EDWARDS AND THE DEMOCRAT PARTY: WILLING TO CHAT WITH BASHAR ASSAD, BUT NOT BRIT HUME

EDWARDS IS ONCE AGAIN REFUSING TO PARTICIPATE IN A TV DEBATE ON FOX NEWS.


PROVING THAT HE IS A PETTY, TWO-BIT DEMAGOGUE.




AND ALSO PROVING THAT HE AND THE LOGAN ACT-BREAKING, RETREAT & DEFEAT DEMOCRAT PARTY OF REID AND PELOSI ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER.



(BTW: THE DEMS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF UNDERMINING OUR PRESIDENT AND CHATTING TO LEFTIST TYRANTS. SEE BELOW!)

MORE HERE.

PROOF BILL RICHARDSON IS THE ONLY SERIOUS AND QUALIFIED DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY

IHT:

U.S. presidential candidate Bill Richardson left Saturday for North Korea, part of a delegation of past and present U.S. officials on what was described as a humanitarian mission to claim the remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean War.

The four-day trip also is meant to draw attention to the Democrat's underdog bid for the presidency and to highlight his extensive foreign policy experience, which includes negotiating trips to hot spots around the world and serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during President Bill Clinton's administration. He is now the governor of the state of New Mexico.

As with many of Richardson's freelance diplomatic missions, this one benefits from fortunate timing. Endorsed by President George W. Bush's Republican administration, it comes days before a crucial deadline in a landmark nuclear accord the North agreed to in February, four months after testing a nuclear weapon.

UNLIKE PELOSI'S DANGEROUS AND LAW-BREAKING "FOREIGN POLICY FREE-LANCING", RICHARDSON IS ACTING IN CONCERT WITH THE ELECTED PRESIDENT. BRAVO.

BESIDES, UNLIKE PELOSI, (OR OBAMA OR HILLARY - OR ALL OF THE OTHER DEM CLOWNS SEEKING THE PRESIDENCY) HE'S ACTUALLY A TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED DIPLOMAT AND NEGOTIATOR -- WITH EXPERIENCE IN NORTH KOREA.

HAMAS: WE WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE ISRAEL

JPOST:

Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal denied on Saturday that there had been any change in his organization's policies, and declared that Hamas would neither abandon "armed resistance" nor agree to give up an "inch of Palestinian land."

Mashaal made his statements by phone to Hamas supporters who had gathered in Ramallah to mark Israel's assassination three years ago of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdul Aziz Rantisi, Israel Radio reported.

THIS PROVES THAT THE VAUNTED NEW COALITION GOVERNMENT IN THE TERRITORIES IS THE SAME OL' BS.

BTW: MASHAAL LIVES IN DAMASCUS - SHELTERED BY NANCY PELOSI'S NEW BOYFRIEND, BASHAR ASSAD.

GOOD NEWS FROM FRANCE: SARKO BUILDS A BIGGER LEAD

AFP:

French right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy extended his lead against his presidential election rivals in a poll to be published today, the day before the official campaign period kicks off. Unofficial campaigning for the first round of the election on April 22 has been going on for weeks but from Monday tough restrictions come into place.

The IFOP poll for the Journal du Dimanche newspaper gives Sarkozy 30 per cent of the first-round vote, a two percentage point jump from a similar survey last week. Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal fell one percentage point to 22 per cent, but is still ahead of centrist Francois Bayrou at 19 per cent.

GRRRRRRREAT! THIS WOULD BE A TROUNCING! I HOPE NICOLAS WINS; ONLY SARKO HAS BALLS BIG ENOUGH TO ENABLE HIM TO POSSIBLY BECOME THE 21ST CENTURY, EQUIVALENT OF MARTEL & SOBIESKI - AND A CONTINENTAL THATCHER. AND LORD KNOIWS THIS IS WHAT EUROPE NEEDS.

FROM PAKISTAN, MORE PROOF TRIBAL STRATEGY IS WORKING

REUTERS (UK):

The Pakistan army moved into a known stronghold of foreign al Qaeda militants near the Afghan border after a tribal militia battled the Islamist militants this week, residents and officials said on Saturday.

Ethnic Pashtun tribesmen in the South Waziristan region vowed last month to expel the foreign jihadists, most of them Uzbeks, from their lands. More than 200 foreigners and up to 50 tribal fighters have been killed in clashes since then, government officials say.

Pakistani troops were deployed on Friday evening in mountainous Shin Warsak, about 10 km (6 miles) west of South Waziristan's main town of Wana. ... The army moved into bunkers the foreign jihadists built in the mountains. It was the first movement of Pakistani troops outside Wana in the tribal region since the government struck a peace deal with tribal elders in February 2005.

... Thousands of foreign fighters, including Uzbeks, Chechans and Arabs, fled to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal lands after U.S.-led forces defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.

After unsuccessful military campaigns to clear al Qaeda nests from Waziristan, the government made pacts with tribesmen in the hope of driving a wedge between them and the foreign fighters.

Critics say the pacts risked creating a sanctuary for al Qaeda and the Taliban, but the military said the clashes in South Waziristan showed the strategy was working.

PREVIOUS POSTS ON THE TRIBAL STRATEGY - WHICH APPEARS TO BE WORKING IN THE SUNNI TRIANGLE OF IRAQ AS WELL AS IN PAKISTAN - HERE AND HERE AND HERE AND HERE AND HERE. ORIGINAL POST HERE.

TRAITOR EMIGRATES

Dr. Ilan Pappe, a self-hater, has chosen to emigrate from Israel to England, and even thought to celebrate his arrival there by attacking Jewish students in the UK:

A controversial anti-Israel academic, reportedly emigrating from Israel to England, has lashed out at British Jewish students ahead of his arrival in the UK.

Dr. Ilan Pappe, on his way out at Haifa University, has been trying, unsuccessfully, to arrange anti-Israel boycotts. Now he is set to leave Israel and assume a position as chair of history at the University of Exeter, where he reportedly plans to set up a "center for Palestinian studies."

An article in the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), entitled 'Historian hits out at Jewish student lobby,' quoted Pappe as complaining that UK Jewish students have become de facto "ambassadors of Israel" and had formed a "lobby" aimed at quashing open debate on the Middle East.

He won't be missed here in Israel then. Such an awful man is someone we can do without over here.

HOW AWFUL IS PELOSI? SHE'S TO THE LEFT OF FRANCE

JPOST:

France circulated a draft Security Council statement that expresses "serious concern" at mounting reports of illegal arms transfers across the Lebanon-Syria border and authorizes an independent mission to assess how the frontier is being monitored. The proposed presidential statement, sent to council members late Thursday and obtained Friday, welcomes the Lebanese government's "determination" to prevent arms transfer, which are banned under a UN resolution that ended last summer's Second Lebanon War.

It reiterates the council's call on the Syrian government "to take further measures to reinforce controls at the border," and it urges all countries, especially Syria and Iran, to enforce the arms embargo.

SURE, SURE, SURE: FRANCE AND THE UNSC ARE MERELY THREATENING TO WARN SYRIA WITH HARSH WORDS - (LIKE THAT HILARIOUS BLIX SCENE IN TEAM AMERICA! NSFW - LANGUAGE.)

