"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Saturday, January 06, 2007

RALPH PETERS AGREES WITH THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS: NEW CENTCOM CHIEF SENDS SIGNAL TO IRAN


RALPH PETERS IS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION FOR A COLUMN IN TODAY'S NEWSPAPERS WHICH SAYS WHAT WE SAID DAYS AGO.

AND WHICH GOT US BEAUCOUP LINKS!

YUP WE WERE FIRST. WE USUALLY ARE!

SPREAD THE WORD: TAB IS THE PLACE TO BE FOR THE BEST IN NEWS ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY.

DRUDGE: ISRAEL PLANS NUCLEAR STRIKE ON IRAN

The Drudge Report is being told by sources with the UK Sunday Times that the paper will be dropping a story that Israel is drawing up plans for a nuclear strike on Iran's uranium enrichment facilities. Before we get too excited, let's give this a thorough look.

I'm a great believer that the lion's share of leaks to the media are done on purpose by the governments in question to send a message to the enemy. It could be that a peacenik in the Israeli government leaked this info in order to try and stop it, but I think more likely the Israel government (or the American/British governments) leaked this information as a way to send a message to Iran: if the U.N. fails to stop you (which of course they will), there's always the Israeli nuclear option. A sort of second-coming of Menachem Begin. You also have to look at the timing. The Ayatollah is either dead or dying. A power-struggle in Iran is going on as we speak... this would give them plenty to think about.

Reliapundit adds: I think that there is GREAT concern that many of the nuclear sites in Iran are very deep and very well reinforced and that NOTHING short of a nuke can destroy them. If it takes a nuke to do it, then I am all for it. Before Iran gets any nukes would be a big plus...

My gut tells me that - based on how things have gone the last year or so --- (what with Olmert pansy-assing out against Hizballah, and Bush failing to get tough enough against NOKO, IRAN or ASSAD or Mookie al Sadr) - -- that nobody on the our side HAS BALLS BIG ENOUGH TO NUKE IRAN. Which is sorta what the mullahs are counting on. Arik Sharon had big enough balls. And so did FDR and Truman and Churchill. So you are right Popinjay: this is probably PR/BS designed to send Iran a signal. One they will snicker about and ignore.

UPDATE: Reliapundit adds - MEMEORANDUM has a complete round up. And they now have a link to the TIMES ARTICLE. EXCERPT:
Israeli military commanders believe conventional strikes may no longer be enough to annihilate increasingly well-defended enrichment facilities. Several have been built beneath at least 70ft of concrete and rock.
Exactly what I said above.

THE "CUT & RUN" DEMS NOW PROMISE TO SHUT DOWN ALL OFF-SHORE ENERGY EXPLORATION


DETAILS AT GATEWAY.

The Left either desires we continue to pay through the nose to Middle East oil cartels, or that oil prices go higher.

KATRINA proved that off-shore exploration IS ENTIRELY SAFE: there were NONE - ZERO - ZILCH accidents involving off-shore rigs even though one of the STRONGEST HURRICANES OF ALL TIME ran right through hundreds of them in the Gulf of Mexico. That's why there is NO EXCUSE for disallowing more exploration for oil and gas off ALL THE COASTS OF THE USA.

So why do the Dems oppose it? Because they are post modern Leftists who are basically opposed to industrialism and capitalism. This is the core reason why they oppose energy exploitation, and why they believe that global warming is man-made/a by-product of industrialism and consumerism - WHICH IT IS NOT. (See below.)

The Dems are controlled by Leftists who'd like to see us all consume less, make less, and get taxed MORE. For our own good, of course. Or the common good. Whatever - it's the same collectivist BS.

20TH CENTURY CLIMATE CHANGES CAUSED BY THE SUN

As reported in the National Post (Hat Tip: Tim Blair), Henrik Svensmark, Director of the Centre for Sun-Climate Research at the Danish Space Research Institute, has recently published experimental evidence supporting his 1996 theory that "the sun and the stars could explain most if not all of the warming this century":

Svensmark and his colleague had arrived at their theory after examining data that showed a surprisingly strong correlation between cosmic rays --highspeed atomic particles originating in exploded stars in the Milky Way -- and low-altitude clouds. Earth's cloud cover increased when the intensity of cosmic rays grew and decreased when the intensity declined.

Low-altitude clouds are significant because they especially shield the Earth from the sun to keep us cool. Low cloud cover can vary by 2% in five years, affecting the Earth's surface by as much as 1.2 watts per square metre during that same period. "That figure can be compared with about 1.4 watts per square metre estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the greenhouse effect of all the increase in carbon dioxide in the air since the Industrial Revolution," Dr. Svensmark explained.

The Danish scientists put together several well-established scientific phenomena to arrive at their novel 1996 theory. The sun's magnetic field deflects some of the cosmic rays that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere, and in so doing it also limits the immense amounts of ions and free electrons that the cosmic rays produce. But something had changed in the 20th century: The sun's magnetic field more than doubled in strength, deflecting an extraordinary number of rays. Could the diminution of cosmic rays this century have limited the formation of clouds, making the Earth warmer?

That was a plausible theory. But exactly how cosmic rays might create clouds was a mystery -- an unprovable theory, many said. Some even claimed that it was inconceivable for cosmic rays to influence cloud cover.

To discover a mechanism, a team at the Danish National Space Center assembled by Dr. Svensmark undertook an elaborate laboratory experiment in a reaction chamber the size of a small room. The team duplicated the chemistry of the lower atmosphere by injecting the gases found there in the same proportions, and adding ultraviolet rays to mimic the actions of the sun.

What they found left them agape: A vast number of floating microscopic droplets soon filled the reaction chamber. These were ultra-small clusters of sulphuric acid and water molecules -- the building blocks for cloud condensation nuclei-- that had been catalyzed by the electrons released by cosmic rays.

Read the Whole Thing!

SHE NAMED A FREAKING STREET AFTER HERSELF


'Nuff said.

LITVINENKO: A $30 MILLION MURDER?

According to this source, an unnamed source familiar with the post-mortem examination of Alexander Litvinenko has revealed that the dose of Polonium which killed Alexander Litvinenko would have cost $30 million. Wow, that's an expensive hit, isn't it?

Lends more credence to my theory that the Litvinenko death was not a murder, but was instead the result of a messy smuggling operation by Alexander Litvinenko himself.

UPDATE: The London Times says the dose cost $10 million, and they are still going with the theory that it was a murder. Good luck with that. UPDATE: The Guardian says $20 million.UPDATE: The Australian says $12 million.

