Islamic Skydiving

Maybe next they'll come up with midair detonations.

Skydiving the Islamic way

MUSLIM woman in the north west are being offered a chance to enjoy the thrill of 'Islamic' skydiving for the first time claims an Iranian British-based businessman.

Dean Ghobadi, a director of a sky diving and pilot training firm Paaviation, can arrange an 'Islamic' skydive from 10,000 feet over Iranian soil and he says 15 per cent of his booking come from thrill seeking Muslims in the UK.

Mr Ghobadi, aged 28, said until his firm's offer Muslim women who wanted to skydive could not complete the stunt without breaking the principles of Islam.

He explained: "To skydive beginners have to be lashed to a licenced skydiver who are all male. Islam prevents such close physical contact between Muslim women and male other than their husband.

"We have tried to get licenced female skydivers in the UK. In fact there are three. But one is ill and not practicing and the other two are in the army."

RNC Dismisses Phone Solicitors

There's major trouble brewing for the Republican National Committee, and hazard a guess as to why.

The Republican National Committee, hit by a grass-roots donors' rebellion over President Bush's immigration policy, has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors, Ralph Z. Hallow will report Friday in The Washington Times.

Faced with an estimated 40 percent fall-off in small-donor contributions and aging phone-bank equipment that the RNC said would cost too much to update, Anne Hathaway, the committee's chief of staff, summoned the solicitations staff last week and told them they were out of work, effective immediately, the fired staffers told The Times.

The national committee yesterday confirmed the firings that took place more than a week ago, but denied that the move was motivated by declining donor response to phone solicitations.

"The phone-bank employees were terminated," RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt wrote by e-mail in response to questions sent by The Times. "This was not an easy decision. The first and primary motivating factor was the state of the phone bank technology, which was outdated and difficult to maintain. The RNC was advised that we would soon need an entire new system to remain viable."

Fired employees acknowledged that the committee's phone equipment was outdated, but said a sharp drop-off in donations "probably" hastened the end of the RNC's in-house phone-bank operation.

What, pray tell, precipitated such a dropoff?

"Everyone donor in 50 states we reached has been angry, especially in the last month and a half, and for 99 percent of them immigration is the No. 1 issue," said the former employee.

Maybe some illegal aliens can do the donating Republicans refuse to.

UPDATE: Expanded Washington Times version here, with Fishwrap roundup.

Also at Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Ed Driscoll.com, Sensible Mom, American Pundit, Six Meat Buffet, Blue Crab Boulevard, Moonbattery, Wizbang!

Breck Girl Wants to Investigate Oil Companies

Next thing you know, there will be calls to investigate slick trial lawyers and those gouging practitioners from Big Haircut.

Edwards Calls for Investigation of Oil Company Mergers, High Gas Prices

As if we don't get this demagoguery on a daily basis from unctuous nabobs such as Charles Schumer.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says a wave of mergers in the oil industry should be investigated by the Justice Department to see what impact they have had on soaring gasoline prices.

During a campaign stop in Silicon Valley Thursday, Edwards planned to berate the oil industry for "anticompetitive actions" and outline an energy plan he says would reduce oil imports "and get us on a path to be virtually petroleum-free within a generation."

"Vertically integrated companies like Exxon Mobil own every step of the production process -- from extraction to refining to sale at the pump, enabling them to foreclose competition," says an outline of Edward's energy plan.

For all their investment, oil companies don't even make 10 cents on the gallon, while the federal and state goverments rake in six times that in some cases.

How about drastically cutting or eliminating some of the taxes before we go after those who produce a commodity that is in such high demand? Heaven forbid the Democrats would ever allow for drilling in ANWR or oil companies to build more refineries. It's much easier for them to play the shameless class warfare game.

Voting to Support the Troops Is Not Courageous

It's the right thing to do. Calling a shifty political operator like Joe Biden courageous for doing the right thing is a bit of a stretch.

Muslim Recruits Aussie Murderer

If Islam is a religion of peace, then why are they trying to recruit killers?

ACCUSED terrorist ringleader Abdul Nacer Benbrika has made contact with Carl Williams in prison and tried to convert Melbourne's notorious gangland murderer to Islam.

Mr Benbrika, who is charged with directing a terrorist organisation, approached the baby-faced, drug-dealing assassin hoping he would embrace the path of the prophet Mohammed.

But The Australian understands that Williams - who was this month handed a 35-year sentence for the murder of three gangland rivals - immediately rejected the self-proclaimed cleric's overtures.

This follows revelations that Williams's estranged wife, Roberta, considered converting to Islam before backing away from the idea this year. Embracing Islam requires a person to recite the Shahada, or declaration of faith: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God."

Hamas Plot Foiled

These gangsters will never stop trying to kill Jews, they will always have murder on their twisted minds, and they need to be eradicated. Their latest effort at murder has been thwarted, thankfully.

It has now been cleared for publication that the Shin Bet exposed a plan designed by Hamas members in the Hebron area to carry out an attack against IDF troops on the trans-Judea highway.

According to security sources Hamas members planted several explosives alongside the highway and intended to detonate one of the bombs in order to draw emergency services and security forces to the scene before detonating the additional bombs. The Shin Bet operation to thwart the attack led to the arrest of three of those involved in the plot.

Rudy Hammers Pantsuit Over Taxes

Taxes are a narcotic to socialists like Mrs. Clinton, and for all the talk about Rudy Giuliani's more liberal social positions, he knows massive tax increases don't help maintain a robust economy.

BURLINGAME, Calif. — Mayor Giuliani is labeling Senator Clinton's plan to reverse President Bush's tax cuts "an astounding, staggering tax increase" that would turn back the clock and damage America's economy.

In a potential preview of next fall's presidential contest, Mr. Giuliani, who is seen as the front-runner for the Republican nomination, directly attacked the leading Democratic candidate, Mrs. Clinton, over a speech she gave Tuesday in New Hampshire bemoaning the return of "robber barons" and promising to pursue "shared prosperity" by increasing taxes on Americans making more than $200,000 a year.

"This would be an astounding, staggering tax increase," Mr. Giuliani told reporters yesterday after a visit to a restaurant on the edge of California's Silicon Valley. "She wants to go back to the 1990s. … It would hurt our economy. It would hurt this area dramatically. That kind of tax increase would see a decline in your venture capital. It would see a decline in your ability to focus on new technology."

Mr. Giuliani clearly relished the chance to engage with Mrs. Clinton on the tax issue. He was even armed with some research about her past statements on the subject. " Mrs. Clinton, when she was in San Francisco a few years ago, was quoted as saying about the tax cuts, ‘We're going to have to take more from you to give it to the common good,'" he said. "My philosophy is to give you a little more back for the common good."

Suicide at Gitmo

Well, this opens up a spot for someone else.

Death of Guantanamo Detainee Is Apparent Suicide, Military Says

A Saudi detainee at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was found dead in his cell from an apparent suicide yesterday afternoon, military officials said. He would be the fourth detainee to take his own life at the facility in the past year.

Military officials at U.S. Southern Command did not release details about the death or identify the detainee, who was among about 80 Saudi Arabians in custody. Attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based law group that represents many Guantanamo detainees, said they had learned no details as of last night and did not have independent confirmation that the death was a suicide.

Of course, we're bending over backwards to be sensitive about the situation.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has started an investigation, and a cultural adviser is assisting officials at the base to ensure that the detainee's body is handled in a "culturally sensitive and religiously appropriate manner," according to the release.

I guess that precludes feeding him to the sharks.

UPDATE: He apparently had some training experience with the U.S. military.

McKinney '08! Catch Psycho Fever

All I can say is please do it.

You know, I have on my kitchen table, I have a button that was printed in 2000. And it was printed by the Green Party, they were talking about me running as a Green. So I have had a very long relationship with the Green Party. And I think, honestly, with the failure of the Democratic majority in Congress to repeal the PATRIOT Act, to repeal the Secret Evidence Act, to repeal the Military Tribunals Act, to not institute immediately actions of impeachment against this illegitimate, illegal and immoral administration, stop the war, I have to seriously question my relationship with the Democratic Party. I know that the very learned listeners of WBAI have long been interested in how to have a truly independent voice. I understand now that with the current Democratic majority in Congress that's not possible. ....

