Arena

2003-07-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well guys, I hate to say it, but I think that it's going to be quite awhile before I continue with my blogging adventure. There's this thesis thing looming on the horizon, and though I have done my best to put it off and pretend that somehow it will write itself, it just doesn't look like that's going to happen anymore. So, unfortunately, this blog is going comatose. Thanks for the visits, and to the bloggers on my list, keep up the great work.

KC

2003-07-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Due to the amazing weekend I just had, I think I'm going to extend my blog-vacation indefinitely. Keep fighting the good fight fellow bloggers!

2003-07-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

One more thing! There is a lot of discussion about the whole Liberia thing. Below, I stated that I did not support the decision to send troops over there. However, there may be some good reasons for intervention. First, terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda love moving into broken governments and setting up shop. As to whether that would happen in Liberia, I'm not sure ( I don't think that there is much of a Muslim population there ), but broken governments rarely seem to invite the more democratic thinking leaders. Second, if we could, and that's a big if, stabilize the situation there, we could develop a front there, and possibly use it to base various intelligence operations into Algeria or Libya. However, I'm nervous about doing anything militarily in Africa (if you aren't, go rent Blackhawk Down). There is a lot of conflict, a lot of different factions, and very little precedent to believe that we could make a difference there. I don't like to see people suffer, but you have to ask yourself the question, "How much of a difference can we make?"

2003-07-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Vacation time, have a happy 4th.

2003-07-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, there's a new banner at the top. Click on it and I think you will understand. Look at this too.

2003-06-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

How our enemy fights:

A massive explosion rocked a mosque (search) in this restive Iraqi town, killing at least five Iraqi civilians and injuring four others, witnesses and hospital officials said Tuesday.

Iraqi civilians said the blast was caused by a missile or bomb strike, but American soldiers at the scene disputed that account, saying it was likely caused when explosives hidden at the site went off.

...About a dozen Iraqis were gathered around the blast Tuesday morning, sifting through the rubble for pieces of metal they said proved the damage was caused by an American attack.

"These are pieces of a missile," said Aqeel Ibrahim Ali, 26, who was standing on a concrete slab overlooking the destruction, holding out a box filled with metal shards. "An airplane shot a missile."

He thinks we would use a missile to blow up a mosque. It's a propaganda attack, plain and simple. This is the way our enemies fight: they ruthlessly sacrifice their own people to win.

2003-06-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Excellent analysis of the whole WMD/Bush lied ordeal:

It is understandable that the U.N. inspectors and even more, the military search teams, have had difculty penetrating the sophisticated, well-rehearsedand protected WMD program in Iraq. The task was made infinitely more challenging by the fact that Iraq was, and indeed still is, a "republic of fear." Through my indirect contact with some senior Iraqi weapons scientists, I have been given to understand that the reign of terror is still in place.

Outsiders who have not dealt with Iraq cannot easily understand the extent to which the terror of the Hussein years has penetrated that unhappy nation. As long as Hussein and his sons are not apprehended or proven dead, few if any of those involved in the weapons program will provide information on their activities. The risk of terrible revenge against oneself or one's family is simply too great. The first point on a WMD agenda must be to create a safe environment free from the remnants of terror.

Read the whole thing.

2003-06-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

How very, very interesting:

Liberia said Saturday it was in talks with foreign countries to send a force to stop fighting that has left hundreds dead, as U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan joined calls for urgent intervention.

Pressure has grown on the United States to lead a multinational force after the second bloody rebel assault within 10 days on the capital, Monrovia. They are fighting to oust President Charles Taylor, a former warlord wanted for war crimes by an international court. Liberia’s government said talks on a force had already begun with the United States and West African countries. Taylor, who was told to step down this week by President Bush, said Liberia would not hesitate to invite in American troops to bring calm. “This government is interested in working with Washington on resolving this problem in the continued promotion of democracy,” he told reporters. Annan said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council that it should meet immediately to agree on intervention.

We had Iraq, where Saddam Hussein ruled the the place with an iron fist, killed off anyone who didn't like him, and had ambitions of developing nuclear weapons which would have put him in a position to kill millions. Annan and the U.N. did everything they could to try to prevent us from going in there. However, he has no qualms about asking us to go into the middle of a civil war in Africa to try to sort things out there. The U.N. truly is a fantasy-land. Up is down, left is right, logic is insanity. We have got our hands full with the Iraq situation right now. Why isn't Annan offering to send peacekeepers over there? The answer is because it would help America. The U.N.'s agenda is to shackle America, and we need to take a hard look as to how much longer we are going to put up with it. I feel bad that we can't help the Liberians directly, but we are stretched as it is. I would be okay with providing some logistical support and some weapons, but as for American troops, no way.

2003-06-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

If this turns out to be true, everything becomes very different:

Ayman al-Zawahiri (search), Usama bin Laden's right-hand man, was reported last night to be in custody in Iran along with several other top Al Qaeda (search) leaders.

The Arabic news channel Al-Arabiyah (search) said the fanatic Egyptian-born doctor is under arrest in Iran along with bin Laden's son Saad and Al Qaeda's infamous spokesman Abu Ghaith.

The report said they may be sent back to their home countries.

This was reported a few days ago, but was denied by Iran. Now, though, it looks like the cat is out of the bag. There are a whole hell of a lot of questions that are going to come out if it's true. Verification before speculation on this one.

2003-06-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

More intrigue on the cease-fire:

Israel’s agreement to withdraw forces from the Gaza Strip and turn over security to the Palestinian Authority, made after intense U.S. pressure on the eve of national security adviser Condoleezza Rice’s trip to the region, is an enormous gamble that could backfire and leave the new peace effort in tatters, diplomats involved in the effort said.

Officials close to the talks said they are unsure whether the Palestinian Authority has the will, inclination or capacity to confront and eventually dismantle anti-Israeli militant organizations responsible for suicide attacks, as demanded by Israel and the United States. If the Palestinian Authority fails to take action — or if a massive suicide bombing takes place under Palestinian watch — then Israel likely will say it has no choice but to move its forces back into Gaza, dooming the U.S.-backed peace plan.

I think that "unsure" is being too kind. I think that most intelligent people have no confidence in the PA whatsoever. This might be the move that Israel has been waiting for though. It is almost a given that one of the terrorist outfits will break this cease-fire, because their agenda is not peace. However, when that happens, it will be very difficult to say that Israel does not have the right to retaliate. I say we drop the reins and let the IDF do a little cleaning up. If the Palestinians won't destroy the terrorist groups there, Israel must.

2003-06-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

I wonder how long this will last:

JERUSALEM — Israeli and Palestinian security officials agreed in principle Friday on the terms of an Israeli pullback from parts of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials and Israel TV said.

The progress on Israeli withdrawal, coupled with an agreement by militant Islamic groups to temporarily cease attacks on Israelis, provides a boost to a U.S.-backed peace plan, the "road map" to Palestinian statehood by 2005.

Wow, Hamas wants a ceasefire? Do they really want peace now? Hmmm...something doesn't sound right. This makes more sense:

"In our opinion, a cease-fire will not help," said David Faranga, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman. "What is needed is the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure and war on terror. From our point of view a cease fire is a ticking bomb."

Israel fears a temporary truce will allow the militants to recover from the punishing strikes Israeli troops have delivered in the past year and regroup for more violence. However, Palestinian Prime Minister Mamoud Abbas has said he will not use force against the armed groups, for fear of causing civil war.

There is nothing about this that makes me think that the Palestinian groups are doing this to promote peace. They need to take the heat off of themselves, both from Israel's attacks which have nailed some top terrorists, and from Bush who's rhetoric is getting tougher. Three months, and it won't last that long, should be plenty of time to cool things off, regroup, rearm, and then continue the battle.

Meanwhile, Israel removes another settlement:

2003-06-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched the documentary Relentless which presents the Israeli side of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. I must say, while it does not present the Palestinian side, which was not the purpose of the movie to begin with, it does accurately describe what Israel has endured since its creation over 50 years ago. It is graphic, but it is the truth: the terrorist institutions in Palestine do not want peace with Israel, no matter what. Arafat and his goons have had some very generous opportunities to create at the very least a groundwork for a peace process. Each time, Arafat rejected them. If you look at the Oslo peace accords, Israel has done a satisfactory job in holding up its part of the bargain. The Palestinians, however, have not only refused to make any progress on the items relagated to them, they have gone backwards. Terrorism since Oslo has skyrocketed; the children are being indoctrinated even further; the terrorist groups there have more power; the hatred has only increased. I am aware that Israel has treated the Palestinians unfairly in the past, but at this point in the game, there is only one thing that can bring about peace: the destruction of the terrorist organizations in that region. Those groups do not only hate the Jews, that hate anyone who wants peace with them.

2003-06-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

I know I'll be sleeping a little easier:

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi "disinformation minister" who became world renowned for his ridiculously inaccurate news briefings in Iraq soon before coalition troops reached Baghdad, was captured at a Baghdad roadblock, London's Daily Mirror reported Wednesday.

The Washington Times also reported that the Iraqi official, also known as "Comical Ali," was detained early Monday evening near the home of a relative.

"There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"

2003-06-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Despite the initial intelligence failure of 9-11, it appears that we have done well in rounding up the terrorists here :

The Qatari man designated an enemy combatant by the Bush administration was planning another Sept. 11 attack, sources told ABCNEWS.

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, 37, was deemed an enemy combatant by the Bush administration on Monday after officials said he was positively identified by an al Qaeda detainee as being part of a planned second wave of terror attacks on the United States. Government officials said they believed al Qaeda's top leadership sent Al-Marri to the United States to coordinate a new round of attacks.

...Al-Marri had been in custody in the civilian court system since December 2001, first as a material witness and later on charges of lying to the FBI and credit card fraud. He first attracted the FBI's attention when officials received a tip in October 2001 that he might be involved in terrorism.

He's been around for awhile, so I guess the real news here is that he has been labeled an enemy combatant. Apparently he was part of phase 2 which, thanks to the FBI and the rest of the intell community, has not happened.

2003-06-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

This sent a few chills down my spine when I read it (via Hootinan):

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said on Monday a seized ship carrying an "atomic bomb"-sized quantity of explosives was destined for a company with a post office box in Khartoum, Sudan, that did not exist.

That's a lot of firepower, and it renders the ship as a virtual floating atomic bomb. Scary if they were going to pass of the explosives to terrorists; scarier still if the ship itself was the weapon.

2003-06-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

"The bullsh*t piled up so quick around here, you needed wings just to stay above it..."

Earlier, Sharon told his Cabinet that settlement construction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip should proceed quietly, a senior Cabinet official quoted the prime minister as saying. Israel TV's Channel 1 said Sharon told the ministers that settlement building "isn't part of the road map, it's my personal commitment."

Under the so-called "road map" for peace, Israel would have to observe the building ban in the coming months, after the Palestinians begin dismantling militias and Israel removes dozens of settlement outposts.

Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin said Israel would continue construction in built-up areas of settlements. Asked about the required freeze, he noted that the Cabinet, in voting on the plan, attached objections.

...Regarding settlements, the plan says Israel must dismantle all outposts put up since March 1, 2001 -- more than 60, according to an anti-settlement watchdog group -- and "freezes all settlement activity."

Gissin said the demand to freeze all construction is unrealistic.

"There can't be a total freeze on any construction, because you can't freeze life in those places," he told The Associated Press.

Forget about the roadmap, the wheels are just about ready to come off of this thing. The nerve of Sharon to say that. I'm wondering if the whole settlement tearing down thing I posted about below was just for show. Or maybe it was becoming a strategic burden to the IDF and they wanted to remove it anyways. At the very least, Israel is to stop new construction on the existing settlements. I am starting to doubt that anything is "different" this time around. We already know that Hamas isn't going to change, but I'm not so sure that Sharon is either.

2003-06-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here is some good news from Iraq:

U.S. forces acting on an intelligence tip raided an abandoned Baghdad community hall early Saturday and seized documents that may contain information about Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction.

The documents, bearing the seal of Saddam Hussein's secret service, were being handed over to senior intelligence analysts. Some papers referred to Iraq's nuclear program.

I got a bit of a laugh out of this part:

After trying to break through the door with a sledgehammer, the troops were surprised when a squatter opened the lock from the inside and welcomed them in.

And there's this as well:

Experts from the U.N. atomic agency have accounted for tons of natural and low-enriched uranium feared looted from Iraq's largest nuclear research facility, diplomats said Friday.

The diplomats, who are familiar with the workings of the International Atomic Energy Agency, agreed to talk on the success of the mission to secure the uranium at the Tuwaitha facility only on condition of anonymity.

This last piece about the uranium sounds like good news, but there does seem to be something sort of strange about it. The IAEA people aren't commenting, at least not publicly, so maybe we're playing mind games with someone. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Either way, it is important for us to remember that the media is always going to give more attention to the things that go wrong over there than to the things that go right. Right now it is searingly hot in Iraq, so let's not forget our soldiers who are braving through all of this. Finding Saddam or one of his sons would be a huge morale boost for everyone, so let's hope the intelligence guys can put something together here soon.

2003-06-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

There are still terrorists in our midst:

The Ohio truck driver who admitted working with al Qaeda is revealing key information to authorities, but the prosecutor in the case warned today that the arrest shows the threat of terrorist attacks on American soil still exists.

"It is a very chilling and disturbing reminder to us that such individuals do exist," Paul McNulty, the U.S. attorney who led the prosecution against Iyman Faris, told Good Morning America.

...As an independent truck driver, Faris had access to airports, and sources said he was licensed to haul hazardous materials. Authorities are trying to determine how extensive his support network in the United States network may have been.

They're still out there, but I'd say we have done a pretty good job so far of tracking them down. I think the biggest reason that suggests that Al-Qaeda is on its way down is the fact that they have not launched another attack against the U.S. since 9-11. If they were truly still a force to be reckoned with, one would think that they would be continuing to launch attacks against us the same was that the terrorists in Palestine launch attacks against Israel. Instead, they have been focusing their attacks overseas in places like Bali and Riyadh. Last fall, the D.C. snipers not only killed 13 people but caused a massive amount of fear and panic in the general public in the region. And that was just two guys. The anthrax incident had the same effect. It doesn't take much to create panic and terror, so I think that though there are probably still some nasties running around here planning another attack, they have been defeated for the most part.

2003-06-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Don't tell me that the Israelis aren't doing their part to try to create peace.

JERUSALEM — Hundreds of angry, screaming Jewish settlers scuffled with Israeli troops on a West Bank hilltop Thursday when the military tore down a tent camp, the first populated outpost targeted under a U.S.-backed peace plan.

Settlers set fire to underbrush and threw purple paint on the windows of armored bulldozers as the troops approached. When the soldiers began tearing down the four filthy tents, the settlers hollered battle cries and charged, trading blows with them on the dusty hilltop.

I can't imagine that tearing down the living areas of your own people is a very enjoyable job. It is obvious to nearly everyone that the terrorist groups over there, one of which is Hamas, present the biggest obstacle to peace in the region. Go take a look at the Hamas charter if you have any doubts. This group clearly has the destruction of Israel as its primary agenda, and no amount of negotiation is likely to ever change that. It makes one wonder what the hell the French think that they are doing on this one.

Oh yeah, they're against us.

2003-06-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

Protesting is one thing. Lighting yourself on fire, well, that is something altogether different:

PARIS — Two Iranian women set themselves on fire Wednesday during a protest in Paris against a major raid at the offices of an Iranian opposition group, police said.

It was the latest in a series of dramatic protests in Europe against Tuesday's crackdown on the Mujahedeen Khalq, which is accused of terrorism by the United States and the European Union.

Now, I would normally be about the last guy to stand up to defend the French, but apparently, the guys they nabbed last week aren't all that friendly. Yeah, they may be opposed to the current Iranian government, but they are considered to be a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and the EU, and their political ideology is "a blend of Marxism and Islamism," which is about the last thing we need over in the Middle East.

2003-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

Keep this date in mind all: July 9th. Andrew Sullivan is organizing a mass blog-solidarity event to show those who are struggling for freedom in Iran that they have supporters here in the U.S.

Here's my proposal. On July 9, as many blogs as possible focus on the struggle for freedom in Iran. It's the anniversary of the pro-democracy protests that have been going on for years. I'll devote the week after July 4 to this issue, culminating in July 9.

...Many people have theorized about the power of the web to bring about change and the young generation in Iran must know this as well as any group of people. So let's try and use it - if only to send a symbol of solidarity with those resisting the theo-fascists who have wrecked Iran for three generations.

2003-06-16T06:38:00.000-07:00

Iran is blaming the U.S. for the recent demonstrations:

SINCE ITS swift victory in neighboring Iraq, Washington has stepped up pressure on Iran, accusing it of seeking nuclear weapons, backing terrorism and applauding demonstrations against Islamic clerical rule which erupted last week.

“We sent an official note to the Americans through the Swiss embassy and objected to their actions,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news conference. “Their remarks are a blatant interference in Iran’s internal affairs.”

Right, but it's perfectly fine that Iran has sent religious zealots over to Iraq to interfere with the internal affairs there. I don't even know if the U.S. was involved in organizing these demonstrations, but if we did, well Iran, it's called realpolitik, get used to it.

UPDATE: The U.S. was behind the Iranian protests, and the Iranian government has posted a listing of those responsible.

2003-06-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Back in action! The young people in Iran are starting to let their voices be heard:

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of central Tehran for the fifth straight night of anti-regime protests Saturday, but the overwhelming presence of police and hardline vigilantes resulted in muted demonstrations that passed off largely without incident.

Only limited, sporadic clashes were reported around the Tehran university campus, the focal point of increasingly vitriolic protests that have targeted the very top of the Islamic republic.

... During the student-led protests, the first to rock Iran for six months and the most violent since 1999 when at least one student died, virulent slogans have been shouted against Iran's leaders, including Khamenei, calling for them to step down. Criticising the supreme leader is a serious offence in Iran.

Many protestors also called for the resignation of embattled President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites), who was elected with landslide majorities in 1997 and again in 2001.

Frustration has mounted in recent months over the seemingly intractable deadlock between reformists in parliament loyal to Khatami and hardliners who wield greater power through the courts and unelected legislative oversight bodies.

The protests have drawn strong support from the United States, where President George W. Bush lumped Iran into an "axis of evil" along with North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

These demonstrations are excellent developments because they show that there is a healthy population in Iran that is opposed to the oppressive Islamic government there. The Iranian government has ramped up its nuclear program, so the more support we can give to the opposition groups there, the better. My hope is that the level of communication between the people of Iran and the people of the U.S. will continue to increase and that we will be able to help them on their road to democracy.

2003-06-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am going to have to suspend this blog for about a week. I've got things to do here people! Oh, and did I mention Pearl Jam? In the meantime, check out Hootinan, Jaboobie, and MoxiePop for all of your current events needs. See ya on the 15th.

2003-06-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

The times, they are a changin':

Bands come and go from record labels in a revolving door of euphoria and dejection, so when the news came out that Pearl Jam had fulfilled its contract and was leaving Epic after 12 years, many in the industry shrugged and went back to their Mocha Malt Frappucinos. But this is more than just another band leaving just another label.

... If Pearl Jam — now touring the United States to wildly enthusiastic crowds — is able to create a successful business model mobilizing its fans via the Internet and engaging in such “crazy” stunts as releasing live double albums of every show it performs, this could be the beginning of a stampede away from the lumbering dinosaurs that the major labels have become.

...Can Pearl Jam manage these on its own?

“We are very excited about our freedom,” band manager Curtis told me. “New technology and the Internet have made it possible to try all kinds of new things, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Their Tenclub provides a “direct link between the band and its fan base, 50,000 strong,” according to club manager Tim Bierman.

The failure of all of the dot-coms in the last few years is truly amazing when it is clear to everyone that the Internet is becoming more and more influential every day. The ideas were there, but the implementation and planning were just so out screwed up that they all ran out of money before they could really get going. Rock on PJ! See you in Omaha next Friday!

2003-06-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

So much for all of that looting:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 7 — Almost all of the priceless items feared stolen from the Baghdad Museum when it was ransacked by looters have been found safe in a secret vault, the U.S.-led administration for Iraq said on Saturday.

A SPECIAL TEAM of U.S. investigators working at the museum to check the extent of the looting has concluded that around 3,000 items were still lost or stolen, compared with initial estimates of up to 170,000. Most of the missing items were used for research, rather than exhibition.

Remember all of the people screaming at the US because of all of the looting that we were supposedly allowing to happen? Whenever you have a military conflict, it is just going to be difficult to know what is really going on. I remember at least two stories that I saw that claimed that we had found WMD. These things require a little bit of time to sort out. As my mother always told me, "Patience is a virtue."

2003-06-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Our friends, the Saudis (via LGF):

Saudi Arabia’s leading executioner Muhammad Saad Al-Beshi will behead up to seven people in a day.

“It doesn’t matter to me: Two, four, 10 — As long as I’m doing God’s will, it doesn’t matter how many people I execute,” he told Okaz newspaper in an interview.

...However, he does reveal that a sword will cost something in the region of SR20,000. “It’s a gift from the government. I look after it and sharpen it once in a while, and I make sure to clean it of bloodstains.

“It’s very sharp. People are amazed how fast it can separate the head from the body.”

...He has executed numerous women without hesitation, he explains. “Despite the fact that I hate violence against women, when it comes to God’s will, I have to carry it out.”

...An executioner’s life, of course, is not all killing. Sometimes it can be amputation of hands and legs. “I use a special sharp knife, not a sword,” he explains. “When I cut off a hand I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that.”