Reliapundit adds: Pastorius, it wouldn't actually COST Putin a penny - he could order it just to be taken. And answer me this: How could ANYBODY else get it out of Russia!? Or do you think that Putin's KGB wouldn't notice!? Lugovoi and/or Kovtun and/or Scaramella could EASILY be double agents actually working for Putin. Or do you think that Berezovky bankrolled it because he was DUPED by the Chechens and Litvinenko? Occam's Razor says it was Putin, and that he used polonium because it sends a powerful message. The polonium as suitcase-nuke trigger theory is too complicated and rests on the BELIEF that al Qaeda has one or more in London. ALL the other radioactive components of a nuke are more readily detectable than polonium - and I think that at this point the UK authorities would've fond them if they existed. In fact, polonium is NOT very easy to detect, and this might have led Putin's KGB to think that they'd get away with it.

GUN DEALER IN AUSTRALIA ARRESTED FOR SELLING STOLEN WEAPONS TO TERRORISTS

The Sydney Morning Herald, which reported this, doesn't actually say he's a Muslim, but the name does tell something:
Counter terrorism police have arrested and charged a 28-year-old Sydney gun dealer over the theft of seven rocket launchers from the Australian military allegedly for sale to a major underworld figure and suspected terrorist.

Taha Abdul Rahman was arrested at a house in Leumeah, in Sydney's south-west, early this morning in a joint operation by NSW Counter Terrorism Police, AFP and ASIO. He was charged with 17 offences. Police say Abdul Rahman, 28, supplied five of the Light Anti-Armour Weapons to one of the men arrested in anti-terrorism raids in Sydney last November over a plot to blow up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Lucas Heights nuclear reactor.

[...] The theft of the rocket launchers was revealed exclusively by The Sydney Morning Herald last month. The story triggered a top-level national inquiry by security services into the theft of military weapons including an audit of arms stockpiles. In addition, all use of hand-held rocket launchers by the military has been suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry. "The person who received five (launchers) is currently facing terrorism-related charges on another matter,'' Australian Federal Police (AFP) Assistant Commissioner Frank Prendergast told reporters in Sydney.

The other weapons were supplied to another man who is facing criminal charges not related to terrorism.
It's clear that Muslims cannot be allowed to run businesses as gun merchants, as they're likely to smuggle some of the wares to terrorists under the table, or, as in the case of the suspect here, to steal weapons from the army to give to terrorist gangs. (Via David Frum.)

UPDATE: INDONESIAN JET DISAPPEARANCE... it's still missing!


According to this report from the BBC, THEY STILL HAVEN'T FOUND THE WRECKAGE. NOW, THE USA IS GOING TO HELP TRY TO LOCATE IT.

More and more this is looking to me like the result of a jihadoterrorist mid-air explosion over water.

An explosion over water would explain the suddenness of the disappearance and the lack of any debris - or evidence of exactly how it was done.

As I posted before, perhaps the jihadis did this in Indonesia as a test for future attacks in the West. This would also explain why they have NOT taken "credit."

UPDATE - from THE SCOTSMAN:
A PLANE with 102 people aboard that disappeared in high winds over Indonesian waters twice changed course, an official said, as authorities widened the search for the Boeing 737. A US National Transportation Safety Board team arrived to help investigate the apparent crash of Adam Air Flight KI-574, which disappeared from radar screens on Monday near the Sulawesi coastal town of Majene without issuing a mayday. "Whatever happened to the plane, it was likely rapid and catastrophic," said Patrick Smith, a US-based pilot and aviation commentator, pointing to a possible massive structural failure due to metal fatigue or an onboard explosion.
YUP: EXPLOSION. Just like I said... Stay tuned...

THE BOTTOM-LINE ON THE "KERRY LONELY" PHOTO FLAP

From GATEWAY.

THE UNDENIABLE DHIMMITUDE OF THE FRENCH LEFT

As I mentioned on October 2 last year, a French philosophy teacher, Robert Redeker, wrote an article that was critical of Islam. It was published in the mainstream French newspaper Le Figaro. It led to a torrent of threats against him from Muslims, which led to him leaving his home under police protection.

But was the reaction of other people in the nation of Voltaire? A defence of Redeker's right to free speech? A recent summary of the response below:
"But the vast majority of responses, even when couched as defenses of the right to free speech, were in fact hostile to the philosophy teacher. The Communist mayor of Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, echoed by the head of Redeker's school, deplored the fact that he had included his affiliation at the end of the article. France's two largest teachers' unions, both of them socialist, stressed that "they did not share Redeker's convictions." The leading leftist human-rights organizations went much farther, denouncing his "irresponsible declarations" and "putrid ideas."
... Among members of the media, Redeker was scolded for articulating his ideas so incautiously. On the radio channel Europe 1, Jean-Pierre Elkabach invited the beleaguered teacher to express his "regret." The editorial board of Le Monde, France's newspaper of record, characterized Redeker's piece as "excessive, misleading, and insulting." It went so far as to call his remarks about Muhammad "a blasphemy," implying that the founder of Islam must be treated even by non-Muslims in a non-Muslim country as an object not of investigation but of veneration.
Above post cross-posted from Tongue Tied.

Reliapundit adds: When people are afraid to speak their mind - they are slaves. The jihadists seek to enslave ALL of us to their ideology; they have succeeded already with the French Left - the people who support Segolene Royal.

SIX JIHADISTS KILLED IN THE PHILIPPINES

THE PHILIPPINES?!?! BUT THAT'S SO FAR FROM GAZA, AND BAGHDAD?!?

NYTIMES/AP:
Philippine troops on Saturday killed six members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group, including one wanted by the United States for involvement in the kidnapping of Americans, a military spokesman said. Philippine navy and army special forces troops backed by marines clashed with a group of rebels in waters off Panglima Sugala, southern Tawi-Tawi province Saturday, killing all six gunmen on a boat, said Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro. One of those killed, Judnam Jamalul, is among 17 Abu Sayyaf leaders and members who are wanted by the United States for involvement in attacks on American citizens.

Many of these attacks occurred on Clinton's watch. This is just more proof that global jihad has nothing to do with Bush or Iraq or Israel, and everything to do with the jihadists desire to reestablish The Caliphate under Wahhabist sharia.

CALDERON'S ANTI-DRUG SWEEP MAKES GRIM DISCOVERY


BBC:
Nine bodies have been found in a mass grave in Uruapan, in the western Mexican state of Michoacan. A state official said the bodies were found buried with their feet and hands tied and their mouths covered with tape in a warehouse in the city. President Felipe Calderon sent 7,000 soldiers to Michoacan state last month in an attempt to curb drug violence.

Drugs gangs have been blamed for more than 2,000 murders in Mexico last year, including some 500 in Michoacan state. ... President Calderon, who was sworn in last month, has vowed to curb drug-related violence.
BRAVO CALDERON! These bold military actions may eventually do the trick. The Leftist candidate - Obrador, who declared himself "the legitimate president of Mexico and held his own swearing in ceremony! - wouldn't have dared to undertake these bold military actions against the drug cartels in Michoacan, (and Tijuana); Leftist politicians like Obrador, Morales and Chavez blame the demand-side and generally seek legalization of the cultivation of the drug crops. At best the Left would seek to continue to treat the ant-drug war the way they treat the anti-jihad war: with feeble law enforcement tactics.