So, you know, 2008 has not been ruled out, some kind of effort. Certainly now it is questionable as to whether that effort would come under the banner of the Democratic Party. There's no way that with the current crop of candidates who are all supporting a military action against Iran and who none of them support impeachment. They can not speak for me any longer.

Griffin: Not Sure Global Warming A Problem

Well, this surely will get the treehuggers in a lather. Actually, I see it already has greatly upset one of the Kos Kids. Aw, the poor baby.

Michael Griffin NASA Administrator has told America's National Public Radio that while he has no doubt a trend of global warming exists "I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with."

In an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep that will air in Thursday's edition of NPR News' Morning Edition, Administrator Griffin explains: "I guess I would ask which human beings - where and when - are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take."

Considering one of the pillars of liberalism is arrogance, that's not a stretch.

Meanwhile, a House panel will hold a "mountaintop summit" to hear from climate change experts. I'm sure sure that'll be a balanced discussion.

The U.S. House's special panel on global warming will hold a "mountaintop summit" next week to hear from climate change experts.

The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will hold a hearing at a mountain lodge in Franconia, N.H., Monday morning, chairman Ed Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, announced today in a pun-laden press release.

"With concern over global warming reaching new peaks, the will ascend a White Mountain peak to hold the first ever mountaintop 'summit' on the issue," read the release.

Markey will call on several local witnesses to hear how global warming may affect New England and its tourism, jobs, and culture.

"I think it is important for the members of this new committee to get out of Washington, where concern about this issue has lagged, and engage directly with businesses, government and concerned citizens at the local level," Markey said.

With any luck, a spring blizzard will hit.

Vaclav Klaus Speaks

Speaking truth to power, Czech president Vaclav Klaus has demonstrated - once again - that he truly gets it.

It seems that there is one politician in Europe who has understood the essence of the European project and why it is not a good idea for any of its members. Sadly, that politician is not one of ours. Nor is it President Sarkozy or Chancellor Merkel.

I am talking the only East European politician who genuinely believes in democracy and the free market: President Vaclav Klaus.

On May 18 he gave a speech in Prague that summarized his reservations.

Speaking at the Prague Hotel Hilton, Klaus noted that

In the last decade the Czech economic performance was affected by two external factors:

- the economic growth in the rest of the world, especially in our main export markets;

- the constraints connected with our membership in the EU, or to put it more explicitly, with economic growth restraining institutions and economic policies in the EU.

Of these, he continued, the second was more important and more harmful. One could and did adjust to the first but the EU with its growth-restraining institutions has become a real problem, especially as the gain that the Czech Republic may have had - the opening up of the markets - was achieved before membership.

Ouch.

What I consider important is the fact that the concept (or model) of European integration has been fundamentally changing over time. With the benefit of hindsight, and with the courage to generalize, I see two different integration models (or methods of integration) in Europe in the last 50 years.

The first one I call the liberalisation model. It was characterised by an inter-European opening-up, by the overall liberalisation of human activities, by the removal of various, in the past created barriers at the borders of countries as regards the movement of goods and services, of labour and capital, as well as of ideas and cultural patterns. Its main feature was the removal of barriers and its basis was intergovernmentalism.

The second one, which I call the interventionist and harmonisation model, is characterised by enormous centralisation of decision-making in Brussels, by far-reaching regulation of human activities, by harmonisation of all kinds of “parameters” of political, economic and social systems, by standardisation and homogenization of human life. The main features of the second model are regulation and harmonisation orchestrated from above, and the birth of supranationalism.

I am frustrated that the people in Europe do not see this fundamental metamorphosis sufficiently clearly and especially do not think about its inevitable consequences. I am angry with politicians and their fellow travelers that they do maximum to hide it and to make it fuzzy.

Understand, the man just took a beating in a recent poll. He is viewed as trustworthy by just 68% of Czechs polled.

I am – as it is well known – in favour of the first model, not of the second. I am convinced that the unification of decision-making at the EU level and the overall harmonisation of societal “parameters” went much further than was necessary and than is rational and economically advantageous.

So, President Klaus, tell everyone how you really feel.

I consider it wrong. I am not satisfied with making only cosmetic changes. I am, therefore, in favour of redefining the whole concept of the European Union.

Read the entire speech.

It is a true gem.

Thailand Outlaws Former Ruling Party...

Thailand needs to worry more about the Jihadists in the south....

Thai ex-PM banned from politics

Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and 110 other senior party officials have been banned from political office for five years.

The Constitutional Tribunal also ordered Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party to be dissolved after finding it guilty of violating electoral laws.

It ruled that two members had bribed smaller parties to influence the result of elections in April 2006.

Mr Thaksin was later removed in a military coup, accused of corruption.

Will We Ever Learn?

We pour money into the Palestinian rathole and this is what we get. Terrorists using our own weapons to kill Israelis.

Arrested militant doubled as officer in Abbas' US-backed security detail

A long-wanted terrorist chief captured this week by Israeli forces was trained by the US, served in a senior capacity on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' US-backed security detail, and was a ranking member of a team that received and distributed American arms shipments the past two years, the WND has learned.

Khaled Shawish, an officer in Abbas' Force 17 presidential guards, was arrested Sunday by undercover Israeli police forces following scores of shooting attacks Shawish is suspected of carrying out.

Shawish doubled as the Ramallah chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group. He previously boasted of involvement in a West Bank shooting attack in December 2000 that killed Israeli ultranationalist leader Benjamin Kahane and Kahane's wife, Talya.

The Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Abbas' Fatah party, took credit along with the Islamic Jihad terror group for every suicide bombing in Israel the past two years and for multiple deadly shootings and rocket attacks.

After the Kahane murder, Shawish was extended refuge by Arafat to live in the late PLO leader's Ramallah compound, widely known as the Muqata.

ACLU Sues Boeing Unit Over CIA Transfers

Indefatigable in their pursuit of nonexistent rights for terrorists, the ACLU has come up with a novel approach in their War on America--sue the maker of the plane that allegedly transferred terrorists.

The American Civil Liberties Union said on Wednesday it is suing a unit of plane maker and defense contractor Boeing Co. for providing flight services to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as it secretly flew abducted foreigners to overseas prisons where they were held and interrogated.

The rights group said it would file a lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California later on Wednesday on behalf of three people it said had been abducted by the CIA.

It will be interesting to see which three pieces of human garbage they're working for.

Terror Dry Run Confirmed

Audrey Hudson at the Washington Times has the inspector general report this morning confirming terror suspects were indeed making a dry run on a Northwest Airlines flight in 2004.

A newly released inspector general report backs eyewitness accounts of suspicious behavior by 13 Middle Eastern men on a Northwest Airlines flight in 2004 and reveals several missteps by government officials, including failure to file an incident report until a month after the matter became public.

According to the Homeland Security report, the "suspicious passengers," 12 Syrians and their Lebanese-born promoter, were traveling on Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles on expired visas. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services extended the visas one week after the June 29, 2004, incident.

The report also says that a background check in the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, which was performed June 18 as part of a visa-extension application, produced "positive hits" for past criminal records or suspicious behavior for eight of the 12 Syrians, who were traveling in the U.S. as a musical group.

In addition, the band's promoter was listed in a separate FBI database on case investigations for acting suspiciously aboard a flight months earlier. He was detained a third time in September on a return trip to the U.S. from Istanbul, the details of which were redacted.

The inspector general criticized the Homeland Security officials for not reporting the incident to the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC), which serves as the nation's nerve center for information sharing and domestic incident management.

The report comes three years after the incident, which was not officially acknowledged until a month later, after The Washington Times reported passenger and marshal complaints that the incident resembled a dry run for a terrorist attack. After reviewing the report, air marshals say it confirms their earlier suspicions.

Read the whole thing, including the PDF linked in the story.

Pathetically, most major media outlets are ignoring this story.

More at Captain's Quarters.