Sick. Sick. Sick. Yeah, sometimes we execute people here in the U.S, but we don't do it very often, and we definitely do not amputate the appendages of people who commit crimes. Look at your hand. Now imagine if you didn't have it because the religious authority deemed that you had done something so bad that you didn't deserve to have it anymore.

2003-06-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

Why is there so much Palestinian hatred toward Israel? Well, the Israelis have certainly treated them pretty badly at times in the past. But then there's this:

"My heart has turned into a sad block of pain. One day I will buy a weapon and I will blow away the fetters. I will propel my living-dead body into your arms, my father, and you will gather me into your hands."

The rantings of a criminal psychopath or Mideast terrorist? No, it's from a prize-winning letter by seventh-grader Mahmoud Naji Chalilah, entered in a national children's letter-writing contest among Palestinians.

As the world watches Palestinian, Israeli and U.S. leaders trying to negotiate a difficult peace today – after Arab nations reportedly agreed yesterday to condemn all terrorism for any reason – Palestinian authorities meanwhile are rewarding children for embracing violence and hate by honoring letters extolling those very themes in a recent youth writing contest, according to Palestinian Media Watch, which monitors the Palestinian press.

Read the whole thing. It's pretty nasty. Realize that these letters are praised and the children who wrote them are patted on the back. Can you imagine what would happen if a child here in the U.S. wrote something like that? The Palestinian children are trained at a young age to hate the Isrealis. Don't believe me? Look at the video on this page.

Question: “Is children’s participation in Shahada-Seeking missions permitted?”

Al Bitawi: “The sages say: ’They should go [on Jihad], the men and the women, and even the children’. In the time of the Prophet [Muhammad] it was shown that children, who had not reached maturity, participated in Jihad… We in Palestine have a great love of Jihad and Shahada, and that makes many children compete among themselves in carrying out Jihad and Shahada-seeking missions.”

I won't be surprised if there is another suicide bombing in Israel within a week. The roadmap looks to be going somewhat smoothly right now, and it has always been the agenda of groups such as Hamas to ensure that anything related to peace does not go smoothly.

2003-06-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty critical of the Islamic community lately primarily because its leaders refuse to take a hardline stance against the supposed "extremists" who are killing people, mainly the Jews, in the name of Allah. I was probably a little too cynical. Here are some Muslims denouncing terrorism:

American Muslims and Scholars denounce Terrorism

Washington, DC (September 9, 2002) — Several prominent American Muslims, organizations, and scholars issued the following statement denouncing violence and terrorism, especially in the name of Islam, a religion of peace and justice.

The statement was issued on the eve of the first anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11, and has been signed by 199 prominent American Muslims, and scholars of Islam from all over the world.

As American Muslims and scholars of Islam, we wish to restate our conviction that peace and justice constitute the basic principles of the Muslim faith. We wish again to state unequivocally that neither the al-Qaeda organization nor Usama bin Laden represents Islam or reflects Muslim beliefs and practice. Rather, groups like al-Qaeda have misused and abused Islam in order to fit their own radical and indeed anti-Islamic agenda. Usama bin Laden and al-Qaeda's actions are criminal, misguided and counter to the true teachings of Islam. We call on people of all faiths not to judge Islam by the actions of a few.

We believe in justice and peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. We are convinced that security for Israel can only be achieved by justice for Palestinians. Today, a modicum of justice requires the establishment of an independent Palestinian state through the exercise of Palestinian self-determination. We believe that the continued occupation of Palestinian territories, and Israel's repeated disregard of international law, have made life in the occupied territories unbearable. We say most clearly, however, that the killing of innocent civilians, whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, is always wrong and is forbidden in Islamic law and ethics. Illegitimate means can never be justified by a desirable or noble goal.

On this first anniversary of the tragedy of September 11, we call on all people of conscience to denounce violence and to work peacefully for the creation of a better world. We also urge our government leaders to work for peace, justice, liberty, and democracy around the globe.

There are quite a few signatures that follow. There needs to be more of this, and it needs to happen in the mosques.

2003-06-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

Darwin Award:

MEDFORD, Ore. — A man running late for his flight to Phoenix called in a phony bomb threat Monday in hopes that the plane would be delayed long enough for him to get on board, police said.

America West clerks at the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport became suspicious and notified police after the man came to their desk asking about Flight 6262, which by then was on its way back to the airport because of the threat, said Medford Police Lt. Mike Moran.

Well, I don't know why he was so worried because I'm sure he could have found a spot on this airline.

2003-06-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh, Vegas:

Forget Annika Sorenstam teeing it up with the boys. Forget Funny Cide's gallop toward the thoroughbred Triple Crown.

If you're searching for the sweetest Cinderella story, look no further than Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

The biggest and most improbable triumph in poker tourney history took place Saturday morning at Binion's Horseshoe, when a 27-year-old amateur from Tennessee captured poker's top event, parlaying a $40 investment in an online poker tournament into the $2.5 million top spot in the World Series of Poker's championship contest.

Hollywood producers would scoff at the implausibility of the story, but Spring Hill, Tenn., accountant Chris Moneymaker -- his real name -- wasn't following a script.

Lady Luck, she can be kind, even though she was a real bitch to me last time I was there.

2003-06-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Bet you didn't see this one comin':

May 31, 2003 -- LAST Sunday saw a remarka ble event in Washington - one that defied stereotypes about Muslims and the Bush administration's "hard-liners": Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, widely identified (and denounced) as the main architect of America's Iraq intervention, won multiple standing ovations from an audience of hundreds of Muslims
He praised the coalition's use of force to remove evil, and he hailed the new reality in Iraq. For the first time in 26 years, he said, Shia Muslims had freedom to observe their Arbaeen festival in Iraq. The room exploded in applause.

The venue: the first-ever national convention of Shia Muslims from the United States and Canada.

Wolfowitz is said to be the hardest of neoconservative hardliners. The Shias have a reputation as the most extreme, anti-Western, ultraradical Muslims. Yet they came together through the ideal of freedom, and the principle of liberation through the exercise of U.S. military power.

...Others, including non-Muslims, who attended the event were struck by the enthusiasm shown to Paul Wolfowitz. But Jafri put the emphasis in the right place: "The convention inaugurated a new period in the history of American Muslims, of heightened awareness of our responsibilities to the country we live in and hope for the future flourishing of Islam and democracy. At our convention next year, we would like to have President Bush as a guest."

And why did a story like this go unreported in the rest of our media?

But I thought it was all about OOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIILLLLLLL and American Imperialism 2.0 and the evil neocon Jewish cabal taking over America 1984 style.

2003-06-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

History repeats itself:

Ruthless, unconventional foes are not new to the United States of America. More than two hundred years ago the newly established United States made its first attempt to fight an overseas battle to protect its private citizens by building an international coalition against an unconventional enemy. Then the enemies were pirates and piracy. The focus of the United States and a proposed international coalition was the Barbary Pirates of North Africa.

...Thomas Jefferson, United States minister to France, opposed the payment of tribute, as he later testified in words that have a particular resonance today. In his autobiography Jefferson wrote that in 1785 and 1786 he unsuccessfully "endeavored to form an association of the powers subject to habitual depredation from them. I accordingly prepared, and proposed to their ministers at Paris, for consultation with their governments, articles of a special confederation." Jefferson argued that "The object of the convention shall be to compel the piratical States to perpetual peace."

...Paying the ransom would only lead to further demands, Jefferson argued in letters to future presidents John Adams, then America's minister to Great Britain, and James Monroe, then a member of Congress. As Jefferson wrote to Adams in a July 11, 1786, letter, "I acknolege [sic] I very early thought it would be best to effect a peace thro' the medium of war." Paying tribute will merely invite more demands, and even if a coalition proves workable, the only solution is a strong navy that can reach the pirates, Jefferson argued in an August 18, 1786, letter to James Monroe...

...Jefferson's plan for an international coalition foundered on the shoals of indifference and a belief that it was cheaper to pay the tribute than fight a war.

...The American show of force quickly awed Tunis and Algiers into breaking their alliance with Tripoli. The humiliating loss of the frigate Philadelphia and the capture of her captain and crew in Tripoli in 1803, criticism from his political opponents, and even opposition within his own cabinet did not deter Jefferson from his chosen course during four years of war.

Just in case you didn't know, we won.

2003-05-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

You Cannot Be Serious!

The Outrage of the Week

You know what time it is. We're heading to Florida this week, and no, no, this has nothing to do with hanging chads. Now, I don't know about you, but it seems to me that the entire point of having a photo on a driver's license is so that the individual with the license can be readily identified. That's why we have to take off our hats and whatnot before we get our photo taken at the DMV. The license is a legal form of identification. So what the hell is this lady thinking?

Experts in Islamic law are being called to testify in the lawsuit of a Muslim (search) woman fighting a state order to take off her veil for her driver's license photo.

Sultanna Freeman, 35, says Florida's insistence on photographing her face violates her religious rights.

"I don't unveil ... because it would be disobeying my Lord," Freeman testified Tuesday at the start of her non-jury trial.

Assistant Attorney General Jason Vail argued that having an easily identifiable photo on a driver's license is a matter of public safety.

"It's the primary method of identification in Florida and the nation," Vail said. "I don't think there can be any doubt there is a public safety interest."

Freeman's attorneys argue that state officials didn't care that she wore a veil in her Florida driver's license photo until after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, an allegation the state denies.

"This is about religious liberty. It's about whether this country is going to have religious diversity," said Howard Marks, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Both sides planned to call experts in Islamic law at the trial, which continues Wednesday. A copy of the Quran (search) has been entered into evidence.

This is just ridiculous. Since when does religion supercede the laws of the land here in the U.S.? I would argue that letting this woman get away with this would actually inhibit religious diversity because the law would thereby favor one religion over all others. The ACLU has really chosen a stupid one to side with this time. Ordinarily, I would say, well, if she is just being so violated for this, maybe she would be better off in the Middle East. But look at this! A reader from LGF pointed this out (from CNN):

Driver’s identification rules in Muslim nations:

Saudi Arabia: Women aren't allowed to drive
Iran: Women wear a traditional chador, which does not cover the face.
Egypt: Women do not cover their face in I.D. pictures
United Arab Emirates: Women do not cover their face in I.D. pictures
Oman: Women do not cover their face in I.D. pictures
Kuwait: Women do not cover their face in I.D. pictures
Qatar: Women do not cover their face in I.D. pictures
Bahrain: Women do not cover their face in I.D. pictures
Jordan: Women can drive if their faces are covered but do not cover their face in I.D. pictures

Even in the nations where Islam is the government, the women are still required to show their whole face on their ID photos. Why even have a picture on there at all if you can't tell who it is? Hell, she could have anyone she wants walk in there all dressed up and get a picture taken under her name. Who would know? This case is so stupid, and it's outrageous that the ACLU has chosen to throw their weight behind it. It's also costing taxpayers money and wasting the time of a court system which is already overbooked and underfunded.

