MUSHARRAF STAYS ON THE OFFENSIVE: TROOPS ATTACK AL QAEDA IN WAZIRISTAN; COPS ATTACK RED MOSQUE; MAKES DEAL WITH POLITICAL RIVAL BHUTTO

VIA POWER LINE: LONDON TIMES:

War In Waziristan?

If this London Times account is accurate, it sounds like good news:

In North Waziristan, the wild border land that America hopes will be Osama Bin Laden’s graveyard, the normally busy roads are almost deserted and the fear is pervasive. Army helicopters sweep the valleys at night hunting for Al-Qaeda militants as troops and gunmen exchange artillery and rocket fire.

America and Britain regard this usually autonomous tribal area - where Bin Laden is long believed to have been hiding - as the logistics centre of Islamic terrorist attacks around the world.

President Pervez Musharraf sees it as the centre of a campaign to “Talibanise” Pakistan. Spurred on by Washington, he has abandoned a truce with Waziristan’s Islamist guerrillas and ordered his army to root them out.

There are believed to be about 8,000 gunmen – a mix of foreign Al-Qaeda volunteers, Afghan Taliban, Pakistani Islamists and local Waziris whose families have for centuries fought off any attempt to impose outside rule on this area. In modern times, even map-makers have been shot to hide the region’s mysteries from the outside world.

Last week soldiers sealed all the roads into Miran Shah, the provincial capital, occupied the hills around it and fired the first artillery salvo in what Musharraf’s many critics have called a war on his own people.

CAPT'S Q:

Pakistan Reforming?

The London Telegraph reports that Pervez Musharraf has reached an accommodation with moderate opposition figure Benazir Bhutto that will kick-start Pakistan's dormant democracy. While the final arrangements remain in limbo, especially the choice of Prime Minister, it promises to further marginalize the radical Islamists if successful:

President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan’s exiled former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, have struck an outline power-sharing deal to run Pakistan, ministers said.

Under the reported agreement, struck late on Friday night, Gen Musharraf would step down as commander in chief of the country’s armed forces but would be able to retain the presidency.

Mrs Bhutto would be permitted to return to the country to stand in parliamentary elections, and the constitution would be changed to allow her to become prime minister for a third term.

The "present crisis of religious militancy" has forced the hand of Musharraf. A supporter of the Taliban during his first years in power, 9/11 forced Musharraf to reverse his earlier alliances. That has led to various short truces, notoriously in Waziristan over the past two years. However, the Red Mosque standoffs show that Musharraf has gained nothing from his attempts to rekindle his political alliances with the jihadis.

I DISAGREE WITH THE CAPTAIN: Musharraf was UNAMBIGUOUS in his assault on the Red Mosque. He quickly dispatched 12,000 troops to the Tribal Areas. And now he is making a deal with Bhutto.

IMHO : THESE ARE RELATED DEVELOPMENTS

I think this all adds up to one thing: The Pakistan ruling class FINALLY realizes that they are in an existential war, and they are finally pulling out all the stops.

I feel that Musharraf probably knows where Zawahiri is, (stuck in the fly-paper of southern Waziristan or northern Balochistan), and that he would not start down this path unless he felt he could get him - (and UBL, IF he is still alive, which I DOUBT he is!) - and kill Zawahiri and a few thousnad al Qaedas while he's at it.

And all this will probably come to a head just BEFORE Petraeus's report.


WHAT WILL THE DEMS AND THE MSM DO WHEN IT BECOMES INESCAPABLY OBVIOUS THAT WE ARE WINNING IN IRAQ AND HAVE ALSO DEALT A DEATH BLOW TO AL QAEDA IN AFGHANISTAN?

They will do what they always do: LIE.

OUR FRIENDS THE MEXICANS: THEIR COPS ARE CORRUPT

HOUSTON CHRONICLE:

A Mexican judge ordered 18 police officers to stand trial on charges of aiding drug traffickers as the result of an investigation into the kidnapping of four federal agents, prosecutors said Saturday.

Several of the officers from Guadalupe, near the northern city of Monterrey, are also charged with abducting the agents on behalf of the band of Gulf cartel hit men known as the Zetas, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

IF THIS IS HOW THEIR COPS BEHAVE IN SITUATIONS INVOLVING US FEDS, THEN IMAGINE HOW THEY DEAL WITH LESS CONSPICUOUS STUFF - LIKE BORDER CONTROL.

WHEN IT COMES TO OUR LAWS AND SECURITY, WE SHOULD NOT DEPEND ON MEXICO - FOR ANYTHING.

BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, THE DEMOCRATS ARE IDIOTS AND DUPES

The Democrats in Congress complained about how they were DUPED into voting for the Iraq War Authorization Bill.

Ha.

Now, they are also complaining about how Bush's SCOTUS nominees duped them. (THEIR WORDS!) EXCERPT:

Schumer, in a speech to the American Constitution Society, talked about the confirmation of Roberts and Alito in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

“Were we duped?” he asked.

“Were we too easily impressed by the charm of nominee Roberts and the erudition of nominee Alito?” Schumer asked. “Did we mistakenly vote our hopes when our fears were more than justified by the ultraconservative records of these two men?”

“Yes,” he said

I DON'T GET IT: Do these Dems think they are impressing anyone by complaining all the time about how they're always DUPED?!

EVEN IF THEY WERE RIGHT - I DON'T GET WHY THEY WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE HOW DUMB THEY ARE?!

AND YEAH: I think the Dems are dupes. They are dupes of: Leftism and postmodernism and moral relativism! The Dems have also been duped into believing:

• that we are losing Iraq and that it is a diversion in our counter-attack against Global Jihad;
• that the Bush tax cuts were bad and unfair and gave the biggest break to the richest;
• that man-made CO2 causes global warming;
• that Katrina was mostly Bush's fault and not Blanco's and Nagin's;
• that Bush has committed impeachable offenses;
• that Bush lost Florida and the 2000 election;
• that Bush lost Ohio and the 2004 election;
• that the turkey was plastic;
• that poverty has increased since 2000;
• that the economy is in trouble;
• that Bush is a moron;
• that the last election was won by them because of Iraq (and not Foleygate, Abramoff, and Maccacagate);
• that free trade is bad for the economy and local workers;
• that the US listens too much to "the Israel Lobby";
• that neo-cons/Likudniks/Jews control Bush - as do the Saudis and the oil industry (a neat trick since these three groups do not have a unified goal);
• that privatization of social security is bad for the working class;
• that socialized healthcare is better - or works well anywhere;
• that... and so on...