Goracle Mentor Issues Hysterical New Report

With much fanfare and dire warnings, ABC News has a report out citing a paper from James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

Even "moderate additional" greenhouse emissions are likely to push Earth past "critical tipping points" with "dangerous consequences for the planet," according to research conducted by NASA and the Columbia University Earth Institute.

With just 10 more years of "business as usual" emissions from the burning of coal, oil and gas, says the NASA/Columbia paper, "it becomes impractical" to avoid "disastrous effects."

Oh no, the tipping point!

As the tipping points pass, "there is an acceleration, potentially uncontrollable, of emissions of vast natural stores of greenhouse gas," according to Hansen, who reviewed the study for ABC News today.

Hansen explains that dangerous feedback loops are being tracked in various regions of the planet.

Now one would think that since Hansen is of such high repute that ABC rushes this story out, they would tell a bit more about Hansen and his agenda. After all, they are major news outlet with bottomless resources and supposedly don't have any agenda (OK, stop laughing).

Well, a simple search let's us know just who James Hansen is.

As NASA scientist James Hansen, Al Gore's mentor on the global warming issue, concluded, "Empirical evidence does not lend much support to the notion that climate is headed precipitately toward more extreme heat and drought."

If Hansen has as little credibility as Gore, then this "report" is a worthless, agenda-driven study paid for by taxpayers.

Curious how ABC doesn't even mention Hansen's ties to Gore, isn't it?

Putie Kicks It Up A Notch

Russia yesterday threatened a new cold war-style arms race with the United States by announcing that it had successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of penetrating American defenses.

The missile tests follow months of anger in Moscow over the Bush administration's determination to install parts of a controversial missile defence shield in eastern Europe.

President Vladimir Putin has been incensed by the Pentagon's plans to site missile interceptors and radar shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. The row has contributed to the worst relations between Russia and the west for 20 years.

But as well as confrontational rhetoric from Mr Putin, Russia has also been preparing a secret military response, analysts said yesterday.

It's unknown how long it will take before Pelosi, Reid, Murtha & Co. scurry over to Moscow and jump in bed with Putie.

If Shrillary doesn't beat them to it.

Psychiatrist Needed

This one of the more bizarre news items coming from the Soviets Russians.

The Russian Federal Customs Service (FTS) has shut down the export from the country of all human medical biological materials, from hair to blood samples. According to information obtained by Kommersant, the decision by the FTS was prompted by a report submitted to Vladimir Putin by the FSB that focuses on bioterrorism and the alleged development by the West of "genetically engineered biological weapons."

As of May 28, the export of materials for clinical research and analyses is forbidden until further notice.

OK, Putie and his KGB cronies are a bit paranoid. Not that there's anything wrong with being paranoid or anything.

This move could threaten the lives of dozens of patients in the country and completely paralyze clinical research trials being conducted by Western pharmaceutical companies in Russia, a business that is estimated to be worth $100-150 million annually
.
Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry told Kommersant yesterday that two courier firms, DHL and TNT Express, informed their clients yesterday that as of May 29, a decision by the FTS prohibits the sending of biological materials out of Russia. DHL referred to an "internal directive" from the FTS and suggested to clients that they contact the Russian Consumer Protection Oversight Agency (Rospotrebnadzor) for an explanation of the decree.

But this is just abject fear of some unknown boogeyman.

Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) spokesman Alexei Brevnov told Kommersant yesterday that "this decree will be a serious blow to our nation's health – it will set it back years. It makes conducting clinical trials in Russia much more difficult." According to Mr. Brevnov, GSK recently had an similar run-in with the Russian authorities over a pediatric vaccine trial in a private clinic in Volgograd: the local prosecutor's office sued the company, alleging that the study was illegal, and pressed criminal charges against three doctors.

In Russia, clinical trials are an obligatory step in the approval of any new drug for introduction into the Russian market.

Yesterday no one from either the FTS or the Russian Ministry of Health was able to explain the precise reasons behind the ban on the export of biological materials, a move that will have grave consequences for research and clinical analyses for patients in Russian hospitals.

Of course they were unable to explain it. I doubt that Putie could explain it without coming off like a certifiable nut.

According to the source, the report thus characterizes the situation in the market for clinical trials: several large Western medical centers that receive shipments of biological materials from Russia are said to be involved in the development of "genetically engineered biological weapons" for use against the Russian population. The list of organizations purportedly working on the project includes the Harvard School of Public Health, the American International Health Alliance, the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the US Department of Justice, the Swedish Karolinska Institute and Agency for International Development, and the Indian Genome Institute. Kommersant's source reported that the report contains a wealth of fantastical details about the development of "ethnically oriented" biological weapons capable of rendering Russia's population sterile and even killing it off.

Tinfoil helmet and Death Ray Deflector Vest™ anybody?

Bush-Blair Derangement Syndrome On Display

Informed sources have told Great Britain's Telegraph newspaper that Queen Elizabeth II is exasperated with Tony Blair's legacy.

Boy, did that bring out the Koslings and other loonies!

The arrogant dictatorship of President Blair and his cohort, Princess Zippy was only to be expected. The fact that the British electorate fell for the smarm and failed to notice the eyes of a megalomaniac meant that they brought it upon themselves. I weep for this Kingdom across the board, but fear the damage will corode for decades to come. Thank God Her Majesty had the fortitude to finally flatten this shrimp in the face of the world!

Tony Blair leaves office in a couple of weeks after ten years and this nitwit says the Queen's alleged comments have flattened him.

Valerie Plame Donated to Al Gore While She Was Supposedly "Covert"...

Not only did she donate to the Goracle, she also gave money to America Coming Together, a Democrat 527 group. The Gore donation was made while she was supposedly a covert CIA agent, oops....

4/22/99 $1,000 Gore, AL (Gore 2000 Inc)

NEWSMEAT - Valerie Plame Wilson's Federal Campaign Contribution Report (Link for donations)

Gadahn Flaps His Lips

Al Qaeda femme fatale Adam Gadahn is babbling again, sounding like someone's got him around the onions. I'm sure it'll play well with the Kos Kids and Truthers.

Michelle Malkin and Allahpundit have additional links.

Chavez to Sue CNN; Looks to Seize Second Station

So who do you root for?

Venezuela says it will file charges against US cable network CNN for linking President Hugo Chavez to Al Qaeda.

It says it will also sue a Venezuelan TV network for encouraging Mr Chavez's assassination.

The move comes a day after popular Venezuelan TV network RCTV went off the air after the Chavez Government cancelled its broadcast licence.

Information Minister William Lara has presented what he says is CNN footage displaying pictures of Mr Chavez juxtaposed with those of an Al Qaeda leader.

Mr Lara says CNN also aired a story about the Venezuelan protests but used images taken in Mexico of an unrelated story.

"CNN broadcast a lie which linked President Chavez to violence and murder," he said.
Denial

CNN has issued a statement strongly denying being "engaged in a campaign to discredit or attack Venezuela".

The news network has acknowledged a video mix-up and "aired a detailed correction and expressed regret for the involuntary error".

Meanwhile, the jug-eared maniac has eyes on another Venezuelan television station.

May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to shut down the country's last opposition television station as students took to the streets for a third day, protesting what they say is a crackdown on free speech.

Chavez said he had ``no fear'' of criticism he might face for closing Globovision, a 24-hour news channel that he accused of trying to instigate his assassination. The threat follows the May 27 shutdown of Radio Caracas Television, Venezuela's most- watched TV network.

Giuliani Ambushed by Truther

A maniacal moonbat, probably a fan of Rosie O'Donnell or Ron Paul (maybe both) accosted Rudy Giuliani at a fundraiser and quickly got off into Truther territory.

Afterward, a young woman claiming to be the relative of a Sept. 11, 2001, firefighter who died when the towers collapsed, asked Giuliani why he allegedly told Peter Jennings the towers would not fall that day, but did not stop the rescue efforts of firefighters and police officers.

The woman claims Giuliani knew the towers would fall, and allowed rescuers to go to their deaths. She asked him, "How do you sleep at night?"

Video here.

I didn't realize Bellevue let them out on weekends.