BUT, FRANCE'S STATEMENT IS STILL STERNER AND HAS MORE MORAL CLARITY THAN PELOSI'S RECENT ASS(AD)-LICKING SESSION WITH BASHAR.

SHE COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE - EXCEPT PERHAPS BY JOINING THE BAATHISTS! (THAT'S NOT SUCH A BIG LEAP, EITHER: BAATHISTS - LIKE DEMOCRATS - ARE SOCIALISTS.)

WHY YOU CAN'T WIN WHEN YOU ARGUE ABOUT "MAN-MADE" GLOBAL-WARMING WITH AN UPPER-WEST-SIDER

WHENEVER IT'S TOO HOT, THEY SAY, "IT'S BECAUSE OF MAN-MADE GLOBAL-WARMING, STUPID!"

WHEN IT'S UNSEASONABLY COLD, "IT'S THE WEATHER, STUPID!"

TODAY - IN THE EAST - WE'RE JUST HAVING UNSEASONABLY COLD WEATHER. WITH SNOW.

OH, OH, OH: THEN THERE'S THE REALLY "SOPHISTICATED" UPPER WESTSIDERS WHO SAY ON UNSEASONABLY COLD DAYS THAT "MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING CAUSES COOLING, TOO!" THAT'S WHY THEY DECIDED TO CALL IT "CLIMATE CHANGE." AS IF CLIMATES HAD NEVER EVER CHANGED BEFORE.

BOTTOM-LINE: MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING ISN'T FALSIFIABLE TO THE LEFT, PROVING ONCE AGAIN THAT BELIEVING IN IT IS AN IRRATIONAL ACT OF POSTMODERN PAGAN FAITH AND NOT AT ALL SCIENTIFIC.

All Religions Welcome -- but not Christianity

We read:

"After a single complaint by a single secular humanist, the Bible will be purged from thousands of hotel rooms in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands and Norway. The Bible will no longer be available at more than 130 Scandic hotels in ten countries. Scandic has already begun removing the Bible from its rooms.

The whole sad process began with a complaint by a guest who had found a Bible in a drawer in his hotel room. He wrote to Mona Andersson, the head marketing executive at Scandic hotels. She wrote back [my translation]: "Thank you for your e-mail and your views. Yes, we have traditionally had the Bible/New testament available at our hotel rooms. But all religions are welcome at Scandic so as of today we encourage all our hotels to remove the Bible from their rooms"

Source

The local Gideons are of course devastated.

(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.)

HOMOSEXUALITY DRASTICALLY SHORTENS YOUR LIFE

All the research so far seems to lead to that conclusion but Indiana Libertarian Ken Gividen has found some powerful new evidence. Following is an excerpt from a recent post:

"Legally married gays have 24 less years to live than married non-gays. That's the conclusion of a study presented to the Eastern Psychological Association's annual convention March 23. The report was prepared by Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron

In Denmark, the country with the longest history of gay marriage, for 1990-2002, married heterosexual men died at a median age of 74 while the 561 partnered gays died at an average age of 51.

In Norway, married heterosexual men died at an average age of 77 and the 31 gays at 52. In Denmark, married women died at an average age of 78 compared to 56 for the 91 lesbians. In Norway, women married to men died at an average age of 81 vs. 56 for the 6 lesbians.

By comparison, smoking lessens one's life by seven years. The gay agenda is dangerous. Encouraging young people to explore the behavioral options is an invitation to an early grave. If accepted, lawmakers may sympathize with insurance companies who view the gay lifestyle as a liability more serious than smoking or skydiving. Programs to help gays abandon homosexuality will be seen as important life-saving efforts.

People should have the right to live their lives however they choose, providing they hurt no one else. They may eat themselves to death, smoke themselves to death or indulge in other harmful lifestyles. Taxpayers have no obligation to straighten them out. However, believing in human rights does not presume we must retreat to ignorance concerning the effects of behavior."

Unsurprisingly, that little bit of truth-telling got Ken condemned as "homophobic". Yet again, the truth is "hate speech". Anyway, Ken's blog got removed from various blogrolls because of his truth-telling so pay him a visit to show that such censorship does no good. Ken recycles a lot of my posts so he is obviously a good guy!

(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 A-130 GUNSHIP: "YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU'LL ONLY DIED TIRED"

A CONVENIENT EXCUSE: more proof that the conclusion that man-made CO2 causes global warming is wrong

"SCIENCE" IS A LEADING SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL. TWO PAPERS FROM IT DISPROVE THE PC ASSERTION THAT MAN-MADE CO2 CAUSES GLOBAL WARMING. FIRST LOOK AT THIS:

Fig. 4. A composite CO2 record over six and a half ice age cycles, back to 650,000 years B.P. The record results from the combination of CO2 data from three Antarctic ice cores: Dome C (black), 0 to 22 kyr B.P. (9, 11) and 390 to 650 kyr B.P. [this work including data from 31 depth intervals over termination V of (1)]; Vostok (blue), 0 to 420 kyr B.P. (5, 7), and Taylor Dome (light green), 20 to 62 yr B.P. (8). Black line indicates {delta}D from Dome C, 0 to 400 kyr B.P. (1) and 400 to 650 kyr B.P. (18). Blue line indicates {delta}D from Vostok, 0 to 420 kyr B.P. (7). [View Larger Version of this Image (22K GIF file)]

The CO2 record from the EPICA Dome C ice core reveals that atmospheric CO2 variations during glacial-interglacial cycles had a notably different character before and after 430 kyr B.P. Before MIS 11, the amplitude of temperature was lower, and the duration of the warm phases has been much longer since then. In spite of these differences, the significant covariation of {delta}D and CO2 is valid in both periods. Before MIS 11, CO2 concentrations did not exceed 260 ppmv. This is substantially lower than the maxima of the last four glacial cycles. The lags of CO2 with respect to the Antarctic temperature over glacial terminations V to VII are 800, 1600, and 2800 years, respectively, which are consistent with earlier observations during the last four glacial cycles. [Umph added.]

AND THEN LOOK AT THIS:

Ice Core Records of Atmospheric CO2 Around the Last Three Glacial Terminations

Hubertus Fischer, Martin Wahlen, Jesse Smith, Derek Mastroianni, Bruce Deck

Air trapped in bubbles in polar ice cores constitutes an archive for the reconstruction of the global carbon cycle and the relation between greenhouse gases and climate in the past. High-resolution records from Antarctic ice cores show that carbon dioxide concentrations increased by 80 to 100 parts per million by volume 600 ± 400 years after the warming of the last three deglaciations. Despite strongly decreasing temperatures, high carbon dioxide concentrations can be sustained for thousands of years during glaciations; the size of this phase lag is probably connected to the duration of the preceding warm period, which controls the change in land ice coverage and the buildup of the terrestrial biosphere. [Umph addd.]

These two data series and their analysis show that the ice core record for the last 650,000 years actually proves that increases in atmospheric CO2 does not cause global warming, but that it is a lagging indicator.

