Saturday, March 31, 2007

COMMUNISTS ASSIST ISLAMISTS IN RESOLUTION AGAINST FREE SPEECH

We learn this week that in the latest scummy act at the United Nations, Islamic countries have pushed through a resolution "urging" global prohibition of "defamation" of religion with the help of the commies:
GENEVA (AP) - Islamic countries pushed through a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday urging a global prohibition on the public defamation of religion - a response largely to the furor last year over caricatures published in a Danish newspaper of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

The statement proposed by the Organization of Islamic Conference addressed what it called a "campaign" against Muslim minorities and the Islamic religion around the world since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The resolution, which was opposed by a number of other non-Muslim countries, "expresses deep concern at attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations."

It makes no mention of any other religion besides Islam, but urges countries "to take resolute action to prohibit the dissemination of racist and xenophobic ideas and material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement and religious hatred, hostility, or violence."

The resolution was adopted by a 24-14 vote with nine abstentions. Canada, Japan and South Korea joined European countries in opposition, primarily citing its excessive focus on Islam and incompatibility with fundamental rights such as the freedoms of speech and thought.

"The problem of religious intolerance is worldwide and not limited to certain religions," said Brigitta Maria Siefker-Eberle of Germany, speaking on behalf of the 27-nation European Union.

There are 17 Muslim countries in the 47-nation human rights council. Their alliance with China, Cuba, Russia and most of the African members means they can almost always achieve a majority.

Human Rights Watch said the resolution could endanger the basic rights of individuals.

The council, which last year replaced the discredited U.N. Human Rights Commission, has no power beyond drawing international attention to rights issues and scrutiny of abuses in certain countries.

The move at the council was initiated last year after protests across the Islamic world drew attention to caricatures of Muhammad first printed in Danish paper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.
So here you have it, isn't this why the UN needs to be left behind by all countries that value free speech, and are having any number of potential problems with terrorism?

And it figures that the communist run countries like China, Cuba, and even the returning dictatorial scene in Russia, would be willing to side with these fascists. Though it doesn't make clear, I wouldn't be surprised if any of the African countries here included those where Islam has a considerable presence.

All blacks speak like Obama -- Don't they?

Britain: Must not Use Black Accents on TV
"Cadbury Trebor Bassett has been forced to axe the 10 milion pound TV campaign for Trident, its biggest product launch of the year, following hundreds of complaints that the ad was racist and showed "harmful stereotypes".... One ad showed a black man speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent and other executions show white people speaking in rhyme in Caribbean accents. Viewers complained that the exaggerated behaviour and strong accents were a humiliating and negative depiction of black or Caribbean people.

Source
Apparently, black speech differences are just too shameful to be mentioned.

Movie History Incorrect

Looks like Britain is not the only place where it is forbidden to show blacks as having different speech patterns:
"Come Tuesday, Walt Disney Video will release a Platinum Edition DVD of the ever-popular "Peter Pan." Five weeks ago, the company retired three other classic cartoons, including "Bambi." Disney's long used a cycle of absence and plenty to keep its films fresh to new viewers. In decades past, it re-released its films in theaters every few years; today, it rotates its videos like bakery stock. All but one. Alone among the great Disney features, "Song of the South" has never been released on videotape or DVD in the United States and hasn't been screened in a stateside theater since 1986.

Despite Academy Awards, groundbreaking technology, a black leading man and a script that often turns racial stereotypes on their head, the 1946 movie has been damned as an embarrassing throwback, a whitewash, the racist skeleton in Disney's film vault. Its critics home in on the dialects that leave the lips of its black stars and cartoon characters - dialects that even the movie's fans allow are over the top - and its aw-shucks, all-smiles depiction of Reconstruction on a Georgia plantation.

Source
And the film actually depicts blacks and whites coexisting HARMONIOUSLY! Can't have that! Southern whites must be evil oppressors and blacks must be suffering victims!

My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

GEORGE LAKOFF

One of the great gurus of the American Left is linguist-turned-psychologist, George Lakoff. Most of his ideas are just corny old stuff that Leftist psychologists have been spouting for around 60 years -- and which have much evidence against them. But Lakoff shows little awareness of the research background on his subject. Like most Leftists, he just KNOWS: Evidence not necessary.

One idea he has made his own, however, is that conservatism is masculine and Leftism is feminine. It is an idea that has some intuitive appeal and conservatives come up with it from time to time too. Unfortunately, like a lot of appealing simplifications, the facts are against it. If it were true, we would expect a big sex polarization at election time -- but we usually in fact get close to a 50/50 split. George W. Bush and John Kerry split the female vote roughly 50/50 in the last presidential race, for instance. Again, however, Lakoff does not let such large facts as that get in his way.

If you Google Lakoff, however, you will find little criticism of him. He is routinely treated as a fount of wisdom and insight. I would like to put that right. I have just updated my article on him. You can find it here. If everybody reading this who has a website links to it, it might climb far enough up the Google page-rankings to get onto the first page of search results -- and thus make known that there is an alternative perspective on Lakoff.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

CARBON DIOXIDE RANT!

ALWAYS REMEMBER:

(1) INDISPUTABLE FACT: CO2 IS NOT A POLLUTANT;
IT IS A NATURAL PART OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND PLANTS NEED IT.
(2) INDISPUTABLE FACT: ATMOSPHERIC CO2 LEVELS TODAY ARE NOT AT HISTORICAL HIGHS;
THEY WERE NEARLY TWICE AS HIGH 70 YEARS AGO - (WHEN THE DEVELOPED WORLD WAS LESS DEVELOPED AND WAS PRODUCING LESS "MAN-MADE" CO2, AND BEFORE INDIA AND CHINA HAD ANY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT TO SPEAK OF). GLOBAL TEMP'S 70 YEARS AGO WERE NOT DRASTICALLY HIGH AND THE CO2 LEVELS DID NOT REPEAT DID NOT SET IN MOTION A SERIES OF CASCADING ECOLOGICAL DISASTERS.

THE HOCKEY-STICK IS AS BOGUS AS MICHAEL BELLESILES ANTI-GUN "DOCUMENTS."
(3) INDISPUTABLE FACT: THE ICE CORE RECORD PROVES THAT CO2 IS NOT A CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING, BUT A LAGGING INDICATOR;
THE ICE CORE RECORD PROVES THAT CO2 LEVELS INCREASE 800-1000 YEARS AFTER GLOBAL TEMPERATURE INCREASES - NOT BEFORE.
(4) INDISPUTABLE FACT: REDUCING MAN-MADE CO2 OUTPUT WILL HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACT ON GLOBAL TEMPERATURES. NONE. ZERO. ZILCH. BUPKUS.
CO2 DOESN'T CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING, SO REDUCING CANNOT REVERSE IT, REDUCING IT CANNOT SLOW IT.
THE "MAN-MADE CO2 GLOBAL-WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE" CROWD WANTS TO RAISE TAXES AND INCREASE REGULATIONS ON INDUSTRY AND CURTAIL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
THESE ARE GOALS WHICH THIS LEFTIST CROWD HAS ADVOCATED FOR A THE LAST FIFTY YEARS - BEFORE, AND INDEPENDENT OF, THEIR "MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING" ARGUMENT. CONVENIENT, ISN'T IT!?

MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING IS A BOGEYMAN WHICH WAS INVENTED BY THE LEFT IN ORDER TO BUTTRESS THEIR LONG-HELD BELIEFS - BELIEFS WHICH CAME UNDER ASSAULT WHEN THE USSR FAILED, AND WHEN INDIA AND CHINA LIBERALIZED THEIR ECONOMIES AND OPENED UP.
THE POLICIES THIS CROWD ADVOCATES WILL ACTUALLY SLOW OR STOP ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IS THE BEST ANTI-POVERTY WEAPON - IT HAS BEEN FOR ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.

THEIR POLICIES WILL ARTIFICIALLY MISDIRECT INVESTMENT AND CONSUMPTION INTO NON-PRODUCTIVE AREAS WHICH MEANS IT IS IN FACT WASTEFUL.

THE RESOURCES SHOULD BE SPENT ON INCREASING INVESTMENT IN INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN THE THIRD WORLD.

TO END POVERTY IN SOUTH AMERICAN AND AFRICA, THEY NEED TO BUILD MORE POWER PLANTS, ELECTRICAL GRIDS, FACTORIES, AND HIGHWAYS. THEY NEED TO PRODUCE AND CONSUME MORE.

MCCAIN A DEMOCRAT?

McCain is having memory problems on whether he was ever offered the Vice Presidency by John Kerry in 2004. First, he said this:
McCain has said he would not run with Kerry, but last month he renewed speculation when he was asked on ABC's "Good Morning America" whether he would consider running with Kerry. He replied, "Obviously, I would entertain it."
Then he said that it was never offered to him.

Now he says it was offered but he didn't accept.

The bottom line is because McCain is so willing to stab his own party in the back time after time it is easy to believe he has seriously considered jumping ship. The rumors being spread by Democrats that McCain seriously considered switching to the Democrat party are just a little too easy to believe. This is reason #101 on why McCain will never be the Republican nominee for President.

Friday, March 30, 2007

SOLDIER'S LAST VIDEO FROM IRAQ: "AMERICA IS A FORCE FOR GOOD."

VIA HOT AIR, THIS VIDEO RECENTLY POSTED BY THE LATE SOLDIER'S FATHER.

WATCH THE WHOLE THING.


MEN LIKE THIS MADE AMERICA GREAT. MADE AND KEEP AMERICA FREE. KEEP YOU SAFE AND FREE TODAY.

GOD BLESS THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE US ARMED FORCES.

(BTW: HIS FATHER POSTED THIS VIDEO AS A MESSAGE OR WARNING TO THE DEMOCRATS. I HOPE YOU FIND A WAY TO SHARE IT WITH SOME.)

VIETNAMESE TYRANTS SENTENCE PRIEST TO PRISON FOR FREE SPEECH AND ADVOCATING DEMOCRACY


A Vietnamese dissident was tried on Thursday and sentenced today - stories HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

He was convicted of "spreading propaganda against the communist state." IOW: For exercising one of his inalienable, universal human rights - his right to make Free Speech.

Besides being a Free Speech advocate and a democracy activist, the "perp' - Nguyen Van Ly - is a Roman Catholic priest.

He's already served 15 years for similar "offenses" against the state. Now he will have to serve another 8.

That fat ugly insane leftist Rosie O'donnell - who thinks "Bush = Hitler" because of the Patriot Act - is silent.

So are McCain and Kerry who campaigned for years for normalization of the Marxist thug tyranny in Hanoi. (BTW: What is it about McCain that makes hi so love to cuddle up to the worst lefties in the Senate - like Kerry and Feingold!?)

And the ACLU is silent. As are Amnesty International and HRW.

WHY THE SILENCE?! They are silent because the perp's are leftists - LIKE THEM! Fellow travelers never criticize one of their own - they're like birds of a feather who flock together.

Besides, the American Left LOVES Vietnam - (because "they taught the USA a lesson!") - and therefore the American left could never bring themselves to accuse the Vietnamese commies of being tyrants because to do that they would have to admit that THEY WERE WRONG ABOUT HO CHI MINH AND THE WAR!

Proof of this can be found in Vietnam's neighborhood: The American Left finds it easy to criticize Myanmar - because calling the tyrants there "tyrants" does NOT cause cognitive dissonance.

(Some Leftists excuse the Vietnamese tyranny because, after all, they do "give" their "citizens" "free healthcare.")

UPDATE: Commenter David from Florida notes that AI and HRW have both issued statements attacking and condemning the Vietnamese gov't's actions. BRAVO! Now if they would only call a presser and keep as much heat on the Vietnamese tyrants as they do the Bush Administration! After all: there are really, honestly, truthfully 65 MILLION political prisoners in Vietnam! (IOW: they are NOT silent on the event, but only whispering their dismay -- whreas they SCREEAM BLOODY HELL when it's the USA they're bashing!)

AND THAT'S RIGHT: In Vietnam, there are 65 MILLION political prisoners living without liberty and in poverty - ALL COURTESY of the doves of the Democrat Party.

BTW: These Democrat doves (many of whom are the very same people: Byrd, Kennedy, Kerry, et al) are back in control of the party and they want to do the same thing to the Iraqis.

WIFE LIED; HER LOVER DIED

CNN:
Darrell Roberson came home from a card game late one night to find his wife rolling around with another man in a pickup truck in the driveway.

Caught in the act with her lover, Tracy Denise Roberson -- thinking quickly, if not clearly -- cried rape, authorities say.

Her husband pulled a gun and killed the other man with a shot to the head.

On Thursday, a grand jury handed up a manslaughter indictment -- against the wife, not the husband.
DIVORCE IS SO MUCH LESS MESSY.

IRAN: THE BARBARY PIRATES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

WASH POST: Terrorists by Another Name: The Barbary Pirates

They considered us infidels -- and easy targets. They committed atrocious acts against civilians. They provoked war with America.

"They are odious for the constant violation of the laws of nations and humanity," as one writer put it. We saw them as bloodthirsty fanatics, sanctioned by Islamic despots, and we believed their behavior threatened the future of the modern world.

Thus the president found it necessary to launch America's first military campaign against state-sponsored terrorists. Except he didn't call them that, because 200 years ago, everyone called terrorists by another name: pirates.

For all the talk in Washington that the current battle against global terrorism represents an entirely new kind of war, against a different kind of enemy, historians say America's seen this before. Back when the nation was largely untested in the arena of foreign entanglement, we found ourselves in an extended, exasperating campaign against various Muslim states in North Africa, which harbored the notorious Barbary pirates. By most reckonings, that battle lasted 30 years.

"I've picked up a lot of parallels," says Capt. Glenn Voelz, a history instructor at West Point. "Maybe we are still fighting the same war. ... "
...in 1785, when the Dey of Algiers took two American ships hostage and demanded US$60,000 in ransom for their crews. Then-ambassador to France Thomas Jefferson argued that conceding the ransom would only encourage more attacks. His objections fell on the deaf ears of an inexperienced American government too riven with domestic discord to make a strong show of force overseas. The U.S. paid Algiers the ransom, and continued to pay up to $1 million per year over the next 15 years for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. Payments in ransom and tribute to the privateering states amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800.

Jefferson continued to argue for cessation of the tribute, with rising support from George Washington and others. With the recommissioning of the American navy in 1794 and the resulting increased firepower on the seas, it became more and more possible for America to say "no", although by now the long-standing habit of tribute was hard to overturn. A largely successful undeclared war with French privateers in the late 1790s showed that American naval power was now sufficient to protect the nation's interests on the seas.