YUP: Schumer is 100% right: The Democrats are dupes.

PAUL POTTS' FIRST SINGLE FROM HIS FIRST ALBUM - ONE CHANCE: ONE WORD: WOW!

LINK HERE.

WOW!

WHEN HILLARY WENT OVER TO THE DARK SIDE

FROM A COLLECTION OF LETTERS SHE WROTE WHILE SHE WAS IN COLLEGE - NYTIMES:

While home on a break in February of her junior year, Ms. Rodham bemoans “the communication chasm” that has opened within her family. “I feel like I’m losing the top of my head,” she complains, describing an argument raging in the next room between — “for a change” — her father and one of her brothers.

“God, I feel so divorced from Park Ridge, parents, home, the entire unreality of middle class America,” she says. “This all sounds so predictable, but it’s true.”

This was when she went from being a GOP/Goldwater gal to a Marxist. She has rejected "middle-class" values ever since, as has the entire Left and all the postmodernists. It's part and parcel of their rejection of the Judeo-Christian West and capitalism.

Well, the truth is that traditional bourgeois values are what made the world livable: democracy; freedom; freemarkets; universal human rights - these are the very things which have increased life-spans, raised living standards, and expanded freedoms..

At the very core of Hillary Rodham Clinton is a person who has rejected these values and replaced them with Leftist ones: moral relativism; socialism; elitism; collectivism.

This is the primary reason she cannot be trusted with the presidency. Besides being totally UNQUALIFIED and having not once ever in her life demonstrated leadership.

I BELIEVE ISRAEL HAS A POTENTIAL ARMY FAR LARGER THAN THEY CAN IMAGINE

Commenter Watcher71 wrote the following:


What I find really frustrating is that the IDF won't let me go (a non Jew) go and fight for them. They Should have a Mossad screened foreign legion....cause my tail would be off there so fast...!


Watcher71 is a half-Jamaican/half-white Brit who loves Israel, and hates the Jihadis. He is not the first non-Jew to have said this to me, and it isn't like the thought hasn't crossed my mind a few times, and I am a non-Jew in my forties with a family. (In other words, I'm not the kind of guy you would expect to think of such "adventure").

I think Israel has a hidden army far larger than they can imagine. I believe there are men and women all over the globe who are just itching to take up arms in this inevitable war.

Am I right, or what?

THE 2008 ELECTION: RUDY VERSUS JIMMY

No matter who actually gets the nomination from either party, I believe the 2008 election will be between Rudy Giuliani and Jimmy Carter, figuratively speaking.

At it's most basic level, the race will be between a Republican who is a hawk and a Democrat who is a Leftist and dove.

Since 2004 - and the nomination of arch dove and traitor John Kerry - the doves have controled the Democrat Party; the McGovernites have regained the control the DLC rested away from them in 1992. Jimmy Carter now gets a seat of honor at Democrat Conventions. His views and actions have never once been repudiated by a single one of the contenders for the Democrat nomination in 2008.

The polarity between today's GOP and today's Democrat Party is, I think, best illustrated by comparing Rudy to Jimmy:

Jimmy told us our best days were behind us. This was defeatism at home, and a rallying call for Big Government. (Not unlike Hillary.)

Rudy saved a city that many thought was ungovernable and in permanent decline.

Jimmy has appeased tyrants and terrorists - like Arafat and Chavez and Fidel.

Rudy has told them to take a hike - well in advance of the conventional wisdom at the time.

Rudy has NEVER sucked up to Fidel. Jimmy has; Obama would. So would Edwards.

Jimmy has likened the democratic and pluralistic nation of Israel (where Arabs and Muslims havre MORE RIGHTS than any other place ON EARTH) to apartheid South Africa.

Rudy has unequivocally stuck up for Israel.

Jimmy and BJ Clinton APPEASED Kim and North Korea.

Rudy's foreign policy team has not one single appeaser.

Jimmy and his gang of Leftist doves would RAISE TAXES.

Rudy cut taxes in NYC! Unempl0yment and the MISERY INDEX went DOWN, just like under Reagan.

Jimmy cut defense spending - as would the current crop of doves.

Rudy was a hawk on crime - raising the money spent for police (as he cut the size of the bloated liberal bureaucracy) ; he'll be a hawk on defense - AND SPENDING.

Jimmy is financed by the Arabs.

Rudy refused $10 million from them right after 9/11.

THE CHOICE IS CLEAR: WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT, CARTER OR GIULIANI?






















Here's a video reminder of just how effective and important Rudy was after 9/11:

I live in Manhattan. I was here on 9/11. LET ME TELL YOU: I'd rather have Rudy as President than Jimmy - or any other Democrat - as Mayor. IOW: Rudy - AND ALL OF THE LEADING GOP CONTENDERS - are ready to become the president.

Given the chance, ANY of the Democrat contenders would make AWFUL mayors.

Think about it: The policies of the leftist doves - like Carter and Dinkins and Hillary and Edwards and Obama - couldn't save the city.

The policies of Rudy - and Reagan - did.

The illiterate Left

Why are Leftists so reliably illiterate? I don't blame a humble man for being unable to spell but Leftists parade themselves as knowing it all. The emails I get from Leftists are reliably illiterate but I also enjoyed an email from a Leftist called Steve Mack that Dean Barnett put up for our amusement. A tiny excerpt: "marshal sensibilities, fervent worship at the alter of". In that short passage the writer showed that he did not know the difference between "martial" and "marshall" or "altar" and "alter". There are some things that spellcheckers cannot save you from. Steve Mack thought he was clever. He has himself shown that he is not. Verbal skills are the highest single correlate of IQ, by the way.