2003-05-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Scary:

Mike Tyson hasn’t lost his penchant for saying the outrageous. In a television interview scheduled for broadcast Thursday, Tyson again denied he raped Desiree Washington in 1991 in an Indianapolis hotel room. But he said the burden of being labeled a convicted rapist makes him want to do it now.

“I just hate her guts. She put me in that state, where I don’t know,” Tyson said. “I really wish I did now. But now I really do want to rape her.”

Tyson is clearly insane, and I'm not so sure he should be allowed out of a mental institution. Part of me feels sorry for Tyson. This is a person who, throughout his adolescent and adult life, was consistently lied to and used as a cash animal by others who didn't give a second thought to his mental state. He is now a dangerous, disturbed individual who is exists on the border between delusion and reality, and people like Don King made millions during the process of making him so. Don't get me wrong, Tyson himself is responsible for everything he has done, but the deliberate exploitation of a human being always seems to damage that person, and that, to me, is always sad.

2003-05-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

A sad day for hockey fans in Colorado: Patrick Roy has retired.

It's always been important for me to play with consistency, but also leave on my own terms," said Roy, who made the decision to retire before this season. "I think I've accomplished everything I wanted and I think I've done basically what I think I should."

It's hard to imagine doing much more.

Roy won four Stanley Cup titles -- two each with Colorado and Montreal -- and holds nearly every major goaltending record. He is the only three-time winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs, and is the league's career leader in wins and games played.

Roy also has the most playoff wins, games and shutouts, and he helped popularize the butterfly style of goaltending by dropping to his knees to stop shots.

Undoubtedly, Roy is one of the greatest goalies in the history of the game. He wanted to be the best goalie there was ever since he was a little kid, and he went out and did it. There's a certain extra amount of respect you gotta give a guy who bows out while he's still got his game. Thanks Patrick, you'll always be the best in my book.

2003-05-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Iowa's talking, and it doesn't look good for the Democrats:

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa's Democratic caucus voters are weighing the candidates and have some bad news to would-be presidential contenders — not many of them can count on making it very far in the primary season.

...Both Iowa and national polls show Bush with a soaring post-war approval rating. According to a poll taken earlier this month for the Des Moines Register, Bush receives a 67 percent approval rating, although when it comes to the economy, 50 percent disapprove of the job he's doing.

Still, 52 percent of Iowans are ready to re-elect him today. Frank Strickland, a lifelong Democrat and family physician, said not only is he unpersuaded by the Democrats' current campaign push for universal health care, politically he may swing to the other side.

"I actually would think I would vote for George Bush. I don't like Hillary [Clinton], [former President] Bill Clinton was an embarrassment, so I might even become a Republican," Strickland said.

Bush's job performance is relevant when it comes to the Democratic caucuses. Democrats and independents are looking for a candidate who can give them reason to vote against a Republican that many acknowledge is doing a good job. They say they have not yet found it.

Somewhere in New York, Hillary Clinton is smilling.

2003-05-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Blogger is really screwing up lately. For some reason, using Netscape seems to work better than Explorer.

2003-05-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just in case you haven't laughed in awhile, go here. And it's not a joke either. Things just do not make sense to me anymore...and now my head is starting to hurt.

2003-05-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Jayson Blair never worked in our intelligence department, did he?

KUWAIT CITY — Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview published Sunday that he doubts the existence of Al Qaeda, the terror group blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks and recent strikes in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

"Is there really an entity called Al Qaeda? Was it in Afghanistan? Does it exist now?" Assad asked, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba.

Usama bin Laden, the Saudi-born Islamic extremist who heads Al Qaeda, "cannot talk on the phone or use the Internet, but he can direct communications to the four corners of the world?" Assad said. "This is illogical."

Yep, it's all just a big fantasy:

2003-05-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

You Cannot Be Serious!

The Outrage of the Week

Belated outrage this week. This week's subject could probably be worthy of the outrage every week: pork. The amount of money that Congress throws around to highly unnecessary projects is quite unbelievable. Look at what happened to our Defense budget:

The following is from a survey organized by Senator John McCain in conjunction with CAGW. Current Defense budget includes:

$53 million for Distance Learning

$12 million for the 21st Century Truck

$3.4 million for the Next Generation Smart Truck

$19 million for International Sports Competitions

$7.7 million for the Alaska Wide Mobile Radio Program

Look at all of this money. Why on earth is it all in the Defense budget? Because that's how Congress works. You let someone throw in something for their state into a bill, and then you expect to do the same later on. American citizens already pay nearly 50% of what they make in income taxes, but there is always talk about how there is not enough money for education and whatnot. And some idiots like Michael Moore think we should make the tax rate even higher. Because of this BS, here is what is happening to actual Defense projects that are losing funding:

Thousands of military personnel are forced to rely on Food Stamps

The Air Force is projected to be 1,500 pilots short for the fiscal year 2003

The average age of naval aircraft is more than 18 years old

In addition, some Senators pretend to be helping out our Defense but in actuality, are only helping out themselves.

$26 billion (yes, that is $26,000,000,000) is being used to force the military to lease Boeing 767 airliners and then have them converted into military tankers. The Air Force does not need or even want these 767s.

$1.5 billion for a ship that the Navy does not need or want.

$13.1 billion for 262 C-130 airlifters; the Air Force only wanted 5, which at $50 million a piece would have been $250 million.

So there you go. Pork-barrel spending. Outrageous. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is an excellent pork watchdog and I urge you to visit it and sign up for their newsletter.

2003-05-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well, old Hil's at it again. Trying to push her "let the government do this too" agenda on America. Jaboobie's got the scoop.

"The legislation, co-sponsored by Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison would provide $200 million to establish a nationwide community help line, including almost $4 million for Clinton's "home" state."

Why Hutchison is involved in this is beyond me. Most likely part of the "favor" system that permeates our Congress. That is $ 200,000,000 for a help-line, apparently to help those who cannot use a phone book. Which begs the question, how will they ever find the number?

2003-05-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, Jayson Blair is the (former) New York Times reporter who had literally made up stories for the past few months and passed them off as legitimate news. All the garbage came out a few days ago and the paper's credibility has been seriously damaged by Blair. Here is what that lying POS is saying now about a story he made up:

'Former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair said he "couldn't stop laughing" when the newspaper corrected his fraudulent description of an American POW's home in West Virginia, according to excerpts of an interview with the New York Observer.
"That's my favorite, just because the description was so far off from the reality. And the way they described it in The Times story -- someone read a portion of it to me -- I couldn't stop laughing," Blair said in an interview scheduled for publication Wednesday. The newspaper made excerpts available to The Associated Press on Tuesday...

...According to excerpts from the Observer, Blair said his deceptions stemmed from personal problems.

"I was either going to kill myself or I was going to kill the journalist persona," he said. "So Jayson Blair the human being could live, Jayson Blair the journalist had to die." '

He thinks it's funny! But it's just a mistake because of "personal problems." Just like Larry Eustachy's conduct was because of "personal problems." And every drug addict out there who is allowed to blame his or her behavior on "personal problems." I guess at some level every mistake we make is due to some "personal problem," but that doesn't really explain anything. If you hated journalism so much Jayson, why didn't you just quit? Why did you feel the need to LIE on an international scale and destroy the credibility of the legitimate reporters (there must be at least some) at the paper? For all we know, his whole "I was going to commit suicide" line is just another lie along with the rest.

2003-05-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here is some good news about the Palestinians:

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian residents of a northern Gaza town demonstrated Tuesday after Israelis destroyed buildings and farms there in a five-day invasion, but in a rare twist, their wrath was directed at Palestinian militants for firing rockets from their property, not at the Israelis.

This is definitely positive, and our media should do their best to show this in the best positive light. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have a history of killing those who dissent, so this may not begin a sort of long term trend.

It is, though, a sign that there are Palestinians who want the violence to stop.

2003-05-19T22:26:00.000-07:00

My previous post was a bit humorous, but I am afraid that this one is the polar opposite. As you might have heard, there have been a number of suicide bombings in Israel recently. In fact, there have been 5 in the last 48 hours. We in America have only had one run in with suicide bombers, 9/11. That was suicide bombing on a massive scale, and we are all aware of the destruction it caused. But we are not subjected to the kind of terror that can literally occur at any moment, on any street in Israel. I doubt that many Americans have even seen firsthand the effect any kind of bomb has on the human body itself. Charles Johnson posted a link to some photos on his website of one of the latest suicide bombings. Be warned. These photos are bloody, and if you don't know if you can handle them, don't go see them. However, these are the images of what the Israeli people are unable to escape from. Imagine the American response if such acts were committed here with the same frequency.

We can argue about who's fault it is that there isn't peace over in Israel for days, or even years. However, you cannot argue that this violence which is knowingly and intentionally directed at innocent civilians is not fundamentally different than the military action Western countries, including Israel, employ. There is a difference, yet these bombers are trained from the day they are born that there is no difference, and that it is their destiny to blow themselves up and to try and kill as many Jews as they can in the process.

The Palestinian culture is sick, and if there are those in it who wish for peace, they are not able to do anything about it. How much violence can one country take before it is allowed to fight back? That is the question we must ask ourselves about Israel.

2003-05-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

Now this, well, this is just downright mean:

"The U.S. military is using Metallica and the ‘Barney’ theme song as instruments of coercion in Iraq... ...U.S. military units have been breaking Saddam supporters with long sessions in which they’re forced to listen to heavy-metal and children’s songs. “Trust me, it works,” says one U.S. operative."

Don't do it, do not click here! The song! It does not stop! Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh!

2003-05-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

There are some on the right who are really not concerned as to the fate of the weapons. The reason I am not going to let it go is because of what it implies about the process that Bush and Co. employed to lead our nation to war. Again, say we took 3,000 casualties, and nobody completely ruled out such a figure. In human terms, that would have been the equivalent of a self-inflicted 9-11. That's a lot of death, and I think that if such a scenario occurred we would be seeing a lot more heat put on the admin. about the WMD. The reason Powell went to the UN was to prove once and for all that Iraq was in clear violation of the treaty which ended the first gulf war. To me, the UN today is a joke, but if the evidence Powell brought there earlier this spring is never substantiated, the joke may very well be on us. Somebody knows the status of these weapons, and I am not going to rest until we know about them as well.

2003-05-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

And here is the final scenario as to what happened to the WMD:

3. Looters have taken the WMD

Frighteningly, this case is growing more and more likely. I doubt that the looters have taken everything, but it is certain that looters have been to many sites already. This raises a very important question: if the Bush team knew that these sites might have contained WMD and related materials, and they knew that they were likely to be looted, why didn't they immediately move in people to take and defend those sites? After all, to find the "smoking gun" at the beginning of the war would have been instant justification in the minds of many. The reason Iraq presented a threat to us was because they had these weapons and could have passed them along to terrorists. Again, I'd say there are three possible scenarios.