When did we get to the point where crazy people are called "activists"?

UPDATE: Allahpundit has a Giuliani roundup; also at LGF, The Jawa Report.

John Doe No More

While I'm leery of Brian Morganstern revealing his identity and pray for his safety, it nonetheless is his call to make. With that, here's my public gratitude to the young man who tipped the FBI to the plot involving the New Jersey jihadists and their plot to attack U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix.

Hot Air has the video from Morganstern's appearance on CNN this morning.

The Joys of Progressivism

A prominent French Socialist is not very optimistic about the future.

A leading French Socialist on Monday expressed hope that the party will not suffer too heavy a defeat in the coming parliamentary elections that could kill off any chance for renewal.

Former finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn made the candid admission during a campaign swing through the Lyon region ahead of the June 10-17 elections.

"It would be reasonable to think that the left is not going to win a majority in the National Assembly," said Strauss-Kahn, who lost the Socialist nomination for the presidential vote to Segolene Royal.

Calling on the party to engage in serious soul-searching about its future and its policies, Strauss-Kahn said "we must not suffer too heavy a defeat in the legislative elections for this debate to be carried out calmly."

Heh.

Goracle, Line One

Weather kills three on the island of Corsica.

Global warming, you see.

The Pantsuit Wants Your Wallet

Welcome to the Socialist utopia of Mrs. Clinton.

Yikes.

It's all about fairness.

More from Weasel Zippers.

Delusional Paranoia

Failing to understand that any thoughts or feelings of appreciation were lost around 1948 - and certainly in 1968 - the Soviets Russians have told the Czech Republic that removal of a Soviet Russian Great Patriotic War memorial in Brno, South Moravia, would be viewed as a hostile act.

Russia would consider the removal of a memorial above a tomb of Red Army soldiers in Brno as a breach of the interstate treaty and a hostile step, the Russian general consulate in Brno told CTK in a written statement today. It was reacting to a debate about the memorial's future started by deputy mayor of a Brno district who labelled the structure a "monster" in the town hall's bulletin and called for the space to be cultivated.

The monument in Kralovo Pole is situated next to the Holy Trinity Church. It is shaped as a stone pyramid with a Cyrillic script inscription saying that 326 Red Army soldiers who fell during Brno's liberation fighting are buried there. A flowerbed symbolises a grave.

Pelan proposed to remove the memorial and to replace it with an "erratic stone with an inscription reading To the memory of all victims of World War Two."

The Russian consulate said that the World War Two victory was attained at the cost of huge sacrifices. "That is why attempts in a number of countries (and we believe that this does not concern the Czech Republic) to rewrite the history of the war and to distort the importance of the victory are absolutely inadmissible for us," the press release says.

In April, the Soviets Russians were highly offended when the government of Estonia announced that a Soviet Russian monument known as the Bronze Soldier was to be moved to a cemetery. The Soviets Russians became indignant and demanded that the European Union punish Estonia.

In a letter of complaint to member countries of the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed indignation at solidarity within the European Union (EU) and demanded Estonia's punishment, it appears from the letter published in the daily Eesti Paevaleht. The minister expressed indignation because many Western countries supported Estonia and tolerated activity of the government at relocation of the monument. "The Western countries give their tacit approval to the fact that by equaling the heroism of soldier-liberators and the crimes of Nazis and their henchmen, Estonian authorities were attempting to rewrite history and reinterpret the role of the anti-Hitler coalition in the victory over fascism in World War Two,” the letter said.

In response, the European Union - and NATO - told the Soviets Russians to pound sand.

The West showed on Thursday it will not leave Tallinn alone in its current conflict with Moscow. The U.S., NATO, and the EU chairing state -- Germany -- stood up for Estonia, demanding that Russia stop “the inadmissible acts of violence near that country’s embassy”. Thus, Moscow was told it will have to deal with the united bloc of western states if the conflict with Estonia escalates. In response, Russia said the events in Estonia cannot help affecting its relations with the EU and NATO.

Now their jaws are tight because in Poland, a Soviet Russian monument to Feliks Dzierzynski, the first head of the Soviet political police, will be removed from the center of Warsaw.

There's a big row on between Estonia and Russia over the removal of a Soviet era monument from the centre of the capital Tallinn. The Kremlin is furious that the statue of a Red Army Soldier has been moved. And with that dispute simmering away there's another one looming between Warsaw and Moscow as Poland develops a new law on national monuments. That law goes to Parliament in a couple of weeks and it's generating lots of controversy - in Poland and Russia.

The dismantling in the Warsaw city centre of the monument to Feliks Dzierzynski, the first head of the Soviet political police, was one of the first decisions of the city authorities after the collapse of communism in 1989. The law currently being drafted is to provide for the removal of all the remaining symbols from both the Nazi and Soviet eras. The use of the names of communist leaders for streets, schools, ships and trains is to be banned. But what sparked the controversy, especially in the wake of the recent events in Estonia, are plans to remove monuments to Soviet soldiers.

In an obvious reference to Poland, the Russian Foreign Minister said that 'attempts to neglect history are unfortunately becoming today an element of foreign policy of certain states.'

Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski says that his government is determined to go ahead with its plans. "No-one has the right to interfere in the question of Polish street names and the monuments of Polish squares." The minister for culture and national heritage Kazimierz Ujazdowski stresses that the graveyards of Soviet soldiers on Polish soil would not be affected. "The graves and cemeteries are under protection and are treated with due respect. No amendments are planned to existing legislation on these sites."

Sympathy for the Soviet Russian cause was on display following the EU/Russian summit two weeks ago.

The summit between the European Union and Russia ended in acrimonious disaster yesterday with no new deals signed and a stark warning to Russia that it should not try to divide the EU bloc. The European commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, told the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that any action against an individual EU state would be considered action against the entire EU. His unambiguous comments came amid a bitter dispute between Russia and Estonia - and claims Russia had waged an unprecedented cyber-attack on its small Baltic neighbour. "We had occasion to say to our Russian partners that a difficulty for a member state is a difficulty for the whole European Union," Mr Barroso said. "It is very important if you want to have close cooperation to understand that the EU is based on principles of solidarity."

Hey, Putie! Just because they're out to get you doesn't mean you're paranoid.

Foreign Jihadists Flood Into Lebanon

Instead of going to die in Iraq, foreign jihadists are now entering Lebanon from Syria.

NAHR EL-BARED, Lebanon -- Heavily armed foreign jihadists have been entering Lebanon from Syria from around the time Western authorities noticed a drop in the infiltration of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq, Lebanese officials say.

Syrian authorities, hoping to disrupt Lebanon so they can reassert control of the country, "have stopped sending [the jihadists] to Iraq and are now sending them here," charged Mohammed Salam, a specialist in Palestinian affairs in Lebanon. "They sent those people to die in Lebanon."

Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, commander of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, said about half of the militants who have been battling Lebanese forces in the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp outside Tripoli for nine days had fought previously in Iraq.

"They are very dangerous," he said in an interview. "We have no choice, we have to combat them."

Not surprising that they've stopped coming into Iraq, as they are now opening a new front. Is anyone doing anything to stop the flow?

Officials traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said before Miss Rice's meeting with her Syrian counterpart in Egypt early this month that Syria appeared to be taking "positive" steps to guard its border with Iraq, resulting in a reduced number of jihadists crossing the border.

But U.N. officials running the Nahr el-Bared camp told The Washington Times that a large band of foreigners carrying mortars, rockets, explosive belts and other heavy weapons entered the camp in a group several months ago.

That is near the time that infiltration of militants from Syria into Iraq fell off, according to Lebanese authorities, who suspect the jihadists were simply redirected by Damascus.

Read the rest.

Nancy Pelosi, off traipsing around Europe declaring the end of times due to global warming, was unavailable for comment.

Chinless Ophthalmologist Wins Second Term

The Syrians must really love Bashar Assad, as he came in with 97.62% of the vote.

Syrian President Bashar Assad won a referendum on extending his presidency for second term, garnering 97.62 percent of votes.