I assert that the Left has made CO2 the bogeyman in an effort to attack three of the Left's long-time "foes": free market capitalism, industrialization and consumerism. Their remedy for "global warming caused by man-made greenhouse gases" is higher taxes, more regulation and less consumption - THREE THINGS THEY HAVE LONG ADVOCATED.

NOW THAT'S CONVENIENT!

Via The Buck Stops Here - via THE DISCERNING TEXAN.

IF THE 15 UK MARINES GO UNPUNISHED, THEN THE BRITISH MILITARY IS FINISHED

In order for a military force to function, the members of that force must be able to depend on their fellow members - on their training, and their dedication.

If one troop cannot rely on another, then the entire force structure is rendered hollow.

This is exactly what will happen to the British military if the dishonorable British marines and sailors are not punished for acquiescing (in virtually every way!) to the enemy.

REPEAT: if they go unpunished, then this event becomes about more than merely the 15 active duty troops who failed; it becomes about how a once proud and strong military became the laughingstock of the world, a hollow force which no longer has the barest minimum martial esprit de corps. IOW: It now appears that when the going gets tough, the British get wimpy.

This is a shame, and Nelson and Montgomery and Churchill must be spinning in their graves. And Thatcher must be boiling.

I wonder how Prince Harry feels? Is this the kind of military he wishes to serve in?

A CRIMINAL CLAN RULES GAZA -- AND WHY

The real power in Gaza is not Hamas and not Fatah. It is the Dagmoush clan. With the collapse of any semblance of governmental authority or law & order, Gaza has reverted to the law of the clan and the blood feud. The McClatchy papers report:

The unchecked Dagmoush influence is a reflection not only of an enduring instability in Gaza, but also of early shortcomings in the new Palestinian coalition government, which has been unwilling or unable to handle this challenge to its power.

"If there is a way to describe Gaza, it is Mumtaz Dagmoush," said a veteran Israeli security official who has tracked the rise of the family. He spoke about the issue on the condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of his work. "It's clan, it's business, it's terrorism, it's international terrorism and it's a place where everybody has lost hope that the government is going to do anything about it."

Members of the new Palestinian Authority recognize the threat. But they're reluctant to challenge the family's power, which often trumps all other Palestinian loyalties.

"If I try to arrest someone I will end up in a confrontation with the whole society," said Ali Sartawi, a member of the Muslim fundamentalist movement Hamas and the Palestinian Authority's new justice minister. "An agreement with the families is very important for establishing law and order. They have to be partners. Confrontation is not an option."

The Dagmoush family has tried to stay out of the public eye. But with pressure on the clan increasing, one of its leaders went public this week to deny any role in the kidnappings. Talat Dagmoush told McClatchy Newspapers that his family is willing to cooperate with the new government only if it demonstrates that it's willing to crack down on all crime in Gaza, not just on one group.

The reason that clan rule triumphs in the Muslim world is the predominance of preferential patrilineal cross-cousin marriage. That is the institution that makes patriarchal clans so powerful. And it is a social pattern that persists when Muslims immigrate to the West.

Stanley Kurtz has analyzed this phenomenon in detail at National Review Online, here, here, here, and here.

Go now and read them all.

IF FOX AND THE SWIFT-BOATERS SLANDERED KERRY THEN WHY DOESN'T HE SUE THEM?

ABC NEWS (VIA LGF):

While Congress is out of session, President Bush flexed his executive power muscle, appointing businessman Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium less than a week after his nomination was pulled when Senate Democrats hammered away at him for donating money to a conservative group that helped sink Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Kerry and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., led Senate Democrats' opposition to Fox, who in 2004 contributed $50,000 to the slanderous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which used a series of television ads to undermine Kerry's combat record.

SLANDEROUS!? IF SO THEN, WHY DOESN'T KERRY SUE THEM FOR SLANDER!?

BECAUSE WHAT THE SWIFTIES SAID AND WROTE WASN'T SLANDER; IT WAS TRUE - AND HE'D LOSE IN COURT.

KERRY IS A LIAR AND A TRAITOR. DON'T LIKE THAT JOHN KERRY!? THEN SUE ME! BUT BE CAREFUL: I CAN PROVE IT , TOO!

(BTW: THE AUTHOR OF THIS HIGHLY BIASED ABC NEWS-ITEM IS A ROOKIE WHO INTERNED FOR PFAW! SEE: NEWSBUSTERS.)

WHAT ARE THE FLYING IMAMS DOING NOW?

Two of them are attending a rally in support of Rafil Dhafir, a convicted Hamas supporter who was also funneling to "charities" in Iraq (H/T: Michelle Malkin). Note that one of the villains indicted in this case is Mufid Abdulquader, the half-brother of Khaled Mashaal of the Hamas.

In other words, it's "back to business" for these criminals.

NO WAR FOR OIL - YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, IT WASN'T

I know it probably doesn't bare mentioning, but since I'm the kind of guy who is disgusted with the Liberal blaspheming of America, I must note that the first oil contracts being awarded by the Iraqi government are not going to American companies, but are instead going to China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Remember, prominent members of your Democratic Party told you this was all about oil. That Bush's war was a war of American imperialism. Remember Michael Moore, Jimmy Carter, Teddy Kennedy, Howard Dean. Remember the things they have said about our country, our President.

Yeah, remember those things, and then read this (from CNN):


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to U.S. companies, but rather to companies from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

While Iraqi lawmakers struggle to pass an agreement on exactly who will award the contracts and how the revenue will be shared, experts say a draft version that passed the cabinet earlier this year will likely uphold agreements previously signed by those countries under Saddam Hussein's government.


Look for prominent Democrats to now assign blame to the Bush Administration for NOT having demanded that the oil contracts go to American companies.

REUTERS: BESLAN ATROCITY WAS A "CLASH"

In an article about Russian Muslim groups who are protesting plans for a memorial to the victims of the terrorist crime at Beslan, al-Reuters once again reveals its sympathy for the enemy:

The local Russian Orthodox diocese says it will build a church in the grounds of Beslan's school No. 1 to commemorate the victims -- half of them children -- killed in a clash between insurgents and Russian troops. [Umph added.]

When death-dealing and death-seeking fanatics took hundreds of children hostage without food or water, holding them in a gymnasium filled with bombs, Reuters says it was a "clash between insurgents and Russian troops."

No, it wasn't. It was a criminal atrocity. And by portraying it as a "clash" Reuters is an accessory after the fact.

Reliapundit adds: This is another typical - though no less infuriating - example of the false "moral equivalence" we constantly hear from the postmodern left. They also equated the Iranian terrorist-supporting al Quds force members we are holding in Iraq, to the UK marine hostages taken by Iran from Iraqi waters! Freedom fighters = terrorists in their amoral world. IS IT ANY WONDER THEY FEEL THERE IS NOTHING WORTH FIGHTING FOR!?! There isn't in their universe. I mean "multi-verse!"

PELOSI WINS TERRORISTS' ENDORSEMENTS

As reported by World Net Daily, Nancy Pelosi's voyage of appeasement is winning kudos from the terrorists who want to murder those grandchildren she's always talking about:

Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip, said the willingness by some lawmakers to talk with Syria "is proof of the importance of the resistance against the US.