[Note this is our third post on this matter; TAB will continue to follow this and other stories of Calderon's bold progress.]

Friday, January 05, 2007

THE CUT & RUN REDS OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY HAVE OUTTED THEMSELVES!


Top Democrats Oppose More Troops in Iraq

As President Bush prepares to present his new strategy on Iraq to the American people, Democratic Congressional leaders said today they will fight any approach that calls for deploying more United States troops there.
QUOTE:
"Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror."
Running away - on a predetermined and public time-table, no less! - will send the same BAD signal we sent to our enemies in 1975. It is cowardly, It is wrong. It is typical Democrat policy. More HERE.

BTW: AJ Stata aptly calls this Congressional Democrat policy "OUR CONTRACT WITH AL QAEDA." Heh.

SOMALIA PROVES THAT IT'S BETTER IF WE FIGHT THEM "OVER THERE"



Bush has been right all along:

Bush has repeatedly said that we are fighting the enemy over there - (meaning Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, the Horn of Africa, etc.) - so we don't have to fight them over here.

ABC's THE BLOTTER (hat tip DRUDGE) reports PROOF that this is true for the USA, (and just as true for other nations in the West - in the Free World):

A senior official in the Somali government's new Ministry of the Interior tolzad ABC News government forces had recovered "dozens of foreign passports," including several American passports, on the bodies of al Qaeda fighters killed in combat between forces affiliated with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Ethiopian forces in Somalia.

These jihadists did NOT become radicalized in Somalia - or because of Iraq, (or Afghanistan). Like the 9/11 perp's, they were likely radicalized long before OSLO collapsed.

If we were not fighting them in Iraq and elsewhere, then they'd be free to attack us here - as many others already have. And every one we kill makes us a little safer.

Let's kill more or these jihadists. Let's kill as many as we have to to get them to unconditionally surrender. Let's kill them all if we have to. FDR would've.

NICK GRIFFIN, THE BNP, AND HOLOCAUST DENIAL

We had an interesting discussion here at this blog last week about whether the British National Party (BNP) is a racist party or not. I made a guilt-by-association argument that they were in fact, racist because they accept advertising for White Power books and records on their website. Reliapundit made the argument that, instead, the BNP is simply a party which is interested in keeping Britain ethnically British.

I stated that I am sypathetic to such an argument, but I don't buy it, because of the aforementioned guilt by association. My point was, admittedly, weakly supported. So, I've decided to dig a bit deeper into the history of Nick Griffin and the BNP. It ain't pretty:
Even by the standards of the extreme Right, he's (Nick Griffin) something of an extremist. He raged at David Irving when the fascist historian admitted that the Nazis had killed a few Jews (although not, for I wouldn't wish to offend the litigious Irving, in the mythical gas chambers of Auschwitz). The modest concession was a shameful betrayal of Holocaust denial, said Griffin. 'True Revisionists will not be fooled by this new twist to the sorry tale of the Hoax of the Twentieth Century.'

Griffin's mentors are from the terrorist wing of Italian fascism. He's a supporter of Colonel Gadaffi. In the 1990s, after transient success in the East End of London, he defined the party's alleged appeal and philosophy thus: 'The electors of Millwall did not back a Post-Modernist Rightist Party, but what they perceived to be a strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan "Defend Rights for Whites" with well-directed boots and fists. When the crunch comes, power is the product of force and will, not of rational debate.'

Rationality certainly has no place in the BNP's account books. The party's treasurer, Michael Newland, resigned in disgust after Griffin used party funds to add an extension to his house. West Midlands fascists who complained that calling in interior designers was not the most effective way to create a new fatherland were purged. Yet for all his hard words about boots and fists, Griffin has become a touch post-modern. He saw the gains made by Haider in Austria and the Armani-clad 'post-fascists' in Italy and decided to rebrand the party.

The policy of expelling blacks and Asians from Britain and the Hitler-worship were hidden from public view and Griffin tried to become a semi-respectable politician with broad appeal. The partial realisation of his dream tells you all you need to know about the state of British politics.
Yes, it sure does. Brits who join the BNP simply because they agree with their perceived position vis a vis Muslim immigration need to know they are throwing their lot in with a Jew-hating, Ghaddafi-supporting party of proud fascists.The kinder, gentler BNP is only a ruse. The mask will come off when they attain real power, and then, Britain will find that they have elected their version of Hitler.

Reliapundit adds: I do not know enough about this BNP to have a good opinion one way or another. I do know that the OBSERVER is very LEFT-WING, and I would no more take what they say about the BNP to be true, then I would what the DU - or Reid & Pelosi or Dean or Franks or McKinney - say about our president.

And I VERY strongly believe that unless and until either Labor or the Tories take a REAL hard-line against islamicization, that the BNP will grow in popularity REGARDLESS of any unsavory or even racist views they hold on ancillary matters. IOW: if you really want to prevent either the Muslims or the BNP from taking over the UK, then you have to agitate for a much more robust anti-islamicization/pro-British policy from either Labor or the Tories. The current PC/ostriche path of both of the "mainstream" parties will not halt their slide into Eurabia.

******* UPDATE - from PASTORIUS:

From the Anti-Defamation League:
UPDATE
Over three hundred white supremacists gathered in New Orleans for the "2005 European American Conference," convened May 20 - 22 by David Duke. The theme of the conference was the unification of Europeans and Americans in opposition to Jews, who were demonized as blood suckers and parasites who dominate media and government around the world.

A significant number of politically affiliated European racists addressed the crowd, including Nick Griffin and Simon Darby from the far-right British National Party, Karl Richter and Marcus Haverkamp from Germany's far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), Vavra Suk and Lennart Berg of Sweden, Jean-Michel Girard of France's far-right National Front, and Deirdre Fields of South Africa.

It remains unclear whether these disparate American and international white supremacist groups will be able coordinate their anti-Jewish rhetoric and cooperate in their activities, but the simple fact of their participation in Duke's New Orleans meeting is a significant development in the world of white supremacy and anti-Semitism.
Go read the whole thing.

Reliapundit adds: You make a much better case for the racism of Griffin and his BNP, but I stand by my final comment (above): Both Labor and the Tories have abdicated and are not adequately preventing the islamicization of the UK. Neither is as tough as the Danish are under Rasmussen. As long as both the mainstream parties in the UK fail to adequately defend the UK, then people will gravitate to the BNP. This may very well end up the same way as it did in Weimar Germany - where anti-Bolshevism trumped fear of Nazism. All the more reason we should be pressuring both Labor and the Tories to get tough, (and not harp on the BNP, which is after all not a major factor. Yet.)