At a press conference, Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid said 95.86 percent of eligible voters – 11.19 million – took part in the vote. Only 1.71 percent voted against renewing Assad's presidency for another term.

The 1.71% were immediately executed. OK. Just kidding.

These figures remind me of the totals Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein used to get before they ceased to exist. Oh, wait, some say Castro is still alive, though I haven't seen the evidence.

This just in: Jimmy Carter has just certified the vote, so it's official.

Social Conservatives Still Backing Giuliani

Of course, it may not last, especially if Fred Thompson jumps in. Still, I think people tend to pigeonhole conservatives as a bunch of narrowminded yahoos who can't look past abortion for the bigger picture.

The bigger picture, of course, is national security and as I've noted several times, without national security and stability, does abortion really matter?

Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on abortion and homosexuality mark him as the most socially liberal Republican presidential candidate in more than a generation, is so far winning the contest for the support of social conservatives, according to a new analysis of recent polls.

Widespread perceptions that Giuliani is the most electable Republican in this year's field are driving his support among social conservatives, according to the analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

If the trend holds, this apparent willingness to support a candidate who fails what were once regarded as litmus-test issues would mark a landmark shift in the political behavior of a constituency that has been a pillar of the modern GOP. Already the shift is spurring sharp debate among prominent Christian conservative leaders, some of whom warn that Giuliani backers are abandoning core principles.

Consider also, if he does indeed win the nomination, who his opponent may be. Are conservatives actually going to vote for Mrs. Clinton or an empty suit like Barack Obama?

I don't think so.

So let the media harp on abortion and gay rights, as they want to torpedo Giuliani any way they can.

Some of us can overlook a few negatives if he's the GOP nominee. When it boils down to a major crisis, who would you rather have a poll-driven ultra-liberal like Mrs. Clinton or the junior senator fromn Illinois in charge?

I doubt it.

Musharraf's Shaky Future

Pakistan may be facing an ugly future when and if Pervez Musharraf's reign ends, and at the current rate, that may be sooner than we hope, according to the Los Angeles Times report today.

Musharraf's supporters are widely blamed for bloody street fighting this month in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, which killed more than 45 people, many of them workers for opposition political parties. And the general's once-polished speeches and public statements lately have taken on a tone that alternates between shrill accusations and near-tearful pleas for understanding.

Longtime political allies are beginning to distance themselves from the 63-year-old Pakistani leader. And although top generals appear to be standing by him, even government ministers are silent in the face of withering criticism of his rule, or offering only tepid support.

"His position has become untenable, unsustainable," said author and analyst Ahmed Rashid.

"I don't see how he can hang on," said journalist Zahid Hussain.

Musharraf faces stark choices, analysts say. He could hunker down and try to ride out the crisis, or move to declare martial law. He could seek to strike a deal with opposition figures, who are likely to spurn him. Or he could step aside.

Having twice survived assassination attempts several years ago, staying in power under martial law will present challenges and could lead to much wider strife.

Of course, the bleak scenario envisioned from our end is having a Taliban-style rule in power armed with nukes, though that may not be the future.

The conventional wisdom has always held that Musharraf is a bulwark against Islamic fundamentalists, and that without him, the country could slide into a chaos that extremist groups would exploit.

But opposition parties insist that free and fair elections could instead empower a moderate, Western-leaning regime. Islamist parties won only about 12% of the vote in the last elections, in 2002, and many believe they would draw less support now.

"There's this perception that if Musharraf goes, in come the Taliban," said Sherry Rehman, a lawmaker with the Pakistan People's Party, the political home of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, now living in exile. "That's really not the case."

Read the rest.

More 'Global Warming' Foolishness

Nearly two weeks ago, Czech president Vaclav Klaus warned that radical environmentalism is a threat to freedom.

"The approach of environmentalists toward nature is similar to the Marxist approach to economic rules, because they also try to replace free spontaneity of the evolution of the world (and of mankind) with ... global planning of the world's development," Klaus writes in his book.

"That approach ... is a utopia leading to completely other than wanted results," he says.

Klaus, an economist by profession, has repeatedly warned that policy makers are pushed by the widespread fear of global warming to adopt enormously costly programs that eventually may have no positive effect.

That statement was made May 16, 2007.

Just ten days later, it appears that Klaus is right

Secret plans to encourage the nation to give up eating meat are being examined by the Government.

A leaked e-mail expresses sympathy for the environmental benefits of a mass switch to a vegan diet - a strict form of vegetarianism which bans milk, dairy products and fish.

The change would need to be done "gently" because of a "risk of alienating the public", according to the document.

The extreme policy is being examined on the basis it could make a major contribution to slowing climate change.

Farm animals are blamed for producing huge amounts of the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide.

However, the National Farmers' Union has ridiculed the idea as "simplistic".

I have another description and it's not very nice.

The e-mail, sent to a vegetarian campaign group, comes from an official at the Environment Agency, a Government advisory body.

No shrinking violet, Klaus did humanity a tremendous favor when he questioned Al Gore's sanity this past February.

How To Attract Foreign Investment

The Soviets Russians are busy re-writing the rules regarding foreign investment in that model republic.

The Russian government is pressing a bold strategy this spring to secure for Gazprom, the state natural gas company, a monopoly on exports of the fuel to Asia.

In the latest onslaught, Moscow is threatening one of the crown jewels of BP's global investments: the Kovykta gas field. And it is using methods similar to those deployed last fall to force Royal Dutch Shell to sell a controlling stake in another Far Eastern Russian energy development, the Sakhalin-2 project. In that case, too, Gazprom was the beneficiary.

On Monday, BP, which operates through a Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, moved closer to losing its license to the Kovykta field when a Siberian court declined to hear the company's arguments.

Kovykta is BP's largest natural gas project in Russia and valuable because it is within pipeline range of industrial cities in northeastern China.

At play, energy analysts say, is a Russian strategy to form a government monopoly on natural gas exports through Gazprom to Asia similar to what exists in Europe, with the scope and range to dictate prices and eliminate competition.

President Vladimir Putin has discussed playing the two markets off against each other in a grand form of haggling - though one that would depend on government control of the export routes.

That did not bode well for private energy companies operating in the country's Far East, like TNK-BP. Shell's ill-fated development, too, was aimed at the Asian market.

And some consider Putie a reformed communist.

Gitmo Prisoner Urges Release of BBC Reporter

Reuters eagerly laps up the propaganda from a Gitmo slug. Notice how this poor terror suspect is innocuously referred to as a television cameraman.

A television cameraman held prisoner for years at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has issued an impassioned plea for the release of a fellow journalist kidnapped in Gaza.

In an open letter to the kidnappers of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, Guantanamo detainee Sami al-Hajj of the al-Jazeera satellite TV network said Muslims should never be responsible for illegal detentions like the one he has endured at the hands of the United States.

"What the Americans are doing to me is very, very wrong," al-Hajj, a native of Sudan, said in the letter, which was made public on Monday by his lawyer.

"Yet this can never mean that a Muslim should similarly hold a British journalist, and put him and his family through similar suffering," he said.

"Please, then, as brothers in one faith, consider this gift that I request of you: That you release Alan Johnston as soon as possible, without conditions. While the United States has kidnapped me and held me for years on end, this is not a lesson that Muslims should copy."

Al-Hajj, 38, has been held at Guantanamo for nearly five years on suspicion of having links to Islamic militant groups. He has been accused of making videos of
Osama bin Laden.

He was picked up in Pakistan in 2001 and said in his letter that he would be on the 140th day of a hunger strike as of this past Sunday.

Poor thing. Must be starving. Still, I don't feel guilty having just consumed a nice steak off the grill.

The Fruits of Appeasement

Congressional Democrats and RINOs again demonstrate their willingness to jump in bed with the enemy.

While they will bleat that they are building bridges and opening dialogue with democratic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, reality says otherwise.

Last month, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress visited Damascus, flattered their hosts, and called for talks with the Syrian dictatorship. Last week Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice broke the administration's boycott by meeting with her Syrian counterpart.

OK, so far, so good. Right?