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

Why Does the Left hate Israel?

A small excerpt (a summary) below from a very large and thorough article by Richard Baehr here. I think the reasons given below all have some point but the main reason is basic: Leftists hate success in others and Israel is in many ways a great success story. Leftists always claim that they want to lift up the poor and downtrodden. But their real motive can be inferred from what they do whenever they can: They never do much good for the poor but they do attack the rich and successful. "By their fruits shall ye known them", as a wise Jew once said

1. It is an easy way to express one's hatred for America.

2. Israel is viewed as an outpost of colonialism , and an active practitioner of it.

3. Israel is a western nation, and hence can be judged by the left. Israel is not protected by cultural relativism, as the Arabs are.

4. Leftist Christian churches can escape any lingering guilt about the Holocaust, by turning Israel into a villain. Some leftist churches hate Israel because they think this will help protect their members in the holy land- in other words they feel threatened.

5. Ferocious Muslim hatred of Israel and the Jews reinforces the natural cowardice of many on the left who go along with the Muslims to stay out of their line of fire.

6. Jewish leftists are prominent in the anti-Israel movement. This opens the floodgates for everybody else.

7. Israel is attacked because the secular left is appalled by the influence of religious settlers and their biblical connections to the land of Israel, and by the support for Israel by evangelical Christians, and Christian Zionists.

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

SAUDI MONEY BUYS 'TOLERANCE' EDUCATION

If the Marxist ideologues weren't enough of a threat in their determination to get their nefarious clutches on our children, the Saudis are buying their way into the seizing of young hearts and minds.

Though this post is based on a situation in the U.S., you can be sure that it's going on all over the west as Saudi money has spread its creeping fingers far and wide.

The basic outline of this Saudi school initiative was exposed in 2004, by Sandra Stotsky, a former director of a professional development institute for teachers at Harvard, and a former senior associate commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education. Stotsky found that Harvard trained primary/elementary school teachers were being encouraged to celebrate the life and teachings of Mohammed and the 'revelations' of Islam.

According to Stotsky, if Harvard’s outreach personnel had designed similar classroom exercises based on Christian or Jewish models, “People for the American Way, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the A.C.L.U. would descend upon them like furies.”

Oh yes, the A.C.L.U. never misses a chance to tear down our own cultural heritage.

How on earth did the Islamists get into our education system?

With their filthy money, of course.

In Australia, the Emirates own (or have large vested interests in) countless organizations from the Randwick Racecourse to Collingwood football club.

In the U.S. the story is pretty much the same with both Jimmy Carter and the Clintons known to be on the Saudi payroll. Why would they not logically also be looking at targeting the upcoming generation?

The full extent of Saudi curricular funding, and the magnitude of its influence over university outreach programs funded under Title VI, was only revealed in late 2005 by a special four-part investigative report by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). As the JTA put it: “Saudi Arabia is paying to influence the teaching of American public schoolchildren. And the U.S. taxpayer is an unwitting accomplice....

Often bypassing school boards and nudging aside approved curricula....These materials praise and sometimes promote Islam, but criticize Judaism and Christianity....

Ironically, what gives credibility to...these distorted materials is Title VI of the Higher Education Act....Believing they’re importing the wisdom of places like Harvard or Georgetown, they are actually inviting into their schools whole curricula and syllabuses developed with the support of Riyadh.”

And they wonder why we want to home-school our children. The public education system is an ideologically-loaded, dumbed down shambles, not only with Leftist pigswill but also Islamist trash.

Stotsky has published a book called 'The Stealth Curriculum: Manipulating America’s History Teachers'. You can read more about it here.

HAT TIP: Hang Right Politics

Cross-posted at The Midnight Sun

It Is Coming

I have a friend who reports on the defense industry. Nice Jewish boy.

He says via e-mail that it is no use wasting your time trying to convince idiots of the obvious (morally it is sound though).

He says a big war is coming. BIG war. Like Pearl Harbor it will unite us. He says it is a waste of time trying to talk to the idiots. He used to blog a lot on the subject. Now he doesn't bother. He says events are the best convincers. Why does it feel like October 1939 all over again? The period of the "Phony War".

Which reminded me of this piece by Herbert E. Meyer at the American Thinker.

For better or worse, it's part of the American character to wait until the last possible moment - even to wait a bit beyond the last possible moment - before kicking into high gear and getting the job done. It's in our genes; just think of how many times you've ground enamel off your teeth watching your own kid waste an entire weekend, only to start writing a book report at 10:30 Sunday night that, when you find it on the breakfast table Monday morning is by some miracle a minor masterpiece.

However horrific it may be, the knockout punch won't knock us out. Instead, it will shift us from playing defense back to offense - and this time we won't hold back. The president will ask Congress for a declaration of war and he, or she, will get it. We'll bring back the draft, send our troops into battle without one hand tied behind their backs by lawyers, and we won't waste time and energy pussyfooting with the United Nations. And if we've closed GITMO by this time - we'll reopen it and even double its size because we're going to pack it. All of this will take longer to organize, and cost more, than if we'd done it right in the aftermath of 9-11. That's unfortunate, but that's the way we Americans tend to do things. And when we do finally start fighting for real -- we'll win.

That would be my assessment as well. In my opinion once Bush took on Iraq and then won the 2004 election the die was cast. What ever political winds were blowing after that the die was cast.

H/T Reliapundit who got me to thinking about this subject with his reports of recent terror alerts.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values

CHUCK SCHUMER TARGETS THE SUPREME COURT

New York Senator Chuck Schumer is one of the MOST repugnant members of the United States Senate. He is, in fact, an Authoritarian, if not a Stalinist. He would be very happy if we had a form of government where we could get rid of elections and the people are governed by a ruling elite...the kind of government Plato and Marx wrote about.

Schumer is angry that the new conservative members of the Supreme Court have made some decisions that have gone against precedent. In fact, one of the court's liberal members, Stephen Breyer, is actually lobbying members of Congress to look at the recent decisions. Naturally, he was able to persuade the Senate's biggest eunuch, Arlen Specter; [see LMC's post.]