THE INFIDEL BLOGGERS ALLIANCE RADIO SHOW


"And now, coming to you live from a nuclear submarine in the Persian Gulf, it's the Infidel Bloggers Alliance Radio Show."

Heh. Tonight the Fu2rman and I recorded a new version of the Infidel Bloggers Alliance Radio Show. We began with an interview (satire) with Dominique Pussois, anti-war activist and head of the United Nations Council of Unity, Neutrality, and Tolerance (UN-CUNT). Dominique declared to us that he is a "Pussyfist" and explained his philsophy of appeasement. It was very enlightening.

Then, we did a very serious interview with Dr. Paul Williams, the noted author and Terrorism-Expert. We talked with Dr. Williams about the possibility that the Polonium which killed former Soviet-spy Litvinenko was being smuggled into Britain in order to maintain an actual nuclear bomb. Indications are that this is true, because police have recently, according to Dr. Williams, ordered 80,000 special radiation body bags. Terrifying.

blog radio

GERMANS NEED HATE SPEECH -- AGAIN

From Davidsmedienkritik critic we read:

In the introductory headline to a series on American history that the publication has had online since at least 2002, Stern magazine (one of Germany's most widely-read weeklies) writes:

"The History of the USA: No nation has ever dominated the globe like the USA. And its people could care less about the rest of humanity."

Really? Is that why the USA sacrificed the lives of hundreds of thousands of its sons and daughters to liberate Germany from National Socialism? Is that why the United States spent billions to defend and rebuild West German democracy for decades on end? Is that why the United States helped Germans to establish the very democracy that guarantees German journalists the freedom to make outrageous, dehumanizing, sweeping anti-American statements like the one above?....

Now for some bad news: This won't end anytime soon. Stern's readers can't go without a steady diet of America-baiting. Hatred is a part of their ideological existence and they expect the magazine to deliver the goods.
America seems to have replaced the Jews as the hate-object of socialistic Germans. It fits in with a recent post of mine elsewhere: Americans as the new Jews. The whole post that I have excerpted above is well worth reading.

(Technical note: The original German in "Stern" reads: "Dem Volk is der Rest der Menscheit egal", which I would translate as: "To the American people the rest of humanity is a matter of indifference". The translation I have quoted above could be seen as ambiguous)

Above post crossposted from Tongue Tied

WILL BRITAIN BAN HUMAN-ANIMAL CHIMERAS?


BBC:
UK scientists planning to mix human and animal cells in order to research cures for degenerative diseases fear their work will be halted. They accuse the body that grants licences for embryo research, the HFEA, of bowing to government pressure if it fails to consider their applications. Ministers proposed outlawing such work after unfavourable public opinion.

... The creation of hybrid human-animal embryos was first suggested as a way of addressing the shortage of human eggs available for research.
But the HFEA says it is unresolved whether this type of controversial work is permissible under existing laws - or even whether it falls under the HFEA's jurisdiction to grant a licence. The resulting embryos made are more than 99% human, with a small animal component. Opponents say this is tampering with nature and is unethical.
TAB first discussed this issue HERE. I think people who feel that there is nothing wrong with HARVESTING human eggs and then blending their human DNA with the DNA from cows or pigs or mice are amoral, or morally impaired. These are the same folks who see nothing wrong with abortion or euthanasia. WHY? Because they view humans as merely a collection of protoplasm momentarily animated by a culturally derived ego. They don't believe in the sanctity of human life. The believe humans are soulless. Perhaps they are projecting their feeling about themselves?

More on chimeras HERE.

THE LT DAN BAND SALUTES AMERICAN HEROES


Received last month, via email, with links and a graphic added:
We just got back from the 3rd Annual Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Road to Recovery Conference. The girls and I missed the first three days of the conference due to classes and finals, but Dave said the speakers and the sessions were unbelievable.

We all were able to attend the closing banquet, where Gary Sinise provided the
entertainment. What an awesome guy! You could just see how much he enjoyed playing for these wounded and disabled heroes....
Read the rest.

Reliapundit adds: Sinise is GREAT. Here's what he writes at the band's web-page:
... our troops and their families are making sacrifices each day so that we can continue going about our daily lives enjoying the precious freedoms that we have here in this country.

There are many ways that you can help them out or let them know that they are not forgotten. Truly one of the best things I do is reaching out to these fine men and women. Especially in this dangerous time we live in. They do their jobs voluntarily and we are fortunate to have people who, knowing how dangerous that work can be, are still willing to do what is necessary to defend our nation.
Right on!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

WHY DID BUSH APPOINT A NAVY MAN TO LEAD CENTCOM?


NYTIMES:
President Bush has decided to name Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus as the top American military commander in Iraq, part of a broad revamping of the military team that will carry out the administration’s new Iraq strategy, administration officials said Thursday. In addition to the promotion of General Petraeus, who will replace Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the choice to succeed Gen. John P. Abizaid as the head of the Central Command is expected to be Adm. William J. Fallon, who is the top American military officer in the Pacific, officials said.
Petraeus was in charge of training Iraqis. This might indicate that making them defend themselves is our highest priority. GOOD.

BUT WHY APPOINT A NAVY MAN TO RUN CENTCOM - after all.... all the troops in iraq are Army and Marines.

Could it really be because the NAVY would lead any military move - like an embargo - against Iran, and also launch any preemptive military attack on IRAN? I think so.The Navy would likely be our lead force against Iran: The Gulf Cooperation Council plans to launch its largest ever military exercise:
GCC sources said the six Gulf Arab members would conduct an exercise by the regional Peninsula Shield force over the next two months. They said the exercise, hosted by Oman, would contain air, ground and naval components in the Gulf region. "The exercise is designed to begin a serious effort at interoperability and regional defense," a GCC source said. "We have been planning this exercise carefully with our allies."
The source said Britain and the United States have been advising Peninsula Shield on the forthcoming exercise. The six GCC militaries employ mostly U.S. and British weapons platforms and also receive training from London and Washington.
In fact, this will be the largest naval exercise ever run over there. (More here - and more HERE. And here.)

Complete round up on the personnel change HERE at MEMEORANDUM.

1/11/07 UPDATE: Welcome AMERICAN THINKER readers.

BTW: if you check the time-stamps you'll see that TAB was FIRST to publish this reading of the Fallon appointment - before anyone else in the blog0sphere - or Ralph Peters.


WAS THE INDONESIAN JETLINER BLOWN UP BY JIHADOTERRORISTS IN A TEST?