In 1786 Jefferson and John Adams went to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy to London, Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman or (Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). They asked him by what right he extorted money and took slaves. Jefferson reported to Secretary of State John Jay, and to the Congress:

The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman (or Muslim) who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.[1]

... On Jefferson's inauguration as president in 1801, Yussif Karamanli, the Pasha (or Bashaw) of Tripoli demanded $225,000 from the new administration. (In 1800, Federal revenues totaled a little over $10 million.) Putting his long-held beliefs into practice, Jefferson refused the demand. Consequently, in May of 1801, the Pasha declared war on the United States, not through any formal written documents, but by cutting down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate. Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis soon followed their ally in Tripoli.

... The turning point in the war came with the Battle of Derna (April-May 1805), after a remarkably daring overland attack on the Tripolitan city of Derna by a combined force of United States Marines and Arab, Greek and Berber mercenaries under the command of ex-consul William Eaton, who went by the rank of general, and US Marine First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. This action, memorialized in the Marine Hymn — "to the shores of Tripoli" — gave the American forces a significant advantage.
After its victory in the First Barbary War (1801–1805), the attention of the United States had been diverted to its worsening relationship with France and the United Kingdom, culminating in the War of 1812. The Barbary pirate states took this opportunity to return to their practice of attacking American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea and holding their crews and officers for ransom. Unable to devote military resources and political will to the situation, the United States quietly recommenced paying ransom for return of the prisoners.
...

At the conclusion of the War of 1812, however, America could once again turn its sights on North Africa. On March 3, 1815, the US Congress authorized deployment of naval power against Algiers, and a force of ten ships was dispatched under the command of Commodores Stephen Decatur, Jr. and William Bainbridge, both veterans of the First Barbary War. Decatur's squadron departed for the Mediterranean on May 20, 1815. Bainbridge's command was still assembling, and did not depart until July 1, thereby missing the military and diplomatic initiatives which Decatur swiftly and decisively handled.

Shortly after departing Gibraltar en route to Algiers, Decatur's squadron encountered the Algerian flagship Meshuda, and, after a sharp action, captured it. Not long afterward, the American squadron likewise captured the Algerian brig Estedio. By the final week of June, the squadron had reached Algiers and had initiated negotiations with the Dey. After persistent demands for recompensation mingled with threats of destruction, the Dey capitulated. Decatur agreed to return the captured Meshuda and Estedio while the Algerians returned all American (and a significant proportion of European) captives along with $10,000 in payment for seized shipping. The treaty guaranteed no further tributes and granted the United States full shipping rights.

Shortly after Decatur set off for Tunis to enforce a similar agreement, the Dey repudiated the treaty. The next year an Anglo-Dutch fleet, under the command of British admiral Viscount Exmouth, delivered a punishing nine-hour bombardment of Algiers. The attack immobilized many of the Dey's corsairs and coerced from him a second treaty which reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Decatur. In addition, the Dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving Christians. ... Algiers and Tunis became colonies of France in 1830 and 1881 respectively, while Tripoli returned to the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1835 and became a colony of Italy in 1911. Europeans remained in control of the government there until the mid-twentieth century.
WE NEED TO BE AT LEAST AS HARSH AND KINETIC NOW AS WE WERE THEN. THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES TO DEFEAT THIS ENEMY AND TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN THE PEACE - ON THE HIGH SEAS AND GLOBALLY.

PEACE TROUGH VICTORY.

DER SPEIGEL: "Anti-Americanism is hypocrisy at its finest."

HAT TIP GLENN.

RTWT.

DER SPEIGEL THOROUGHLY DEMOLISHES THE VAPID, FACILE AND FALSE REASONING BEHIND ANTI-AMERICANISM, AND BLAMES THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT AND THE GERMAN MSM AND THE GERMAN ESTABLISHMENT FOR FOMENTING & EXPLOITING ANTI-AMERICANISM. AND THEY ANALYZE HOW THIS FALSE IDEOLOGY HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED THE RISKS WE FACE IN OUR VERY DANGEROUS WORLD. RTWT.

Is War With Iran Coming Soon?

I know I've been saying it for a long time. And, I must sound like Chicken Little, but I really do think it is necessary, and it looks like it may be finally about to happen.

Three articles I've noticed in the past few days, the first from the unreliable DebkaFile:
US financial sources in Bahrain report American investors in Bahrain advised to pack up business operations and leave

The advice came from officers with US Central Command 5th Fleet HQ at Manama, who spoke of security tension, a hint at an approaching war with Iran. Arab sources report the positioning of a Patriot anti-missile battery in Bahrain this week; they say occupancy at emirate hotels has soared past 90% due mostly to the influx of US military personnel. They also report Western media crews normally employed in military coverage are arriving in packs.

Thursday, March 29, Gen. Khaled al-'Absi, Bahrain's chief of air defense operations disclosed that new alarm networks had been installed and air defense systems upgraded to handle chemical, biological and radioactive attacks.

The USS Nimitz and its support ships will be departing San Diego Monday, April 2, to join the John C. Stennis Strike Group in the Persian Gulf. The nuclear carrier is due to relieve the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower , but military sources in the Gulf believe all three US carriers will stay put if tensions continue to climb or if fighting breaks out involving American, British and Iranian forces. The mighty American armada is further supported by the USS Bataan and USS Boxer strike groups.

Earlier, DEBKAfile quoted intelligence sources in Moscow as predicting that a US strike against Iranian nuclear installations codenamed Operation Bite has been scheduled for April 6 at 0040 hours. Missiles and air raids will conduct strikes designed to be devastating enough to set Tehran's nuclear program several years back.
The second article comes from the BBC:
The capture of 15 British Royal Navy personnel by Iranian forces in the Gulf comes at a time when Tehran feels it is under unprecedented international pressure. The country is diplomatically isolated and feels under a constant and building US military threat.

Earlier this month the UN Security Council passed a resolution against Iran over its nuclear programme. Iranian diplomats worked very hard to convince some members of the council, such as South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar, to support Tehran's case.

But it failed, and the vote in favour of the resolution was unanimous, further convincing the Iranian leadership that they have few friends left at the UN and that diplomacy is not working in their favour.

Iran is now also militarily encircled by the US forces. American troops are based in almost every country bordering Iran - Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan and Azerbaijan. The US Navy has been conducting a series of exercises in the Gulf - the biggest war games in the area since the invasion of Iraq four years ago.
And then, finally, this news out of Israel:
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel's Arrow anti-missile system is now capable of downing nearly everything in Iran's missile arsenal, including all of the Iranian missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

That according to Israeli opposition lawmaker Yuval Steinitz, who is a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Steinitz told the AP that following its latest tests, the Arrow, which was jointly developed by Israel and the U.S., has proven itself able to deal with a very wide array of ballistic missiles ...
It looks to me like all the pieces are in place. The forces are amassing.

"Media Matters" is getting ever more cautious

And a good thing it is. I guess they did not like it when they got called Nazis even on the Puffington Host. I referred to their hypocritical defense to that charge yesterday.

They are still taking aim at popular politically incorrect broadcasters but are sticking to reporting (selected) facts rather than calling for censorship of any sort. They are now (Gasp!) leaving it up to their readers to decide what if any action needs to be taken about what they reveal. Or so it seems from their recent old-news "revelations" about popular and very incorrect sports announcer Sid Rosenberg. Rosenberg is clearly what Australians call a "stirrer" -- someone who is deliberately outrageous in order to stir up a reaction. Most Australians like stirrers.

Why shouldn't people say outrageous things anyway? It might be very helpful if more people knew what others thought of them.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

PSYCHOLOGISTS SAY THAT FIZZY DRINKS ARE BAD FOR YOU

Journal abstract follows:

Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

By Lenny R. Vartanian et al.

