CBS Caught in Fake Poll Scandal

The network of Dan Rather is publishing results from a crudely slanted poll to report an artificially low approval rate for President Bush:

(CBS) The latest CBS News poll finds President Bush's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high.

The problem is that, even after weighting the sample, Republicans represent only about 28% of the polling results.



CBS pollster also used push poll techniques to elicit specific answers unfavorable to the Bush administration.



This question is intended to imply that the "wiretapping" (actually intercepts of cell phone calls, no wires were physically "tapped) occurred only within the US. The truth is that the intercepts always involved one end of the conversation being outside the United States with a terrorist or suspected terrorist.

The Conservative Voice reports that the poll's flaws, which appear to be deliberate attempts to skew the results, were first discovered and announced by conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh.

It's International High Five a Muslim Day!

Dr. Rusty Shackleford, Sith Master of The Jawa Report, informs me that today is International High Five a Muslim Day. Why today? Because this video declaring it so got banned in Australia for depicting Jesus Christ. Meanhwile, Ronnie Johns, the creator of the video was issued a fatwah of approval by the Mufty of Australia.

The Taliban Freshman

From the Telegraph (UK):

The last time Rahmatullah Hashemi came to Yale, it was March 2001 and he was a Taliban spokesman in a turban and Afghan tunic, singing the praises of his fundamentalist masters.

Five years on, and Mr Rahmatullah, 27, is in his first year as a student at the Ivy League university whose illustrious list of alumni begins with the present and previous two US presidents.

Is this a foolish and futile exercise in inclusion or a great way to expose our enemies to our culture?

"You have to be reasonable to live in America," Mr Rahmatullah said. "Everything here is based on reason. Back home, you have to talk about religion and culture and you can win any argument if you bring up the Islamic argument."

Time will tell.

Via Neocon Express.

Terrorists' Early Warning System: The New York Times

Evidently, the New York Times is not satisfied with the damage they have already done to US national security by exposing the NSA's secret intercepts of terrorist phone calls into and out of the US. Now they're suing the government to release the names of those surveilled:

The New York Times sued the US Defense Department demanding that it hand over documents about the National Security Agency's domestic spying program.

The Times wants a list of documents including all internal memos and e-mails about the program of monitoring phone calls without court approval. It also seeks the names of the people or groups identified by it.

Yes, by all means, let's warn every suspected terrorist that they're being watched. It's only fair.

AJ Strata and macsmind point to this story in The American Spectator, which says that the investigation into the original leak is focusing on the staffs of Democratic Senators Jay Rockefeller and Dick Durbin.

The New York Times has been stonewalling the investigation and this lawsuit could be interpreted as a diversion to take the heat off their snitches.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Able Danger Conference Call Audio

Able Danger Blog has posted the first audio segment of the Able Danger conference call between Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA) and bloggers, conducted last Thursday evening. The clip lasts for about twenty minutes and covers most of Congressman Weldon's opening remarks.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Financial Crisis Looms For Hamas-Dominated Palestinian Authority

From the Washington Post:

JERUSALEM, Feb. 27 -- A special Middle East envoy, James D. Wolfensohn, has warned international donors that the Palestinian Authority could collapse within two weeks unless fresh funding can be found to pay salaries, clear overdue energy bills and sustain government services financed largely by foreign aid.

Wolfensohn lays the blame at the feet of the Israelis, for withholding taxes and fees they collect for the Palestinians. Israel, for excellent reasons, designates Hamas, which will soon take over the PA, as a terrorist organization. So does the United States.

And, of course, as with virtually every dealing with the Palestinians, there is the threat of violence:

"If we do not want to see rising tension leading to violence and chaos -- particularly just before the Israeli election -- we will have to develop urgently a convincing strategy addressing the PA's financial and developmental needs, not only in the short-term of the next few weeks but also in a longer time frame," Wolfensohn wrote.

I find it shameful for an American official to excuse extortion.

The Palestinians have made their bed. The brave jihadi babyhunters of Hamas can go to Hell.

Charge of the Not-So-Bright Brigade

Peaceniks to "storm" White House
From the United for Peace and Justice website:

TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE BY STORM - Stop Genocide, Torture and Occupation

U.N. SOS - We need your help to end the reign of international criminals.

It is our duty and the duty of the United Nations to rescue the people of the world from the U.S. dictators. Murder for occupation and theft of land is illegal. Murder of journalists is criminal. Remove the traitors who have stolen the U.S. budget and used it to commit international crimes against humanity.

The storming is to begin March 15. Bring it, hippies - and no sissy slap fighting, either.

Via The Jawa Report, where reader Oyster asks the obvious question:

If they were truly against genocide, torture, and occupation, then why have they waited so long? Why haven't they "stormed" the embassies of those countries which commit these things regularly? Why aren't they sending letters to Castro? Why not march in groups of thousands shouting slogans against Lybia, Syria, Iran, etc? Why don't they stand outside Saudi-run mosques with signs that say "Stop preaching hatred" and "Hate-mongers go home"?

These are, of course, rhetorical questions...

Michelle Malkin has more.

Is It Really Islam Against the World?

"A tipping point on Islam?", posted on Glenn Reynolds' MSNBC blog, notes the surge in anti-Arab/anti-Muslim sentiment created by the Cartoon War and being expressed now in the UAE ports deal:

Jim Geraghty, blogging from Turkey, wonders if we're seeing a tipping point in Western attitudes toward Islam. Geraghty collects a lot of quotes, and writes of "my sense that in recent weeks, a large chunk of Americans just decided that they no longer have any faith in the good sense or non-hostile nature of the Muslim world.

With even the Democrats calling for religious profiling (that's what the uproar over the ports deal is really about, though most would deny it), an open "clash of civilizations" may be at hand.

Reynolds notes that such a conflict is exactly what the fundamentalist jihadis want, which is true, and sees an eventual Western victory with a diminished Islamic world that "...will rapidly become a tiny remnant of its current self."

I'm not so sure that victory will be swift, or even certain. I note the abject cowardice of the American mainstream media during the Cartoon War and wonder how deep that unwillingness to defend basic democratic principles runs in our society.

I also note that the Cartoon War just might serve to galvanize any "moderate" Muslims who wish to avoid an apocalyptic war.

Via memeorandum.

Questioning Authority

Andrew Saraf, a 17 year-old student at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, is wondering why Colman McCarthy's political agenda is being taught at his school. From the Washington Post:

"I know I'm not the first to bring this up but why has there been no concerted effort to remove Peace Studies from among the B-CC courses?" he wrote in his post to the school's group e-mail list. "The 'class' is headed by an individual with a political agenda, who wants to teach students the 'right' way of thinking by giving them facts that are skewed in one direction."

Colman McCarthy is a former Washington Post reporter whose course, heavy on animal rights and anti-military demagoguery, is taught at eight Montgomery County high schools.

Saraf and another 17 year-old, Avishek Panth, took the initiative to investigate McCarthy's class and his background:

Saraf and Avishek Panth, also 17, acknowledge that with the exception of one lecture they sat in on this month, most of what they know about the course has come from friends and acquaintances who have taken the class. But, they said, those discussions, coupled with research they have done on McCarthy's background, have convinced them that their school should not continue to offer Peace Studies unless significant changes are made. This is not an ideological debate, they said. Rather, what bothers them the most is that McCarthy offers students only one perspective.

And you thought the indoctrination didn't begin until college.

Via Michelle Malkin.

Update: Student responds to WaPo article
Alex Bannon, who says he is a student in one of McCarthy's classes (while I can't confirm this, the comment was posted from a computer at Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools), left this comment:

Andrew Saraf did not make any serious attempt at trying to understand the course before dismissing it. While I do believe that he did in fact hear about the course from friends, I would say that hearsay should not be the source behind a washington Post article. The class is fine and I can assure you that, my class at least, is not one sided. Several of the students have argued against McCarthy's views, including myself. However, there are several topics that he brings up and I agree with. 18 year olds who take the class have some control over what they agree with. As any parent would know, we are more likely to dismiss an opinion from a parent-like figure just because they feel like it. I really wish that this debate hadn't gotten so much coverage, because it is Saraf's attempt at destroying something he knows very little about.