"The Americans know and understand they are losing in Iraq and the Middle East and that their only chance to survive is to reduce hostilities with Arab countries and with Islam. Islam is the new giant of the world," he said.

"Pelosi's visit to Syria was very brave. She is a brave woman," Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, told WND.

Pelosi is supported by terrorists, and her actions support further terrorism. By groveling before Assad, she is demonstrating to the terrorist leaders that what they need to do is hit America again, and harder. Nancy Pelosi is at least partially responsible for the next terrorist attacks we face. She should be prosecuted for aiding and abetting the enemy.

Texas Senate Prayer Excludes Christians

We read:

"A controversial Texas imam who at one point participated in a "tribute to the great Islamic visionary" Ayatollah Khomeini, has offered a prayer to open the state Senate that excluded both Christians and Jews.

"Oh, Allah, guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not of those who have earned your wrath or of those who have lost the way," prayed Imam Yusuf Kavakci of the Dallas Central Mosque.

Islam, of course, teaches that Jews and Christians both have earned the wrath of Allah by failing to follow Islam, and also have lost the way by following the teachings of the Torah for the Jews or the Bible for Christians.

"I do believe we should respond to this event to make sure that our governing officials and the citizens of the State of Texas understand the Christian position. Appreciation of diversity in people is not tantamount to acceptance of their gods," said Pastor Ross Cullins...

Source

A group prayer is supposed to be ON BEHALF of those present. So the Texas Senators are all believers in Allah? The Imam is entitled to his beliefs and to practice them in his mosque but to impose them on Christians is another matter. One hopes that the Texas Senate will think more deeply about any future such invitations.


(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 INFANTILE LEFT

As Evan Sayet has repeatedly argued, (see here and here) there is much about Leftists that appears infantile. The "Mommy look at me" syndrome is very evident among them at times, for instance. Ben Stein, V.D. Hanson and Dennis Prager, too point out a variety of ways in which Leftists would appear to be fundamentally juvenile. I have myself previously commented on the phenomenon here and here and here.

The following excerpt from Taranto exhibits the "me, me" infantilism vividly -- as well as being childishly incoherent. And the infantilist got a standing ovation from other Leftists! Note that the addled speaker ADMITS she is not an adult even though she is 22!

"Rush Limbaugh has a fascinating transcript from a town-hall meeting John and Elizabeth Edwards held at the University of New Hampshire Monday. They were questioned by an undergraduate named Jenny Ballantine, who had this to say:

I need to be able to look to my leader and see words of encouragement, words of hope. I need to be able to trust that person. I need to be able to know that I'm going to be grow [sic in transcript] in a world that's not going to be full of hate and prejudice and racism and to know that I matter, that I wasn't just dumped in this world for no particular reason whatsoever.

I'm busting my ass in school, I work 25 to 30 hours a week, and it's just me and my dog. So what can you do for the people that are in my situation, that are trying their damnedest in school, wanting to go to grad school, is going to be hit with the loans--and, uh, I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. I don't know what I want to be when I'm an adult. But I'm 22 right now, so people are like, "Honey, you are an adult." You know what? It's about me. It's about me voting for you or supporting somebody who's going to be the next president. So it's all about me right now. Just give me something.

Here is how the Edwardses responded:

Edwards: God bless you. If I were choosing a president, uh, that's what I'd be doing. I'd be looking for the specifics of what they want to do, because that matters, but I would also be judging them personally, because we need to trust our president.

Mrs. Edwards: I want to say something, too. I was really impressed with you, Jenny Ballantine, and I think probably everybody in this room was, and I want everybody in this room who believes that Jenny Ballantine is going to be able to do it to give her a round of applause.

According to Foster's Daily Democrat of Dover, N.H., the audience gave Miss Ballantine not only a round of applause but a standing ovation."

(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.)

WILL THERE ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND? MAYBE NOT . . .

[UPDATE: WELCOME SLATE READERS! Please check out the rest of the blog.]

There was a time when the British Navy was the unparalleled master of the seas. No other naval force, no matter as mighty as the Spanish Armada or the combined Spanish and French fleets of the Napoleonic period or the massive battleships and myriad u-boats of World War II, ever displaced the British Navy on the high seas. The British Navy was the guarantor of free trade, the eliminator of the Atlantic slave trade, and the wall of wood and iron that protected the British Isles -- never invaded since 1066.

As recently as 1982, when the Argentine dictatorship seized the Falkland Islands, a British Naval task force responded and repulsed the invaders.

The moral ethic of the British Navy was stern and unforgiving. The Articles of War, first codified by Parliament in 1749, demanded the utmost in patriotism, professionalism, discipline, and self-sacrifice from all the officers and sailors aboard ship. Here are three typical Articles:

Every flag officer, captain and commander in the fleet, who, upon signal or order of fight, or sight of any ship or ships which it may be his duty to engage, or who, upon likelihood of engagement, shall not make the necessary preparations for fight, and shall not in his own person, and according to his place, encourage the inferior officers and men to fight courageously, shall suffer death, or such other punishment, as from the nature and degree of the offence a court martial shall deem him to deserve; and if any person in the fleet shall treacherously or cowardly yield or cry for quarter, every person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death.

Every person in the fleet, who shall not duly observe the orders of the admiral, flag officer, commander of any squadron or division, or other his superior officer, for assailing, joining battle with, or making defense against any fleet, squadron, or ship, or shall not obey the orders of his superior officer as aforesaid in the time of action, to the best of his power, or shall not use all possible endeavours to put the same effectually into execution, every person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of the court martial, shall suffer death, or such other punishment, as from the nature and degree of the offence a court martial shall deem him to deserve.

Every person in the fleet, who through cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall in time of action withdraw or keep back, or not come into the fight or engagement, or shall not do his utmost to take or destroy every ship which it shall be his duty to engage, and to assist and relieve all and every of His Majesty's ships, or those of his allies, which it shall be his duty to assist and relieve, every such person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death.

Every person in the fleet, who though cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall forbear to pursue the chase of any enemy, pirate or rebel, beaten or flying; or shall not relieve or assist a known friend in view to the utmost of his power; being convicted of any such offense by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death.

In the days when the ships were of wood, but the men were iron, it was adherence to this code of martial virtue that enabled the British Isles to become a great naval power.

From news reports this week, however, it appears that the British Navy no longer subscribes to the behavior that such a martial code implies.

As everyone knows, a boarding party of British sailors and marines engaged in the inspection of an Indian ship in Iraqi waters was attacked by Iranian small craft. The British seamen (including one woman) surrendered without firing a shot, and during their Iranian captivity, made propaganda films for the hostage-takers, groveled and apologized to the unlawful tyrants as if they had done anything wrong, and then thanked the Iranians for their hospitality and kindness.

There is no doubt that the initial attack took place in Iraqi territory. The Telegraph reports:

The Ministry of Defence says it has incontrovertible evidence that the eight sailors and seven Royal Marines were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when they were arrested during a search of an Indian vessel on March 23.

From the same Telegraph story:

The British Naval personnel chose their words carefully and adopted measured tones for the informal interviews on Iranian television, but as they spoke each broke into a grin.