A. Bush didn't consider the looting

B. Bush didn't care whether or not the WMD stuff got loose

C. Bush did not believe that these sites held WMD and related materials

They had to have figured in that looting would occur at pretty much any unguarded place. Further, after the first looting occurred, they could have easily figured things out and moved people, so I don't think that A was the case. If case B turns out to be true, and if we find out that there was U.N.- banned stuff in these places and that they fell into the hands of other people, then things are going to get serious. Heads will roll if we wind up getting attacked with the very weapons we were trying to destroy. There would be absolutely no excuse for not getting to these sites. We have Special Forces, Blackhawk helicopters, Army Rangers, all sorts of highly mobilized units that could have done this. If case C is true, then it must be assumed that the Bush team believes that none of the sites on their list contain the weapons, because all of them could be getting looted as we speak

It is true that Saddam was a terrible person and, because of the atrocities he committed against his people, he probably deserved to be ousted. It is also true that Saddam was a financier of Palestinian terrorism, and that he had ambitions of uniting the Arab world against the west. There are theories out there that say that Iraq is only another stepping stone in our efforts to stop terrorism, because to do so involves fixing the Middle East by removing dictators and installing democracies. In short, there were reasons out there to justify this war. If the Bush administration lied to us about the WMD threat, then it was absolutely idiotic that they did so. It hurts our credibility and makes us Americans look like morons. However, and I am not saying that this is a justification: what we have done scares the people in the Middle East. It says, look, we didn't even have good evidence and we took out Saddam because we didn't like him. And maybe if we decide we don't like you, then you're next. The Middle East understands violence and fear, and regardless of the justification of this war, it is true that these countries are afraid. However, I am not so sure how comfortable I feel living in a country that operates this way.

2003-05-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

You Cannot Be Serious!

The Outrage of the Week

This week, we go to Texas, where there occurred a tale of our government in action that you will not likely ever see in an 8th grade Civics book:

"Fifty-one fugitive Democratic lawmakers declared victory Thursday in their scheme to scuttle a GOP redistricting effort and returned to Texas from self-imposed exile in Oklahoma."

Is this the way democratic government is supposed to work? When you don't like something, just leave? We have built into our system of government checks and balances, so that if something unfair happens in one branch, the other is there to right it. Outrageous.

2003-05-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, you can make a difference.

Sina has been released, but he now faces trial in Iran, and, unfortunately, may be sent back to jail. However, this is an important victory not so much as Sina is concerned, but because people are starting to realize the sheer power of free speech the weblog represents. Jeff Jarvis has been all over the Sina situation, and has become one of the main blogger conduits to the Iranian world. Here is an excerpt from a piece he just wrote:

"...Says Iranian weblog pioneer Derskhahan, "I think weblogs are very powerful in the absence of free press. However, even free press cannot be as transparent and diverse as weblogs. So weblogs in Iraq will help the world know more about them, will help the government know about what exactly people think of them and will help people to get used to the idea of tolerance and individuality."

Vibrant weblogs will prove to the Iraqi people that we and they have nothing to fear from free speech. They will involve the youth of the nation in building their future. They will build bridges, in many languages, to people around the world.

They will demonstrate the power of freedom and democracy."

As The Instapundit would say, read the whole thing.

2003-05-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Treacher is my imam.

imam:

"A male spiritual and temporal leader regarded by Shiites as a descendant of Muhammad divinely appointed to guide humans."

2003-05-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

Karl can't save you now, fatboy.

Disney reportedly drops Moore's anti-Bush project

2003-05-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

This, well, pretty much speaks for itself:

Texas House paralyzed by Democratic walkout

"With action in the Texas House brought to a standstill, roughly 50 state Democratic representatives said they would remain in neighboring Oklahoma "as long as it takes" to block a Republican-drawn redistricting plan that could cost them five seats in Congress."

2003-05-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

More on the Illinois hazing.

A second student suspended after participating in a videotaped hazing incident filed a lawsuit Tuesday to prevent the punishment from being enforced. The girl, listed as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Chancery Court against William Eike, Glenbrook North High School's dean of students.

The lawsuit seeks an emergency injunction against the suspension, an official in the clerk's office said.

The lawsuit came as the school announced it has now suspended 32 seniors, 28 girls and four boys, for their involvement in the incident. School officials would not say what role the boys played.

Did this whole story get overhyped? Probably. Was the reason the fact that it was girls doing the hazing? Yep. However, the brutality is there whether you like it or not. Just watch the video. The fact that it was girls doing the brutalizing makes it more shocking, but if I had seen boys doing this to other boys, I would have been outraged none the less. This wasn't a "powder-puff" football game, it was assault, and it should be treated as such.

2003-05-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Bush administration is getting tough with Cuba:

The Bush administration ordered the expulsion of 14 Cuban diplomats -- seven from the United Nations (search) and seven from Washington -- for engaging in "inappropriate and unacceptable activities."
The expulsion order, announced Tuesday, is by far the largest of six over the years that have involved Cuban diplomats.

Castro gets a lot of sympathy for some reason, but he hardly deserves it. The guy is a tyrant and a human rights abuser. Although, he is smart enough not to have gotten involved with terrorists...he's lucky he didn't.

2003-05-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Alright, here is WMD scenario 2. If anyone has something to add to these scenario lists, let me know.

2. The Iraqis hid their WMD somewhere and they have yet to be found

The weapons and equipment are hidden in Iraq
The weapons and equipment are hidden in Syria
The weapons and equipment are somewhere else in the world

Here, regardless of when they were hidden, Bush and co. are absolved of any wrongdoing. Nobody denies the fact that Saddam is one sneaky SOB, and he may have gone to unprecedented lengths to ensure that these weapons would never be found. As one theory goes, Saddam believed that if he could hold out long enough, then the anti-war crowd of the world would eventually force the U.S. to back off. To achieve that, it was imperative that the inspectors find absolutely nothing, so Saddam may have put them so far out of reach that they were unavailable to be used during the war. Of these three cases, I would first say that A is the most likely. Why would Syria want those weapons over there? True, the leadership there is Baathist as well, but do they really want the scrutiny of the world focused on them? I think C is unlikely, primarily because I don't know of anyone else willing to take the weapons.
Unfortunately, given the amount searching already done as well as the top dogs we have arrested, case A looks less likely. However, it is known that France had kept Saddam informed of communications between U.S. officials and those in Paris. There was time last year when we had just begun talking about Iraq, and so the French could have tipped him off. Saddam might have decided to move the WMD to Syria, which was probably unaware at that point, as was the rest of the world, of the will of the Bush administration. Therefore, I would say that if the stuff is indeed hidden, it is probably in Syria.

2003-05-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

If you want to know about Iraq's suspected WMD capabilities and the inspection process, IraqWatch has a ton of great information.

2003-05-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

For the next three installments, I will be discussing the Iraqi WMD in that I will trying to answer the question, "Where are the weapons of mass destruction and the means to create them?"

I believe that it is likely that the amount of weapons of mass destruction claimed by the Bush administration no longer exist in Iraq. We have captured a number of top individuals and have searched a number of sites during the last month, but we have come up with, sadly, nothing. Even if it turns out that there weren't any actual battle-ready weapons, I would have been satisfied with finding all the equipment that was designed to produce those weapons. To my knowledge, we have not even found any equipment. A lot of people are getting frustrated over in Iraq, and I am starting to get frustrated myself.

"The group directing all known U.S. search efforts for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is winding down operations without finding proof that President Saddam Hussein kept clandestine stocks of outlawed arms, according to participants.

The 75th Exploitation Task Force, as the group is formally known, has been described from the start as the principal component of the U.S. plan to discover and display forbidden Iraqi weapons. The group's departure, expected next month, marks a milestone in frustration for a major declared objective of the war."

It is premature to start casting accusations just yet I believe, and the search needs to continue, but it is time to start looking at the possible scenarios that have led to what appears to be an intelligence failure of massive proportions. It could also be that the intelligence was dead on, but that it was severely manipulated. That is a matter in of itself, but, for simplicity, I will try to discuss the different possibilities without delving too much into the motives and intentions involved.

1. The Iraqis completely destroyed their WMD and related programs.

Destruction occurred prior to the inspections which began in Dec. 2002
Destruction occurred during the latest round of inspections
Destruction occured after the start of the war

First, what do I mean by completely destroyed? Obviously, if Iraq has a gram or two of anthrax stored in a cave somewhere, the threat that they pose to the U.S. is certainly dubious. However, the UN resolution that governed the end of the first Gulf War strictly forbade Iraq from possessing any of these weapons or the means to create them, so when I say completely destroyed, I mean not a trace. You can have all the scientists you want, but if you don't have the equipment, you are not going to be able to create the weapons. The idea was, in my opinion, to scare Saddam into fully cooperating by massing troops along the border. The point being that he refused to comply, then we would eventually go in there and disarm him by force.

If case A is true, then there needs to be a criminal investigation launched into the matter of how all the purported evidence got spun around. This is the worst-case scenario for Bush and would be a gigantic embarrassment for our nation. It also makes France, Germany, and Russia look at lot more credible. However, if it is true, then we must also ask why Iraq failed to communicate this to Hans Blix and the inspectors, whose job it was to ensure that Iraq had fully disarmed. Blix's reports always stated that Iraq was being uncooperative and that the whereabouts of substantial amounts of chemical and biological agents were still undetermined. Saddam was once again actively hindering the inspectors' progress. That is what doesn't make any sense to me. Why would Saddam continue with the obfuscation? Why the minders? Was he worried about them seeing all the human rights violations? Doubtful, because people have known about them for some time. Did he truly think they were American spies scanning for possible attack sites? This may be what happened, because the guy was extremely paranoid, but, at the same time, he must have seen that the reports Blix gave all ended up damning him because of the lack of cooperation.

If case B is true, then somewhat less blame on us, but the same amount on Blix and the Iraqis. It boggles my mind picturing Saddam, knowing that we have our troops ready to go in there and annihilate him, and knowing that he has destroyed all of the WMD, yet somehow being unable to transfer this information to Blix and the UN. Here, as well as in case A, we would have to start looking at "what people knew." If Bush knew that Iraq was clean and still launched the attack, then he may have done something impeachable. However, if nobody believed that the weapons were destroyed, and they actually were, then it is more of an intelligence failure.

If case C is true, then Bush and the intelligence community are absolved of any wrongdoing. However, I don't think this scenario is very likely. First, why would the Baathists destroy the weapons after the war had begun? I think they would have been much more likely to use them rather than destroy them. Therefore, I doubt that case C actually happened. I just don't think that any of these scenarios is very likely. Saddam has devoted considerable resources to his weapons programs and has been trying build a nuke since the seventies. He obviously learned how to work around the inspections in the past, so why would this new round frighten him? Of course, that is just my speculation.

Next scenario will be: "2. The Iraqis hid their WMD somewhere and they have yet to be found."

2003-05-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

You Cannot Be Serious!