Breyer has publicly raised concerns that conservative justices were violating stare decisis, the legal doctrine that, for the sake of stability, courts should generally leave precedents undisturbed.

"It is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much," Breyer said, reading his dissent from the bench in June to a 5-4 ruling that overturned school desegregation policies in two cities.

Okay, so the court shouldn't ever go against precedent. What is established now is absolutely, Constitutionally correct and not even debatable. What is this, Global Warming?

I'd like to ask Justice Breyer if how he feels about the precedent of the Dred Scott decision. "Oh well, that's was an obvious mistake," he'll say. So what? It's precedent, isn't it?

Anyway, back to the point at hand. Chuck Schumer has declared that Bush will not be allowed to put another conservative on the Supreme Court. Well, democracy was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?

There's another story out today about how Daily Kos and Moveon.org are going to start targeting advertisers on Fox News. Their argument:

"We're not trying to silence anybody," Green said. "Rush Limbaugh has a right to be on the air—he admits his point of view. Fox doesn't."

I'm making a similar call to the Democrat Party. Admit who you really are.

Relipaundit adds: Great post! I just love how the Lefties say the Constitution is written in stone when it comes to decisions it LIKES (like Roe v Wade - which BTW is based on entirely vestigial science!), but when it comes to things they don't like, then their favorite refrain is, "IT'S A LIVING CONSTITUTION!"

The Democrats have become complete freakin' hypocrites. They have NO PRINCIPLES, only demagoguery and fear-mongering and class-warfare.

That's who I think they are at least - and was raised by Democrats, and first registered as a Dem in 1974 - AND I LIVE AMONG THEM IN NYC! So I know of what and whom I speak!

I voted Bush in 2004, and will probably never ever vote Dem again. This post explains another reason why.

FRENCH WEASEL - DOMINIQUE VILLEPIN - INDICTED

NO PASARAN:

Dominique de Villepin, was indicted Friday morning for his role in the Clearstream scandal.

NO PASARAN ALSO FOUND SOME TYPICAL MSM/NYTIMES DISTORTION IN THEIR COVERAGE OF THE STORY:

Incidentally, notice a difference in the AP report as quoted by the New York Times and its sister paper, the International Herald Tribune. In the former, a sentence reads:

The longtime diplomat, who served as foreign and interior minister under Chirac before being named premier, made his mark on the international stage with a 2003 speech before the U.N. Security Council arguing against the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

In the latter (which features a nonexistent "page" 2), the equivalent part of the article is even more laudatory:

Villepin served as foreign and interior minister under Chirac before being named premier. His international moment of glory came in a 2003 speech before the U.N. Security Council, where he made an eloquent case against the U.S. war in Iraq.

"International moment of glory", "an eloquent case", etc; notice, though, how the half-dozen words of which the latter phrase forms a part are thoroughly misleading — "the U.S. war", U.S. war "in Iraq" ("in Iraq"? shouldn't it be "against Iraq" or, better yet, "against Saddam"? how about "the U.S. invasion of" or "the U.S. intervention in" Iraq, not to mention its "invasion of Saddam's Baasist Iraq" or "intervention against Saddam Hussein"?), we could go on, but you get the idea.


None of those options, although more precise (certainly from a military — i.e., purely strategic and tactical — point of view), would fit the reporter's (or editorial bureau's) lionizing as well.

RELIAPUNDIT: HERE'S HOW THINGS STAND NOW FOR THESE WEASELS:

• CHIRAC IS GOING TO BE INDICTED FOR CORRUPTION WHILE HE WAS MAYOR OF PARIS.

• VILLEPIN IS INDICTED FOR LIBEL.

• SHROEDER WORKS FOR PUTIN. (MANAGING A GAS PIPELINE WHICH SUPPLIES EUROPE ACCORDING TO A DEAL HE NEGOTIATED AS GERMANY'S PM! A DEAL MADE 10 DAYS BEFORE THE GERMAN ELECTION! TALK ABOUT CORRUPTION AND CONFLICT OF INTERESTS! SHEESH!)
  

SCUM. ALL THREE ARE CORRUPT, LYING DHIMMI SCUM.

WHY WE SHOULD ALL BE ON HIGH ALERT

Peter Wallison - AEI/TCS DAILY:

... because weakening the will of the American people is the only way that al-Qaeda and our other opponents in Iraq can hope to win, between now and September we will see an all-out effort to inflict heavy casualties on our troops and on Iraqi civilians.

Unfortunately [for us], this can be a winning strategy [for them].

If we are unprepared for it, a bad August and early September could still lead to a collapse in public support that would even sweep congressional Republicans with it.

We should not forget that the North Vietnamese Tet offensive of 1968—although it resulted ultimately in a military defeat for the North—became a turning point in the war because it destroyed the American public's belief in our ultimate military success.

A series of spectacular and dramatic attacks could do the same for our enemies in Iraq. They know that, and we should expect them to try.

But if these attacks do not occur—or if they do and are quickly quelled—the success of the surge will be an inconvenient political truth that many in the Democratic party will not easily survive.

NOTE/REPEAT: "A series of spectacular and dramatic attacks..."

I think these are to be expected - and not just in Iraq, but in the region, in Europe, and even here in the USA.

I think it will be coordinated with a TWO-FRONT attack on Israel, from Gaza/Hamas and Hizballah/Lebanon.

If I had to guess what type of attack it will be, I'D GUESS a coordinated series of NIGHT-TIME attacks on commercial jets approaching or just leaving airports - attacked with missiles fired from shoulder-firing missile launchers. Just a guess based on this.

It will be timed to come as close to Petraeus's report as possible - so as to effect the resolve of Congress.

And I expect the Left and the party they dominate - the Democrat party - to BLAME BUSH and argue that it's proof that the Iraq War did not make us safer.

I pray that we don;t give up - whether or not the enemy attempts to ratchet up things, or not.

There is only one good way to "end a war" - BY WINNING.

More here.