Mamoun Homsi is a courageous pro-democracy activist who had been one of the few independent members of Syria's puppet parliament. In March 2002 he was thrown out of the legislature and sentenced to five years in prison. As he was dragged off to jail, Homsi shouted, "This is a badge of honor to me and others like me. Long live the people!"

Released after four years in 2006, Homsi immediately left the country, saying there was no possibility of changing the regime by reform, and that any criticism would bring more imprisonment.

Homsi wrote Pelosi a letter urging her not to visit Syria as such a step would only strengthen the regime. Last week, the government seized all of his assets in the country, leaving his family destitute.

Will they ever learn?

War Erupts in Old Europe

It can only be described as a mad dash to embrace socialism's greatest heresy - tax cuts.

A tax-cut war is spreading across Europe as leaders of the Continent's biggest economies give up criticizing smaller neighbors for cutting business-tax rates and decide to join them instead.

The move toward lower levies on corporate profits in Spain, Germany, France and Britain is aimed at attracting companies and reinforcing the strongest economic expansion in six years. It comes after Ireland and new European Union members from Eastern Europe succeeded in attracting investment, and irking their larger rivals, with tax rates of less than 20 percent, among the world's lowest.

It's "tax cuts for the rich" and

Supporters of lower corporate taxes point to the success of Ireland, whose 12.5 percent rate, the lowest in the developed world, is down from 47 percent in 1988. That proved a magnet for such U.S.-based technology companies as Microsoft, Intel and Dell and helped Ireland's economy grow more than three times the rate of the euro area in the past decade, while still running a budget surplus in nine of the 10 years.

[Chief European economist Erik] Nielsen at Goldman Sachs [London] is betting that lower corporate taxes, by making businesses more competitive, will help euro-zone economies grow at a faster rate without heating up inflation. An improved business climate has helped raise that rate, the so-called speed limit, to as much as 2.5 percent for the bloc's economies, from 2 percent, he said.

That's consistent with the findings in a study of 86 countries last year by KPMG International, which showed corporate tax cuts allowed countries to attract and retain business investment with little loss of revenue. While governments collect less from companies, the difference is offset by new revenue stimulated by expanded hiring and spending, the study found.

But apparatchiks within the European Union are nervous.

Stefano Scarpetta, an economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said, "Evidence on the links between taxes and investment is not fully conclusive." The OECD, based in Paris, plans to finish a research project on the question by March.

Old Europe adopting the principles of Reaganomics.

Priceless.

Venezuelan Troops Fire on Protestors

It's getting ugly in Venezuela.

CARACAS, Venezuela - National Guard troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday into a crowd of protesters angry over a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a critical television station off the air.

University students blocked one lane of a major highway hours after Radio Caracas Television ceased broadcasting at midnight and was replaced with a new state-funded channel. Chavez had refused to renew RCTV's broadcast license, accusing it of "subversive" activities and of backing a 2002 coup against him.

Two students were injured by rubber bullets and a third was hit with a tear gas canister, said Ana Teresa Yepez, an administrator at Caracas' Metropolitan University. She said about 20 protesters were treated for inhaling tear gas.

The new public channel, TVES, launched its transmissions with artists singing pro-Chavez music, then carried an exercise program and a talk show, interspersed with government ads proclaiming, "Now Venezuela belongs to everyone."

Danny Glover was unavailable for comment.

Global Warming Hysteria at the LA Times

They get right to it in the subhead, warming of cataclysmic climate change.

IF YOU HAVE KIDS, take them to the beach. They should enjoy it while it lasts, because there's a chance that within their lifetimes California's beaches will vanish under the waves.

Do it for the children!

Global warming will redraw the maps of the world. The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise 7 to 23 inches by the end of the century; as the water gets higher, the sandy beaches that make California a tourist magnet will be washed away. Beachfront real estate will end up underwater, cliffs will erode faster, sea walls will buckle and inlets will become bays. The water supply will be threatened as mountain snowfall turns to rain and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta faces contamination with saltwater. Droughts will likely become more common, as will the wildfires they breed.

So in light of the hyperventilating over events they can't possible predict with any certainty, what do these geniuses suggest?

More taxes, of course.

Read the rest.

While Politicizing Memorial Day, Obama Says Memorial Day Not For Politics

He's fresh, exciting and an idiot...

LITTLETON, N.H. - Though he said Memorial Day shouldn't be politicized, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama used a visit to a war monument Monday to repeat his call for better services for veterans.

Obama, campaigning in the first-in-the-nation primary state with his wife and daughters, laid a wreath at a war monument before attending a town hall-style meeting.

"This is a day on which we reflect on those who have fallen and reflect on the sacrifices they have made for all of us," Obama said, talking with reporters after the brief ceremony. "This is a great day to think about what we're doing on behalf of our veterans, and what we're not doing on behalf of our veterans."

Obama has made his opposition to the war in Iraq a central part of his campaign. At a town hall forum Sunday in Conway, his comments on the war prompted a standing ovation, complete with whoops and hollers.

The Illinois senator said he supports the troops, just not their mission.

If you supported the troops, you would support their mission.

Food Memo Was Genuine

We noted Saturday that it appeared the Washington Post was duped by a memo detailing food shortages in Iraq.

Well, as LGF notes, it was indeed the real deal.

Fifteen Arrested on Terror Charges in Spain

Good thing they up and ran from Iraq, otherwise they'd really have a problem on their hands.

Fifteen North Africans were arrested in Spain on Monday on suspicion of recruiting volunteers to fight in Iraq and other countries.

Spain's Interior Ministry said computer material, jihad propaganda and several cell phones were seized during at least five pre-dawn raids throughout Spain. No arms or explosives were discovered.

Thirteen of the 15 were Moroccan and two were from Algeria, according to the statement, which said the group was operating as a cell that allegedly send money and fighters to different terrorist organizations in north Africa, Iraq and other countries.

"The arrests are further evidence that Spain is part of the battlefield of international terrorism," said Jesus Nunez Villaverde, an expert on the Islamic world and director of a Madrid think-tank, the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, Spanish police have arrested hundreds of Islamic terror suspects, many in connection with the 2004 train bombings in Madrid, which killed 191 people.

Memorial Day

Jules Crittenden has a great roundup today entitled Memorial Day on the Ground. Many great links.

Let's honor America's heroes today by ignoring those who would tear us down.

Japanese Minister Commits Suicide

He apparently was overwhelmed by a series of scandals.

A scandal-tainted minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet committed suicide on Monday, compounding problems for the Japanese leader whose support has slumped ahead of a July election.

It was the first suicide by a Japanese cabinet minister since the days after Japan's defeat in World War Two, according to officials at the national library.

"This will have serious political fallout, but at this point it's hard to tell how much," a government official told Reuters.

Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka's suicide came as Abe's public support rate fell to its lowest level since he took office last September, due largely to voter anger over mismanagement of pension premiums that could shortchange retirees.

The dent in Abe's popularity had already increased chances that his ruling camp would lose its majority in the election for parliament's upper house, his first big test at the polls.

Matsuoka, 62, under fire for a series of political funding scandals, died in hospital after he was found unconscious in his room at a Tokyo residential complex for lawmakers.

U.S. Blamed for Everything

More and more, it appears some followers of Islam are suffering from a mental illness for which there is no cure.

US invasion of Iraq destabilize Indian neighborhood

India's former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has said that the US invasion of Iraq has destabilized India's neighborhood.

Addressing a seminar 'Islam on terrorism' here Saturday, Singh said that the American war in Iraq has no doubt contributed in the destabilization of India's neighborhood.

"We have repeatedly warned that it was one day bound to affect American shores also. It is, in fact, the new form of imperialism which America is now pursuing."
Speaking at the seminar organised by the Jama Masjid United Forum, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said 'Islam, I know, explicitly forbids targeting women, children, the aged and the defenseless. Islam means peace, so how can Islam encourage terrorism? "I don't think any man of God can kill innocent people. A person who is a terrorist could belong to any religion," the minister told the conference.

Former Jammu and Kashmir minister Muzaffar Beg said the worst hit by terrorism was Islam.