A class for seniors that is being hated by two juniors is not a correct description of the events at BCC. Many students enjoy the class deeply, and all actions that are taken in the class are decided by those in it. No one is forced to do anything they do not feel like doing. It is the choice of anyone to go to the library, talk up, or do homework. It is McCarthy's attempt at trying to liven up discussion about topics. The class IS a two sided discussion. While McCarthy has his views, we the students can easily dismiss or support them. I would say on the topic of Animal Rights thus far, about 50% of the students disagreed with what he had to say passionately. And it is this 50% that are currently defending the course against these two juniors who have very little information about the course on their side.

So let them have a Washington Post article, and let them be heard on WTOP, but I hope that sooner or later someone realizes that his opinions are seriously void of fact.
Alex Bannon

The Freedom to Speak About Restricting the Freedom to Speak

The catch phrase now in the Cartoon War is "clash of civilizations". But in dealing with a "civilization", large numbers of whose members can be driven into frenzies of violence by taboo-violating cartoons, the real situation more closely resembles the Roman Empire under siege by barbarians.

Even Islam's intellectuals are infected with the false logic that springs from trying to reconcile seventh century mysticism with modern democratic freedoms. Dr Abdelwahab El-Affendi is a senior research fellow at University of Westminster in London.

Writing for al Jazeera, Dr. El-Affendi calls for Muslims in European societies to use democracy:

Muslims, especially minorities living in Europe, are likely to be the first victims of new restrictions on freedom. They should, instead, make use of democracy to build coalitions which would isolate the hate mongers and extremists and cause them to be condemned by all.

In calling for more, not less, freedom of expression, they should also try to reach a consensus on using that freedom in a more responsible and constructive manner.

In other words, Dr. El-Affendi would have Muslims use freedom of expression to create a Muslim fundamentalist cousin to Political Correctness, call it Taboo Correctness.

Dr. El-Affendi's column tries to maintain a veneer of balanced, rational thought, but it's betrayed by this passage, which proves that he just doesn't get it:

The very idea of giving Rushdie a literary prize after his book Satanic Verses was like offering Hitler the Nobel Peace Prize after Auschwitz. And the very inability of Western intellectuals and leaders to understand this simple fact lies at the heart of the threatened "clash of civilisations".

In Dr. El-Affendi's mind, writing a book is equivalent to starting a World War and murdering millions of people. That's primitive thinking coming from a man who has had every opportunity to be capable of moving beyond taboos.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

ACLU Sponsors Anti-NSA Granny Moonbat Exhibition

From The Oakland Tribune:

The vigil, sponsored by the ACLU, Code Pink, and the Raging Grannies of San Francisco, featured speakers from various organizations, private citizen testimonies, and the activist flock singing classic tunes with supplanted lyrics for their cause and waving flashlights and electric candles to “shed the light on secrecy."

We should encourage the ACLU to sponsor more of these events. Not only does it help get word out to the public that the ACLU has become a radical, subversive organization bent on sabotaging US efforts in the War on Terror, but the pictures show normal Americans how deranged and uncouth the idiots who march in these things are.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Sunday Funnies

From the Dry Bones Blog.
















From Jyllands-Posten





Day by Day by Chris Muir in sidebar

British Judge Okays Baby's Death Over Parent's Objections

From the Telegraph:

The parents of Charlotte Wyatt have been told that doctors are to be allowed to let their profoundly ill baby daughter die if they feel it is in her best interests.

A High Court judge yesterday lifted a previous ruling that she should always be resuscitated, on the grounds that the two-year-old was now on a "downward rather than an upward trend".

Mr Justice Hedley heard an emergency application from doctors treating her that she had developed an aggressive chest infection and was unlikely to survive any moves to keep her alive.

This is happening in the UK, but how far down this slope has America slipped?

Via Stop the ACLU and Michelle Malkin.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

RIP: America's Deputy - Don Knotts Dies At 81

From the LA Times:

Don Knotts, the saucer-eyed, scarecrow-thin comic actor best known for his roles as the high-strung small-town deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s CBS series "The Andy Griffith Show" and the leisure-suit-clad landlord Ralph Furley on ABC's '70s sitcom "Three's Company," has died. He was 81.

Knotts, who lived in West Los Angeles, died Friday night of lung cancer at a Los Angeles hospital, according to Sherwin Bash, his longtime manager.

When I was a kid our TV got only two stations. One of them carried The Andy Griffith Show. The world will be a less interesting place without Deputy Barney Fife.

Also posted at The Jawa Report.

Ricin Suspected In University of Texas Dorm

From ABC News:

AUSTIN Feb 25, 2006 (AP)— A University of Texas student found a substance in a roll of quarters that tested positive for ricin, a potentially deadly poison, but more tests were needed, officials said Saturday.

The 19-year-old student, who said she unwrapped the powder in her dormitory room Thursday, and her roommate were checked at a hospital for potential exposure to the poison, although neither had any symptoms, officials said.

Ricin is a poison extracted from castor beans. It can be made in a kitchen. It does not occur naturally, unlike anthrax.

NBC News reported tonight that the intial test was a "weak" positive, and that the powder will be examined by a special FBI investigative team. What's really scary though, is that NBC also reported that university officials "have ruled out terrorism". Really? That seems a bit premature, and will seem even more premature if further suspicious rolls of quarters turn up.

Michelle Malkin has a roundup of blog coverage, including possibly related ricin incidents.

Olympic Events: Gay, Straight, or Metrosexual?

Two-Man Bobsled
The brakeman grabs the sled powerfully, finding his rythmn in the rapid pistoning of his heavily muscled thighs. He insinuates himself into the cockpit and buries his head against the clenched buttocks of the driver. GAY

Figure Skating
So gay it makes the stars of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy look like British soccer hooligans. GAY

Snowboarding
The emphasis on styling points moves a moderately dangerous sport into the metrosexual category. METROSEXUAL

Hockey
As straight as a slapshot to the crotch. STRAIGHT

Biathlon
Sort of straight. They could solidify their position by exchanging the pussy little .22s for something with more stopping power - 12 gauge deer slugs would do nicely. METROSEXUAL/STRAIGHT

Also posted at The Jawa Report.

Al Qaeda Admits Saudi Refinery Attack

From the Associated Press:

Al-Qaida suicide bombers will attack more Saudi oil facilities, the terror group purportedly threatened Saturday in an Internet statement that claimed responsibility for the foiled attack on the Abiqaiq plant in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Two suicide bombers tried to drive cars packed with explosives into Abiqaiq, the world's largest oil processing facility, on Friday afternoon, but security guards opened fire and the vehicles exploded outside the gates, killing the bombers and fatally wounding two guards.

Is anyone surprised? With the Saudi oil refinery attack and the bombing of the Samarra mosque, al Qaeda has effectively declared war on fellow Muslims. I wonder how that will play out on the "Arab street".

Vinnie has more at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Rubbing It In - Jyllands-Posten Wins Prize For Cartoons

From News24.com:

Copenhagen - Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which angered the Muslim world by publishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad last year, has won a Danish critical journalism award for its initiative, the jury said.

Denmark's largest daily was honoured with the Victor Prize for "having opened everyone's eyes by showing how easy it is to introduce cracks in freedom of expression and how so-called political correctness is infiltrating what we believe to be inalienable rights," Hans Engell, the editor of tabloid Ekstra Bladet which awards the prize, said during a prize ceremony in Copenhagen late on Thursday.