KERRY, RONCA, AND BEAUCHAMP: LEFTIST LYING SCUM

DEAN BARNETT:

The real story here is the editorial decision making process that led The New Republic to have its own private embed in Iraq, a uniform wearing mole who went to Iraq with the apparent specific purpose of maligning the war effort. [UMPH ADDED.]

THE MORE I READ ABOUT THIS GUY THE MORE HE SEEMS LIKE A KERRY WANNABE:

A TRAITOROUS TURD WHO TRIES TO SLIME THE TROOPS.

IF SCOTT THOMAS BEAUCHAMP IS NON-PARTISAN, THEN THAT JIM RONCA FELLA FROM PENNSYLVANIA IS A "STAUNCH REPUBLICAN."

ROUND UP HERE.

MSM REPORT ON BIGGEST ELECTION FRAUD IN WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY NEVER MENTIONS THE WORD DEMOCRAT...

I WONDER WHY.

FROM tODAY'S OPINION JOURNAL "BEST OF THE WEB"

Great Orators of the Democratic Party

"One man with courage makes a majority."--attributed to Andrew Jackson

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."--Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The buck stops here."--Harry S. Truman

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."--John F. Kennedy

"The biggest problem is my butt hurts. Is that normal?"--John Edwards

Yes, John Edwards actually said that. He went bicycle riding with Lance Armstrong the other day, and that's what Edwards had to say after their rendevouz.

I only wish to tell John Edwards, "Yes, in your position, Mr. Edwards, that is perfectly normal the first time around."

Democrat Attempt to Censor Talk Radio Takes a Hit

We read:

"Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie today applauded a statement by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin confirming that the so-called Fairness Doctrine is obsolete.

"It can't make our case any stronger than when the agency that once administered the Fairness Doctrine says it is no longer needed," said Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie, who has hosted a talk radio show.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin says his agency has no intention of reinstating the Fairness Doctrine it dropped 20 years ago. Furthermore, he says, the need for such regulation "has lessened even further" since it was repealed.

Martin made his comments in a letter written this week to Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN). An amendment introduced by Rep. Pence to prohibit the funding of a new Fairness Doctrine passed by a vote of 309 to 155 in late June. Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), however, intends to re-introduce legislation "to restore the Fairness Doctrine" in coming weeks. President Bush has made it known he will veto any legislation that seeks to reimpose the Fairness Doctrine.

Source

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

Prof. Juan Cole goofs again

The Leftist "expert" on the Middle East (a professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History in the History Department at the University of Michigan), Juan Cole, gets shown up for the know-nothing he is here. For an older debunking of Cole, see Mark Kleiman. And I had a post in 2005 in which I pointed out that Cole thinks Iraq is on the Mediterranean. And if you read here you will see that the wacky Prof. Cole does not even know that a large part of what is the USA today was taken from Mexico! It's rather a wonder Cole still dares to stick his head above the parapet at all. Perhaps we should leave the dummo alone. He really is a rather pathetic case. Leftists and the facts just do not get on. Cole calls his blog Informed Comment, in the fine old Leftist tradition of calling a thing by its opposite.

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

The Ghost Of Electricity Howls In The Bones Of Her Face

This Friday's Art is a song. Let your imagination make the pictures.

Station Of Record

Climate Audit alerted me to the the Detroit Lakes, MN USHCN climate station of record.



Click on the picture to find out more about the surface station audit and to join in or the Climate Audit Link above to get a graph of the station's record. It ain't pretty.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

WHY ARLEN SPECTER TICKS ME OFF!!

Let me count the times I wish this guy had been kicked to the curb by Pat Toomey in the 2004 primaries. Supporting Specter over Toomey is one of the few things that I am still irritated at Bush over.

Specter's latest stunt has me livid. He wants to go back and review Alito and Roberts' senate testimonies because they've been making too many good decisions lately. This is beyond absurd!! He claims (with the support of the likes of Dick Durbin and other Democrats) that they aren't following precedent. Well, guess what? When precedent includes unconstitutional decisions made by liberal activist judges THEY NEED TO BE OVERTURNED!! The insanity is just too much!

Hat tip to Wake Up America for bringing this to my attention!

Previous posts on Specter:
Arlen Specter--Traitor #2
The Scoop on Chavez, Clinton & RINO Republicans

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM ANDREW WHITEHEAD OF ANTI-CAIR

Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR (Anti-Council of American-Islamic Relations) sent this along. Please read it carefully, and help, if you can:


My name is Andrew Nitzberg and I am a trial attorney practicing largely in the state of New York. I am the lawyer responsible for the trial victory of Lee Kaplan against Mohammed Salahi earlier this year. (The action was for private speech by Salahi that cost Lee Kaplan several jobs. The 'free speech' defense fell flat because this was for private, not public, speech. The court records and decision are posted online by the California court administration.)

I am filing for an injunction against George Mason University for their upcoming conference of the 'International Solidarity movement', the US wing of Hamas.

I need assistance in the form of evidence. Of course there is lots of evidence to show that the ISM is a violent, Jew-hating group which directly assists terrorists in coming to their targets and similar activities. But i need evidence admissible in a court of law.

No one will be required to appear in court or to travel (except me -- the pro bono (unpaid) lawyer).

1. I need statements from persons who have directly observed ISM personnel stating things like,

"Kill the Jews",
"We support the resistance of the Palestinian people even when they engage in Terrorism" ,
"We work with Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza",
"We work with Hizballah".

Persons attending the Michigan ISM conference in (I think) 2002 would be very helpful here.

2. I need statements indicating that persons have observed ISM persons beating up persons who do not support the agenda of the ISM (this should be very easy- they beat people up every year at these things.

3. I need statements that persons have personally observed ISM personnel with weapons or transporting weapons. Statements from ISM personnel that admit to such contact with weapons are excellent.

4. There are people looking for the 'perfect plaintiff' for the action. (We have general students (2) eager to sign on, but we would like the 'perfect plaintiff' -- who is a student (BA or grad)/administrator/faculty member who has a family member in Israel. (The Virginia criminal code makes this a very attractive plaintiff). Any Jewish person is eligible because we can shake the family tree and find some relative who is living in Israel.