The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.

In a meta-analysis of 88 studies, we examined the association between soft drink consumption and nutrition and health outcomes. We found clear associations of soft drink intake with increased energy intake and body weight. Soft drink intake also was associated with lower intakes of milk, calcium, and other nutrients and with an increased risk of several medical problems (e.g., diabetes).

Study design significantly influenced results: larger effect sizes were observed in studies with stronger methods (longitudinal and experimental vs cross-sectional studies). Several other factors also moderated effect sizes (e.g., gender, age, beverage type). Finally, studies funded by the food industry reported significantly smaller effects than did non-industry-funded studies. Recommendations to reduce population soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science.


The naivety of this paper is rather breathtaking. From their introductory courses onward, psychologists are told that correlation is not causation. So have they simply shown that fat kids drink more fizzy drinks? I would think so. In my observation they do, anyway. Fat kids eat and drink more in general. And if you drink more fizzy drinks, do you have as much room for milk etc? That gets close to being true by definition, I think. And if kids drank less softdrink, would that make them slimmer? Not if they drank more milk -- which is highly calorific. It is a disgrace that this bit of garbage "research" was ever published -- but intellectual standards in psychology have always been very low -- nearly as low as in sociology. See here. But it's good business-bashing so that ensured its publication

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

ETHIOPIAN HELICOPTER SHOT DOWN IN SOMALIA

The Muslim militants in Somalia are still savaging the country and attacking the Ethiopian army trying to bring them down:
An Ethiopian helicopter attacking insurgent positions in Somalia's capital was shot down Friday as government and allied troops battled hundreds of gunmen in the streets, witnesses said. Government soldiers and troops from neighboring Ethiopia, who are in Somalia to protect the fragile government, were under a severe attack for a second day as they tried to quash a growing insurgency by Islamic militants. [...]An Associated Press reporter said an anti-aircraft missile hit the helicopter.

The number of casualties was not immediately clear. On Thursday, fighting killed at least 10 people - but it was likely that many more had died. Hospitals were overwhelmed with the wounded and corpses were scattered in the streets. Doctors trying to tally the numbers said up to 30 people may have died. Dahir Mohamed, a nurse with Medina hospital, said 92 wounded patients, including three children, were brought to our hospital since Thursday. "Ethiopian troops using tanks are in fierce face-to-face fighting with hundreds of Somali gunmen since dawn," said Khalif Mohamed Mumin, who was abandoning his home in search of safety early Friday. "Residents are fleeing in all directions to escape the shelling."

Somalia has seen little more than anarchy for more than a decade. The government, with crucial support from Ethiopian troops, only months ago toppled the Council of Islamic Courts, the militia that had controlled Mogadishu for six months. But insurgents with links to the Islamic group have staged attacks nearly every day on government and Ethiopian troops. Last week, a cargo plane carrying equipment for African Union peacekeepers here was shot down by a missile during takeoff, killing the 11-person crew.

The United States has accused the Islamic group of having ties to al-Qaida. On Thursday, a White House report said that despite recent setbacks to Islamic radicals in Somalia, foreign terrorists still are able to find a haven there because of the country's lack of governance, which contributes to a growing security threat throughout East Africa. The report, submitted to relevant congressional committees, said several al-Qaida operatives have used Somalia as a base of operations, including the perpetrators of the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa and the 2002 attacks against an Israeli airliner and a hotel in Kenya.
The thing is that, just like Iraq, Somalia will only truly be free once Islam is rid of there as well. The Ethiopian troops will need to root out every nook and cranny where the terrorists could be hiding in order to ensure that they won't be able to operate anymore, and they'll need to fully destroy their infrastructure as well.

ROSIE 'S IRRESPONSIBLE AND IGNORANT COMMENTS


"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."--Abraham Lincoln

If you are as fed up with Rosie as I am check out my anti-view.

IRANIAN HOSTAGE SITUATION ESCALATES

The situation in Iran continues to get worse. Why? As Rush points out its because Iran knows that no one is going to have the guts to do anything. Here is an excerpt of his comments from yesterday's show:
The Iranians have guts. They just announced today, "Oh, guess what? We've changed our mind. We're not going to release the female prisoner that we've got, and what's anybody going to do about it?" They know nobody's going to do anything about it. They know the Brits aren't going to do anything about it, except officially condemn it via diplomatic channels. Yip yip, yahoo! You think that's going to excite or bother Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? The Iranians have a history of not releasing hostages until a president in this country is elected that they fear. In the last case, it would be of course Ronaldus Magnus.
Read about Newt's solution that Rush talks about here.

I love all the liberals whining to high heaven about Geneva Conventions and how the U.S. should follow them but no one says a word when Hitler Jr. of Iran completely violates them.

I know I shouldn't be shocked but I can't believe the fact that liberals are defending Iran in all of this.

The latest from Tony Blair:
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that Britain would not negotiate over British sailors and marines held hostage by Iran. In an interview with ITV News, Blair again called for the unconditional return of the 15 Royal Navy personnel who were seized by Iranian authorities last week.
This is what the UN is doing (pathetic):
Britain took its case to free its 15 sailors and marines held by Iran to the United Nations on Thursday, asking the Security Council to support a statement that would "deplore" Tehran's action and demand their immediate release.

But Security Council diplomats said the brief press statement circulated by Britain's U.N. Mission is likely to face problems from Russia and others because it says the Britons were "operating in Iraqi waters"—a point that Iran contests.

A press statement is the weakest action the Security Council can take, but the statement must be approved by all council members. Diplomats said Britain was also weighing a stronger presidential statement, which unlike a press statement, is read at a formal Security Council meeting and becomes part of its official record.

Previously:
Tony Blair Speaks Out Against Iran

Thursday, March 29, 2007

JAILED VIETNAMESE DISSIDENT TO BE TRIED. LEFT-WING "HUMAN RIGHTS" ADVOCATES SILENT.

BBC:
A Catholic priest is to go on trial in Vietnam accused of disseminating information to undermine the state and forming an illegal political party.

Father Nguyen Van Ly is a prominent pro-democracy activist who has been under house arrest since last month.
Father Ly, 59, has already spent 14 of the past 24 years in prison for his opposition to Communist Party rule.
THE LEFT IS CONSTANTLY CONDEMNING THE USA FOR GITMO (WHERE TERRORISTS PUT ON WEIGHT!), AND DEFENDING POLICE-KILLERS LIKE MUMIA, AND WOULD-BE GENOCIDAL TERRORISTS LIKE PADILLA, BUT THEY ARE SILENT ON THIS CASE. - JUST LIKE THEY ARE SILENT ABOUT THE BRITISH MARINES WHO ARE BEING HELD HOSTAGE - AND THE IDF SOLDIERS WHO ARE BEING HELD HOSTAGE.

THE LEFTIES NEVER UTTER A WORD ABOUT HOW THESE PEOPLE ARE BEING HELD ILLEGALLY IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF GENEVA (AND OSLO).

THIS PROVES THAT THE LEFT'S DEFENSE OF THE "VICTIMS" IN GITMO, AND OF MUMIA AND PADILLA -- AND OTHER SIMILAR CASES - IS REALLY ABOUT AMERICA-BASHING AND NOT HUMAN RIGHTS.