By rights, editor Carsten Juste should also be receiving the Medal of Freedom from the hand of President George W. Bush. Once again, the Danes have shamed the American mainstream media, whose delicate sensibilities have censored the cartoons in America.

Via Michelle Malkin.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

London Mayor Suspended Over Nazi Crack

From the Guardian:

Ken Livingstone was today suspended from office for four weeks by a disciplinary tribunal for likening a Jewish Evening Standard reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

Here's what Hizzoner said to reporter Oliver Finegold:

While being recorded, the mayor asked him: "Were you a German war criminal?" On being told the reporter was Jewish, he added: "Ah, well, you might be but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?"

The mayor's lawyer invoked a rather...questionable... defense:

"When John Profumo apparently slept with Christine Keeler and then committed the far more serious offence of lying to the House of Commons about it, he was compelled to resign, but no one could seriously think that that affected the reputation of the office of secretary of state for war. It reflected badly on John Profumo but not on his office.

"When David Blunkett was allegedly inappropriately involved in assisting an application for a work permit and he resigned, that could not be regarded by an informed observer as damaging the reputation and bringing into disrepute the office of home secretary."

Ix-nay on the esign-ray stuff solicitor, right now the mayor's only being suspended.

Also posted at The Jawa Report.

Iraqi Curfew May Have Worked

From Reuters:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A daytime curfew in Baghdad and calls for Muslim unity from mosques across the country on Friday damped down sectarian violence that has left 200 dead in the Iraqi capital alone over the past three days.

From the Associated Press:

Iraq's most influential Shiite political leader called Friday for Sunni-Shiite unity and condemned all killings of Iraqis in a bid to pull the nation back from the brink of civil war after the bombing of a Shiite shrine and a wave of deadly reprisal attacks.

And Mohammed at Iraq the Model reports that Shia militias that attacked Sunni mosques may have been rather, well, discriminating:

The sense in the streets and the statements given by some Shia clerics suggest that retaliation attacks are organized and under control and are focusing on mosques frequented by Salafi and Wahabi groups and not those of ordinary Sunnis.

These are the sects that support al Qaeda and supply terrorist insurgents and suicide bombers. If the militias are attacking their mosques, it means that al Qaeda is being blamed for the Samarra bombing.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

3 Al Arabiya Journalists Murdered in Iraq

From The Gulf Daily News:

SAMARRA: Three Iraqi journalists working for Al Arabiya satellite television network were kidnapped and killed on the outskirts of Samarra, north of Baghdad, police said yesterday.
The three were in Samarra to report on the bombing of the shrine and on the angry demonstrations that followed.

"The bodies of the presenter Atwar Bahjat Al Samerai, cameraman Adnan Abdallah and soundman Khaled Mohsen were found early this morning some 15km north of Samarra," police said.

They were believed to have been kidnapped on Wednesday evening as they were leaving town.

A fourth person travelling with them was able to escape.

What Brainiac sent a crew of three Sunni Muslims to cover the destruction of one of the Shia Muslims' most revered shrines? Atwar Bahjat Al Samerai was reportedly one of the most recognized women in Iraq.

Able Danger: Still Simmering

I participated in a conference call tonight with Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA) and several other bloggers about the Able Danger program, 9/11, the USS Cole attack, and the ongoing coverup by mid- to senior-level bureaucrats spanning two administrations. Frankly, a lot of information was forthcoming and I need time to process it all.

But I do want to address a charming bit of character assassination by Washington Post writer William M. Arkin, who has a problem with Able Danger whistleblower Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer:

And then there's Shaffer, who offered a rambling, paranoid, messianic story in his testimony claiming again not only the existence of the chart, but also Defense Department efforts at cover-up and retribution against him for revealing the TRUTH.

I read Shaffer's February 15 testimony this afternoon, in preparation for the conference call - all 48 pages of it. It details the vicious steps that have been taken to try to silence Shaffer.

I have a different perspective from Arkin. When I was a Federal employee, I had occasion to blow the whistle myself. Shaffer's testimony rings true. Every word. This is how bureaucrats cover their asses.

The tone of Arkin's piece is set when he pronounces the testimony of Under Secretary of Defense Stephen Cambone as "truth", yet never mentions that Cambone refused to be sworn in, and that the testimony of three sworn witnesses contradicts Cambone.

Of the DoD investigation to which Cambone refers, Curt Weldon had this to say tonight, "No one was put under oath...there were no sworn affidavits." Evidently Arkin didn't know this.

Others on the call:
Mike Kasper of the Able Danger Blog (the organizer)
AJ Strata of The Strata-Sphere
QT Monster's Place
Pierre of The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill
Rory O'Connor
Curt from Flopping Aces
Dan Pico from Common Sense Political Thought
Also a blogger from "common sense" -I didn't catch his name or URL, but will update later.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Nigerian Christians Kill Muslims, Burn Bodies

From the Washington Post:

ONITSHA, Nigeria Feb. 23 -- Mobs stopped killing and looting in this battered Nigerian city Thursday and turned to disposing of the evidence in the crudest of ways. With smoldering bonfires fueled by pieces of wood and old tires, men burned the remains of their Muslim victims on downtown streets, leaving behind charred legs, skulls and shoulders that motorists swerved to avoid.

As the city's thousands of surviving Muslims struggled to return to their northern homes or huddled as refugees at police stations, Christian residents expressed little remorse for their role in five days of religious violence sparked by anger over the publishing of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

This might not be an ideal venue for the touring "Piss Christ" show. Keep in mind that the Cartoon War was instigated by Danish imams who toured the middle east fomenting violence, in some cases using faked cartoons.

More at The Jawa Report.

Michelle Malkin Site Under Cyberattack (UPDATED)

Michelle Malkin's website was down for most of the morning, presumably due to a Denial of Service attack from hackers. The site was back up as of around 10:30, when Malkin posted, noting that the FBI had been informed of the attack.

In an update posted at Pajamas Media, where Malkin rode out the attack, she notes that investigators have confirmed a DoS attack, apparently originating in Turkey.

Update:
In an update to the post on her website, Malkin writes that a DoS attack has been confirmed, with the attacks coming from IPs mostly belonging to TurkTelecom. Source addresses for the attack are being shifted, indicating a fairly sophisticated operation. the TurkTelecom homepage itself is down at the moment.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Second Able Danger Conference Call Tonight

I'll be participating in a second conference call about Able Danger tonight. Representative Curt Weldon will update bloggers on the latest developments and take questions. This is a follow-up to this call with Mark Zaid, who represents Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and others. The call is scheduled for 6PM ET and will last for about an hour and a half, so I may have something to post about it later in the evening.

Both calls were arranged by Mike Kaspar of the Able Danger Blog.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

The Enablers of 9/11 (UPDATED)

We all know who was responsible for the most devastating terrorist attack on America; that's easy - it was Islamist terrorists. No one seriously doubts that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda murdered our fellow citizens.

But who enabled the attackers to be successful? It wasn't the private security screeners in place at the time, they followed the procedures in place. Box cutters were not prohibited items. The FAA and the airlines allowed anyone with a ticket to take a box cutter on the plane. Probably to open the damned peanut bags.

But the FAA and airlines were only responding to the ultimate enablers, the people who dictated policy. That would be business travellers and other frequent flyers. Market forces ensure that the airlines have always been eager to cater to the whims of their most prized group of passengers. To this day they are, as a class, the most difficult passengers for airport screeners to deal with. They bitch and moan, they can't understand why they're not recognized on sight at any airport and simply passed through security. They don't understand why the Federal Agents of the Transportation Security Administration won't behave like parking valets.

Now they're doing it again. Peggy Noonan, a woman whose columns I normally enjoy, is whining like a spoiled child in this one. And she gets just about everything wrong; either too tired or disinterested to actually observe what was happening, or shading the truth to make her points.