Thank you for this help. Every terrorist is my enemy because I am a friend to freedom. I am hopeful that I will find many friends in this effort.

Andrew Nitzberg

MSM GRANDE DAME SALLY QUINN EXPLAINS HOW THE USA CAN MAKE PEACE

NEWSBUSTERS HAS A CLIP OF HER ON HARDBALL.

APPARENTLY - ACCOORDING TO QUINN, ALL AHMADINEJAD, ASSAD, FIDEL, KIM JONG IL, AND ZAWAHIRI WANT IS A CHAT AND A HUG.

A CHAT AND A HUG LIKE MIKE WALLACE GAVE AHMADINEJAD AND DIANE SAWYER GAVE ASSAD, NO DOUBT.

ESSENTIALLY SHE IS SAYING APPEASE THEM. SUCK UP TO THEM.

(BE SURE AND READ THE COMMENTS, TOO.)

BUT, BUT, HE CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING - PUBLISHERS VIE FOR KEITH RICHARDS AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Forgive me for laughing outright, but isn't this the definition of an exercise in futility?

NEW YORK (Reuters) -

Publishers vying for the rights to rocker Keith Richards' autobiography have pushed up the Rolling Stones co-founder's advance to $7.3 million (3.6 million pounds), according to a report.


The bidding has narrowed down to two publishing houses, HarperCollins, a unit of News Corp., and Little Brown, a division of Hachette Filipacchi, the New York Post reported on Thursday.

The choice will come down to the editor and the marketing campaign planned for the book, since the bidders are deadlocked on price, the Post said, citing an unnamed source.

Neither publisher was immediately available for comment.

Yeah, I'll bet.

ABC NEWS: "Bloomberg Speaks Out..."

ABC AND THE MSM IS PUSHING THE POTENTIAL BLOOMBERG CANDIDACY.

WHY?

BECAUSE THEY THINK - IF HE RUNS - IT WILL HELP THE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE, AS BLOOMBERG WILL DRAIN AWAY GOP VOTERS THE WAY NADER DRAINED AWAY DEMOCRAT VOTERS.


WELL, I HAVE LIVED IN NYC SINCE 1980.

I WAS PRO-DINKINS AND ANTI-RUDY.

UNTIL RUDY DEFEATED DINKINS AND SAVED THE CITY.

BLOOMBERG HAS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING. ZERO. BUPKUSS. ZILCH.

EVERYTHING GOOD ABOUT THE CITY NOW, WAS MADE GOOD BY RUDY.
ALL THE TOUGH LIFTING WAS DONE BY RUDY.

BLOOMBERG HAS COASTED. THE CITY HAS NOT IMPORVED SINCE BLOOMBERG TOOK OVER. IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE. IT'S DIRTIER, AND IT'S NOT AS SAFE.

I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO NAME ONE TOUGH AND GREAT THING ACCOMPLISHED BY BLOOMBERG. JUST ONE.

THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE HE TOOK ON WAS TRYING TO GET A FOOTBALL STADIUM BUILT IN MID-TOWN. WHATTA JOKE.

HIS POTENTIAL CANDIDACY FOR PRESIDENT IS A JOKE, TOO.

DON'T FALL FOR IT.

SCOTT THOMAS BEAUCHAMP WAS ALWAYS ANTI-WAR, SO WHY DID HE JOIN UP AND GO TO IRAQ?

TO BECOME THE IRAQ WAR'S "JOHN FRANCOISE KERRY."

TWO TRAITORS: ONE PROVEN ONE; ONE IN THE MAKING.

ROUND UP HERE.

Getting Tuned Up

My friend, Science Fiction Author Tom Ligon has written a short science fiction fable which he calls Inertial Electrodynamic Fusion and the Internal Combustion Engine which I thought was rather ponderous so I took the editors prerogative and called it Getting Tuned Up. There is also a news bit about a kerosene burning Wankel engine for light aircraft.

Lies Don't Matter to Leftists

That is the unsurprising conclusion we have to draw from the Leftist reaction to the sacking of academic faker Ward Churchill:

"The University of Colorado has fired an academic whose comparison of victims of the September 11 attacks to Nazis triggered a debate over free speech and scholarship in the US. The university insisted its decision was unrelated to an essay written by Ward Churchill in 2001 that called workers in the World Trade Centre "little Eichmanns", a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who was in charge of sending Jews to death camps. They said he was fired because he had committed plagiarism and fraudulent research in other writings.

Professor Churchill, 59, and his backers argued the dismissal was motivated by his leftist views, and that it would keep other academics from discussing unpopular subjects. "This is a political firing with academic camouflage," said Tom Mayer, who teaches sociology at the university.

The professor has vowed to fight to regain his position. His lawyer, David Lane, said he would file a lawsuit this week challenging the dismissal as a violation of the First Amendment. The message of the university's action, he said, "is there will be a payback for free speech".

Source

According to Leftists, the First Amendment does not protect criticism of homosexuals or Muslims but it does protect lies and misrepresentations. There would be no libel laws were that true.

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

Latest on the Lancet agitprop about Iraqi deaths

What fun! Courtesy of Michelle Malkin, there is a scholarly paper here by a statistical mathematician which finds that the "600,000 Iraqi deaths" paper published in 2004 in Lancet is internally inconsistent. Using the paper's own figures, the statistician shows that the authors cannot conclude anything from their "research".

The original paper was so out of line with normal survey methodology that those of us who are experienced in survey research pointed that out long ago but it is interesting to see the same point absolutely demonstrated. It is another example of Lancet prostituting their medical reputation to make political points. They obviously did not do a proper peer review on the paper before they accepted it and that may well be because they were so out of their field that they did not know how to do a proper review of a survey research paper. They should stick to medicine.

It may be noted that the authors of the paper refuse to release their raw data -- a most unusual thing for scientists to do. It suggests that the "research" was a fraud from beginning to end -- rather like the Mann "hockeystick" finding in climate science -- a finding that the IPCC no longer mentions!