DEMOCRAT VOTER FRAUD - CONTRARY TO LEFTIST DISINFORMATION - IS RAMPANT

WASH POST DISINFORMATION; (EXCERPT):
... the notion of widespread voter fraud, as these prosecutors found out, is itself a fraud. Firing a prosecutor for failing to find wide voter fraud is like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch.
NOT SO FAST! GATEWAY HAS THE PROOF OF WIDESPREAD VOTER FRAUD - INCLUDING CONVICTIONS. GUESS WHAT? THEY WERE ALL DEMS. NO WONDER THE MSM HADN'T EVEN HEARD OF IT! THEY BARELY REPORTED IT! (SORTA LIKE THE SENATOR DIFI CORRUPTION RESIGNATION - SEE BELOW!)

Human evolution radically reappraised

The latest scientific findings reported here are very politically incorrect stuff. They tend to show that the races of mankind are more different than was thought. Cochran, Lahn and others involved have previously got into big trouble from the Left over it. See here. One of the "more recent evolutionary changes" mentioned was the comparatively recent emergence of new genes connected with brain size -- genes that seem to give a large intellectual advantage but which are mostly missing among Africans. See here and here for the academic journal abstracts. For the evidence linking brain-size and IQ, see section 6 here. I must say that I see pin-headed East-African refugees in the streets every day where I live. How incorrect of me to report that!

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

THE SARKOZY INTIFADA: FRENCH POLICE BRACING FOR MORE...

LONDON TIMES:
French police are bracing themselves for fresh outbreaks of violence after hundreds of youths rioted over the arrest of an illegal immigrant at a main railway station in Paris. ... The violence was reminiscent of the riots that flared in Paris’s poor suburbs in 2005 when Nicholas Sarkozy, now a presidential candidate, was Interior Minister. François Baroin, who succeeded Mr Sarkozy this week, said that the rioters used “urban guerrilla” tactics. A total of 13 people were arrested.

The violence erupted on Tuesday, during the evening rush hour, after ticket inspectors stopped a 33-year-old man for jumping over a barrier at Gare du Nord Métro station. The man — described by Mr Baroin as an illegal immigrant with 22 convictions — allegedly headbutted one of the inspectors.

Police said that they were surrounded by youths as they went to arrest the man. Nine officers and inspectors were hurt in the fighting, which lasted until about 1am. ... Amateur videos showed between 200 and 300 youths shouting insults aimed at Mr Sarkozy as they faced a line of riot police standing behind their shields. ...

Mr Sarkozy’s opponents said that his hardline law and order policies were partly to blame as they had exacerbated tensions in ethnic minority communities. Mr Sarkozy said: “We are the only country in the world where people think it’s not right to arrest someone who has not paid for his ticket. If the police is not there to ensure a minimum of order, what exactly is its role?”
BUSTING TURNSTILE JUMPERS WAS A KEY FACET OF RUDY GIULIANI'S ANTI-CRIME EFFORT WHICH SAVED NYC. (More here.)

FRANCE NEEDS A RUDY - someone with zero-tolerance for crime, islamo-thuggery, high-taxes and unnecessary government spending. I think Sarkozy is the closest they're gonna get for a while...

SPEAKER NEWT, REDUX

THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE IS WAY TOO SOFT. THEY SEEM POSITIVELY INEPT. THEY HAVE SINCE DELAY RESIGNED. AND IT'S HASN'T REALLY BEEN GREAT SINCE NEWT LEFT.

MCCONNELL IS THE BEST IF THE CROWD, AND A GOOD TACTICIAN, BUT WE NEED LEADERSHIP WHO CAN LIGHT A FIRE AND FOCUS SOME HARSH LIGHT ON THE ENEMY-APPEASING, TAX-RAISING DEMS.

IF WE DON'T THEN THE DEMS WILL GET AWAY WITH THEIR ALL THEIR CRAP.

WE CANNOT DEPEND MERELY ON THE VETO.

TOWARD THIS END, I'D LIKE TO SEE NEWT RUN FOR CONGRESS AGAIN. HE COULD LEAD THE GOP EFFORT TO RETAKE THE HOUSE IN 2008 - AND THEN BE RE-ELECTED SPEAKER.

IT'S ABOUT TIME: NOW THE ROCKET LAUNCHERS WERE DEALT WITH

Now the IDF is taking affirmative action against the Hamas missile launchers:
After an extended policy of restraint in the face of almost daily rockets attacks from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces finally struck back, hitting a target in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon. Israel has maintained a policy of restraint since a ceasefire was declared in November 2006 despite Palestinian refusal to stop the rocket attacks.

The army reported that the target was a Qassam launching cell made up of three terrorists, who were apparently struck just before launching rockets into Israel.
It's still coming awfully late, however, and doesn't compensate for the damage that was already done.

VIOLATIONS FORCE FEINSTEIN MILITARY COMMITTEE RESIGNATION

By now you've probably heard about the resignation of California Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein from the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee due to the fact that her husband (who is a defense contractor) has financially benefited from her actions.

Oh, you haven't heard about it? That's not surprising as the only people covering the story are conservative bloggers. When you do a Google News search, you get hits from Judicial Watch, Stop The ACLU, The Jawa Report and WorldNetDaily...and that's it. Don't believe me? Try it yourself. The time right now is 4:25 EDT.

And yet people like Eric Alterman say "What Liberal Media?" Don't make me laugh.

Is this the cleverest "climate" policy yet?

Plan to rescue the world's forests ...

Excerpt:


AUSTRALIA will form a global fund to fight illegal logging and forest destruction worldwide with the aim of halving the rate of deforestation and achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions 10 times greater than under the Kyoto Protocol. Along the lines of the AP6 Asia-Pacific climate pact, the $200 million Australian initiative will operate outside the Kyoto climate change protocol and will be funded by other developed nations to help developing nations preserve forests.

Germany, Britain and the US are expected soon to contribute to the fund, which will have Indonesia as its prime target. The UN has identified Indonesia as having the world's highest rate of forest clearing. Yesterday, British economist and climate change expert Nicholas Stern said Indonesia ranked third in the world as a greenhouse gas emitter, after the US and China, because of the destruction of forests....

More here

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

Hypocrisy at "Media Matters"

The Leftist "Media Matters" is trying to get newspapers to stop carrying columns by Ann Coulter. They are urging their members to ask their local newspaper why they carry her columns. And that is fair enough. Anybody and everybody is free to criticize their local newspaper. More people should do so.

But "Media Matters" are denying that they are doing exactly what they are doing:

"Media Matters does not contest, nor do we seek to eliminate, Ann Coulter's right to write and say what she believes. Nor do we contest or seek to eliminate the rights of news organizations to promote her views by running her columns or hosting her on television. We simply urge them to reconsider whether their decision to do so serves their readers and viewers.

Source

So if the local paper said: "Yes. We have reconsidered and we think her columns are great" that would be all that "Media Matters" wants? Not very likely! They are running a campaign to prevent her from being heard and just denying that they are does not reverse that reality. But sailing under false colors comes as second nature to Leftists, of course.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

News From Zimbabwe

This Is Zimbabwe has the latest news coming out of Zimbabwe. Like this story
Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 34 years for women and 37 years for men.

I would really like you to think about that for a moment. How old are you? How much longer would that leave you to live or have you already exceeded our life expectancy?

Attending funerals is a regular occurrence in Zimbabwe.

I know many people who have died over the last few years.

Last year two of my work colleagues died within the space of a couple of months of each other. I go to funerals, I experience the awfulness of funerals, and then I come home.

But even though this is ‘normal’, I am sometimes woken up and stunned by something, and I am left horrified and shocked and very sensitive to how extreme life is in Zimbabwe.