"I feel great, very happy and just relieved and thankful to go home," said Leading Seaman Turney, 26, a married mother of one.

"The treatment here has been great but it will be nice to get home and see my family."

Lieutenant Carman, 26, said: "To the Iranian people I can understand why you were insulted by our apparent intrusion into your waters.

"I hope this experience will help to build the relationship between our countries."

The nature of the relationship between Britain and the terrorists who confront Western civilization was underscored when - just hours before the British hostages were released - four British soldiers, including two women, were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Basra.

But, never mind.

Great Britain's Defence Chief, Sir Jock Stirrup, is apparently pleased with the way British sailors and marines comported themselves after coming under an Iranian attack in Iraqi waters and during their subsequent captivity.

"They did exactly as they should have done from start to finish and we are proud of them," said Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, the head of Britain‘s armed forces and top military adviser.

Do you think he will recommend them for the Victoria Cross? It wouldn't shock me.

The British Press in general, and one-time British subject John Derbyshire in particular, have not been as enthusiastic about the conduct of the hostage sailors and marines as Sir Jock Stirrup has been, at least in public. Derb commented:

Able Seaman (I assume that's his rank) Summers had no business going on Iranian TV to tell the world that his country was wrong (even if it was) and Iran right. That was unpatriotic behavior. In the Queen's uniform.

Capt. Air and Lt. Carman disgraced themselves and their uniforms by groveling to their captors and thanking them.

Leading Seaman Turney should have pulled off that headscarf. It is not part of a British serviceman's uniform, and so she should not have worn it.

At a bare minimum, these servicemen should have stayed silent and refused to do what the Iranians instructed them to do. I would, in fact, say the same if they had been apprehended by a friendly power.

The Articles of War impose a stern and unforgiving standard of martial conduct. To today's Britons they must seem harsh and Spartan. But the Articles embody the principles which made the British warrior a feared enemy and welcomed friend everywhere he went. There was a time when Britannia ruled the waves.

Conduct such as Nelson demanded made Britain and strong and worldwide empire. Unfortunately, conduct such as Sir Jock Stirrup extols will render Britain weak and defenseless. In fact, such conduct is the result of a weak and defenseless, politically correct attitude that has already vitiated England's martial spirit. In England, for example, homeowners are prosecuted when they defend themselves against robbers, and the police advise victims of crime to submit to their attackers without a struggle.

The Mullahcracy's victory this week consisted of demonstrating to its subjugated people and to the entire world that the spirit of acquiescence, appeasement, and surrender is so pervasive in British society, that it has apparently permeated the Armed Forces.

THREE YALE STUDENTS, ONE A PAKISTANI, ARRESTED FOR FLAG-BURNING ARSON

Not only did they desecrate an American flag, they burned private property too in New Haven, Connecticut. And they all seem to have more than few shady things about them (via Hot Air):

NEW HAVEN — Three Yale University students are charged with burning an American flag hanging from the porch of a Chapel Street home early Tuesday in the Wooster Square neighborhood.

When detained by police a few blocks away, they allegedly acknowledged it was a "dumb thing to do," according to a police report on the incident.

Somehow, I think that the thugs' confession was deliberate on the pretense that they'd literally be let off with a slap on the wrist. If the police are smart, they won't.

Hyder Akbar Said, 23, Nikolaos Angelopoulos, 19, and Farhad Anklesaria, also 19, were arrested on a range of charges including two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree arson, breach of peace, and conspiracy to commit second-degree arson.

Police listed Hyder’s last name as Akbar Said, while Yale has him listed as just Hyder Akbar.

The three students spent the night in jail and appeared dazed at their arraignment Tuesday morning when they entered Superior Court in leg irons and handcuffs. Bail was kept at $25,000 for Angelopoulos and Akbar, but was reduced to $15,000 for Anklesaria. They remained jailed Tuesday night.

They were dazed? Good.

The two freshmen, Anklesaria and Angelopoulos are foreign students: Anklesaria is British and Angelopoulos is Greek. Akbar, a senior, was born in Pakistan, according to police, but is a U.S. citizen. Both Anklesaria and Angelopoulos had to turn over their passports.

But what about Akbar Said? Shouldn't he undergo denaturalization for this? As for the two others, I Anklesaria may be a Pakistani too.

Akbar was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that read in bold letters, "I am Famous in Afghanistan," according to police. The political science major was quoted in a Yale Daily News story last year that he was a native of Afghanistan.

That sounds like terrorist worship to me. How sick.

IT IS TIME FOR ROSIE TO GO

Jonah Goldberg has written an excellent article entitled, Barbara Walters and ABC Give Soapbox to a Wacko. Here are some great excerpts:

But ABC isn’t obliged to give O’Donnell a nationally televised platform. Barbara Walters, the matriarch of The View and its executive producer, is supposed to be a titan of American journalism. She has all the awards any broadcast journalist could ever want. But today she knowingly gives a soapbox to a wacko.

Walters and ABC no doubt will seek comfort in any number of rationalizations, from gooey platitudes about free speech to the glories of diverse opinion to the fundamental unseriousness of Café Vienna-moment television. And yes, human train wrecks make for good ratings — which is why O’Donnell may get another $40 million before her View contract expires in June.

Granted, The View isn’t 60 Minutes, so why should we care that much if the girl talk gets a little silly? After all, Walters has spent much of her career muddying the distinction between entertainment and hard news, what with her saccharine “What kind of tree would you be?” interviews.

Yet there is a difference between taking silly topics seriously and being silly about serious stuff. When you discuss hair-care products or lavish weddings, the subject telegraphs its own triviality. Walters may risk her journalistic reputation when she jibber-jabbers about such things, but that ship sailed long ago. It’s another thing entirely when ABC’s most venerated on-air journalist gives a megaphone to someone who frets that poor Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was railroaded, who insinuates that the U.S. government had a hand in any part of 9/11 and who insists Elvis Presley is alive and living on an island with Bruce Lee (O.K., I made that last one up).

Related links:
StopRosie.com
Should Rosie Be Fired From ‘The View’?

AL QAEDA : THE WORLD & 21ST CENTURY :: KKK : THE SOUTH & 20TH CENTURY

THE KKK WAS A TERRORIST GROUP. THE KKK LYNCHED BLACKS TO INTIMIDATE THEM, AND TO DENY THEM THEIR INNATE, UNIVERSAL RIGHTS.

AND TO INTIMIDATE THOSE ELSEWHERE, AND DETER THEM FROM INTERVENING.

THE INTIMIDATION THROUGH TERROR WORKED FOR NEARLY ONE HUNDRED YEARS. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF COWARDICE AND MORAL DECREPITUDE.

IT WAS RIGHT TO USE WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE TO DESTROY THE KKK AND END SEGREGATION, AND RESTORE TO BLACKS THEIR INNATE, UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS.

IT WAS NOT JUST RIGHT; IT WAS LONG, LONG OVERDUE.

THAT WAS THEN; THIS IS NOW:

NOW, AL QAEDA BEHEADS INFIDELS (AND DOES WORSE!) TO INTIMIDATE US AND TO TRY TO DENY US OUR INNATE, UNIVERSAL RIGHTS.