The Outrage of the Week

There were a lot of candidates this week, but this one wins, or loses, I should say:

“One of the girls was being strangled with pig intestines,” he said. “They used pig intestines, minnows, coffee grounds, excrement.”
Others were punched and kicked repeatedly, he said, adding that one of his clients had an earring ripped from her ear and broke her tailbone.
Videotapes show girls in yellow jerseys punching, slapping and dumping paint on juniors kneeling on the ground. Some spectators hoist cups of beer.
The seniors charged the juniors $35 to $40 and supplied them with jerseys, officials said.
School officials stressed that the game took place off-campus without their knowledge but said the students could face school discipline.

Dozens of students had come to watch the event and some of them, including male bystanders, joined in.

"When I looked up and I saw blood, I knew that this wasn't right," another girl said. "This is from a paint can being thrown at me," she said, pointing to her shoulder. "Tabasco sauce, vinegar and stuff like that [was put] in my eye."

Witnesses also reported urine, feces and fish guts were thrown, and others said they had been forced to eat mud.

If you haven't seen video of this, go to the FoxNews website.

This is just awful, and the girls who did this should face criminal charges. Imagine if a guy and some of his buddies got drunk and went up to some girl in the park and, after lying to her about what they wanted to do, put her through this nightmare. What do you think the punishment should be in that case? And if there were parents in on this, they should be held responsible according to how they contributed. Could you ever prepare something like this for your own daughter? Then how in God's name could you prepare something like this for someone else's?

Here's what the superintendent had to say:

"It was hazing," said Dave Hales, superintendent of Northfield Township District 225. "It was deplorable treatment."
Hales said he was baffled why students participated in the game. "Why would you pay money to go to something where you know you will be treated inappropriately and humiliated and possibly injured?" he said.

Who exactly are you blaming here, Dave, and what makes you think these girls knew this was going to happen to them? In addition, the school darn well better punish some of these kids. It didn't take place on school property, but regardless, the motivation of the event was so that the Senior class could initiate the Junior class, so school has everything to do with it. I don't blame the school itself for this because, according to the articles I've read, they have tried to stop these rituals in the past. But if the school wants to ensure that this doesn't happen again, they're going to have to take disciplinary action themselves.

2003-05-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

And now for something completely different. Here is "Why I Don't Understand the Fashion Industry" Article #135:

2003-05-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

The FBI is stepping up the crackdown on supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah operating out of this country. This, of course, is excellent news. Especially when you have guys like this piping up:

Some officials from both terrorist groups have said the U.S. assault in Iraq obligates Muslims to attack Americans, even as others indicated they would not attack U.S. targets. “The [U.S.] strike on Iraq would be the continuation of the Crusaders’ war, so Muslims should threaten and strike Western interests, and hit them everywhere,” Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said in February.

Our attack on Iraq is a continuation of the Crusader's war? The last crusade occured almost 700 years ago. Nevermind EVERYTHING that has happened in between; the U.S. removing Saddam and liberating Iraq is a continuation of the Crusades. This guy is the Hammas spiritual leader, and you know he is trying to brainwash as many unsuspecting souls with this propaganda as possible. Sheikh Yassin is a perfect example of the futility in trying to negotiate with a terrorist group like Hamas.

UPDATE: This quote is even more idiotic than I first thought. The United States wasn't even close to being around when the Crusades started (duh)! The Crusades involved battles between European nations, under the direction of Christian high leaders, and the Arabs in the areas around present day Turkey and Israel. The last I heard, here in the present, the Pope was against the action in Iraq. You and I can see why this quote is utterly nonsensical, but as to the Palestinian youngsters who have been fed this type of thing their entire lives, how do you think they will interpret it?

2003-05-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

France, of course, has created more problems for itself than most people would have thought possible. Not only have they severely damaged relations with the U.S., they have allowed the influx of a massive number of Muslim immigrants. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with being a Muslim, but the French didn't do their homework before letting a few of these guys in (via LGF):

PARIS, May 7 (IslamOnline.net) - The Israeli ambassador’s visit to the Mosque of Paris is meant to trigger crises and draw a new vicious cycle of controversy within the first recognised national council for the country’s estimated six million Muslims here, an Islamic leader said on Wednesday, May 7.

“It is a new effort to divide the newly-established council,” al-Tuhami Ibriz, deputy president of the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM) told IslamOnline.net.

This is blatant anti-semitism. This is how much this guy hates the Jews. If a Jew so much as visits, it is enough to trigger a crisis in the Muslim council. In this case, replace Jew with African-American and Muslim with Caucasian American, and ask yourself if you would want to associate yourself with the second group. The guy later says that the move is so bad because it came on Remberance Day, an Israeli holiday. Nevermind the holiday is in place to remind the citizens of Israel about those who have died while serving in the military. Perhaps the visit could be interpreted as an attempt to create peace, but no, this guy is sure that it is out of spite.

Meanwhile, French Muslims come under pressures amid their struggle for more rights and acknowledgement of Islam. The French officials threatened Muslim clerics expressing "radical" views would be deported from France, after so-called "hardliners" made a strong showing in elections to the CFCM.

In spite of their large numbers - some 50,000 Frenchmen and women reportedly convert to Islam annually - Muslims complain that the French refuse to accept the Muslim presence and consider Islam an alien force which "should be eliminated."

This problem ain't going to just go away, as France will soon learn. If France actually does deport any of the wackos, the screams of religious intolerance will be deafening.

2003-05-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

And as if my previous post couldn't have been proven any more:

Bush also announced that he was suspending a 1990 U.S. law imposing sanctions on Iraq. He said he was doing so to allow certain equipment needed for Iraq's reconstruction to be sent to the country.

This was in addition to a lifting of most U.S. economic sanctions on Iraq, also ordered by Bush and announced earlier in the day by Treasury Secretary John Snow. Snow said the move would "bring much-needed aid and humanitarian relief" to Iraqis.

France and Russia have voiced objections to abandoning the sanctions until the United Nations certifies that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction.

In case you somehow missed it, France and Russia were the loudest voices saying that Iraq doesn't have any of those weapons!

French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said in an interview, "We want to find the best possible solutions in the interest of the Iraqi people."

That is absolute bullshit, and he knows it. If things had gone the way France and Russia had wanted them to, the inspectors would have still been there today. The tortures, rapes, executions, poverty, and hopelessness that the Iraqi people experienced every day under Saddam would have been there too. The terrorism money? Still be there. The weapons programs (whether we find the WMD or not, there is no doubt that programs were in place to try to create those weapons)? Still be there too. But that would have been just fine with France and Russia. Just fine.

2003-05-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have had a problem with the UN ever since it became crystal clear just how blatantly hypocritical it was. Let's take a look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which can be found on the UN site.

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Now, you tell me whether Saddam's Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba abide by them or not. Here are just a few out of the list of 30:

3) Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

5) No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

9) No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

21)
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

The true absurdity of the UN becomes strikingly clear in the last point:

30) Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Let's look at this carefully. Now, if we read it strictly at face value, it appears to make no sense. If this is a list of human rights, why would it ever imply destruction of those rights? We must look a tad bit deeper. What it is actually saying is that you cannot use any of the above points as justification for depriving someone of any of the other points. For example: because Country A does not allow free elections does not give Country B the right to stop Country A in such a way that innocent people are harmed. What this last point effectively does is rule out the use of force.

This is why the UN can never work. There is no peaceful way to stop people like Saddam Hussein from violating this declaration of rights. If the goal is to remove Saddam, there is no other way than to do it through force. However, because that inevitably leads to people dying, it violates the UN code, so it cannot be done. What we are left with is inaction. This is the same sort of convoluted idealism that pervades the anti-war mindset. The fact that hundreds of thousands are killed every year cannot in any way justify the use of force, which may result in a few thousand killed. I don't like to play with numbers of casualties any more than the next guy, but when you try to figure out how to solve a problem, you need to quantify it, and looking at these kinds of numbers is one way to do so.

The UN does not properly quantify the problems in our world, and therefore, all of its plans are inherently tilted towards inaction.

2003-05-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

I saw this on the Andrew Sullivan site :

"I see no difference between the invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Poland by Hitler in 1939," Ritter told the Berliner Zeitung. Hitler had used self-defense as an excuse to send his troops in, and U.S. President George W. Bush had done exactly the same thing in 2003. "It was the same lie," Ritter was quoted as saying.

Following the brilliant logic of Ritter, then there is no difference between Bush, Hitler, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. If we are talking about using self-defense as an excuse to invading another country, there's no difference because all of these guys attacked another country to ensure their self-defense. The difference, of course, is that while Hitler tried to conquest Europe, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin reacted to violence which had already been thrown their way.

It is the same situation as today. Bush is not trying to conquest the Middle East as Hitler tried to Europe. The attack on Iraq is a counterattack, albeit a delayed one, from the initial terror attacks leading to and including 9-11. Now, I haven't seen any evidence that Saddam was behind 9-11. However, Saddam is, or was, part of a Middle Eastern nexus which allows and promotes the conditions from which terrorism springs: he works to ensure the failure of the Arab people. We didn't want this war, but 9-11 was the alarm clock that woke us up and said "do something about this situation."

2003-05-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

This, my friends, is what it's all about:

Iranian blogs have become pervasive and popular enough that they are being targeted and watched by the Islamic regime. Blogger Sina Motallebi has been detained by the Islamic regime for his pro-reform statements on his weblog. The reaction of the Blogosphere in rallying around Motallebi - thanks in large part to the work of Jeff Jarvis and Glenn Reynolds in publicizing Motallebi's arrest and his case - demonstrates that the Blogosphere supports the actions of the Iranian weblog community in working to bring positive change in Iran. Hopefully these actions will assist Motallebi in gaining his freedom, and allow him to carry on in his work.

The Blogosphere has already influenced politics, culture and society immeasurably. It was the first medium to pick up and understand the importance of Trent Lott's infelicitous comments at the 100th birthday of former Senator Strom Thurmond. It has won deserved acclaim in its coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom and its discussion of the post-September 11th world in general. Let's hope the Blogosphere, and Iranian bloggers in particular, have the power to influence meaningful and effective change in Iranian culture and society. Keep tabs on Iranian bloggers and reformist Iranian websites. They could very well serve as the cyber-shock troops of a new Iranian revolution.

2003-05-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought that the French couldn't get any slimier, this:

The French government gave members of Saddam Hussein's regime passports that would allow them to enter Europe and escape the coalition's hunt for top Iraqi officials, The Washington Times reported Tuesday. U.S. intelligence officials told the Times that an unknown number of Iraqi regime members were given French passports by French officials in Syria.

The report could not be independently confirmed.

French passport holders are able to enter any European Union country without a visa, and are usually granted tourist visas upon entry to many other countries, including the United States.

More importantly, Iraqis holding French passports would be able to move freely among the 12 EU countries that are part of the Schengen agreement (search) on unrestricted travel.

Britain, Denmark and Ireland are not part of the Schengen pact, but French passport holders can travel from Athens to Lisbon to Berlin without questioning, and can also fly to French overseas possessions (search) in the Caribbean, South America and Pacific and Indian oceans.