IC-WALES: Indonesian jetliner ‘no distress signals sent'
A plane missing over Indonesia with 102 people on board did not send out distress signals or report mechanical problems before disappearing, a top aviation official said today, as search teams intensified their hunt for the Boeing 737.
SO/SD:
An hour after Adam Air Flight KI-574 took off on New Year's Day with 102 passengers and crew for what should have been a short hop between islands, the pilot reported heavy winds. Then, the plane disappeared, seemingly into thin air.
HERALD (UK):
"We know nothing, whether it disintegrated in midair, flew into a storm or there were technical problems," said Nicholas Ionides, managing editor for Flight International Magazine in Asia. A top aviation official said the Adam Air plane that left Java island on Monday for Manado on Sulawesi island did not issue distress signals or complain of mechanical problems. The statements contradicted earlier reports and capped days of confusion.
If this was not a equipment malfunction, or weather related, then it MAYBE it was an act of JIHADOTERROR? But... if it was an act of jihadoterror, why would jihadoterrorists choose to attack a jetliner within Indonesia, and why wouldn't they take "credit"?

Well, maybe it was a TEST? Maybe the jihadoterrorists have developed a new way to smuggle explosives on board, and maybe this was a test? That would explain why they have NOT taken "credit": they don't want to tip off the authorities.

COULTER EXPOSES THE LARGEST SLEEPER CELL IN THE USA!


I have called them a Fifth Column, and exposed them as willing collaborators of the jihadists in my series called BIRDS OF A FEATHER; (there are 24 posts in that series - Google "birds" here at TAB and read a few).

It's why I have written over and over again that to defeat the jihadist enemy abroad we have to defeat the Leftist enemy at home.

Coulter makes the same point - in her most recent and entirely factually accurate, iron-clad column: The Democratic Party: A Vast Sleeper Cell.

She retells the story of Nixon, Watergate, Ford and the Democrat Party's betrayal of our South Vietnamese allies - a betrayal which directly led to genocide in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. And also to the fall of Iran to jihadism, and of Afghanistan to the USSR.


RTWT.

REPORT: AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI DEAD


Just breaking on Pajamas Media. (Could be a huge journalistic coup for Roger and the gang.)

A source close to Pajamas Media has learned that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has apparently succumbed to the cancer that hospitalized him last month, as exclusively reported by Pajamas Media, at age 67. He has been Iran’s most powerful figure since replacing Ayatollah Khomeini in the role of Supreme Leader in 1989.

UPDATE: Not surprisingly, reports out of Iran are sketchy at best. PJMedia has spoken to the son of the late Shah who is still trying to confirm the report. More at Jim-Rose.com.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

BBC PREDICTS 2007 WILL BE HOTTEST EVER!

THE BBC ASSERTS THIS HAS BEEN PREDICTED BY THE MET OFFICE. (MORE ON THEM HERE.)

PERHAPS IT WILL DEPEND ON WHERE THEY STICK THE THERMOMETER:
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE IS ALREADY HAVING ONE OF THE COLDEST EVER. HERE, TOO.
THINGS AVERAGE OUT. THEY ALWAYS HAVE; THEY ALWAYS WILL.

BTW: YOU KNOW WHERE I THINK THEY OUGHTTA STICK THEIR THERMOMETERS!?

IS A NUCLEAR WEAPONS ATTACK AGAINST BRITAIN IMMINENT?

I believe it is highly possible that terrorists, in Britain, are in possession of a nuclear bomb and are getting ready to use it. Here's why:



Back on Friday, December 15, 2006, I wrote a post in which I speculated that the death of former Soviet-spy Alexander Litvinenko was not a murder, but was instead, the result of his smuggling of Polonium 210 for use in a nuclear attack against the UK:


Nuclear weapons are, in some sense, unstable; they are said to decay over time, and become ineffective, if not properly maintained.

Now, I would imagine that not all the parts of a nuclear weapon decay at the same rate. For instance, we can assume the shell - which is probably made of metal or plastic - does not decay rapidly. So, it is something within the bomb which decays. Of course, heavy metals themselves are unstable and emit radiation, so it could be that more uranium or plutonium needs to be added to the core periodically. But, I don't have enough information to know if this is the case.



Here's what I do know, from what I have read about the Litvinenko case. Polonium 210 is the trigger that starts the chain reaction within the uranium or
plutonium core in a nuclear weapon. In other words, you have a core of plutonium or uranium and you need a trigger which is packed around the core, which itself explodes with enough force to compress the plutonium to the point that a chain reaction will ensue.


Could it be that Polonium 210 is the unstable element of a nuclear weapon which needs maintanence? Could it be that our Muslim friend Litvinenko was smuggling polonium into Britain so that they could bring an already existing nuclear device back into working form?




Now, when I wrote that post, I received some negative comments about my seemingly wild flight of fancy. Turns out that I am, more than likely, correct in my speculation. From Terrorism expert, Paul Williams (written December 6, 2006) whom I will be interviewing on my radio show this coming week:



The death of Alexander Litvinenko by radiological poisoning points to the possibility that the former Soviet spy may have been involved with Islamic terrorists in the preparation of tactical nuclear weapons for use in the jihad against the United States and its NATO allies.




Litvenenko, a former KGB agent, died in London on November 23 after ingesting a microscopic amount of polonium-210. In a deathbed statement, Litvinenko blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning - - an accusation which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.



Litvinenko, who was born an orthodox Christian, was a convert to Islam with close ties to the Chechen rebels. His last words consisted of his desire to be buried “according to Muslim tradition.”


In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to suitcase nukes that were developed by U.S. and Soviet forces during the Cold War. Reliable sources, including Hans Blix of the United Nation, have confirmed that bin Laden purchased several of these devises from the Chechen rebels in 1996.

According to Sharif al-Masri and other al Qaeda operatives who have been taken into custody, several of these weapons have been forward deployed to the United States in preparation for al Qaeda’s next attack on American soil.

This brings us to the mysterious case of Litvinenko. The neutron source or “triggers” of the suitcase nukes are composed of beryllium-9 and polonium-210. When these two elements are combined, the alpha particle is absorbed by the nucleus of the beryllium causing it to decay by emitting a neutron. Such “triggers” were a feature of early nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Soviet stockpiles.

Polonium-210 has a half-life of 138 days, necessitating the replacement of the triggers every six months. (Read the rest.)
To add to your paranoia, I will also point out that several days ago it was revealed that British security forces are buying large amounts of special body bags, and radiation suits in preparation for what they termed a "dirty bomb attack."

But, the thing about "dirty bombs", or, in other words, radiological bombs is that as awful as they sound, they are simply a regular bomb with radiological material wrapped around the explosion device. So, in other words, the blast area of a radiological bomb would be no bigger than that of a regular bomb, which, in turn means that it is highly unlikely that any more people would die from a radiolical bomb than would from a conventional non-nuclear bomb.