For example, a couple of days ago I attended a child’s funeral. This is hard enough as it is, but through my tears I noticed how many freshly dug graves there were in the children’s section of the cemetery, clear evidence that lots of children are dying.

Even worse, this is a new cemetery and it’s already almost full.

I saw two women digging a child-sized grave on their own, and I was told that this was because they could not afford to pay a gravedigger to do it for them.

I was told they were alone because their men were probably out of the country working in South Africa.

The painful reality of what I saw in that place was emphasised by our Zimbabwean tradition of leaving some of the possessions belonging to the person who has died on the grave.

For children this means I was looking at a scene of small graves with bottles, toys, baby baths and other plastic pieces of childhood treasures piled on them. It is wrong, very very wrong, to see these sort of things.
South Africa looks on and tut tuts. This editorial cartoon pretty much expresses what is going on.

H/T Publius Pundit

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

RELIAPUNDIT ADDS: Before Mugabe brought socialism the Zimbabwe it was a very RICH country which exported food - among other things. Now, Zimbabwe proves that socialism ALWAYS fails to attain its goals and is ALWAYS the road to serfdom: less liberty and less prosperity. This should surprise NO ONE; after all prosperity is a BY-PRODUCT of liberty.

All Zimbabwe needs to prosperity is FREEDOM and FREE MARKETS, and more INDUSTRIALIZATION & more GLOBALIZATION.

AND ANOTHER THING: Mugabe has destroyed Zimbabwe, and I have never ever seen one stinking bleeding heart liberal or leftie EVER march against the horrific anti-democratic/pro-tyranny, poverty-inducing policies of Mugabe. Which proves all they are is a bunch anti-American phonies who reflexively follow the failed policies of a morally bankrupt ideology which has always failed everywhere it was ever tried. LEFTISM = an immoral, false serfdom-inducing cult.

Palestinian Lesbians Safe In Israel

It is not safe to be a lesbian in Palestine.
Many of the attendees said they were sad that the only place safe enough to hold a conference for gay Arab women was in a Jewish area of Haifa, which has a mixed Arab-Jewish population.
How is that for irony?

I got the link from Carl in Jerusalem who asks this question:
Can someone please explain why the queers are for 'Palestine'?
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

SENATE UNDERMINING OUR TROOPS

Now that the Senate has sided with Al Qaeda also, I just have 2 things to say.

Chuck Hagel sucks!!

My awesome, Senator Kit Bond rocks!!
This is what he had to say after the ridiculous bill passed:
"I am disappointed that my Democratic colleagues have set the stage for a veto of this critical bill. Earlier this month the Senate voted to give General Patraeus’ plan for a new direction in Iraq a chance. Unfortunately, today’s vote is a blow to these efforts. The bill to fund our warfighters has been used to undercut General Patraeus at this crucial time," Bond said in a release.

"Wars cannot be run from the halls of Congress 10,000 miles away from the war zone. I am frustrated that my fellow Senators feel they are better qualified to make these decisions than our soldiers, officers, and commanders in the field who are daily risking their lives to bring peace and security to Iraq."

A History of the Middle East in Just a Few Minutes



How the Israeli-Palestinian conflict started in 2 1/4 minutes.

SAUDI KING: ILL-INFORMED ASSHOLE

NYTIMES:
Kin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Arab leaders on Wednesday that the American occupation of Iraq is “illegal,” and he warned that unless Arab governments settle their differences, foreign powers like the United States would continue to dictate the region’s politics. ... On Wednesday, the king called for an end to the international boycott of the new Palestinian government. The United States and Israel want the boycott continued.

In addition, King Abdullah invited President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Riyadh earlier this month while the Americans want him shunned. And in trying to settle the tensions in Lebanon, the Saudis seem willing to negotiate with Iran.

Last week, the Saudi king abruptly canceled his appearance at an April White House dinner planned in his honor, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The official reason given for the cancellation was a scheduling conflict.
WELL, WELL, WELL... let' see now ... where do we begin...

FIRST, the occupation by the USA of Iraq is legal and UN sanctioned - more than that, the USA has a legal RESPONSIBILITY to stay in Iraq because of both a UN mandate and the mandate of the duly elected constitutional government of the Republic of Iraq. The King can kiss my ass on this charge.

SECOND, the boycott of the Palestinian government is correct because Hamas refuses to accept ANY of the negotiated deals between Israel and the Arabs: not Oslo, not Wye, not the Roadmap. Recognizing the PA with Hamas in charge would be tantamount to agreeing that Israel - a full member of the UN - has no right to exist.

THIRD, if the King wants to support Iran and Ahmadinejad, then he cannot really be for an end to sectarian violence in Iraq - (WHICH REMINDS ME: Muslims in Iraq have killed MORE MUSLIMS since 2004 than Israel has killed Arabs since 1948. SO if the King REALLY wanted to protect Muslims he should be doing more to squash Sunni-Shia internecine terror than he has to date. That should be REAL EASY: TO DATE, HE AND SAUDI ARABIA HAVE DONE DIDDLY-SQUAT).

This little speech by King Abdullah fully exposes the irrational, ignorant, ant-Semitic, anti-West position of the Kingdom. THEY ARE NO MORE AN ALLY THAN PUTIN, AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH.

BUSH SHOULD FIRE ALL 93 U.S. ATTORNEYS

I have a radical idea for President Bush: fire all 93 U.S. Attorneys. Bush is completely within his rights to fire any of the U.S. Attorneys at any time. They are political appointees! So, what he should do is say "There's a lot of controversy over the firing of 8 U.S. Attorneys, so in the interest of clearing up the matter, I'm firing all 93 U.S. Attorneys and we'll start from scratch."

The MSM and the Democrats would be furious, but it would be a strong shot across the bow and send a strong message to everyone that the president has executive powers and is granted the right to use them by the U.S. Constitution. The Democrats are going to investigate every single action the President takes from here to 2009. Bush should take a bold stand to protect the Office of the Presidency. I guarantee you that his approval numbers would go up if he made a decisive move.

BUSH WITHDRAWS SWIFT BOAT DONOR'S NOMINATION AS ENVOY

It's not been a very good second term for George W. Bush and it's mostly his own fault. Today's decision to withdraw the ambassadorial nomination of a Missouri businessman who donated money to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is just a classic example of how the President has lost his so-called Texas swagger.

Fox was Bush's campaign chief in Missouri in 2004 and was listed as a "Ranger'" by the president's re-election campaign, meaning he raised at least $200,000. He also donated $50,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a political group that produced and ran advertising questioning Kerry's war record in Vietnam.

Kerry, who earned a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts as a Navy officer in Vietnam, said Bush made the right decision to withdraw Fox's nomination."

Sam Fox had every opportunity to disavow the politics of personal destruction and to embrace the truth," Kerry said in a statement. "He chose not to."

Total crap. The Swift Boat Veterans outed John Kerry as the fraud that he is, and his crying shouldn't be enough for Bush, the guy who actually won the presidency, to withdraw nomination one. If the George W. Bush I voted for were here, he'd say something to the effect of, "I won and you lost, chumley. Therefore I get to appoint who I want, and if you don't like it, we'll play hardball."

Even worse, Bush's withdrawal of the nomination is essentially a stamp of approval to all the criticism that the Swift Boat Veterans got and continue to get from those that wish to silence their political speech, and it just aids those who are trying to criminalize the executive powers of a Republican president. Very bad move.