This is absolutely outrageous. If there are any doubts left in your mind, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. France has been actively engaging in behavior designed to thwart the U.S. whatever the case may be. Their government is corrupt and ungrateful nearly to the point of hateful for the sacrifices we made to liberate them from the Nazis during WW2. They think that they can do anything they want and that we will always be there to make friends in the end. That's no longer the case. They've screwed up really bad this time, and the more news like this keeps on coming out, the longer people will be continuing to boycott their products. It is true that the boycotts wind up hurting the French people. However, it sends the message that if they want the boycotts to stop, then they need to elect someone who is friendly to America. Chirac is not, and his government will be viewed historically as one severely deterimental to France and its people.

2003-05-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

This ad was in the Colorado Daily every day last week, and whenever I look at it, I cannot stop laughing:

2003-05-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

The comic genius of Jim Treacher has been an inspiration to me in the past. Well, I have thought for awhile about these, and I decided to give it a shot. Here are, my faux Onion headlines with opening paragraphs:

North Dakota Demands that U.S. Forces Withdraw from South Dakota

IN A STUNNING TURN OF EVENTS, the newly formed Democratic People's Republic of Dakota has demanded that the U.S. pull out of South Dakota immediately, or face nuclear war. "Obviously, this came as a complete shock to us," said South Dakota resident Gregory Jackson. "Everybody knows there has been some tension, but I would have never thought that things would come to this." U.S. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said that the DPRD was an "insignificant loudmouth" and that the U.S. would not remove its forces "any time soon."

Area Man Accuses Neighbor of Developing Weapons of Mass Destruction

JACOB WILLIAMS SAYS THAT HE is "87% sure" that his neighbor, Michael Sirham is developing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. "I just know he's got the stuff over there, it's obvious to everyone," says Williams. When asked about his evidence, however, Williams waxes reluctant. "Well, I don't know if I can show you this stuff. I mean, if that bastard finds out how I'm getting this info, he's going to start closing his blinds at night."
Eric de Hoya, who lives two houses down from Sirham, thinks that the situation should be investigated. "He very well could have all kinds of things over there," says Eric. "I suggested to Jacob that we contact the police, but he didn't like that idea." As to any future plans, de Hoya says, "He told me that he wanted to form some sort of search party and sneak over there a la 'the Burbs' some afternoon, but man, we all know what happened there."

2003-05-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

A common statement from the anti-war crowd has been, "Well, if you are going to attack Iraq, then why not North Korea?"

North Korea has a huge army, almost a million strong, and is belived to have nuclear weapons. Obviously, a war with them would involve a tremendous number of casualties on both sides. My response to this statement is, considering the amount of death involved, that it would not be wise at this point to begin a military operation against North Korea. Then the line, I love it every time:

"Ha!" they say. "Look what you have done. Now you are telling every country that if you get nuclear weapons, we are not going to attack you!"

My response? Well, duh! Who has not figured out that nuclear weapons are an excellent form of deterrence? Not from just the U.S. military, but from anyone! Do these people remember the Cold War? The U.S. and Russia began the nuclear arms race to deter each other from a first strike. Soon, a first strike meant death to the entire world. Nukes deter, everyone knows it, and the U.S. is not putting forth some dangerous new defensive theory by saying we don't really want to attack you if you have nukes.

North Korea doesn't posses the arsenal that Russia once did, or still does. And if North Korea used the one or two nukes they have against us, they would be assured of their complete destruction. Unlike the scenario of the cold war, the rest of the world would survive, but North Korea would be dust.

However, we can test this theory by looking at whether states try to augment their nuclear capabilities or not. In Pakistan, it appears that the opposite is in play:

“AS FAR AS PAKISTAN is concerned, if India is ready to denuclearize, we would be happy to denuclearize,” Aziz Ahmed Khan said. “But it will have to be mutual.”

The states that are our enemies are going to try to develop nukes whether we attack NK or not. But what does this tell you about the "fear of imperialist America" around the world? Pakistan is an ally of circumstance, and they have been an excellent ally, but we have not signed any long term peace agreements with them (to my knowledge). After seeing us at work in Afghanistan and Iraq, might they be inclined to increase their nuclear arsenals to deter the dangerous U.S.? No, because they know that if they are cooperative, that is all we really ask for. Contrary to many beliefs on the left, we are not trying to take over the world, and most countries know that if that was our goal, it is likely that we would have already accomplished it.

2003-05-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

We've nabbed another one of Saddam's top scientists.

Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as "Mrs. Anthrax," (search) has turned herself in to U.S. authorities in Iraq. Ammash is the "Five of Hearts" of the deck of cards portraying 55 members of Iraq's top regime leaders...

Here is another scientist that should be a good source as to the location of the weapons of mass destruction. However, given some the rankings of people we have already captured, it doesn't look like she will have anything new to add. Which brings us back to the question, "Where are the weapons of mass destruction?" I think that there are still some labs in Iraq that we haven't found yet that contain evidence. I also think that some of the weapons made their way over to Syria. What I don't think is that the amounts claimed by the White House still exist. As to when they were actually destroyed, I do not know, but I remember reading that there were four tons of VX gas that was unaccounted for. It seems unlikely that you could have such a huge amount of something without quite a few people knowing about it. The stuff may very well be in Syria though.

The Washington Times reported Saturday that the Bush administration has received intelligence reports that top Iraqi weapons scientists fled to Syria and that some may be trying to enter France.

But that just makes too much sense, right?

2003-05-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Some people have compared the War of Terror to the War on Drugs. Their argument basically says that because the WOD will never work, neither will the WOT. It is impossible to stop every drug shipment coming through to our country, and it is also impossible to root out and hunt down every single terrorist in the world. I don't think the comparison is a very good one.

The drugs we are talking about are illegal narcotics such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Though they are dangerous and illegal, many people in this country use them. Many also become addicted to them. The thing is, large amounts of money can be made by selling drugs, and as long as this is true there will be suppliers who will find ways to reap those profits. There is just too much money involved, and that is the driving force behind the drug trade. It isn't hate for our country, it isn't that we have wronged the population of some country in the past. It is cold hard cash. If all drugs were legalized and priced well below the current street prices, the war would effectively end because the potential profit for the dealers would drastically be cut and they would have lost their market edge.

Now let's talk about terrorism. There is not a "demand" for terrorism. Nobody gets addicted to watching terrorist acts. There is no direct economic gain to be made from terrorism; you can't get rich by bombing people. You can if someone paid you for every target you hit, but while it is possible to make money over the course of hundreds of drug transactions, bombers get hunted down with full force after one single incident. There isn't much to be done with any profit made. There are many theories as to why terrorism exists, and they are debatable. However, there isn't much debate as to where terrorism thrives. It thrived most recently in Afghanistan. It was allowed to by the Taliban there, which was a tyrannical government that brutally suppressed the democratic elements there. That is why we went there and destroyed the terrorist camps and ousted the government.

The primary feature that separates the places where terrorism thrives and the places it doesn't is the type of govenment in place. Terrorist arrests have been made all over Europe because the governments there do not want terrorists operating in their countries. Pakistan has also cooperated with capturing terrorists because they don't want the bastards there either. You can't prevent every human from wanting to bomb our country, but you can make it so difficult for them to operate that the idea becomes unrealistic. After the example of Afghanistan, everyone knows that if we see terrorists operating in your country and you do nothing to stop it, you better watch out. It is much easier for a country to break up a terrorist ring itself than to face the wrath of our military. That is the new logic of American foreign affairs, and everybody has figured it out. There is an impetus to stop terrorism that does not exist for drugs. Certain governments' survival depends on whether they can stop terrorists from operating in their respective countries. That's why we can win the war on terror.

2003-05-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

The former Iraqi information minister's fanclub has a lot of good info as to his whereabouts. Oh, wait!

2003-05-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Remember all of that insane looting that happened while our troops just stood by and watched? Remember how some people were calling it one of the worst cultural disasters in Middle East history? Well, maybe perspective is a good thing.

Col. Matthew F. Bogdanos, a Marine reservist who is investigating the looting and is stationed at the museum, said museum officials had given him a list of 29 artifacts that were definitely missing. But since then, 4 items — ivory objects from the eighth century B.C. — had been traced.

"Twenty-five pieces is not the same as 170,000," said Colonel Bogdanos, who in civilian life is an assistant Manhattan district attorney...

For Mr. Limbert, the case is undecided. "One theory is that this was done by people who knew which were the best pieces and came equipped to get them," he said. "I'm told 27 pieces were taken from the actual galleries. But the other theory is that this was a smash-and-grab operation, mostly by people from the neighborhood. What supports this is that a lot of very good pieces have been returned. If you like conspiracy theories, you can go on forever here."

I wonder if the bizarro world knows about this?

2003-04-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

Free speech! Free speech! Free speech! The unwavering call of the left. They are a source of constant criticism towards our government which, to these people, is constantly quashing free speech. Then how do they explain this?

That’s because many California textbooks will no longer feature pictures of hot dogs, sodas, cakes, butter and other kinds of food that are not considered nutritious. Nor will the books contain any phrases judged to be sexist or politically insensitive.

The Founding Fathers, for instance, are now referred to as "The Framers," in an apparent effort to make them sound less male-dominant. And there will be no more reading about Mount Rushmore (search), where the faces of four U.S. presidents are carved into stone, because it appears to offend some American-Indian groups.

The changes, which reflect a wide range of political correctness (search), have been brought about by pressure groups on both sides of the political aisle, as both Democratic and Republican legislators have been lobbied.

Snowman? No more. Melt that image and replace with Snowperson. Want to sail away on a yacht? No, again. It’s too elitist.

And if you think grandpa is a senior citizen, guess what? You’re wrong. That’s demeaning, according to the new standards. He is now simply an "older person."

The laundry list of words and images banned or considered offensive is not a short one. The word "jungle" has been replaced with "rain forest." The word "devil" has disappeared entirely, with no replacement.

As their cries for free speech grow ever louder, their tolerance for what is allowed to be said, printed, and distributed grows ever smaller. You've just got to love those California liberals.

2003-04-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Time to pay the piper, fatboy.

Just to be fair, I never actually saw the movie. I just really don't like Michael Moore.

2003-04-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

Where are the freakin' weapons, guys? I mean, it is becoming inconceivable that they have not found anything. Unless there isn't anything there. They haven't even found a substansial trace! Every single test so far on possible weapons has turned up to be a false positive. Maybe the weapons are in Syria. Somebody knows where they are, and given all the top people we have arrested so far, there aren't that many possible somebodies left. You've got to believe that the administration is trying its damndest to find something. I give them one more week. If nothing, not even a solid lead, then, the cynicism meter goes up a notch.

Imagine if we had taken 3,000 field casualties in the Iraqi invasion, the equivalent of our losses on 9/11. Don't you think there would be a little bit more grumbling about the lack of progress finding the weapons?