In fact, if one compares them to Palestinian bombs which uses nails as shrapnel, it is possible that people would simply die a slower death after getting hit with the radiological material, than they would having gotten hit with nails.

A radiological, or "dirty bomb" would likely only cause a few hundred deaths, so why is Britain preparing for many thousands?

Now, to heap even more paranoia on you, please understand that the past few weeks, some rather alarming warnings have been coming out of the various parts of Britain's intelligence community. For instance, London's Chief of Police, Ian Blair recently was quoted saying:
‘It is a far graver threat in terms of civilians than either the Cold War or the Second World War,’ he said. ‘It’s a much graver threat than that posed by Irish Republican terrorism.’
ABC News has learned that al Qaeda operatives in the greater London area are being encouraged to “strike during the Christian holidays,” according to intelligence and law enforcement sources…

ABC News sources in North America and the U.K. say that British authorities are constantly on the run, breaking up plots on a near weekly basis that have reached the pre-operational phase.Sources in Britain add that at least one “pivotal…al Qaeda U.K.” operative has been detained during the past two weeks, and others may — at least temporarily — be in custody.
Police are trying to trace a gang of British Muslims who are thought to have returned to plot terror attacks in Britain after being trained abroad for more than a year by al-Qaeda, Nine Britons, all said to be in their twenties, were among a group of 12 Western recruits groomed by al-Qaeda at a secret camp near the Afghan border to set up new terror cells in London and other Western capitals.

Police do not know the real identities of this gang, who are known as the “English brothers” because of their shared language. As well as nine Britons, they include two Norwegians and an Australian who were smuggled into the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan in October 2005.They are believed to have been under the command of an al-Qaeda veteran suspected of training some of the Britons accused of the alleged plot to blow up passenger planes flying to the US from Heathrow airport in the summer. ...

Intelligence sources in Pakistan said that the men are reported to have joined Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan in attacks on Nato troops. The sources told The Times that the “brothers” were given religious indocrination as well as lessons on how to assemble suicide bomb vests and improvised explosive devices.

The sources are reported to have been escorted to the al-Qaeda camp by Adam Gadahn, a Californian indicted by the US authorities as an al-Qaeda terrorist, who introduced the “brothers” to their tutors.
When police release such specific information about potential suspects, we can assume it means they have lost control of the investigation and are, instead, attempting to scare the suspects into not acting by appearing to be within striking distance. Simply put, they would not release the information, if they knew where the "English brothers were, both physically and in terms of their ongoing terror plot.

Here are some questions to ponder: What date did Litvinenko bring that Polonium into Britain? And, when is 138 days after that? I would say it looks like the UK is in a heap of trouble.

_____________________________________________________
Reliapundit adds
: Fascinating post Pastorius - and quite possibly true.


I only wonder: What explains Berezovsky's interest in this? Why would he assist the enemy to blow up a nuclear device in England, his home? If Berezovsky and the Chechens really wanted to hurt Russia, then they would blow it up there, no? I think so. And how could the polonium get out of Russia WITHOUT Putin's KGB knowing? I do NOT think it could have.

And, why would Berezovsky be paying for Scaramella's lawyers? I only think he would do so if Scaramella was working for him, and if Scaramella threatened to out him, (like EH Hunt threatened Nixon).

MY BOTTOM LINE (as of now): I feel that Putin was behind this assassination. But if he wasn't, then I think it is more likely that Berezovsky was - only to step in and buy up all the real estate he could after a dirty bomb exploded. And he intended to blame it on the Chechens - YUP: double cross them. I think a nuclear device is the least likely of these three possibilities. But it is certainly possible. And, I sure hope that the British authorities have "gamed" the facts the way you have: IT'S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. Well done!

US GOVERNMENT OPPOSES BUILDING JEWISH COMMUNITY IN JORDAN VALLEY

Another problem with the Dubya administration that may stem from the same mentality as what was spoken about in the previous topic is that they deny the right of Jews to live in the Jordan Valley. I can believe the European Union being against this, but when you see even the US administration doing that, you know something's wrong there too. From the Jerusalem Post (via Zionism and Israel News Archives):
Amid protests from the United States and the European Union, the Defense Ministry is reconsidering its approval of a new Jordan Valley community located over the Green Line, The Jerusalem Post learned on Sunday. The government and the Defense Ministry initially downplayed last week's decision to allow the construction of 30 homes for Gaza evacuees in Maskiot.

A government source told the Post then that the decision was merely "adjusting" the status of a plot of state land where settlement has been authorized since 1981. The small community, which is located off an isolated road in the Jordan Valley, has been populated on and off since 1982. Currently, it is home to a few permanent residents and a small pre-army academy that houses 50 Orthodox men in fewer than a dozen small white buildings.

The new homes would be constructed adjacent to the existing structures and would more than triple the number of structures on the site. But after the EU and the US said the initiative violated Israel's international commitments with respect to the West Bank, Defense Minister Amir Peretz decided to reconsider the decision, according to sources in the Defense Ministry. Discussions within the government are also taking place considering whether to go ahead with the project.
The EU and US mentioned "Israel's international commitments with respect to the West Bank". Let us be clear here. The only "commitment" involved here is the so-called road map, but the Arab side, that is, the "Palestinian Authority", was obliged to disarm all the militias in its zones or territory before Israel was obliged to do anything. The palestinian authority is far from disarming any militias and has openly said that it will not do so, and is probably incapable of doing so. Therefore, Israel is not bound by any "road map" obligations.

And putting aside for a moment that Peretz is a bad politician, should pro-Israeli citizens of America be tolerating this? If not, then you should contact the Dubya administration and the State Dept. about this at president@whitehouse.gov and secretary@state.gov.

DUBYA KOWTOWS TO CAIR

If you've got the stomach for this, the Dubya administration has been pandering to CAIR on issues involving transportation security. As if Chicago's O'Hare airport doing that wasn't bad enough. Andrew McCarthy says:
On a weekend when the Bush administration achieved a new CAIR-friendly low, a prominent Democrat, following the lead of other prominent Democrats, distanced herself very publicly from the unsavory Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The Transportation Security Administration is the executive agency created after 9/11 to protect American travelers. Yet, Americans viewing its website this weekend could not have felt very protected. Aghast, instead, would have been the proper response to this posting. As if snuggling up to CAIR, coercing our law-enforcement and intelligence professionals to endure CAIR’s Islamic “sensitivity training,” and inviting CAIR to weigh in on our nation’s foreign policy were not enough, we now have a Bush-administration agency publishing an unedited CAIR press release on publicly subsidized, official government Internet space.