Peggy Noonan should be ashamed of herself for this witless rant. Princess Peggy thinks that airport security is comparable to sixties-era East European Communist regimes. Peggy the drama queen has no idea that her status as a selectee, someone pulled out for extra screening, is determined by a computer program, not the TSA screener who informs her of this fact.

Peggy Noonan should be ashamed of herself for referring to TSA screeners as "clerks". Perhaps Peggy doesn't know that 11 out of 12 applicants for the "clerks" jobs are rejected. Perhaps Peggy doesn't know the "clerks" are tested on the job daily, under threat of dismissal, and that the "clerks" must requalify every six months in a rigorous recertification process that carries the threat of dismissal.

Peggy Noonan should be ashamed of herself for the shocking ignorance displayed in this column. Her readers (and her editors) deserve better. Peggy Noonan should be ashamed of herself for putting the convenience of her exalted social class above the security of everyone else in the country.

Most TSA screeners thank God that the Peggy Noonans of the world are balanced out by thoughtful passengers who remember the horror of 9/11 and make a point of thanking them for doing their jobs.

Update:
For an opposing viewpoint, visit open book.

Hitchens' Stand With Denmark on Friday

As I posted yesterday, Christopher Hitchens of Slate has asked anyone who wants to join him in a peaceful show of solidarity with Denmark (and, of course, with the principles of our own Constitution). Hitchens has updated his post with the details:

Update, Feb. 22: Thank you all who've written. Please be outside the Embassy of Denmark, 3200 Whitehaven Street (off Massachusetts Avenue) between noon and 1 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 24. Quietness and calm are the necessities, plus cheerful conversation. Danish flags are good, or posters reading "Stand By Denmark" and any variation on this theme (such as "Buy Carlsberg/ Havarti/ Lego") The response has been astonishing and I know that the Danes are appreciative. But they are an embassy and thus do not of course endorse or comment on any demonstration. Let us hope, however, to set a precedent for other cities and countries. Please pass on this message to friends and colleagues.

That's too short a trigger for me to attend, as I had hoped, but if you're in the area...

Speaking With The Enemy

Debbie Schlussel taped an interview with terrorist voice of choice Al Jazeera about the Oscar-nominated (of course) suicide-bombers-are-just-like-you-and-me movie Paradise Now.

The $1 million question:

"Why do the West and Jews object to portraying Palestinian terrorists as human beings, as in 'Paradise Now'?" No lie. That was the question.

Read how she answered here.

UAE Port Deal Argument A Red Herring

The squabble over whether or not to allow a United Arab Emirates company control over shipping operations at six major US seaports is a red herring. The real issue is the shameful state of port security, part of an overall slackening of national security measures.

Following 9/11 a wave of public outrage forced the formation of the Transportation Security Administration to replace private security firms at the nation's airports. The plan then was for the TSA to live up to the ""transportation" part of its title and eventually take over security at seaports, railroad stations, bus stations...everywhere that mass transit operated.

But the TSA hit a funding wall and was forced to lay off thousands of screeners. While the screener forces at the large, high-profile airports increased, the Federal Security Directors (FSDs) at smaller airports lost manpower. The inexperience of many FSDs and their command staffs has led to extremely high turnover rates, further aggravating the manpower shortage. Many Federal screeners are now part-timers.

The fact is that many airports don't have enough screeners to provide adequate security. Some regional airport checkpoints are run with as few as five screeners. That means that the screeners aren't allowed breaks or lunch. If one of them needs to use the can, the checkpoint must be shut down while he or she is gone.

So the plan (and there were colorful brochures and everything) for TSA to take over port security was abandoned, and we currently check perhaps 2 percent of containers entering the US on a good day. Port security reverted to already overstretched outfits; the Coast Guard and Customs Service.

The bottom line is that Islamist terrorists don't really need help from a middle eastern company to penetrate security at our ports.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Hitchens Looking for a Few Good Folks to Stand With the Danes

Christopher Hitchens at Slate is a favorite read of mine, though I often disagree with him. Hitchens is looking for people to join him in standing in solidarity with the Danes:

I feel terrible that I have taken so long to get around to this, but I wonder if anyone might feel like joining me in gathering outside the Danish Embassy in Washington, in a quiet and composed manner, to affirm some elementary friendship. Those who like the idea might contact me at christopher.hitchens@yahoo.com, and those who live in other cities with Danish consulates might wish to initiate a stand for decency on their own account.

I'm going to drop him a note to see when he's planning this. Sounds like it's worth a road trip.

Via Michelle Malkin.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

OIED: Ovine Improvised Explosive Device.

Dr. Rusty Shackleford of The Jawa Report has obtained video and stills of terrorists implanting bombs inside sheep. This is not a joke. I guess the supply of homicidal whackos willing to strap on suicide vests is dwindling. If anyone still doubts the utter, Satanic depravity of our enemies, go here and take a look at the photos.

German Muslim Group Invites Ahmadinejad to Auschwitz

From Al Bawaba:

The oldest Islamic organization in Germany, the Islam-Archiv-Deutschland Central Institute, criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently for denying the existence of the Holocaust, and invited him to visit Germany.

A spokesman for the Islam-Archiv-Deutschland organization said that Ahmadinejad's comments were a "disgrace to all Muslims," implying that questioning one of the most well-documented events in history was a discredit to the Arab and Muslim people.

Twisted weasel that he is, Ahmadinejad hoped to use a visit to Auschwitz to bolster propaganda by pseudo-scientific Holocaust deniers.

But Poland has banned Iranians:

Poland’s foreign minister said his country would not allow Iranian researchers to come to Poland to investigate the Holocaust.
Stefan Meller was quoted as saying that “these people who deny that people were murdered in gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau won’t set foot in Poland.” His comments came last Friday after Iranian officials said they wanted researchers to probe the “extent”of the Holocaust.

The Holocaust deniers claim that the gas chambers at Auschwitz are fake. I say let Ahmadinejad test them, personally.

Via Mensa Barbie.

It Is Enough, Debbie, Go Home (UPDATED)

There is a nasty internecine conflict going on among some prominent members of the right lobe of the blogosphere. The principle antagonists are The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler and Debbie Schlussel, two blogs that occasionally shoot from the hip.

Debbie wrote a post condemning Denmark for past acts of appeasement to Islamists. Darth Misha of the Rottweiller, a native Dane who is now a US citizen, took offense, and responded in anger. Debbie hinted at a lawsuit in an email, Misha retracted the offending portions of his post, apologized for questionable language choices, and that should have been that.

But it wasn't. Debbie began emailing friends of Misha, and
wives of friends of Misha. Understandable, given that these folks had either supported Misha (or Debbie perceived them to support Misha).

But now the vendetta has been extended to bystanders simply reporting about the fight. This is unreasonable.

In an essay about the 1983 Soviet downing of Korean Airlines flight 007 (published in Jerry Pournelle's There Will Be War, Volume III, Blood and Iron) Reginald Bretnor recounts an incident involving Ivan the Grim, a particularly savage Russian Tsar, and a "holy idiot", one of the only group to enjoy freedom of speech under the Tsars:

He [Ivan the Grim] then moved on the city of Pskov, where he began the same sort of thing [looting, torturing, killing]. However, there he was confronted by a "holy idiot", one Mikula Svyet, who demonstrated his holiness by, among other things, going naked summer and winter. Mikula pointed at the Czar and said, "It is enough, Ivan, go home!"

And Ivan went...

And so I'll play the role of the idiot and say, "It is enough, Debbie, go home!"

Update: It is not enough
Debbie Schlussel has put up a post accusing Jay Stephenson of Stop the ACLU of stealing, but can't resist excoriating Jay for, well linking to other websites:

Thereafter, Jay decided to defame me and link to other sites that did, while still thinking I'd represent him. It's my policy not to provide free legal work to people who attack me. Not a smart move, Jay.