NOW, WE ARE RIGHT TO USE WHATEVER MEANS APPROPRIATE AND NECESSARY TO DESTROY AL QAEDA - AND ALL OTHER JIHADO-FASCIST GROUPS, AND TO RESTORE TO ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE MIDDLE EAST - AND TO ALL MUSLIMS EVERYWHERE - THEIR INNATE, UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS.

ALL HUMANS EVERYWHERE ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR INNATE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS: FROM THE PHILIPPINES, TO THAILAND; FROM PAKISTAN, AND AFGHANISTAN, TO IRAN, IRAQ, AND ALL POINTS WEST; TO ALL OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS EVERYWHERE REGARDLESS OF THEIR RACE, CREED, OR GENDER.

THE FORCES WHICH SEEK TO DENY OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS THEIR INNATE UNIVERSAL RIGHTS - THE JIHADO-FASCISTS - ARE ALSO OUR ENEMIES, FOR THEY ARE ENEMIES OF CIVILIZATION.

THE JIHADO-FASCISTS OPPOSE EVERYTHING WE IN THE CIVILIZED WORLD HAVE STRUGGLED TO ATTAIN OVER THE LAST 1000 YEARS, AND THEY SEEK TO ERASE ALL OUR HARD WON GAINS.

THOSE WHO DECRY AND BERATE OUR COUNTER-ATTACK AGAINST JIHADO-FASCISM HAVE ALL THE MORAL RECTITUDE, AND MORAL AUTHORITY OF THOSE WHO DEFENDED THE KKK. WHICH IS TO SAY THEY HAVE NONE.

THOSE WHO ADVOCATE RETREAT BEFORE THIS ENEMY ARE TRAITORS OR COWARDS OR BOTH. THEY DESERVE UNRESERVED DERISION AND CONDEMNATION.

THE LAST THING THEY DESERVE IS THE POWER TO MAKE DECISIONS.

PELOSI'S RECENT AUDIENCE WITH ASSAD IS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, NO DIFFERENT THAN HER KOW-TOWING TO THE GRAND CYCLOPS OF THE KKK.

SHE IS A SHAMELESS, IMMORAL COWARD AND A TRAITOR.

SHE SHOULD BE INDICTED UNDER THE LOGAN ACT, AND IMPEACHED.

NOTE: ASSAD IS AS BAD AS IT GETS (PARTIAL LIST): HE SHELTERS THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIP OF HAMAS, DIRECTLY AIDS HIZB'ALLAH, AND ASSASSINATED THE PRESIDENT OF LEBANON, (AMONG MANY OTHER LEBANESE DEMOCRATS AND PATRIOTS). THOSE WHO PAY HIM OBEISANCE, DEGRADE THEMSELVES AND HURT THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM.

STILL MORE CHE WORSHIP RUNS AMOK, PLUS WHITEWASHING

It seems we've got still some more examples of Che worship running around on the loose (via Michelle Malkin).

Speaking of which, I also found an example of Che Guevara whitewashing: on this fansite for the old Neo-Geo game system, the site's main review editor fawns over Che as well, in a review of an old game called Guerrilla War.

When I first saw that video game two decades ago, I'd thought then that it was just a simple good-vs-evil action game with a pair of resistance fighters on a mission to bring down a cruel king in an unnamed South American country. But I hadn't realized then that the picture in the game captioned "hail the heroes of the revolution!" was an allusion to Guevara. Today, I'm pretty disappointed that the company (SNK) bothered to make it, totally oblivious to the fact that Che was in truth a bloodthirsty hypocrite. But what's really dreadful is that the fansite would go so far as to fawn over it!

I once had this game fansite on my list of bookmarks, until I found out one day that they'd pulled this stupid whitewash. I promptly took them off. The whole notion that it's "just a game" doesn't wash with me.

EVEN THE Wa Po KNOWS THAT PELOSI IS A FOOL

Even the Washington Post, which posted a big story today about his stepson's attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of Soviet agent Alger Hiss, realizes that Nancy Pelosi's free-lance "diplomacy" in Syria is an embarassing humiliation and a complete demonstration of her stupidity and credulity. (As Reliapundit posted here already!)

From the editorial page:

HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad.

Moreover:

Ms. Pelosi was criticized by President Bush for visiting Damascus at a time when the administration -- rightly or wrongly -- has frozen high-level contacts with Syria. Mr. Bush said that thanks to the speaker's freelancing Mr. Assad was getting mixed messages from the United States. Ms. Pelosi responded by pointing out that Republican congressmen had visited Syria without drawing presidential censure. That's true enough -- but those other congressmen didn't try to introduce a new U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East. "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.

Never mind that that statement is ludicrous: As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.

It's not only foolish, it's a violation of the Logan Act of 1799 (Amended 1994), which forbids freelance diplomacy by unauthorized private citizens.

The law reads:

§ 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

18 U.S.C. § 953 (2004).

It's time that Nancy Pelosi be prosecuted under the Logan Act, impeached by the House, and removed from office by the Senate.

AL QAEDA TARGETS DALAI LAMA

The wanton destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the greatest archaeological and artistic treasure in all of Afghanistan, was no fluke.

Leftists like Nancy Pelosi who assert that Al Qaeda's terror war against the world is a response to American policies just don't get it.

The Buddhas of Bamiyan had nothing to do with American policies, and they were blown up before the Bush Administration responded to the September Eleventh Atrocities.

And now, Al Qaeda is targeting another Buddhist symbol whom they consider an infidel: the Dalai Lama.

From the Australian:

Security surrounding the Dalai Lama has been tightened after reports of an attempt by the al-Qa’ida-linked terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba to assassinate the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

A three-tier security ring has been thrown around the 72-year-old Buddhist head, who lives at Dharamsala, in the Himalayan foothills, Indian police spokesman Prem Lal said.
All those approaching the exiled Tibetan chief will be closely watched by highly trained Tibetan security guards as well as heavily armed deployments of Indian police.

Al Qaeda's ideology calls for the subjugation of the entire world.

Hat tip: Austin Bay.

DANIEL SCHORR'S BIG LIE

National Public Radio's "Small Things Considered," which is supported in part by your tax dollars, features leftist propagandist Daniel Schorr as its "Senior News Analyst." What Schorr provides, however, is not analysis, but a "big lie" attack on the Bush Administration that would have been worthy of his fellow leftist propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

During the April 4, 2007, program, Schorr offered the advice that during the Easter break, the President use some of his "downtime"

to reflect on Elisabetta Burba and her version of what helped propel him into a bloddy, seemingly endless war in Iraq. Burba is a reporter for an Italian newsmagazine who provided the American embassy in Rome with one of the forged documents that the President relied on in 2003 to assert that Iraq was buying uranium from the African country of Niger, although she didn't believe the claims herself.

Schorr is already lying.