Something Michelle seems to have overlooked, however, is that there seems to have been an attempt by Lancet to redact what they originally published. The paper Michelle cites is a version that says only 100,000 Iraqis died. Whereas the original paper said that 654,965 Iraqis died. Is this an admission? Does even Lancet now concede that they goofed? The plot thickens!

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

WOMEN LEADERS

I talked at length about Pratibha Patil, the first woman president of India on my radio show and other women leaders this past Monday. While researching for the show I had sought in vain to find out more info about the office of the presidency in India and the beliefs of the party she is associated with, the UPA (United Progressive Alliance). Patrick wrote an excellent post on politics in India. He also answered my question about women in Pakistan. Check both posts out, they are very informative.

For my previous post on women leaders, go here! The list of women leaders hasn't changed much since then with the exception of Patil.

Reliapundit posted on how Patil may be good for India since she has promised to "end to the widespread practice of aborting female foetuses."

DID 'CONTAINMENT' WIN THE COLD WAR?

In a thoughtful and useful essay at The American Thinker, Naval War College Professor James Holmes argues that an approach more aggressive and more interventionist than 'containment' will be necessary to win the Global War on Terror.

Far be it from this pseudonymous blogger to disagree!

However, in his careful work to avoid over-arguing his case, the Professor gives too much ground to the containment aficion. He writes:

This is the last place Washington should turn for guidance. Containment may have brought victory in the Cold War, but, applied to today's circumstances, the term implies cordoning off the Middle East and applying pressure at points of Islamist expansion. Moreover, references to Kennan conjure up bad memories in places like Moscow and Beijing, which found themselves on the receiving end of American containment.


A former ambassador to the Soviet Union, Kennan crafted a policy intended for decades of struggle against a well-armed, ideological foe with global reach. Kennan spelled out his ideas in an anonymous, deeply influential article titled "The Sources of Soviet Conduct."

His "X" article appeared in the journal Foreign Affairs 60 years ago this month. (Emphasis added.)

If 'containment' brought victory in the cold war, it was a strange victory, indeed. Kennan's article was published in 1947. Let's look at what 'containment' accomplished.

• In 1945, there were two communist nation-states in the world, the Soviet Union, and the Mongolian People's Republic. Mexico was also a "revolutionary" state.
• By 1948, the Soviet Union had solidified its hold over the captive states of Eastern Europe, and in 1949, China, the world's most populous nation, was seized by the Communist Party.
• India, too, although nominally neutral, was drawn into the Soviet orbit.
• In the 1950s and 1960s, the emerging new nations in Africa and Asia were largely oriented towards the Soviet Union, if not openly socialistic or communistic.
• [Remember: Hungary was INVADED in 1956; Czechoslovakia in 1968.]
• Don't forget Cuba.
  
• In the 1960s and 1970s, all of Vietnam fell to the Communists, as did Cambodia, Laos, and Burma. Afghanistan succumbed to a communist coup.

• In fact, at the time [UNTIL REAGAN], considered opinion held that socialism was inevitable even in the United States, and that the Soviet Union was here for eternity.

As Ann Coulter has pointed out, going against the consensus of opinion in the west, and going against the consensus of opinion in our own State Department, President Ronald Reagan resolved to defeat the Evil Empire, and he did. His view of the Cold War was not containment; it was "We win, and they lose."

As Coulter wrote in "Treason":

Reagan took an approach to the Cold War dramatically different from any other US President. To wit, he thought we should win. This was a fresh concept. At the time, it was widely ridiculed as a dangerous alteration of US policy. Only after it worked was Reagan's dangerous foreign policy recast as merely a continuation of the policies of his predecessors.

'Containment' was a failure. [Neither the USSR or communism were ever "contained". Countries under the "sway" of the USSR INCREASED steadily from 1947 to 1980.]

The policy of 'containment' was in part the product of an accomodationist State Department that had been infiltrated by Soviet agents such as Alger Hiss.





'Containment' was a process of losing the Cold War as slowly as possible.


[Reagan's confrontational and competitive polices brought the USSR to its knees. Along with Thatcher and the Popoe, the West confronted the USSR in Afghanistan, Poland, Central America - and in the arms race with the largest defense spending increases since WW2 and the threat of SDI.

Just as Reagan courageously stood against his accomodationist critics at home and abroad, so to has Bush.

Appeasement never won a war, pr defeated a vile foe- or an "evil empire."

WANT MORE OF THE TRUTH: Read this WSJ article and this book. Reliapundit]

THANKS!

In the next day or so, The Astute Bloggers will get its 350,000 visit and its 500,000 page view (average length of visit: more than 2 minutes!).

THANKS TO ALL OUR READERS!

And a special thanks to my co-bloggers!

OUR GENERAL MISSION:

"EXPOSING LEFTIST PROPAGANDA - HIGHLIGHTING UNDER-REPORTED NEWS - PROMOTING UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS."

OUR MOTTO:

"PEACE IS A BY-PRODUCT OF VICTORY. PROSPERITY IS A BY-PRODUCT OF LIBERTY AND JUSTICE."

OUR FOCUS:

"TO DEFEAT THE JIHADIST ENEMY ABROAD WE MUST FIRST DEFEAT THE LEFTIST AT HOME."

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS : "KEEP FIGHTIN', BABY!"

Thanks for readin' and for fightin' along with us!

ONE DAY SOON, VICTORY - OVER ALL OUR ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC - WILL BE OURS.

COULTER ANALSYZES YOUTUBE'S DEMOCRAT FANTASYLAND

HERE.

Never have so many believed so deeply in such foul rubbish or so many insane canards: NY's racists cabbies; the Florida recount; defeat in Iraq; CO2/AGW; 45 million uninsured, 9/11 was an inside job, and so on. As Ann points out, these canrds have become the core of the Democrat Platform despite the fact that they have all the credibility of the old KKK/Kool cigarette legend.

The IDIOCY of the Dems is not just because they base their policies on a bankrupt ideology (Leftism/"PROGRESSIVISM") which has been completely discredited by the collapse of the USSR and Red China and by failure of "The Great Society" and the success of Welfare Reform.