ACLU Attempting Coup D'Etat

From CNSNews:

(CNSNews.com) - While White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was asserting Monday that the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program was a vital tool in the war against terrorism, a panel assembled by the American Civil Liberties Union was arguing that President Bush should be impeached over the spying program.

"If the political alignment in the country were otherwise, impeachment would be a no-brainer," said Laurence H. Tribe, professor of constitutional law at Harvard University.

Earlier, in joining calls for a Congressional investigation, I based that position on the ACLU's overly close ties with terrorist and terrorist-sympathizer organizations. This latest incident convinces more than ever that the ACLU, which has seen internecine conflict and resignations over its recent actions, does not have the best interests of the country at heart.

Al Qaeda Looking For White "Sleepers"

The trial of an Australian renegade named Joseph Thomas, who is accused of working with Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, may have revealed that Osama bin Laden is trying to recruit Caucasians.

From UPI:

Western intelligence services are increasingly nervous about al-Qaida attempts to recruit white men and women, as they can more easily pass in Western society.

Australia's Herald Sun reported that an ongoing court case in Melbourne uncovered an al-Qaida attempt to recruit Caucasian "sleeper agents."

Australian defendant Joseph Thomas told his police interrogators that Khalid bin Attash, an associate of Osama bin Laden, said that bin Laden was interested in having "an Aussie ... a white boy," according to testimony in Melbourne's Supreme Court.

Prosecutor Nick Robinson alleged that Thomas's conversations with bin Attash occurred in Pakistan, where Thomas was staying at an al-Qaida safe house after training at the group's al-Farooq camp in Afghanistan during 2001.

Presumably, the Caucasians would be mercenaries. Anyone care to bet that there aren't plenty of whites willing to help out AQ for enough green?

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Conference Call on the Able Danger Hearings With Attorney Mark Zaid

This evening I participated in a conference call about the Able Danger hearings with Mark Zaid, attorney for Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and other Able Danger figures, with several other bloggers. The call was organized by Mike Kasper of the Able Danger Blog.

The bloggers were:

Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters
AJ Strata of The Strata-Sphere
Mark Coffey of Decision '08
QT Monster's Place
Pierre of The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill
Rory O'Connor
Moi, representing The Dread Pundit Bluto , The Jawa Report, and Vince Aut Morire.

Each blogger will undoubtedly be posting about the call.

Mr. Zaid was quite forthcoming, but unfortunately, more questions were raised than answered, and I got the impression that the hearings are a pro forma exercise that will probably shed little light on the Able Danger program. He described the conduct of the hearings as "very disconcerting" and said that the Representatives involved displayed "very superficial knowledge" of the Able Danger saga.

Unaswered questions raised by Mr. Zaid:

Who was the Orion subcontractor who supplied the photo of Mohammed Atta?

Why did Zelikow testify before a closed session when he wasn't supposed to be discussing anything classified?

Who ordered armed Federal agents to raid Orion and confiscate non-classified materials related to Able Danger?

Why did Jamie Gorelick say that she had done nothing wrong, when no one had accused of doing anything wrong?

The biggest question I have is this: why isn't the mainstream media all over this story? It stinks to high heaven of coverup. NBC can provide nightly coverage of the Katrina aftermath for five months, but a story that has profound implications for national security doesn't rate thirty seconds?

Mr. Zaid was very diplomatic when I asked him about the lack of media attention, praising Fox News, the New York Times and Chris Matthews of MSNBC, but the fact is that a story isn't real to most of America until they hear it on the network news.

I'll have more on this later. In the meantime, you could do worse than write your Representatives to demand a real investigation, and maybe stop by the Able Danger Blog to make a donation to Colonel Shaffer's legal fund.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Huffington's Latest Hissy Fit (Updated)

Mary Matalin rides again. You know she scored big on Sunday's Meet the Press when Zsa Zsa Gabor clone Arianna Huffington feels compelled to post a picture of Disney's Sleeping Beauty Witch next to Matalin's photo and spends the first SEVEN paragraphs of her column deriding Matalin's appearance and wardrobe. Lots of substance here, Arianna:

Let's start with the unavoidable: what was she wearing? First, the brooch. Or was it a sculpture? Or was it perhaps some bizarre new NSA listening device? It was so, well, there, that hard as you tried you could not avert your eyes from it.

And then there was the black Asian pajama top to match the black eye makeup and the scarlet red nails to match the scarlet red lips. It was impossible to watch her without thinking of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty. And then there was her manner, which was so incredibly nasty that it was hard to focus on her ludicrous talking points.

Meow. Is Huffington trying to debate Matalin's points or singlehandedly set the Women's Movement back to 1950? After sniffing at Matalin's attire and demeanor, Huffington moves on to whining about Meet the Press host Tim Russert, a sure sign that Russert has been doing a good, objective job of moderating the discussion.

And Arianna closes with a huge lie:

Update: Mary Matalin's performance was universally panned in the blogosphere. Check out:

Huffington then lists several loony left blogs.

This is the kind of reaction that confirms a series of direct hits on liberal sacred cows. Mary Matalin is my hero.

Update: Even Arianna's fans are nervous: :

hi arianna. i know your heart's in the right place here, but i think you may be undermining your argument by making comments about matalin's physical appearance and fashion choices. it tends to undermine whatever you have to say about she is actually saying. i love huffington post and read the articles and columnists all the time, but i admit i am reading your posts less frequently b/c i think you're slightly misfiring. just something to consider.
Posted by: falgiano on February 20, 2006 at 12:08am
Is this comment abusive? spam? [flag it]

Okay--I know folks won't like this, but I think Matalin's positions can be critiqued without the allusions to her superficial appearance. Critiqque her horrible toadiness and lies, but her hair, brooch, and face should be left alone. At least, that's what my mom taught me was polite.
Posted by: vaughan on February 20, 2006 at 10:08am
Is this comment abusive? spam? [flag it]

The fashion critique of Dowd and Matalin very much distracted from your point.
Posted by: theurchin on February 20, 2006 at 10:10am
Is this comment abusive? spam? [flag it]

Update II: James Wolcott enters the fray (if sissy slap-fighting can be considered "entering the fray". What kind of man writes for Vanity Fair anyway?):

Even without the immature pouting and pissy expression, Matalin would have been a car wreck in repose: With a bad haircut topping a mistaken facelift and a ghastly floral pin that looked like spray-painted aluminum, she looked like the Beltway's Madwoman of Chaillot.

Another fashion critique, no substance, which nicely encapsulates the mainstream media's behavior during the Cheney story.

Gay Jesus, Oui; Violent Mohammed, Non

University of Toronto Student newspaper The Strand has printed this cartoon of Jesus kissing Mohammed.


Unfortunately, their view of press freedom is timid, limited to offending only those they feel confident will not respond with violence.

But was it really freedom of the press, or a case of media martyrdom? Publishing these cartoons seems to do little more than fan the flames of already-existing controversy. Is it the press's responsibility to decide what people should absorb, or is providing an option more important? Articles are somewhat different; you can decide whether or not to read something based on the headline - which, admittedly, is questionable on the subject of giving audiences agency. A graphic or photograph, however, is much more intense: you don't really have the choice to view it or not.

You don't have the choice whether or not to view a graphic or photograph? This is tortured logic, the sort of self-deluding rationalization that virtually every major American news outlet has used to justify their moral cowardice.

Via The Jawa Report.

O! My Brothers and Sisters! I Sing the Jellyfish Uncaged!

Would that my powers of parody were such that I could create from my mind the discussion that follows. Alas! It is all true! Praise be to the Goddess Gaea that such sensitive young folk are poised to carry on for us.