This is an encouraging theory, and it fouces on Saddam's suspicious behavior and that maybe he hid the weapons, but what if he really did destroy them. I don't know the answers, but what I do know is that the administration's promotion of the war is beginning to look a lot like a propaganda assault.

2003-04-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Even more evidence of connections between Saddam Hussein and the French government (once again, via LGF).

France colluded with the Iraqi secret service to undermine a Paris conference held by the prominent human rights group Indict, according to documents found in the foreign ministry in Baghdad...

...They include a six-page letter dated February 1998 from Saddam Hussein to Jacques Chirac, welcoming the French president's support in the campaign against sanctions and assuring him that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.

If these French girls here in Boulder thought that anti-French sentiment was bad then, just wait until all of this new stuff starts flowing through.

2003-04-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

More positive news about the attitudes of the people of Iran. (via Instapundit)

Iranian officials are worried. Worried of the American presence next to their doors, on the East as well as to the West, worried of the invasion of Iraq "with so little popular resistance", worried of the fast fall of the Baghdad regime, worried of the sidelining of the UN, worried of the total disillusion of the Iranian people that, since the beginning of the Iraqi crisis, has resulted in a fierce pro-Americanism of the population... but, especially, worried of the vox populi, that asks for "a change of the regime with the help of the American marines", the daily "Le Monde" wrote.

I urge you to read this entire article. This new fueling of the democratic voices in Iran is a direct result of our victory in Iraq. A lot of people there want change, and my prediction is that if Bush gets re-elected, a revolution in Iran will take place before the end of his 2nd term.

2003-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

This will almost certainly enrage you (via LGF):

The first Iraqi files to emerge documenting French help for the regime show that Paris shared with Baghdad the contents of private transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington.

The information, said in the files to have come partly from "friends of Iraq" at the French foreign ministry, kept Saddam abreast of every development in American planning and may have helped him to prepare for war. One report warned of an American "attempt to involve Iraq with terrorism" as "cover for an attack on Iraq".

Angry? Consider taking a few breathes and counting to 10 before reading further. Here is what our good friend Jack Chiraq had to say to us a week after 9/11:

PRESIDENT CHIRAC: Thank you. I've come here to tell you of the emotion -- the emotion of France, the French people, an emotion which has no precedent in history before this tragedy, which does not have a parallel. Indeed, it is a tragic event, something which is beyond crime; there are no words to qualify it.

I want to tell President Bush, who is my friend, that we stand in total solidarity -- we bring you the total solidarity of France and the French people. It is solidarity of the heart.

I also wanted to say that we are completely determined to fight by your side this new type of evil, of absolute evil, which is terrorism. And I also wanted to say that France is prepared and available to discuss all means to fight and eradicate this evil.

We'll have to make sure these documents are legit too, but, given France's behavior, it is difficult to believe that they are not. Chirac was the first foreign leader to visit the White House after 9/11. Remember Vito Corleone's advice that Michael reiterated in The Godfather II? "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer." Chirac had been playing us all along. Bastard.

2003-04-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

The Telegraph reports of a possible Iraq-Al Qa'eda connection.

The documents show that the purpose of the meeting was to establish a relationship between Baghdad and al-Qa'eda based on their mutual hatred of America and Saudi Arabia. The meeting apparently went so well that it was extended by a week and ended with arrangements being discussed for bin Laden to visit Baghdad.

There will, undoubtedly, be people who will immediately decry this as planted evidence. Their argument will sound like this:"Well, since Bush couldn't find any WMDs, he had to make it look like the war stopped one of the dangers he talked about, and that is why the papers were planted." We can't jump to conclusions on something like this, and it will take some time before it can be verified. However, if it is, then it is incredibly damning.

I must say, even I didn't really buy the Iraq-Al Qa'eda connection that the Bush team was pushing. There just wasn't much evidence. And the idea that Saddam was behind 9-11, which a lot of people apparently believed, was a joke to me. Bush and co. had to sell the war, and that was obviously the best way to do it. Den Beste has thoroughly investigated what he believes to be the real reasons that we went to war with Iraq, and the possible Al-Qa'eda link is only a part of it. I agree with a lot of what he says. However, it was the combination of terrorist links and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which caused me to support the war.

We haven't found any weapons yet, but I think we've done a good job so far of destroying Iraq's connections to terrorism in general. Even if Iraq wasn't connected to Al Qa'eda, they paid families of Palestinan suicide bombers and had connections with various groups in that region. My theory was always that sooner rather than later, these groups would get their hands on the WMDs that Iraq has been developing, and use them on either us or Israel.

We will see whether these documents are genuine or not. If they are, then it only magnifies the danger that we eliminated in Iraq.

2003-04-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Who said she's trashy?

2003-04-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

Let's learn a little about Iran, shall we?

Imprisonment
Execution
Amputation
Stoning

2003-04-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Someone needs to punch this fool in the gut!

In a quirky new video and DVD called the “Incredible Instant Adoring Boyfriend,” your beau greets you with flowers and tells you he’s done your washing, cleaned behind the refrigerator and has dinner ready. He also showers you with compliments and offers to give you a massage.

Something tells me that these people might be inducing unrealistic expectations:

So far there are no plans to create an "Incredible Instant Adoring Girlfriend."

"That could be controversial, since she'd probably be a girl in her underwear with tape over her mouth handing you a beer," Lim said.

2003-04-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Don't these cops have anything better to do, like solving crimes maybe?

Police say Dillon not only barked, but also shook his fist at Odin. Wilkie cited Dillon on a charge of willfully and maliciously interfering with the duties of a police dog.

Dillon denies that he shook his fist at Odin, and said he only barked once at the dog, from a distance of about 10 feet, Tasto said. Neither Wilkie nor Dillon could be reached for comment Tuesday.

The charge, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail, is unfair for two reasons, Tasto said: Dillon didn't bark maliciously, and Odin wasn't working at the time.

2003-04-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

Tell me one more time how the Iraqis aren't better off now than they were under Saddam.

Thousands of people are missing in Iraq, victims of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, but a more visible legacy are the parts that are missing from people who survived. Missing eyes, ears, toenails and tongues mark those who fell into the hands of Mr. Hussein's powerful security services.

A network of Baath Party informers, intelligence service investigators, secret police operatives and the feared Fedayeen Saddam preyed on the populace to snuff out dissent before it could spread. One man encountered in Baghdad in recent days said he had his hand cut off and a cross carved in his forehead for dealing in dollars.

2003-04-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Double-Ouch! Beyond belief. The Avalanche squander a 3-1 series lead and blow game 7 to a bunch of nonamers. The greatest goalie in NHL history along with the league's points leader and goals leader just couldn't do it. Unf-ingbelievable.

2003-04-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's good to be king:

Well, u-- um, can we come up and have a look?

What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

2003-04-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

It appears that I have angered Blogger for it now says &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; at the top. Well, that won't get fixed for awhile! Jeff Jarvis has some more news about the Iranian blogger who was arrested.

2003-04-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Light blogging for the rest of the month. This thing called school is really starting to get in the way. For comic relief, go here and watch the controversy unfold.

2003-04-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is exactly what I am talking about. (via Iraniangirl)

''We are here to show solidarity and try to inform world public opinion that the biggest challenge and threat to US forces, Iraqi Kurds, and the Iranian resistance is one thing, and that is the Iranian regime,'' said Alireza Jafarzadeh, US representative for the council, which is part of a 560-member Iranian Parliament in exile.

The United States, however, considers the group's military wing to be a terrorist organization that drew support from Saddam Hussein's secular regime, which fought an eight-year war in the 1980s against Iran.

Throughout history, there have been times when we must choose between the lesser of two evils. I am no expert on this group, and I don't know how active they are, but if they are against the mullahs, and are part of the old Iranian Parliament, I'm sure we will be talking to them.

2003-04-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Jeff Jarvis and Instapundit are talking about this. Editor:Myself reports that a weblogger in Iran was arrested this morning by that country's police. His crime?

He is accused of threatening the national security by giving interviews to Persian language radios outside Iran, wrtiting articles both in newspapers and his weblog.

I think we all forget how lucky we are to have free speech here.

2003-04-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

2003-04-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

I think Iran is going to be the next Middle Eastern country that will see a revolution. However, it is likely that it won't involve our military, at least not in the same way as in Iraq. Special forces and the CIA will probably have a role to play, but there is already a pro-democracy movement brewing over there. To my knowledge, the people there have not been brutalized to the extent that the Iraqis were under Hussein, so I think that when the time comes, they will be able to fight the fight themselves. Foment, baby, foment.

2003-04-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

2003-04-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

Gotcha!

2003-04-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

This isn't good either. However, the key phrase:

The lack of basic services such as power, water and police protection has hobbled the city's economy and fueled a mixture of rage and resentment against American forces. Iraqis are angry that U.S. troops rarely assume the role of police and resentful when they do.

Do they want us to help them rebuild their country or not? That is the question every Iraqi citizen must ask him or herself. If they want us to get the hell out of there immediately, fine. Then they can foot the bill for rebuilding themselves. And then they can wonder why we aren't so eager to lift the economic sanctions against them. On the other hand, if they just let us get done searching the place and allow some time for their leadership to get things going, they will find that America is a great friend to have. I have a feeling that the people will calm down once they get power and water back. Still, I thought that our battle plan was supposed to leave most of the infrastructure intact.

Their resentment is understandable considering the way we have interfered with Middle Eastern political bodies in the past, but hopefully the Arab leaders there will explain that our presence there is necessary for the time being.

2003-04-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

This isn't a good sign. We captured the top science advisor and the top nuke program guy, and Rummy says we need the Iraqi people to lead us to the weapons of mass destruction? Now good old Hans Blix is piping up again. We have had special forces running around Iraq for a few months now, and they apparently haven't reported anything either. If we don't find some big stockpiles within a week or two, I have a feeling things are going to get real ugly for the boys back in Washington.

2003-04-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Awwww, shit, look who's back!

2003-04-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

As if the fantasy-land that is the UN could not get any more convoluted, there is now a debate on whether and how we should remove the Iraqi economic sanctions.

Washington wants to lift the sanctions quickly so Iraq can sell oil and pay for reconstruction, but U.N. resolutions say this depends on the world body certifying that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction.

WTF? Good plan fellas, send in Chief Inspector Hans Clouseau again.

The enlightened French President Chirac:

"Now it is up to the United Nations to define the modalities of the lifting of sanctions," said French President Jacques Chirac, without elaborating.

Considering we are the ones who liberated Iraq, giving them their first chance in years to live without sanctions, I believe that the modality will be that we will be handling this issue ourselves and you can go and play in your UN happyland and pretend that anyone cares what your country says anymore. As if there is even an issue! Now let's think, why wouldn't France want to immediately drop the sanctions so that Iraq can get its economy turned around? Because it's all about OOOOOOOIIIIIIILLLLLLL!.

I should have said that we, Britain, and Australia liberated Iraq, with the assistance of quite a few other countries as well. However, if it wasn't us, it wasn't going to be anybody.