East."
"Attachments" sounds much better than "dual loyalties." But why single out Wolfowitz and Feith and not their non-Jewish boss, Donald Rumsfeld?
"I could have mentioned non-Jewish people like John Bolton," Walt allowed when the question was put to him.
Picking up on the "attachments" lingo, Mearsheimer did mention Bolton but cited two Jews, Elliott Abrams and David Wurmser, as "the two most influential advisers on Middle East affairs in the White House. Both, he said, are " fervent supporters of Israel." Never mind that others in the White House, such as national security adviser Stephen Hadley, Vice President Cheney and President Bush, have been just as fervent despite the lack of "attachments."
Yeah, but it is so much easier to play on the ant-Semitism of Muslims and their fellow travelers (like my old toll, Ken Hoop) by mentioning the officials of Jewish heritage. After all, to such folks everything is the fault of the Jews. And by highlighting them, it makes it easier to claim that other officials are puppets of the Jews and that the US is controlled by (as my troll regularly stated in emailed to me and Christian Identity militias often assert) a Zionist Occupied Government.
The association between these professors and the terrorist-supporting CAIR should be enough to discredit these pseudo-academics -- and to discredit the organizatation, which sponsored them despite their having been iscreditted as dressing up old anti-Semitism in new garments.
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