From PETA2.com:

Kenseahorse 2/9/06 10:49 PM
Today my friends and I got into a huge debate about Jellyfish rights. They don't seem to think Jellyfish care if they are locked up in an aquarium. I didn't see that it was fair, eyes or not, to pluck some amazing creatures from their homes for human's amusement. Okay, maybe I was a little freakish, I just want to know if anyone else knew something about the subject.

sallywithoutajack 2/9/06 11:01 PM
I don't know anything about that, but they are animals with thoughts, feelings, and their own personalities. They may not be as smart as us, but they shouldn't be treated like crap. I don't think they would appriciate living in an aquarium for entertainment.

Maffers87 2/9/06 11:13 PM
I think that every living creature on this planet has rights. It's as simple as that. We have no right to take advantage of someone.

Rain4Rent 2/9/06 11:44 PM
I don't think that the jelly fish mind being locked up. They usually have fairly large tanks. I don't think they realize that they aren't home. They might be like goldfish, who can only remeber for three seconds. But you never know, they might be horrible depressed.

freezingslushie 2/10/06 1:18 AM
Every living creature has rights-even jellyfish

perception 2/10/06 7:44 AM
I get so tired of hearing peoples prejudice views. If you dont believe in animal rights why the heck are you here>? It does not matter how important we think this creature is, or wether it even feels pain or not (or has a brain)! The fact is it's a living being with as much right to live as us.

King Cobra 2/10/06 7:51 AM
Jellyfish most definately have rights... even though they are an invertebrate, they have a main nerve ring and touch receptors that allows them to feel things, including pain.

Perfidy 2/10/06 9:33 AM
I don't see why jellyfish are different than any other animals. And I am definately against confining wild animals in small spaces just for human entertainment. Everybody seems to think that animals that live in water aren't as smart as other animals, but they probably are. And even if they aren't, does that give us the right to put them in an aquarium that is completely different than their natural environment just for our own amusement. It doesn't seem right to decide that it's ok to confine them just because they aren't as smart as we are.

michelle25 2/10/06 9:34 AM
jellyfish should also have rights; they are animals too!

miss lotus 2/10/06 11:48 AM
I agree with what perception wrote.

I am against using any animal for any form of 'entertainment.'

beatingheartbaby2 2/10/06 12:14 PM
as perception said, if you dont believe that every animal has rights, then why are you here? jellyfish may not be as intelligent (and yes, they may even be like gold fish and only remember for 3 seconds) but they are still animals and should be recognized as more than just a form of amusment for humans

Niru 2/10/06 12:18 PM
Even organisms like Clams have feelings!

GherkinLuva 2/10/06 3:38 PM
A friend of mine told me that jelly is made from jellyfish. I don't know if it's true or not but I can't bring myself to eat jelly anymore.

Glassonion2006 2/10/06 4:11 PM
^ ^ ^ i don't know if you mean strawberry jam or grape jelly but, no they are NOT made of jelly fish (except in that spongebob cartoon) lol

blkmetlxhxc 2/10/06 4:17 PM
jellyfish are animals...they shouldnt be treated terribly for man's enjoyment

xRockxAngel3x 2/10/06 4:53 PM
I think that they have rights but don't just let them sting you, it's like bees, if they're hurting you you try to get them away from you.

Many thanks to reader Jan Z. aka The Dutchman.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Osama Channeling Edward G. Robinson

"You'll never take me alive, coppers!"

From Breitbart:

Osama bin Laden promised never to be captured alive and declared the U.S. had resorted to the same "repressive" tactics used by Saddam Hussein, according to an audiotape purportedly by the al-Qaida leader that was posted Monday on a militant Web site.

The tape appeared to be a complete version of one that was first broadcast Jan. 19 on Al-Jazeera, the pan-Arab satellite channel, in which bin Laden offered the United States a long-term truce but also said his al-Qaida terror network would soon launch a fresh attack on American soil.

"I have sworn to only live free. Even if I find bitter the taste of death, I don't want to die humiliated or deceived," bin Laden said.

Bin Laden has, of course, been deceived for most of his life.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Brit Muslims Declare Victory in Cartoon War

From the Telegraph (UK):

For the past two weeks, Patrick Sookhdeo has been canvassing the opinions of Muslim clerics in Britain on the row over the cartoons featuring images of Mohammed that were first published in Denmark and then reprinted in several other European countries.

"They think they have won the debate," he says with a sigh. "They believe that the British Government has capitulated to them, because it feared the consequences if it did not.

"The cartoons, you see, have not been published in this country, and the Government has been very critical of those countries in which they were published. To many of the Islamic clerics, that's a clear victory.

"It's confirmation of what they believe to be a familiar pattern: if spokesmen for British Muslims threaten what they call 'adverse consequences' - violence to the rest of us - then the British Government will cave in. I think it is a very dangerous precedent."

Guess what? They have won, for now. Here, too, unless you can think of a major news outlet in this country that has published a Mohammed cartoon.

The Press is opposed to upsetting Muslim sensibilities, unless, of course, they have some juicy video of British soldiers grabbing young Iraqi rock-throwers or some old photos from Abu Ghraib.

Via Kim Priestap.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Cartoon Jihadis Attack US Embassy In Indonesia

From MSNBC:

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Hundreds of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, smashing the windows of a guard post but failing to push through the gates. Several people were injured.

Pakistani security forces, meanwhile, sealed off the capital of Islamabad to block a planned mass demonstration and fired tear gas and gunshots to chase off protesters. In Turkey, tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul chanting slogans against Denmark, Israel and the United States.

Talk about boneheaded ignorance. No, not the cartoon jihadis; I'm talking about the American mainstream media who thought they could appease these savages by refusing to print the Mohammed cartoons.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

More Evidence That The UN Is Useless

UN 'Nuclear Watchdog' Ready to Surrender to Iran


As if more evidence of the United Nations' uselessness were needed. From press release:

VIENNA (Reuters) - The crisis over Iran's atomic agenda is deepening, but the world's nuclear watchdog chief has warned there may be no choice but to accept limited uranium enrichment by Tehran, diplomats say.

For a mistrustful West, the quid pro quo would be to give U.N. inspectors more intrusive powers via a Security Council resolution to prevent suspected atomic bomb projects.

Yes, that will work. By all means, let's give "Pepe the Nuclear Watchdog" here "more intrusive powers".

Iran Threatens Suicide Bomber Attacks

An Iranian group calling itself "Martyrdom Seekers" is threatening the US and the UK with mass suicide bomb attacks against Coalition forces in Iraq if Iran's nuclear facilities are attacked. Though ostensibly unofficial, no group would be allowed to make such an announcement without the consent of Iran's government:

Mohammad Ali Samadi, spokesman for Esteshadion, or Martyrdom Seekers, boasted of having hundreds of potential bombers in his talk at a seminar on suicide-bombings tactics at Tehran's Khajeh Nasir University.

"With more than 1,000 trained martyrdom-seekers, we are ready to attack the American and British sensitive points if they attack Iran's nuclear facilities," Samadi said.

"If they strike, we have a lot of volunteers. Their (U.S. and British) sensitive places are quiet close to Iranian borders," Samadi said.

Samadi reviewed the history of suicide bombing as a weapon, praising it as the most effective Palestinian tactic in their confrontation with Israel.

They have "trained martyrdom seekers"?

"Here Ahmed, put this on, find a group of children, push this button."

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Sunday Funnies

From the Dry Bones Blog.
















From Jyllands-Posten

Indian Government Official Calls For Cartoonist Beheading

A minister of the Indian government has offered a bounty for the head(s) of Danish cartoonist(s). Other members of the Indian government say that this is his personal view and not an official stance, though they have not taken any legal action against him:

Political parties have criticised Uttar Pradesh Haj and Minority Welfare Minster Haji Yaqoob Quereshi after he announced a reward for the beheading of the Danish cartoonist who made caricatures of Prophet Mohammed.

While they are demanding action against Quereshi, government sources told NDTV that they are asking for legal advice on the issue.

Even Quereshi's fellow Muslims are criticizing his remarks:

Several prominent leaders from the Muslim community have already distanced themselves from the minister's remark.