The President never said that Iraq was buying uranium in Africa. The word "uranium" appears in the 2003 State of the Union address only once, in this sentence:

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

And before we go any further, let me remind you that the President's statement was absolutely true in 2003, and it remains absolutely true today. The Senate Intelligence Committee determined that British intelligence did in fact believe that Saddam was trying to buy uranium in Africa, and British intelligence believes that to be the case today. Lord Butler's committee also reported to the House of Commons that the President's statement was absolutely correct.

But let's turn back to a lying liar and his lies. Daniel Schorr continued that Italian reporter Burba's

detailed story is contained in a book titled "The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration used a fake letter to build the case for war in Iraq." From this book, excerpted in the Washington Post, it appears that the President had every reason to doubt the authenticity of the documents when he, in the State of the Union Address, asserted that Iraq was buying significant quantitites of uranium from the African country of Niger.

I reproduced the only use of the word "uranium" in the 2003 SOTU Address above. Let's look at it again:

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

Did the President mention a letter? Did the President mention any intelligence developed by the CIA? Did the President say that Iraq was "buying" uranium? Did the President say that Saddam had bought or was buying significant quantities of uranium from the African country of Niger?

No, he didn't. He said nothing of the kind. What he said was:

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

Schorr is perpetrating a big lie of his own. He is attacking the President for a statement that the President never made. This is how the lying left advances their self-deluded view of history. They feel they are completely justified to hate Bush because he used a forged document to justify the war in Iraq -- but in fact, he never did that. They hate Bush for all manner of things that he did only in their own fevered imaginations.

Another thing Schorr doesn't mention, is that the author of the book, Peter Eisner, is a Washington Post reporter, and that the Post is thereby allowing him to use its own news columns to excerpt and promote his book.

Schorr goes on to complain that the forged letters were used to promote war by "the President and his ideological team, bent on regime change in Iraq."

What Schorr doesn't mention, of course, is that "regime change in Iraq" had been the official policy of the American government since Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act (US Public Law Public Law 105-338, codified in 22 USCS § 2151) in 1998. By omission this time, another leftist lie.

Schorr goes on to continue his version of the story:

Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, sent to Niger, he concluded, as Burba had, that the documents were fakes.

Another outright lie. Joe Wilson admitted many times (although he later implied that his peregrinations in Niger had something to do with the Italian-sourced letter) that his trip antedated the delivery of the letter to US intelligence. According to Peter Eisner's book, Burba brought the letter to the attention of the US government in October, 2002. Lying liar Joe Wilson made his trip to Niger in February 2002. His trip had nothing to do with the letter that Burba provided.

Moreover, the Senate Intelligence Committee recognized that the information Joe Wilson provided (that a high-level Iraqi trade delegation had visited a country whose only export is yellowcake uranium) was taken by the CIA as evidence that the determination by British Intelligence was in fact completely correct. Joe Wilson lied in his op-eds about the real significance of his findings.

So when Daniel Schorr concludes:

Was Mr. Bush conned, or was he the con man?

he is lying again. Daniel Schorr is the con man, promoting an outright lie to attack the Administration, subvert the war effort, and help deliver Western civilization into the hands of tyrants and terrorists.

Reliapundit adds: More on the difference between "sought" and "bought" HERE.

"NOBLE SAVAGES"

Such is the hatred that Leftists feel towards their own society that they very often idealize primitive cultures (a rather comprehensive example of that here). They no longer use Rousseau's term "Noble savages" but they share Rousseau's fantasies. To show just how addled such beliefs are, I thought it might be instructive to reproduce part of a report by Louis Nowra about how "noble" one continent-wide group of primitives are: The Australian Aborigines. No-one who knows Aborigines well (as I do) will dispute the reality of what is described below:

In 2005 I spent several days in the Alice Springs hospital after falling ill while attending a friend's wedding. I shared a ward with a middle-aged Aboriginal man who was quite proud that he had raped a 13-year-old girl. As he said, "She wouldn't say yes, so I f---ed her hard." It did not surprise me. A few years before, I was in Alice Springs talking to two Aboriginal men in their early 70s. They were preparing to go into town to buy plastic toy dinosaurs. This was to pay a 12-year-old girl for having sex with both of them at the same time.

What amazed me was their lack of shame or even simple embarrassment. What disturbed me even more was that the most common sight in the hospital was Aboriginal women and girls with severe injuries suffered during domestic violence. Some of their faces looked as though an incompetent butcher had conducted plastic surgery with a hammer and saw. The fear in their eyes reminded me of dogs whipped into cringing submission. The confronting evidence of what men had done to the women was almost unbearable.

About 20 years ago an Aboriginal woman told me she had been raped at the age of seven by her uncle and grandfather on a town rubbish tip. As I was to discover as my circle of Aboriginal friends and acquaintances grew, sexual abuse was not uncommon -- and in some communities it was rife -- from the 1960s onwards. Another friend told me that at the age of 10 he had been thrown into a wardrobe where his uncle masturbated him and then forced him to perform oral sex. Several other "uncles" also abused him through the years. I heard of many more such incidents and not one of these men ever had to go to court for their actions.

After I had recovered from my stay in Alice Springs hospital I was alarmed to read of a middle-aged Aboriginal man who anally raped a 14-year-old girl whom, he said, had been promised to him. Northern Territory Chief Justice Brian Martin sentenced him to detention for the duration of the court session. It seemed to me that Aboriginal men were using the defence of cultural traditions to get away with rape and murder. But it's not only that. The statistics on Aboriginal domestic violence and sexual abuse are so much worse than in the general population, as has been highlighted in the 40 reports produced on the issue since 1999. All the statistics and case studies I refer to in this piece are sourced from federal and state government reports, court proceedings, newspaper articles and books, and are expanded on in my new book, Bad Dreaming (Pluto Press), which also contains an extensive bibliography.

The Alice Springs hospital provides a clear example: about 800 Aboriginal women were treated for domestic assault last year, up from 351 in 1999. The rate of domestic assault in indigenous communities is eight to 10 times that of non-indigenous communities and the sexual abuse of girls is so widespread that one-third of 13-year-old girls in the NT are infected with chlamydia and gonorrhoea. In fact, the situation has become a calamity.

But even more disturbing is that while some Aborigines are being recognised as wonderful painters, photographers, actors, filmmakers, footballers and dancers, indigenous communities are breaking down under the strain of male violence and sexual brutality. As Aboriginal elder Mick Dodson has said: "This is not just our problem; this is everyone's problem."

After the arrival of the First Fleet explorers and settlers wrote about the violence they saw Aboriginal men inflict on women. They also observed how the men kidnapped women from other tribes, raped them and forced them to become their wives.

(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.)

More projection

Those who condemn followers of the God of Love as being haters are just accusing others of their own dark motives. Homosexual entertainer Elton John is just one more example of these sad "projectors":

"CNN Headline News ran a repeat of Glenn Beck's March 27 show, which showed footage of some of the images that ran behind Elton John during his elaborate 60th birthday bash at Madison Square Garden that included a burning church. This is the same man who said that religion promotes hatred and "it's not very compassionate." Beck discussed the very tolerant and "compassionate" concert:

On Sunday, he performed -- it`s the lord`s day -- at Madison Square Garden with this image running behind him. Yes, that would be a burning church. Now, I know you`re at home thinking, "Gee, Glenn, isn`t Elton John the guy who said he`d ban all religion because it turns people into hateful lemmings?" Yes, same guy.