It's also a result of the fact that THEY SEEM TO LIVE IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.

Use the link; RTWT.

DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL SAYS FRED THOMPSON IS THE "SCARIEST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE"

Hmm. This gives me pause, and it ain't exactly the pause that refreshes:


By Debbie Schlussel

He hasn't yet entered the Presidential race, and yet Fred Thompson, yesterday, showed us why he's the scariest Republican Presidential candidate. And maybe the scariest of both parties.

Don't believe Thompson's claim that he understands the Islamist jihadist threat to America. His announcement, yesterday, of his choice of Spencer Abraham as campaign manager, told us everything we need to know. Although Abraham, of Lebanese descent, is a Maronite Christian, he is a career water carrier for Islamists of the most extremist stripe and made that the cornerstone of his failed, one-term Senate career and equally lousy tenure as Energy Secretary.

As a conservative--but more important, as an American concerned about the future of this country in the face of a terrorist threat--Thompson's choice of Spencer Abraham was the nail in the coffin for me in opposing Fred Thompson's quest for the White House.

I know Spencer Abraham. He wrote one of my recommendations for law school. And the Spencer Abraham that I and all of America have since experienced is bad news for everyone except CAIR, ADC, MPAC, ISNA, and all Islamists who want to endanger America.

In 2003, I wrote the definitive column on Spencer Abraham a/k/a Spence a/k/a Edward Spencer Abraham (which was quoted in The Washington Post), and I re-publish it below, with several additions I've made, updating it. At the time Spence was still Energy Secretary, but he left to become a lobbyist for Islamist countries.

As a Senator, he took marching orders from James Zogby of the pan-Islamist Arab American Institute, opposing profiling of Arabs, the use of secret evidence against Muslims (at the behest of Muslim groups), attempting to repeal the Clinton counterterrorism package, refusing to fund computer tracking of student and other foreign aliens, giving millions in our tax money right to Hezbollah, and putting CAIR on the map on Capitol Hill (taking the group's officials around to meet other Senators and Members of Congress). He took campaign contributions from the relatives of Hezbollah-backed top Lebanese officials after he got the group millions in our tax money.

Spence was one of only two Senators in the entire U.S. Senate who refused to sign a letter calling on President Clinton to condemn Palestinian terrorism and Yasser Arafat. This was at the height of a series of homicide bombings in 1999 and 2000.


It goes on.

GORE EFFECT IN PERU: COLD SNAP KILLS 70 CHILDREN

BBC: Peru cold snap kills 70 children

At least 70 children have died during a spell of freezing weather in the Andean regions of Peru, officials have said.

The children, all under five years old, died of pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses over the past three months.

They lived in rural areas at high altitude, where temperatures in some cases are reported to have plummeted to as low as -20C (-4F).

... Forecasters in Peru are predicting the cold spell will continue until September.

Even low-lying jungle regions are facing unusually cold weather, with temperatures dropping to 10C (50F).

Many adults have also died during the harsh winter, and thousands of people are suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory infections.

I DON'T KNOW IF GORE WAS IN PERU AT THE TIME, BUT HE DID EAT CHILEAN SEA BASS RECENTLY, AND CHILE IS NEAR PERU...

WELL, THE COLD IS EITHER CAUSED BY THAT, OR BY GLOBAL WARMING. RIGHT!?!?!?!?

I MEAN CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSED BY MAN-MADE CO2 RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!?
IT AIN'T WEATHER, RIGHT!?!?

It ain't like the climate of Earth has EVER changed before - before there were any man-made CO2 to speak of, RIGHT?!

Sheesh.

Seriously, my heart goes out to the families of those poor children; I believe and pray that they are in a better place, now.

BOTTOM-LINE: this DEADLY cold weather is no more the result of Gore than the result of man-made CO2. It is NATURAL. Weather changes, even often eluding predictability, and climates have always changed. PERIOD. The southern hemisphere is having one of its coldest winters ever - in South Africa, in South America and in Australia - IT'S COLDENING!

Chilly here, too.

PICTORIAL ESSAY: BUSHITLERVILLE VERSUS TEHRAN

HEY, LEFTIES EVERYWHERE:

WHERE WOULD YOU REALLY WANT TO LIVE, AND WHICH NATION IS THE REAL THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS?

WE LINK; YOU DECIDE.

UK' S PM BROWN TO BEEF UP BRIT NAVY... 'BOUT DAMN TIME!

BBC: MoD confirms £3.8bn carrier order

Orders for two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers have been confirmed by Defence Secretary Des Browne. He said the £3.8bn contract would lead to the construction of the largest vessels ever sailed by the Royal Navy.

The new 65,000-tonne carriers - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales - will enter service in 2014 and 2016.

... "The carriers represent a step-change in our capabilities, enabling us to deliver increased strategic effect and influence around the world at a time and place of our choosing."

GOOD. IF HISTORY IS ANY GUIDE, THEN THE GWOT WILL STILL BE ON IN 2016.

THAT IS, UNLESS THE DEMS SURRENDER BEFORE THEN!

Fusion - False Alarm

It turns out California To Fund Bussard Fusion is a false alarm:

Here is Joe Strout's comment at Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:09 pm at Talk Polywell.

UPDATE: I got a call back from Bill Maile in the Governor's office. He spoke with the Governor's policy advisors, and in brief, the story is false. This is the first anyone in the Governor's office has even heard of the idea.

He is going to do some research to try and find out the source of the story. Hopefully he'll have better luck reaching somebody at nextenergynews than I have; the site lists no name or phone number, and is registered through domainsbyproxy.com. But maybe a Governor's office carries enough weight to shake loose some real contact information from them. We'll see... He promised to call me again within two hours, and when he does, I'll let you know what he found.

This is very disappointing. However it does raise the visibility of the effort and has gotten some exposure at the Governator's office. It is possible that this may have some good fall out. It is starting to reach political circles. Well, I loved the buzz while it lasted.

Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values