These included members of the Muslim Personal Law Board and the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, the largest political organisation of Muslims in the country.

"The minister has no right to take the law in his hands as it will lead to chaos," said Abdul Hamid Nomani, Spokesperson, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind.

The BJP has already demanded that the minister must be suspended.

"As the UP state government's minister has made such a statement, it should be taken as a statement made by the UP government and that minister should either resign or be suspended," said Rajnath Singh, President, BJP.

Via The Jawa Report, which has more.

Alec Baldwin Reaffirms His Status...

...As An Imbecile
I love it when certain Hollywood types fly into snits and babble witlessly in public:

So, I suppose the question is...what kind of civil trial will we see, or not see, between Cheney and Whittington? Whittington is certainly no stranger to a court room and to civil litigation. Will Cheney pay him off, preemptively? Will they go to court? I would imagine if a guy with a few beers in him shoots you in the face on a hunting trip, how could you turn down that opportunity?

Let's say there's a civil lawsuit filed...by the Veep against Alec and Arianna for malicious libel. But let's not interrupt Alec while he's busy showing his ass:

Cheney is a terrorist. He terrorizes our enemies abroad and innocent citizens here at home indiscriminately. Who ever thought Harry Whittington would be the answer to America's prayers. Finally, someone who might get that lying, thieving Cheney into a courtroom to answer some direct questions

Okay. So Alec Baldwin (who, I'm ashamed to say, hails from my neck of the woods, along with gerbil-fancier Richard Gere) thinks that a civil lawsuit would somehow lead to Dick Cheney being forced to reveal the sooper sekrit plots of the Vast, Rightwing Conspiracy? Exactly how would that work, Alec?

Alec will just have to get over his disappointment that Harry Whittington didn't die and has been released from the hospital. And that George W. Bush has been elected President. Twice.


Yes! Yesss!! Oh, let me taste your tears, Alec! Mm, your tears are so yummy and sweet.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Behavior of Muslims Continues To Shame The Prophet

Latest acts of savagery committed in the name of the Prophet Mohammed:

Libyan Muslims burn Italian consulate:

Satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad continued to send shock waves around the world Friday as protesters set fire to the Italian consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and clashed with police hours after an Islamic cleric in Pakistan offered a $1 million reward for killing one of the cartoonists.

Pakistani Muslims wounded while rioting:

MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Four people were wounded on Saturday when shots were fired during a protest in central Pakistan over publication of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad, police said.

Nigerian Muslims burn 27 vehicles:

Abuja - At least 27 vehicles were smashed and 17 houses destroyed in northeastern Nigeria Saturday as religious zealots protested against the controversial cartoons of Islamic Prophet Mohammed published by a Danish newspaper.

Should Congress Investigate the ACLU?

Jay at Stop the ACLU is calling on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate the activities of the ACLU. Among other things, Jay cites dissension within the ACLU ranks resulting in multiple resignations and ACLU spying on their own members.

One of the most troubling points is that in 2004 the ACLU refused to accept $1.15 million in grants from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations because:

“The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that “promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state.”

The Rockefeller Foundation’s provisions state that recipients of its funds may not “directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity.”

The ACLU was later successful in getting these minor requirements scrapped.

Why?

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Old Friend, New Blog

One of the newest blogs on the Internet today is being run by an old friend and comrade of mine. If you like your opinions homespun and served up with first-rate country recipes, stop into The Cook Shack--Gab & Grub and let Cookie gab yore ear off.

Constitution Suspended at University of Illinois

The editor-in-chief and another editor of the Daily Illini have been suspended for publishing the Mohammed cartoons as part of an editorial about American mainstream media reluctance to print them. The webpage has been banned from the university website, but is available here with the Google cache feature.

From the editorial:

However, this serious controversy has not been addressed by the press. By refusing to run the cartoons, Americans have no idea how "offensive" they are. The ensuing death threats, riots, murders and laying siege to embassies, leave most of us confused and appalled.

Today's lesson for the Illini: violent religious groups trump freedom of speech and of the press.

Via The Jawa Report.

Paki Cartoonist Death Bounty Cleric Visited Upstate New York (UPDATED)

A Pakistani Muslim cleric who has offered up to $1 million bounties on Danish cartoonists has visited upstate New York to give inspirational talks to American Muslims.

From Reuters:

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani Muslim cleric and his followers offered rewards amounting to over $1 million for anyone who killed Danish cartoonists who drew caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad that have enraged Muslims worldwide.

The cleric offered the bounty during Friday prayers as Muslim anger against the cartoons flared anew in parts of Asia.

In the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, cleric Maulana Yousef Qureshi said he had personally offered to pay a bounty of 500,000 rupees ($8,400) to anyone who killed a Danish cartoonist, and two of his congregation put up additional rewards of $1 million and one million rupees plus a car.

"If the West can place a bounty on Osama bin Laden and Zawahri we can also announce reward for killing the man who has caused this sacrilege of the holy Prophet," Qureshi told Reuters, referring to the al Qaeda leader and his deputy Ayman al Zawahri.

American visits by Qureshi have been sponsored by Islamic groups in the United States, including "Islamic Valley" in 2002 in the New York State capital region:

Nightly, following the Salat Traweeh, listen to the renowned Islamic Scholar from Peshawar, Pakistan, MAULANA YOUSEF QURESHI. The Maulana will be at the MDQ New Mosque for the remainder of the most Blessed RAMADHAN. The Maulana is very well known in Pakistan, especially in the NWF. He is presently the KHATEEB at the famous MASJID MUHABAT KHAN in PESHAWAR.

Islamic Valley is a short drive away from this Islamic paramilitary training camp discussed today by Dr. Rusty Shackleford at The Jawa Report.

UPDATE: Islamic Valley Protests At Danish Embassy
From the Islamic Valley Calendar:

Title: PROTEST RALLY infront of the DANISH Consulate in Manhattan on Friday, Feb, 17, 2006.

Date: Friday, February 17th, 2006

Time: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Presenters: MDQ

Description:
The Majlis-e-Shura of Greater New York is requesting that you and your family,
and all friends attend this Rally on Friday, 2.17.06 to be held at 2nd Ave.,
and 48th Street in Manhattan.

Imam Siraj Wahaj will give the Juma Khutba.
Time : 12 noon to 3.00 pm.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.

Welcome, readers of Michelle Malkin, who is covering the protest.

Others:
Stop the ACLU
The Jawa Report
Kim Priestap

Hamas Admits 'Israeli Propaganda' Was True All Along

From YnetNews, via Internet Haganah:

The Hamas organization officially announced for the first time that it has received funding and assistance in training from the Lebanese Hizbullah terror group.

A report posted on Hamas' website recently, describes the establishment of the organization's first cell in Ramallah, immediately following the outbreak of the intifada.

Hamas has denied all claims that it received funds from Hizbullah. Other Palestinian terror groups have done the same, charging the reports were "Israeli propaganda" aimed at implicating the Lebanese group with responsibility for the intifada, in a bid to generate international – and mainly American – pressure on Syria and Iran.

Hizballah is on the US State Department's Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, as is Hamas.

This further complicates the issue of US Foreign Aid to the Palestinian Authority because, as the State Department also notes:

It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO.

While it might be possible to coerce the State Department into taking Hamas off the FTO list, it's now clear that Hamas and Hizballah are joined at the hip, and it's highly unlikely that both Hamas and Hizballah would be removed.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Prisoner Abuse/Murder Photos Not Published in MSM

Dr. Rusty Shackleford at The Jawa Report publishes photos of prisoners in Iraq being abused, even murdered, that have not been covered by any mainstream media outlet.