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.)

RUDY STILL SUPPORTS TAX FUNDED ABORTIONS

Rudy announced yesterday that he still supports tax payer funding for abortions. Patrick announced that this was the final straw for him and he feels that he can no longer support Rudy. I would have to say that it probably will be for me too. I was willing to overlook a lot because of his passion for the War on Terror, his realness and honesty and his vow to appoint justices that were strict constructionists. But the fact that he wants people who believe abortion to be murder to pay for it with their tax money is probably just too much for me.

At this stage of the game I'm really hoping that either Newt Gingrich or Fred Thompson become viable candidates. What a disappointment!!

BAD NEWS FROM MONTREALISTAN: J.C.C. BOMBED

HAARETZ/AP:

A homemade bomb exploded outside a Jewish community center in Montreal in the middle of Passover week, injuring no one and causing little damage, police said Wednesday. ... With the explosion coming two days before the third anniversary of the firebombing of Montreal's United Talmud Torahs elementary school library, many in the Jewish community are concerned. ... In its annual audit of anti-Semitism, B'nai Brith identified a 70 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents last year in Quebec and a 12.8 percent rise in Canada.

MORE ON MONTREALISTAN HERE AND HERE.

PELOSI LIED AS SHE SUCKED UP TO A TERRORIST TYRANT

PELOSI IS LYING SCUM; PRIME MINISTER OLMERT'S OFFICE - VIA HAARETZ:

PMO: Pelosi did not carry any message to Assad -

The Prime Minister's Office has strongly denied that Israel relayed a message to Syria, accepting its calls to renew peace negotiations.

The bureau responded to questions raised Wednesday by a statement made by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, following a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Pelosi said she had relayed a message from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to the effect that Israel was ready for peace talks with Syria.

The Prime Minister's Office was quick to issue a denial, stating that "what was discussed with the House speaker did not include any change in Israel's policy, as it has been presented to international parties involved in the matter."

PELOSI IS EITHER AN INCOMPETENT ASSHOLE OR LYING A SACK OF SHIT. TAKE YOUR PICK. SHE SHOULD BE IMPEACHED! (Complete round up HERE at MEMEORANDUM.)

BUSH TO KERRY: "IN YOUR FACE!"

NYTIMES:

President Bush used Congress’s Easter break today to defy Democratic lawmakers and appoint three officials who have already drawn heavy criticism on Capitol Hill.

The president used recess appointments to install Sam Fox, a major Republican donor from Missouri, to be ambassador to Belgium; ... Naming the three while Congress is in recess allows Mr. Bush to avoid the Senate confirmation process. The recess appointments allow the three to remain in their posts until the end of 2008, virtually the end of Mr. Bush’s second term.

... Mr. Bush’s use of the recess appointment device, which is authorized in the Constitution, was an unmistakable gesture of defiance against the newly empowered Democrats. He has previously used the tactic to install judicial appointees unpopular with Democrats and to seat John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.

Today’s recess-appointment gesture was another sign that he will not easily surrender to lame-duck status despite the Democrats’ control of Congress.

Mr. Fox, a wealthy businessman active in Republican politics, contributed $50,000 to the Swift Boat campaign that attacked Senator John Kerry’s Vietnam War record during the 2004 presidential race. Senator Kerry got a measure of revenge last month as he needled Mr. Fox in a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Bush administration withdrew Mr. Fox’s nomination for the ambassadorship on March 28, after it became clear that Democratic senators were lining up against him to settle a score. Mr. Kerry commented then that Mr. Fox “had every opportunity to disavow the politics of personal destruction and to embrace the truth” and had not done so. “The White House made the right decision to withdraw the nomination,” Mr. Kerry said. “I hope this signals a new day in political discourse.”

Mr. Kerry had a different reaction today. “It’s sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the objections of the Senate,” he said in a statement.

IT'S ABOUT TIME BUSH PLAYED HARDBALL. LONG OVERDUE

NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: THE 6 IMAMS, THE 15 UK MARINES AND A NUCLEAR "COLE ATTACK"

The six imams were NOT civil rights activists; they were an advance team of jihaoterrorist supporters trying to set up conditions which would make it harder for innocent airline passengers to complain when they suspected other passengers of planning to takeover the airliner. The 6 imams did it to make future attacks on passenger airlines more likely to succeed.

I think the UK marine hostage situation might be a similar set up: Perhaps Iran is trying to make it more likely that UK and USA naval vessels will not fire upon approaching Iranian vessels. WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO DO THIS?

PERHAPS... in order to pull off a "nuclear USS Cole" attack.

Here's the scenario: The USA and UK have most of their fleets in the Persian Gulf - for continued "exercises, as a show of force, or perhaps to enforce an embargo. One day, three Iranian vessels approach three different UK and USA ships in the flotilla. And NOW, they're able to get pretty darn close; (the respective navies don't want to start an "incident"). When the three Iranian vessels are close enough, they detonate nuclear bombs - (home-grown or perhaps bombs purchased from North Korea). This nuclear attack on our fleets destroys most of our forward projecting force - our aircraft carriers, destroyers, jets, etc. It would be a Iranian- jihadoterrorist coup de grace.

Likely!? I don't know. But if our navy's ROE are as weak as the recent UK marine hostage situation reveals the UK's are, then the Iranian's MIGHT now think it very possible. BOTTOM-LINE: the appearance of weakness on our side makes it more likely we will be attacked. The UK marine hostage crisis made us look weak.

NEWT : GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN :: REID : CUTTING OFF FUNDING FOR THE IRAQ WAR

HUBRIS ALMOST ALWAYS LEADS TO OVER-ESTIMATING ONE'S REACH.

NEWT MISCALCULATED WHEN HE THOUGHT HE COULD SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN ON CLINTON. THE PLOY BACKFIRED AND HURT NEWT AND THE GOP MORE THAN IT HURT CLINTON.

REID IS ALSO MISCALCULATING.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER LIE FROM AL GORE

As he received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University in Montreal, Al Gore actually found himself getting booed and heckled by the students:

His presentation was halted at least twice as opponents to his agenda began to shout out.They called him a liar and a villain, and screamed, "What about your swimming pools?" in regards to recent allegations that the monthly electricity bill of Gore's estate rivalled a year's bill for the average American home.

This led Gore to joke, "I don't even know if you guys are left- or right-wing".

[David] Suzuki also made a 45-minute speech on the topic du jour. The speech was punctuated by numerous bouts of applause from a rather enthusiastic audience. He espoused that the media should play a more central role in the way it informs the public, saying, "Over half of all Nobel Prize winners are telling us we could have as little as 10 years to avoid a catastrophe and this is pronounced by our media as 'not newsworthy'.

Lies, lies, lies. What kind of idiot thinks the media is ignoring global warming hysteria and not treating it like The Gospel? Simple...no one is that stupid. Thus, it is a lie. However, for the first time, I'm starting to think that Gore and his idiot friends might be about ready to jump the shark. The more outlandish they get, the more likely the public is finally gonna say "wait a minute?"