THE SARKOZY INTIFADA: MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE RECENT RIOT IN PARIS WAS ELECTORALLY DRIVEN

I believe the recent riots right smack dab in the middle of Paris were instigated by islamo-thugs to make Sarkozy look ineffective, and to hurts him in the polls in order to elect a president who might be more likely to APPEASE the islamo-thugs - like Zapatero the Spanish Socialist who won the premiership right after the Atocha bombings. Here are excerpts from a few more reports which prove the HIGHLY POLITICAL nature of the riot - and how the Royal - the Socialist candidate - is also trying to exploit the ritos for personal and partisan gain:

IHT:
France's top presidential candidates seized on a new campaign issue Wednesday after the police fought gangs of youths for seven hours at a railroad station here. Shops were destroyed, the pall of tear gas filled the air of the Gare du Nord and 13 people were arrested. ... Sarkozy, the candidate of the center-right who resigned Monday as interior minister to focus on his campaign, called the violence unacceptable and congratulated the police for "doing their job."

"I want to tell the French people that I will not be on the side of fraudsters, cheats, dishonest people," Sarkozy said. "When individuals come to the rescue of someone who is committing fraud, that is particularly unacceptable, and I hope that the justice system will firmly sanction people who behave like that."

The Socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, who is running second in the opinion polls, said the incident showed that Sarkozy had failed as interior minister. "In five years with a right-wing government that has made crime its main campaign issue, you can see that it's a failure all the way," she said on CanalPlus television.

François Bayrou, a centrist, also took aim at Sarkozy. "It is very important to end this climate of perpetual confrontation between police and some citizens," he said.

There has been sporadic violence in housing projects in some suburbs since the 2005 riots, but the events Tuesday were the worst unrest in the city itself since mass demonstrations over a proposed labor law degenerated into street fighting last spring.

In nearly four years as France's "No. 1 cop," Sarkozy built a reputation as a hard-line crime buster. His tough response to the riots was criticized by his opponents, who said he was stoking the unrest. But he was praised by others for preventing bloodshed and when the violence ended his approval ratings surged.

The incident Tuesday moved to the top of the agenda in a fast-moving presidential campaign in which shifting opinion and a high number of undecided voters has kept suspense high.
BBC:
Riots at a train station in the French capital, Paris, have become an issue in the upcoming presidential election. The government's candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, said police were justified in arresting an alleged fare dodger - the action that sparked the riots.

Socialist candidate Segolene Royal said the clashes resulted from Mr Sarkozy's failures as interior minister.

... The youths who gathered in the Gare du Nord on Tuesday shouted insults about Mr Sarkozy.
[Umph added.]
SCOTSMAN/REUTERS:
Rivals accused rightist presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy of worsening tension between youths and police on Wednesday after clashes at a Paris train station overnight. ... Socialist officials said Tuesday's clashes were the legacy of the "provocative habits and language" of Sarkozy while its presidential candidate Segolene Royal said the violence highlighted Sarkozy's policy failures. ...

Centrist presidential hopeful Francois Bayrou, who trails Royal and Sarkozy in opinion polls, avoided criticising Sarkozy by name, but said: "It's very important to end this climate of perpetual confrontation between police and some citizens."

... critics say he [SARKOZY] remains a hate-figure for many in the neighbourhoods hit by the 2005 riots, the worst in 40 years.
(YEAH SURE: IT'S OUR FAULT THEY HATE US!) The islamo-thug rioters will watch the polls: If they see that the rioting HELPS the Socialist candidate - and HURTS SARKOZY, then they will riot some more. That's why the best name for these riots is THE SARKOZY INTIFADA. (Previous posts HERE and HERE; good commentary/criticism of "The Sarkozy Intifada" HERE - from The American Thinker.)

War Games

The US Navy is staging war games in the Persian Gulf.
MANAMA—Mounting tensions between Iran and the West have accelerated war games the U.S. navy is conducting in the Gulf, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday.

A second U.S. aircraft carrier began exercises in the Gulf on Tuesday—the first time two such vessels have been sent to patrol Gulf waters since the U.S.-led war on Iraq in 2003.

The U.S. exercises come amid rising tension with Iran over its nuclear programme and its capture of British sailors.

"The planning accelerated in conjunction with what was going on, but it was absolutely not the sole determinant ... We are here exercising every day," said Kevin Aandahl, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf island of Bahrain.

"If Iran takes away a message from this, that's up to them... Frankly the message is a regional one that reinforces that our presence is to provide stability and security."
Iran will get two messages: the Navy is present and the Navy is practicing.

Good messages.

Cross Posted at Power and Control

GOP DEFENDS ALL THE HEROIC JOHN DOES

Americans who care about safety can rest assured now that they will be safe from lawsuits filed out of revenge. For the press release from Rep. Bill Shuster, see at Michelle Malkin (via The Jawa Report). And here's the Wash. Times' article:
House Republicans today surprised Democrats with a procedural vote to protect public-transportation passengers from being sued if they report suspicious activity -- the first step by lawmakers to protect "John Doe" airline travelers already targeted in a lawsuit by Muslim imams that charges profiling.

The introduction of a motion to recommit the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007 back to committee with instructions to add the protective language was introduced by Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Mr. King says all Americans, airline passengers included, must be protected from lawsuits if they report suspicious behavior that may foreshadow a terrorist attack. [...]

The language is based on a bill introduced last week by Rep. Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican, to protect "John Does," or passengers targeted in the suit filed by six Muslim imams earlier this month in Minneapolis.
Very good! The imams and CAIR must be really fuming now over how their evil plot's been foiled, and I don't feel sorry for them.

ICE-CORE DOUBTS: SKEPTICS NOT SKEPTICAL ENOUGH

Ice-core expert, Prof. Zbigniew Jaworowski [jaworo@clor.waw.pl] writes from Poland below in answer to the following question: "Given the capability of the biosphere to absorb a surplus of CO2 as small as the human contribution, why do most AGW skeptics go along with the assumption that humans are wholly responsible for the rise in atmospheric CO2 in the last 150 years?".
It seems that they did not spend enough time to peruse in-depth the glaciological papers on CO2, and the original papers on the carbon cycle. They rather glanced over the photos, figures, tables, and read mostly abstracts and conclusions, which tell that for the past >500,000 years almost always "atmospheric" CO2 levels were lower than 290 ppmv, even in periods when the surface temperature was higher than now.

The sceptics credulously accepted the glaciologists' claim that the proxy CO2 determinations in the ice cores, are not proxies but rather direct measurements of this gas in the original ancient atmospheric air, trapped in the allegedly closed system of ice, miraculously not changed by brutal drilling procedures, and tens of physical and chemical processes in the ice sheets and in the ice cores, to say nothing of the liquid water present in the cold Antarctic ice.

The peace of mind of sceptics was not disturbed even by a total disappearance of air inclusions in all deep ice cores. They did not notice this, or what?

The carbon cycle models were all founded on an assumption of low pre-industrial CO2 level of 290 ppmv, even before the glaciological support. A component of these models is the buffer factor, in which the assumption of a pre-industrial CO2 level of 290 is the most important parameter. Future historians of science will probably eagerly study this phenomenon of groupthink, common in evironmental research.
In the light of Prof. Beck's recent paper questioning the accuracy of ice-core data, it is interesting that Prof. Jaworowski's long-known skepticism about the same data does not appear to have been dented by recent attempts (in new drilling) to allow for his criticisms. The points he makes do appear to be powerful ones. That the pre-industrial "stability" seen in pre-industrial ice cores might be nothing more than a methodological artifact (akin to Mann's "hockeystick") seems a very strong possibility.