"If you ask, who is the worst hit by terrorism, then it is of course, Islam and its followers," he said.

"It is time that we give a thought to the role of the so called power brokers who are real extremists and perpetrators of terrorism," he added.

FBI Expels Bogus African Cop

This really makes you wonder what kind of screening procedures are in place at the FBI, when a foreigner with no police credentials can get into the National Academy and wander around with a video camera for over nine weeks before anyone realizes he shouldn't be there.

The FBI's famed National Academy recently expelled a student from a troubled African nation after learning he was not a cop, as he had claimed, The Post has learned.

The incident raises serious questions about the FBI's screening process for prospective National Academy students.

The 72-year-old National Academy is part of the FBI Academy, which trains G-men. It is located at the U.S. Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va. - considered a "secured facility" by the government.

The National Academy has trained thousands of U.S., city and state police officers, as well as cops from other countries, during 10-week courses that include classes in law, forensic sciences and leadership development.

After graduation, cops return to their jobs.

The expelled student - Zakaria Sinie of Chad - was one of 270 police-officer students enrolled from Jan. 7 to March 16.

Chad, in central Africa, is one of the world's most troubled nations, plagued by a corrupt government and a desperately poor population.

As with other students, Sinie's application for enrollment was supposed to have been reviewed by the FBI to check his bona fides: most importantly, his status as a cop.

The "quiet" Sinie lived, studied at and strolled around the Quantico facility with a still and video camera for 9 1/2 weeks before he was found not to be a cop, expelled and sent home to Chad, sources said.

Blackwater Contractors Defend Themselves, Left Comes Unglued

The Washington Post has a report today about how employees of Blackwater USA defended themselves following an ambush, and the left is coming unglued. Keep in mind four of their contractors were murdered back in 2004.

Employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week, and one of the incidents provoked a standoff between the security contractors and Iraqi forces, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

A Blackwater guard shot and killed an Iraqi driver Thursday near the Interior Ministry, according to three U.S. officials and one Iraqi official who were briefed on the incident but spoke on condition of anonymity because of a pending investigation. On Wednesday, a Blackwater-protected convoy was ambushed in downtown Baghdad, triggering a furious battle in which the security contractors, U.S. and Iraqi troops and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters were firing in a congested area.

Read the rest.

Meanwhile, commenters on this story get right into the gutter with the most outrageous statements.

Blackwater *mercenaries.* They're actually terrorists, but mercenaries will work.
Cheers,
Lori R. Price
Citizens For Legitimate Government
http://www.legitgov.org/

Isn't that nice? Happy Memorial Day to you as well, Lori.

DCSage wrote:
Blackwater mercenaries should now be known as Condi's Mauraders. The little neo-con devil is already trying to feather her nest back at Stanford as she tries to clean up her war crimes and massacres. It is only fitting that Condi see the burned and dead faces of the thousands who died as a result of her lies, every time she tries to get a wink of sleep.

Paranoia runs deep. Get a load of this one:

Bukkonen wrote:
You think that's bad? Just wait 'til they start opening fire in the UNITED STATES, on the orders of President Cheney, when he declares martial law and cancels the 2008 elections.

The lunacy goes on.

Maybe if President Cheney orders martial law, these nuts will stay home on Election Day 2008.

Antiwar Left Unloads on Democrats

I love the smell of internecine warfare in the morning. Usually when Republicans squabble, the drive-by media reports on deep divisions within the party, as if they really care what goes on in the GOP. Now, with Democrats caving on the Iraq funding measure, the far-left fringe is freaking out.

The bitter battle between the Democratic Congress and President Bush over Iraq war funding may be over for now, but another fight has erupted between Democrats and members of the antiwar base who say they were betrayed by their party.

Democratic leaders told their rank-and-file supporters Friday they had no choice but to give up efforts to tie a troop-withdrawal deadline to an emergency appropriations bill. Mr. Bush on Friday signed the bill that pays for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan until the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.

Many antiwar activists and bloggers condemned the Democrats' retreat and said their patience with party leadership was wearing thin.

"Today America watched a Democratic Party kick them square in the teeth -- all in order to continue the most unpopular war in a generation," Democratic campaign strategist David Sirota wrote Friday on the left-wing Huffington Post Web site. "We gave them our heart; they gave President Bush a blank check.

"That will make May 24, 2007, a dark day ... when Democrats in Washington not only continued the war they promised to end, but happily went on record declaring that they believe in their hearts that government's role is to ignore the will of the American people," Mr. Sirota wrote.

The Daily Kos, one of the largest antiwar Web sites, also expressed disappointment and anger that leaders such as Democratic Sen. James H. Webb Jr. of Virginia voted to approve funding for the war. But it took some solace in Mr. Webb's statement that he "will not relent from my continuing efforts to bring this occupation to an end."

"They let us down this time. But the opportunities for them to make amends still exist," Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of the Daily Kos, wrote the day after the vote. "If Democrats take advantage of them, as they promise they will, then all might be forgiven. They can prove to us that they in fact know what they are doing, and that they, in fact, do plan on honoring their most sacred promise to the 2006 electorate.

"And if they don't? Well, no one, not even the most rabid partisans, have an endless supply of patience," Mr. Zuniga warned.

Tough talk from the little man.

Kooky Sheen Hedges on Loose Change Role

Idiot actor Charlie Sheen has apparently sobered up enough to realize he'd be throwing away his career if he got involved with the crackpots from Loose Change.

SHEEN RETHINKS NUTTY 9/11 FILM

SUPPORT for the loopy 9/11 documentary "Loose Change" - which argues that the World Trade Center terror attack was part of a secret U.S. government conspiracy - is quickly losing steam.

A source tells us Charlie Sheen "is having second thoughts" about being involved in an updated version of the flick, which has a huge following on YouTube. As Page Six reported in March, Sheen had agreed to narrate the ridiculous flick, presumably to give it some needed Hollywood sizzle.

The conspiracy documentary got a further boost earlier this month when Virgin Atlantic announced it would offer the current, narration-free version as an in-flight movie choice. But just days later, it scrapped the idea. "After Virgin announced it, bloggers went nuts and there was so much negative feedback that [the airline] a few days later nixed it," the source said.

After we revealed Sheen's participation, the "Two and a Half Men" star told Extra: "It's a story that needs to be told. It's a story about the truth, and the truth needs to be exposed. It's not just me, not just the Hollywood community [that] is standing up saying what you have given us doesn't make sense. We just want better answers." As for Sheen now pulling his support, the star's flack, Stan Rosenfield, did not return calls over two days.

Sheen might just want to stick to his television show, hookers and stuffing coke up his nose, and spare himself further ridicule.

"Loose Change" pushes the widely debunked "controlled demolition" theory, which claims the Twin Towers and 7 World Trade Center were blown up from within. It alleges the jet-fuel fires inside the towers weren't hot enough to melt the buildings' steel beams.

Those claims were soundly refuted by Popular Mechanics magazine, which meticulously shot down every single one.

The Wrath of Grapes

France doesn't have enough problems. Now they have to deal with militant wine makers.

France’s wine guerrillas gun for Sarkozy

They may be novices in the world of bombings and bala-clava helmets but France’s “wine commandos” are determined to attract attention.

More usually associated with life’s pleasures, French wine makers have sunk to depths of gloom over dwindling returns and a deepening “wine lake” as a result of competition from the New World.

Instead of adapting, however, some are blaming the government. In an extraordinary signal of discontent – and disconnection from reality – they have promised terrorist attacks unless Nicolas Sarkozy, the new president, does something to shore up prices.

In a routine familiar from Bilbao to Baghdad, figures in black balaclavas issued an ultimatum to Sarkozy in a video broadcast on French television. “If nothing has changed in a month,” it said, “and if prices for wine have not risen again . . . wine makers will take action.”

It might have seemed funny were it not for the record of thuggery: the hooded figures were members of CRAV, a militant group from Languedoc, in southern France, that has already shot at lorries transporting foreign wine and vandalised supermarkets suspected of “collaborating” with foreign suppliers.