In this instance, right under TSA’s emblem and a memorial banner depicting the late President Gerald R. Ford, Americans were treated to a news announcement beneath the big blue headline, “CAIR Welcomes TSA Hajj Sensitivity Training.” If you have the stomach for it, compare this TSA posting to the official CAIR press release from which it cribbed. They are identical.
Read it all. What's amazing is that, while Dubya's been doing this, the Dems by contrast have been waking up. But one has yet to wonder if it's all for political gain. Either way, this is very serious, and people with common sense must start paying serious attention.

KEITH ELLISON TO USE SPECIAL KORAN

From an item which appeared in the "Style Section" of the January 3, 2007 Washington Post:
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran -- especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values. Yet the holy book at tomorrow's ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We've learned that the new congressman -- in a savvy bit of political symbolism -- will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

"He wanted to use a Koran that was special," said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison's 5th District, was happy to help. Jefferson's copy is an English translation by George Sale published in the 1750s; it survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of Jefferson's collection and has his customary initialing on the pages. This isn't the first historic book used for swearing-in ceremonies -- the Library has allowed VIPs to use rare Bibles for inaugurations and other special occasions....
Thomas Jefferson was noted for his research on all religions. He could also have read the Koran for the purpose of doing research related to the motivation of the Barbary Pirates. It is unlikely that Mr. Ellison will mention the following when he holds that special Koran in his photo-op ritual:
Jefferson was always reluctant to reveal his religious beliefs to the public, but at times he would speak to and reflect upon the public dimension of religion... [...] ...[A]s he writes to William Short on October 31, 1819, he was convinced that the fragmentary teachings of Jesus constituted the "outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of man."...
In contrast, Mr. Ellison does not hesitate in proclaiming his religious preferences. See "Ellison: Muslim Activism As Part Of Allah's Plan."

SCOTTISH NATIONALISM VERSUS PALESTINIAN FRAUD

Michael Medved talks about the sharp differences between Scottish nationalism with its very rich history, and the Big Lie of there ever having been a "palestinian people". It's a column well worth reading in full.

THE $100 LAPTOP: WILL THIS TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE HUMANITY?

A very interesting project, to provide relatively inexpensive laptop computers to millions of young people in developing nations, is nearing completion. Of course, this is a brilliant move on the part of the electronics industry as it will fuel market growth for decades.

The system, based upon a new user-interface, may eventually become a threat Microsoft's dominance of the software industry - this issue has or will be discussed in other forums.

We mustn't ignore the consequenses that the dissemination of this information technology will have for the recipients, and our global society. Like any tool, these laptops could facilitate a huge positive transformation - or they could be coopted by enemies of freedom and democracy.

Reliapundit adds: IMHO: access to the marketplace of ideas is good; if with these laptops they gain access to the WWW, then it WILL have a good effect. Which is why tyrannical regimes - like Iran and China and Cuba - hamper free speech and access to the WWW. The distributors of these laptops ought to make unfettered access to the WWW a precondition of their distribution.

BLOGS+GOOGLE = INFLUENCE

The small readership of most blogs would strongly suggest that no blogs other that the top three or four could possibly have much influence on anything. That however overlooks something: Google and other search engines. Because they are heavily interlinked (well over 1,000 other blogs link to my main one) blogs tend to have a high page-ranking in response to any search. That means that what blogs say on any given topic tends to pop up on the first page of any set of search results.

And who are big users of searches? Journalists. Like most people they Google their own name and they also of course Google any topic they are "researching". Googling is a lot easier that getting out of your chair and going to look in person at what you are talking about. So what blogs say tends to get picked up by journalists (and Right-wing radio commentators too) and, in their constant search for something new to report, the blog-origin information or perspective may rapidly find its way into what they write or say. They may not like what the blog says but they like being "scooped" by other journalists even less.

So it is not mainly a matter of blogs and the MSM competing. What has developed is a symbiosis between blogs and the MSM.

I had an amusing example of how blogs affect journalists recently. My Greenie Watch blog usually gets only about 400 hits a day so you might think that it is one of those many blogs that are destined to flower in the desert, forever unnoticed by almost anyone. Yet it is not so. I get all sorts of email from people and organizations I mention in it. The amusing example: On October 4, 2005, I put up there a post that had a good laugh at a delightfully-named British journalist called Andrew Buncombe (pronounced "bunkum"). It mocked the old polar bear scare that he was doing his best to promote in "The Independent", a very "Green" British mainstream newspaper.

Recently, however, the Bush administration threw the Greenies a bone by commissioning a report into whether the bears were "endangered" or not. This was hailed as a great triumph by Greenies, and Buncombe was one of those elated. So what was one of the first things he did when he learnt of the new move? He emailed me suggesting that I now owed him an apology for the bad things I had previously said about him! He had obviously been stewing for over a year in response to my comments and took the first opportunity he had to shoot back at me! Commissioning a report into an allegation was a very small triumph but Buncombe clutched at it like a drowning man to save his self-esteem!

So whether journalists just google their own name or the topic they are writing about, they do read what is on blogs and they do take notice of what they read there. Whether it just generates heartburn in them or leads them to follow up the matter in their own articles depends on their intellectual quality, of course.

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

LIBERTY IS THE ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH ...

... AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IS HOW POVERTY IS DIMINISHED.

DR. SANITY (commenting on a column by Thomas Sowell):
... poverty has a cure. But for the left--those "progressives" that Sowell identifies, to embrace that cure would require letting go their death-grip on an ideology whose economic redistribution plans have repeatedly been shown to be catastrophically ineffective and oppressive in the real world. ... the alleviation of poverty is directly linked to economic freedom. The more liberty; the more people are free to pursue their own happiness, the less poverty. ... The freest economies have a per-capita income of $29,219, more than twice that of the "mostly free" at $12,839, and more than four times that of the "mostly unfree." It is economic freedom that is the true cure for poverty. Not taxes. Not regulation. Not government control of the economy and redistribution of wealth; but capitalism.

... One cannot escape noticing that the intellectual trend in the West is to continually bash capitalism, business, and free trade; while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of them.




Our academics rail against business. Our government constantly seeks to control it. Our youth are propagandized to death about its evils. Popular culture refrains from painting Islamofascists as the villians in movies out of political correctness, but does not hesitate to make big businessmen evil and grandiose.




One harmful result of this sorry situation is that there are few people--even among those who stalwartly defend the free market, who understand and appreciate the essential morality of capitalism.





The foundation of capitalism is human freedom in its most classical, liberal tradition. .
..



Redistributing wealth--the method of choice promulgated by the political left--is a scam that so-called "progressive" con artists have played for many decades now. What they actually do is redistribute poverty because their goal of the scam, as Sowell brilliantly notes, is to give themselves "sweeping powers to control other people's lives, in the name of curing the ills of society."