ACLU Calls For Protection of Illegal Leaking

The ACLU continues its fight to cripple America's counterterrorism capability by deliberately conflating illegal domestic espionage with "whistleblowing". From an ACLU press release:

The ACLU noted that whistleblowers often suffer retaliation for disclosing embarrassing information. In recent weeks, the Department of Justice has announced that it will investigate the disclosure of an illegal National Security Agency domestic eavesdropping operation approved by President George W. Bush. However, the ACLU noted that the attorney general has yet to investigate which laws were violated by the program - despite repeated calls for such an inquiry from members of Congress. Without the disclosure from that whistleblower, Congress and the public would continue to be unaware of the warrantless surveillance by the NSA.

As I've noted previously, a "whistleblower" is someone who has knowledge of fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement and reports it through the channels provided to every Federal employee, usually through an Office of Inspector General. Making disclosures to the Press is not whistleblowing. At best, it's espionage. At worst, treason.

The ACLU knows the difference, after all, they have enough lawyers in their group. However, at present it suits the ACLU's purposes to pretend that espionage and whistleblowing are one and the same. It's shameful that the ACLU has chosen to misrepresent self-aggrandizing media whores as being the same as the people who have the integrity to become real whistleblowers.

Via Stop the ACLU.

Turkish Mob Gets All Islamic On Reporter

From Gateway Pundit: A Turkish female journalist was stoned during a demonstration against the Mohammed cartoons for failing to wear a head scarf. This shameless slut escaped with her life, but faces up to three years in prison for her saucy behavior.

Via Michelle Malkin, and The Jawa Report.

ACLU Vs ACLU: Press Release Urges Presumption of Guilt

From a February 15, 2006 American Civil Liberties Union press release [emphasis added]:

WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House Judiciary Committee to adopt several resolutions that would formally request any and all documents relating to the illegal National Security Agency domestic spying program authorized by President Bush.

Why is the ACLU trying to subvert the Constitution and centuries of American jurisprudence with a presumption of guilt, rather than innocence? Because this is the opening salvo in a bid to strip US counter-terrorism agencies of the power and ability to protect us. When you're busy betraying your country, betraying your own stated principles is a small sacrifice.

Stop the ACLU has the details of ACLU Policy #117, which calls for the emasculation of Federal counter-terror agencies.

The real reason that the ACLU is abandoning its principles in this fight is that they don't want their own conversations with terrorists and terrorist-sympathizers to be monitored. The ACLU's stated goal of protecting civil liberties would appear to be a cover, much like the bogus "peace" organizations during Vietnam and the Cold War, for activities that are clearly hostile to the best interests of the United States.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

Being Evil

Google Code of Conduct:

Our informal corporate motto is "Don't be evil." We Googlers generally relate those words to the way we serve our users – as well we should. But being "a different kind of company" means more than the products we make and the business we're building; it means making sure that our core values inform our conduct in all aspects of our lives as Google employees.

Congress grills Internet execs on China policies:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers lashed out at Google Inc. and other prominent Internet companies on Wednesday, with one Democrat questioning "how your corporate leadership sleeps at night" because of the companies' alleged complicity in human rights abuses by the Chinese government.

"Your abhorrent activities in China are a disgrace. I simply do not understand how your corporate leadership sleeps at night," said Rep. Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on a House International Relations subcommittee on human rights.

A bill to be introduced by Republican Chris Smith would make it illegal for Google or other US companies to continue to abet repressive regimes like Communist China.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

There Is Word From Tall 'Afar

From TraderRob at OpiniPundit, by way of Dr. Rusty Shackleford at The Jawa Report:

From: Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Ninewa, Iraq

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful

To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life.

To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months.

To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to the city after hopelessness darkened our days, and stole our confidence in our ability to reestablish our city.

Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city. Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpsesof children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young. This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of Zarqawi’s followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zuma and Avgani finally destroyed them.

I have met many soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment; they are not only courageous men and women, but avenging angels sent by The God Himself to fight the evil of terrorism.

The leaders of this Regiment; COL McMaster, COL Armstrong, LTC Hickey, LTC Gibson, and LTC Reilly embody courage, strength, vision and wisdom.

Officers and soldiers alike bristle with the confidence and character of knights in a bygone era. The mission they have accomplished, by means of a unique military operation, stands among the finest military feats to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and truly deserves to be studied in military science. This military operation was clean, with little collateral damage, despite the ferocity of the enemy. With the skill and precision of surgeons they dealt with the terrorist cancers in the city without causing unnecessary damage.

God bless this brave Regiment; God bless the families who dedicated these brave men and women. From the bottom of our hearts we thank the families. They have given us something we will never forget. To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain. They are not dead, but alive, and their souls hovering around us every second of every minute. They will never be forgotten for giving their precious lives. They have sacrificed that which is most valuable. We see them in the smile of every child, and inevery flower growing in this land. Let America, their families, and the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity and life.

Finally, no matter how much I write or speak about this brave Regiment, I haven’t the words to describe the courage of its officers and soldiers. I pray to God to grant happiness and health to these legendary heroes and their brave families.

NAJIM ABDULLAH ABID
AL-JIBOURI
Mayor of Tall ‘Afar,
Ninewa, Iraq

See the Mudville Gazette for authentication of the letter.

Don't bother looking for the letter in any mainstream media outlet, it isn't there.

New Abu Ghraib Photos Expose MSM Hypocrisy, Lies

As if any more evidence of mainstream media hypocrisy, gross liberal bias, and outright lying were necessary, NBC's Today Show featured video of newly released Abu Ghraib photos from an Australian station.

This after NBC anchor Brian Williams had pompously reported that NBC would not show any of the infamous Danish Mohammed cartoons out of "sensitivity to Muslim viewers".

Via Stop the ACLU.

An Arrogance of Power

I'll let David Ignatius of the Washington Post write the opening paragraph for me, with just a couple of minor changes:

There is a temptation that seeps into the souls of even the most righteous politicians journalists and leads them to bend the rules, and eventually the truth, to suit the political needs of the moment. That arrogance of power is on display with the Bush administration American mainstream media.

Ignatius is writing, of course, about the MSM's hysterical behavior in the aftermath of Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident, though he thinks he's writing about the incident itself.

This is a press corps suffering a collective psychotic break, completely out of control; willing to do anything to reach its frustrated political goals.

Hugh Hewitt sums it up nicely:

The MSM is unhinged, a victim of its Bush hatred, which includes of course hatred of Cheney. The idea that failure to tell the White House press corps of a hunting accident for 14 hours is in anyway similar to leaving a woman to die in a submerged car while fleeing the scene or the cover-up of Watergate is just nuts.

This is part of the reason:

Congress appeared ready to launch an investigation into the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program last week, but an all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed the effort and may kill it, key Republican and Democratic sources said yesterday.

The latest effort to bring down a Republican administration is stalling (and don't believe this "White House lobbying" bilge; it's stalling because Democrats can read public opinion polls). The mainstream press has been trying to make George Bush go away since 2000, when they failed to corrupt the vote quite enough to get Gore elected. And the election of 2004 was like putting a cattle prod to a bull's nutsack as far as American journalism was concerned.

The people, in their arrogance, have spoken. And old media hacks like David Ignatius don't like what they've said.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.

"We are a blood-drinking people"

Palestine Media Watch reports on a video added to a Hamas website this week, that features the parting messages of two suicide bombers:

Each terrorist had a separate message for Jews. This first said,

"My message to the loathed Jews is that there is no god but Allah, we will chase you everywhere! We are a nation that drinks blood, and we know that there is no blood better than the blood of Jews. We will not leave you alone until we have quenched our thirst with your blood, and our children's thirst with your blood. We will not leave until you leave the Muslim countries."

The second terrorist said the following:

"In the name of Allah, we will destroy you, blow you up, take revenge against you, [and] purify the land of you, pigs that have defiled our country... This operation is revenge against the sons of monkeys and pigs."

These are the folks with whom Israel is being urged to seek accommodation.

Also posted at The Jawa Report and Vince Aut Morire.