That makes the 20th century rise in CO2 a fiction.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

PLAYING THE RACE CARD

America's favourite "get out free" card

Economy Drive "racist"

As with the Oliphant story below, any action taken by an employer to deal with an un-co-operative black is "racist" -- this time in Toledo. Democrat Mayor Carty Finkbeiner fired Perlean Griffin because she refused a new job assignment -- whereupon she accused him of racism:
"A long-time city employee, Ms. Griffin was terminated Tuesday after she refused to support the mayor's restructuring of the affirmative action-contract compliance office. The mayor's plan to eliminate an $11.9 million budget deficit calls for affirmative action to move under the department of human resources and contract compliance to fold into the finance department....

Later, Mr. Finkbeiner denied to reporters during his news conference in the mayor's conference room on the 22nd floor that he was racist, and insisted the fallout over the last week was caused by a "personality conflict" between Ms. Griffin and Theresa Gabriel, the director of human resources. "Ms. Griffin told me that directly," he said. "I told her she would be able to run an independent operation, as she has been doing. She refused to go to work at human resources, and that was her call."

"The simple truth of the whole issue has nothing to do with anything other than Ms. Griffin's lack of willingness to work in the human resource department because of a personality conflict," Mr. Finkbeiner said.

Source
It seems that behavior that would never be tolerated from a white must be tolerated from a black or a Muslim. If that's not racism and bigotry, I don't know what would be.

A Profitable Race Card

We read:
"Bill Oliphant thinks he's been suspended from officiating basketball and baseball games because he's black. The local boards that represent both sports say that's not true, and they're outraged over Oliphant's accusations.... Both organizations claim Oliphant hasn't followed their procedures or regulations regarding meeting attendance or certification, but he said they are using this as a cover to deny him assignments....

Two of the approximately 43 referees who officiate varsity boys' and girls' basketball games in Orange County are black: Otis Cowart and T.C. Wilmer, a female. "I'm not aware of any discrimination," Cowart said. "I know Bill is unhappy, he has a dilemma, but I don't think it's about discrimination or racism. There have been no problems for me.".... This isn't the first time Oliphant has taken a case to U.S. District Court. He and Sussman settled with the Central Hudson Valley Board of Girls Softball Officials last year for $20,000, according to sources familiar with the case. The case centered around Oliphant missing a mandatory meeting and not paying a $25 fine. He and his lawyer maintained Oliphant attended a meeting in Rockland County and, again, said the incident was driven by discrimination.

Bobby Moran, secretary/treasurer of the organization from 2001-05, said he thinks the case hurt the group financially. Sources confirmed that the softball board's members paid $5,000 of the settlement, the other $15,000 coming from an insurance policy with the state association. The board had to pay another $5,800 in legal fees. Dues have gone up this year from $50 to $65 and several sources say softball umpires are turning down assignments with Oliphant. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why," said Moran, also a basketball official. "It's unfortunate the way this has all gone down. But nobody wants to step up and say anything because they are afraid they will get sued."

Several officials interviewed echoed Moran's sentiments and said that Oliphant is arrogant, often unprofessional and chronically late to meetings and games. Documents obtained by the Times Herald-Record confirmed that in 2004 two softball umpires - Moran and Steve Aurigemma - asked not to work with Oliphant....

Source
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

I'd Rather Be A Republican

I'd rather be a Republican. I'll have more effect moving that party an inch in my direction, than I would have moving the Libertarians a mile.

Milton Friedman was a Republican. He often said that he was in very good harmony with the Libertarians. Yet he was a Republican.

Any idea why?

Cross Posted at Power and Control

WE TOLD YOU SO: DEMS READY TO ABANDON ANOTHER ALLY TO TYRANNY


We've been warning you all for three freakin' years - (especially during the Kerry campaign): the Dems will abandon the Iraqis the way they abandoned the South Vietnamese and the Contras. And you can throw in the Cubans, too!

And one day - if they take the WH, they will abandon the Afghanis... and then Israel, too. WHY?! They're COWARDLY, TRAITOROUS, LYING, CORRUPT APPEASERS WHO THINK FEEDING THE CROCODILE ONE ALLY AT A TIME WILL SAVE THEIR ASSES...

FRED THOMSPSON ON ALICE IN WONDERLAND, JESSE JAMES, HOUDINI, KSM, SHEEN AND O'DONNELL

BRILLIANT COMMENTARY - WARM, FOLKSY AND DEVASTATING TO THE LOONY LEFT, (WHICH IS, BTW, CALLING THE SHOTS IN THE DEMOCRAT PARTY THESE DAYS...)

DON'T JUST READ IT; LISTEN TO IT!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

THE SARKOZY INTIFADA: REVENGE OF THE ISLAMO-THUGS

IHT - ARGENTEUIL, France:
"Remember the riots?" The young man in a leather jacket was scribbling hurriedly on a wall in a housing project in this working-class suburb north of Paris: "This time the thugs vote!"

French, black and 21 years old, he has been waiting for next month's presidential election for nearly a year and a half. So have his friends. Ever since October 2005, when Nicolas Sarkozy, the front-runner in this campaign, came to Argenteuil as interior minister and vowed to rid the town of "thugs."

The next month, November, a wave of unrest swept many of France's suburbs. When the trouble died down, the four friends say, they went to their town hall and, for the first time, registered to vote.

"France may have forgotten, but the suburbs haven't," said the graffiti writer, who was born in France of Camerounian parents and identified himself only as Youssef. "All this is fresh in our memory."

In the heat of the moment - in the autumn of 2005, when, night after night, cars burned and youths clashed with the police - the desperate problems of the suburbs seemed poised to dominate the presidential campaign. But they are conspicuously absent from the public debate, often ranking at the bottom of voters' concerns in opinion polls.

The shadow of 2005, however, looms large. Voter registration has surged in the neighborhoods where rioting took place and elsewhere in the country. The key campaign issues - unemployment, poverty and the quest for national identity - were at the heart of the extraordinary explosion in the suburbs.

Sarkozy's tough response to the rioting endeared him to far-right voters while earning him the hatred of many citizens of foreign origin and hardening his image in the population at large, especially among young people.

... "If he comes back, there will be rioting again," said Tagmi, who did not vote in 2002 and plans to vote for Bayrou this time. "He insulted the kids in the neighborhood and they are in no mood for good will."

Dislike of Sarkozy is not limited to the younger generation. "Tout Sauf Sarkozy" (Anyone but Sarkozy) is the motto for many in this suburb. One, Amar Benoun, 60, who heads a nongovernmental association here, has been knocking on doors to encourage residents to punish Sarkozy at the ballot box.

"The electoral weight of the suburbs is increasing," said Faouzi Lamdaoui, a Socialist running for Parliament, as he handed out pamphlets outside a local supermarket. "There is a real awareness after the riots that the only way you can change things is to vote. That is new. There will be a real difference between 2002 and 2007."

The number of registered voters has increased this year in suburbs across France, preliminary figures from city halls indicate. In Argenteuil, 5,000 new voters signed on, increasing the local electorate by more than 10 percent, to 50,000, according to the mayor's office.
RTWT.

[NOTE: THE ISLAMO-THUGS WILL VOTE FOR BAYROU OR THE SOCIALIST ROYAL - ANYBODY BUT SARKO. WHICH IS JUST MORE PROOF SARKO IS EXACTLY WHAT FRANCE NEEDS - IF FRANCE IS TO REMAIN FRENCH, WESTERN, MODERN AND FREE.