Scratch a progressive leftist, and you will see that underneath the caring, compassionate exterior he or she presents to the world, is the con artist/tyrant whose primary desire is control over others.
Reliapundit: FREE PEOPLE ARE WHAT CONSTITUTE A FREE MARKET - ANY MARKET: WOOL; COTTON; OIL; DOLLARS; GOLD; STOCKS. WHEN YOU INTERFERE WITH A FREE MARKET IN ORDER TO PREDETERMINE OUTCOMES, THEN YOU ARE LIMITING FREEDOM AND GUARANTEEING SKEWED, INEFFICIENT, AND UNSUSTAINABLE RESULTS.

Free people pursuing their own happiness are more productive and produce things - goods and services - of better value than do people limited by elites. Cars, clothes, food - anything - produced freely and sold and bought freely is going to be better, more satisfying, and of a truer real value than the same types of things made un-freely. Competition breeds improvement and better value.

Poor people have a lower standard of living than richer people because they don't have the means to consume more goods and more services they want - or better goods and services. To make poor people richer we need to produce more wealth not redistribute the wealth already created. To create more wealth we need to have as much liberty and free trade in all things as possible. Artificial controls on prices or wages or om stock or currency valuation has always and will always only distort real values and retard improvements, innovations and incentives. And this makes economies falters, and increases poverty. Freedom is the answer, not controls - however well-intended.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

CALDERON CONTINUES TO AGGRESSIVELY USE THE MILITARY TO COMBAT DRUG SMUGGLING

WE FIRST RELATED THIS LAST FRIDAY - WHEN CALDERON SENT 7000 TROOPS TO HIS HOME STATE. NOW THE NYTIMES IS REPORTING MORE:
Mexico is sending more than 3,000 soldiers and federal police to the violent border city of Tijuana to fight drug trafficking, the interior secretary said Tuesday, the latest offensive by President Felipe Calderon who has vowed to crack down on organized crime. The force -- backed by 28 boats, 21 planes and nine helicopters -- will hunt down suspected drug gangs, patrol the coast and man checkpoints in a city that is a popular smuggling route for cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana entering the United States, Francisco Ramirez Acuna said in a news conference in Mexico City. ''We will carry out all the necessary actions to retake every region of national territory,'' Ramirez Acuna said. ''We will not allow any state to be a hostage of drug traffickers or organized crime.''
THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE RULE OF LAW IN MEXICO.


[NOTE: HAD THE OBRADOR THE LOSING LEFTIST CANDIDATE - (PICTURED AT LEFT AT HIS ALTERNATIVE SWEARING IN CEREMONY IN WHICH HE DECLARED HIMSELF PRESIDENT!) - WON THE LAST ELECTION, I DOUBT THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT WOULD'VE EVER TAKEN A HARD-LINE AND USED FEDERALES; THE LEFT BLAMES THE EXISTENCE OF THE DRUG CARTELS ON THE DEMAND SIDE.]

THE FREE MARKET RESPONDS TO INCREASED DEMAND: ECONOMIC RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES MAKE REMARKABLE ADVANCES















THE ANSWER IS BLOWIN' IN THE WIND:
WIND POWER news here and here and here - and that's just from today!

EFFICIENT/COST-EFFECTIVE SOLAR CELLS!

SUN, RUST AND NANOTECHNOLOGY:
Researchers in Switzerland have demonstrated more-efficient water-splitting solar cells based on a cheap, abundant, and long-lasting material: rust. The advance could lead to a cheap and energy-efficient way to generate hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles using solar energy.

Water-splitting solar panels would have important advantages over existing technologies in terms of hydrogen production. Right now, the primary way to make hydrogen is to separate it from natural gas, a process that generates carbon dioxide and undercuts the main motivation for moving to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles: ending dependence on fossil fuels. The current alternative is electrolysis, which uses electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen, with the two gases forming at opposite electrodes. Although electrolysis is costly, it can be cleaner if the source of the electricity is wind, sun, or some other carbon-free source.

But if the source of the electricity is the sun, it would be much more efficient to use solar energy to produce hydrogen by a photochemical process inside the cell itself.
RTWT.

All this just proves that technology financed by a private sector motivated by profits will solve "the energy problem" by supplying our need for alternative energy sources. No surprise here: THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT FREE MARKETS ALWAYS DO.

URGENT MESSAGE TO BAN KI MOON: CLEAN YOUR OWN HOUSE FIRST


UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan

Members of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Sudan are facing allegations of raping and abusing children as young as 12, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

The abuse allegedly began two years ago when the UN mission in southern Sudan (UNMIS) moved in to help rebuild the region after a 23-year civil war. ... It is thought that hundreds of children may have been abused.

''I was sitting by the river the first time it happened," said Jonas, 14, one of more than 20 children who told the Telegraph they had been abused this way.

"A man in a white car drove past and asked me if I wanted to get into the car with him. I saw that the car was a UN car because it was white with the black letters on it. The man had a badge on his clothes. When he stopped the car, we got out, he put a blindfold on me and started to abuse me. It was painful and went on for a long time. When it was over we went back to the place we had been, and he pushed me out of the car and left."
"REUTERS":
The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that U.N. peacekeepers and civilian staff were raping and abusing children as young as 12 in southern Sudan. The newspaper, in a story posted on its Web site, said it had gathered accounts from more than 20 young victims in the town of Juba of U.N. civilian and peacekeeping staff forcing them to have sex. The U.N. Peacekeeping Department in New York declined to comment.
U.N. peacekeepers in southern Sudan face several allegations of raping and sexually abusing children, some as young as 12, a British newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Daily Telegraph, citing an internal report by UNICEF along with interviews with more than 20 victims of the purported abuse, reported that the alleged abuse began two years ago when the U.N. Mission in Southern Sudan, known as UNMIS, arrived to help maintain peace in the region after a more than two-decade civil war. "The first indications of sexual exploitation emerged within months of the U.N. force's arrival and The Daily Telegraph has seen a draft of an internal report compiled by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF in July 2005 detailing the problem," the paper reported on its Web site. "Evidence suggests that UNMIS staff may already be involved in sexual exploitation."
NEWS.COM (AU):
The report appeared on the first day of work for U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who this week became the world body's eighth secretary-general, succeeding Kofi Annan of Ghana. ... The newspaper said Sudan's government had gathered evidence including video footage of UN workers having sex with young girls.

But the UN had yet to publicly acknowledge there was a problem or even investigate, the newspaper said. The UN, working with the African Union, is now pressing the Sudanese government to admit thousands more peacekeepers to its western Darfur region, where a separate civil war has raged for three years. The government has been resisting letting the reinforcements into Darfur, calling it an attempt to recolonise the vast northern African nation. Sexual abuse charges have surfaced for decades in UN peacekeeping missions and among civilian and other humanitarian staff operating in world hot spots.
MORE AND MORE I FEEL WE SHOULD FLUSH THE UN DOWN THE TOILET. (More here.)