“That is just a warm-up,” said a spokesman for the group, warning that “blood will flow” unless Sarkozy steps in to support the faltering industry.

The 52-year-old Sarkozy has infuriated union leaders with pledges to get France working again through a series of market reforms. But the wine producers’ resentment of the president may have more to do with the fact that he does not drink alcohol.

“How can we trust a president who doesn’t like wine?” asked Philippe Prévert, a producer from the Loire.

Perish the thought. A sober man leading their country.

Al-Zawahiri Urges Exporting Jihad

Brave jihadi warrior Ayman Al-Zawahiri, in hiding for the past five years, speaks out and urges his fellow maniacs to widen their terror war around the Middle East. Yet another reason for Democrats to wave the white flag and run for cover.

THE deputy leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has urged supporters in Iraq to extend their “holy war” to other Middle Eastern countries.

In a letter sent to the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq in the past few weeks, Zawahiri claims that it is defeating US forces and urges followers to expand their campaign of terror.

He conjures a vision of an Islamic state comprising Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, where Al-Qaeda has already gained its first footholds.

The goal of an Islamic “greater Syria”, first outlined by Zawahiri two years ago, is detailed in the letter amid growing concern about the activities of new groups under Al-Qaeda’s influence in the countries concerned.

Noted in this report is some the mutants currently fighting Lebanese forces were trained in Iraq.

In Lebanon yesterday, Islamist militants of various nationalities from Fatah al-Islam were holding out under renewed army bombardment in Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli. Many fought and trained in Iraq.

The little-known Jaish al-Islam claims to be holding Alan John-ston, the BBC journalist, in Gaza, where militants disillusioned with Hamas are said to be drifting to Al-Qaeda.

Jaish al-Islam has demanded the release of a woman who tried to blow herself up during the 2005 bombing of a wedding reception in the Jordanian capital of Amman, an operation ordered by Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

More at Gateway Pundit.

Al Qaeda Joins Clinton, Obama; Votes No on Funding Bill

Harry Reid's comrades weighed in on the latest developments in Washington. I can't wait to see who they endorse in the 2008 Democrat primaries.

CAIRO, Egypt — An Al Qaeda front group warned U.S. President George W. Bush Saturday that the Iraq war funding recently approved by Congress would not improve chances for success in the country.

After weeks of debate, the U.S. Congress passed the spending bill on Thursday, providing $95 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Don't be happy for the money allocated to your soldiers," said a statement issued by the Islamic State of Iraq. "With God's help, the money will heal no wound and change nothing at all ... the battleground will be a witness to what we say." The statement was posted on a Web site commonly used by Islamic extremists, but its authenticity could not be verified.

Bush acknowledged Thursday that Al Qaeda terrorists would likely intensify their attacks in anticipation of a September progress report by the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

"And so, yes, it could be a bloody — it could be a very difficult August," said Bush at a news conference.

Responding to these comments, the Islamic State of Iraq's statement said, "The tyrant of this era, Bush, came out to say that the coming days will be difficult on the Rafidain (Iraq) land, but we tell him that they will be tougher for the enemy than the old days."

Dr. Death To Be Freed

Jack Kevorkian will be a free man next week and the Associated Press laments the fact only Oregon allows assisted suicide.

LANSING, Mich. - For nearly a decade, Dr. Jack Kevorkian waged a defiant campaign to help other people kill themselves.

The retired pathologist left bodies at hospital emergency rooms and motels and videotaped a death that was broadcast on CBS' "60 Minutes." His actions prompted battles over assisted suicide in many states.

But as he prepares to leave prison June 1 after serving more than eight years of a 10- to 25-year sentence in the death of a Michigan man, Kevorkian will find that there's still only one state that has a law allowing physician-assisted suicide — Oregon.

Experts say that's because abortion opponents, Catholic leaders, advocates for the disabled and often doctors have fought the efforts of other states to follow the lead of Oregon, where the law took effect in late 1997.

Opponents defeated a measure in Vermont this year and are fighting similar efforts in California. Bills have failed in recent years in Hawaii, Wisconsin and Washington state, and ballot measures were defeated earlier by voters in Washington, California, Michigan and Maine.

Kevorkian's release could spur another round of efforts, if only to prevent anyone else from following his example.

"One of the driving forces of the (Oregon) law was to prevent the Jack Kevorkians from happening," said Kate Davenport, a communications specialist at the Death with Dignity National Center in Portland, Ore., which defended Oregon's law against challenges.

"It wasn't well regulated or sane," she said. "There were just too many potential pitfalls."

Kevorkian is a lunatic and I have a hunch he's learned little in his time behind bars. Within weeks of his release, he'll probably help someone commit suicide and will be looking at prison again.

WaPo Suckered by Fake Memo

Ace of Spades unravels the mystery behind another "fake but accurate" memo making the rounds.

Also at Hot Air, LGF, Flopping Aces.

U.S. Ships Arms to Lebanon While Terrorists Talk Trash

These guys do know how tho play the propaganda game, and Reuters dutifully plays along.

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - The United States sent more ammunition on Saturday to Lebanon, whose army is struggling to defeat a group of heavily armed Islamist militants holed up inside a Palestinian refugee camp.

The militant Fatah al-Islam group, which has vowed to fight to the death, said in a statement the U.S. military supplies included nerve gas and cluster bombs.

"If they use unconventional weapons against us, we will respond with unconventional attacks everywhere," said the statement, read by the group's spokesman Abu Salim Taha.

A Lebanese military spokesman said he had no reaction to "these false allegations which are not worth commenting on."

Later, a purported leader of Fatah al-Islam issued a new threat in videotaped message carried on Al Jazeera television.

The group would fight "the Jews, the Americans and their loyalists," Shaker al-Abssi said, referring to Lebanese leaders.

Three U.S. Air Force cargo planes had earlier landed at Beirut's airport and unloaded ammunition and other equipment for the army, airport sources said. Six planes carrying similar military aid from the U.S. and Arab allies arrived on Friday.

Palestinian Terror Attack in Jerusalem

Two members of the Religion of Peace were killed after attacking border patrol police in East Jerusalem.

Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at border patrol police in east Jerusalem late Saturday, injuring four, police said.

Israeli border police at the scene fired at the attackers, killing both of them.

Emergency services said four Israelis were injured and evacuated to hospital, one of whom was in serious condition.

The shooting took place in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheik Said, near the security fence.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a joint patrol of Israeli border police and civilian guards along the barrier.

Channel 10 reported that the patrol was ambushed by the Palestinian shooters.

An offshoot of the violent Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is affiliated with the Fatah Party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, claimed responsibility for the shooting attack, according to the Palestinian news Web site Maan.

Laugh of the Day

Actually, this may be the laugh of the year.

Love for sake of Allah builds societies and nations

While they're not building societies and nations, they're busy blowing things up and lopping off heads.

Affleck in Tirade Over Cowardly Democrats

Washed-up actor and political moron Ben Affleck unleashed an angry diatribe about the weak-kneed Democrats while appearing on Bill Maher's show Friday. Via NewsBusters and Ms. Underestimated.

AFFLECK: I’m going to do it right now, because, you know what’s funny that you’re not going to give away? The Democrats live in fear of basically, you know, being called cowards. Of looking soft on military. Of looking like pussies, basically. We’re afraid that somebody’s going to call us a pussy. That somebody’s going to criticize us. And these people got elected basically on opposing the war. They got sent to Washington to oppose the war. They went there to make a vote on opposing the war. And then, when they got sent back the bill to, you know, and they were told, “Look, you know, the president’s not going to, you know, you have to put these, uh, you know, timelines in there, you know, you’re either going to vote for or against this measure that says, you have to, if you want this money, you have to give us timelines to get out of Iraq. Are you going to be for this or against it?”

They were afraid that if they basically sent it back to the President and said, “No, we need the timelines.” And they left, for Memorial Day vacation. And when they left, the President would criticize them when they went on vacation for not supporting the troops. In other words…while they were on vacation, they were afraid of being criticized. So rather, out of a fear of being criticized, they sacrificed their core political beliefs. And they wonder why people call them fucking weak.

He's right, you know, they are weak.