Sharp Decrease in Iraq Ramadan Violence

Despite a pledge by al Qaeda to increase violence during Ramadan, there's been a sharp decrease the past two weeks compared to last year.

Of course, this will be widely dismissed, the same as news of decreasing U.S. casualties merits little to no mention in the media.

Violence in Iraq during Ramadan has fallen by almost 40 percent from last year, the U.S. military said on Sunday, despite a warning from al Qaeda that it would increase attacks during the Muslim holy month.

U.S. military spokesman Rear Admiral Mark Fox said a "surge" of 30,000 extra troops into Iraq this year and the new tactic of moving soldiers into small combat outposts instead of "commuting to the war" from large bases had helped bring down violence.

"We are substantially below last year's level. As a matter of fact, in comparison to this time last year, about 38 percent lower in terms of Ramadan violence levels," he told a news conference, adding that that overall levels were still too high.

The most recent number of U.S. troop casualties is 62 according to this site, though this AFP report says it's 70 for September, a 14-month low.

US military losses in Iraq for September stood at 71 on Sunday, but the toll remained the lowest monthly figure since July last year, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.

The US military on Sunday announced the death of another soldier, saying he died when his unit was hit by a bomb and came under small arms fire in eastern Baghdad on Saturday. A second soldier was injured.

The figure marks the fourth consecutive drop in the monthly death toll following a high of 121 in May. June saw 93 deaths, July 82 and August 79, while the monthly toll in July 2006 was 53.

The latest death pushed the overall toll of American losses since the March 2003 invasion to 3,802.

We'll see if this merits even passing notice from the major U.S. media. Since I doubt Media Matters will issue a press release on this good news, that remains doubtful.

Thugs Behind the Smears

Noel Sheppard dismantles the Media Matters goonsquad.

Well, last week, Media Matters went after Limbaugh and O’Reilly, and, sadly, many in the press bought their smears hook, line, and sinker without fully investigating what both hosts really said, and what the context of their statements were.

Maybe even more disgraceful, as press members parrot the cherry-picked reports from Media Matters, they are mute concerning the organization’s ties to a former president and current Democrat front-runner to win the White House in 2008.

Isn’t this the perfect story for muckraking, investigative journalism programs like “60 Minutes,” “Dateline,” and “20/20?”

And, as they receive information from this organization with clear ties to a leading political figure in our nation, shouldn’t media be somewhat cynical concerning what is coming from this group thereby feeling the need to thoroughly scrutinize its reports before sharing them with the citizenry?

Read it all.

Mocking Mahmoud

From SNL last night.

Very funny.

Via Breitbart.

Leftist Mythology of Mugabe Shattered

James Kirchick of The New Republic has an item in the Los Angeles Times today chronicling the history of the evil Robert Mugabe, who for some time was viewed favorably by the left. Ordinarily, I'd take anything recently from TNR and the LA Times with a grain of salt, but it's impossible to dismiss the mess that is Zimbabwe.

The characterization of Mugabe as a good man gone wrong extends to popular culture as well. In the 2005 political thriller "The Interpreter," Nicole Kidman played a dashing, multilingual exile from the fictional African country of Matobo, whose ruler was once a soft-spoken, cerebral schoolteacher who liberated his country from a white minority regime but became a despot. Mugabe certainly understood the likeness; he accused Kidman and her costar, Sean Penn, of being part of a CIA plot to oust him.

But this popular conception of Mugabe -- propagated by the liberals who championed him in the 1970s and 1980s -- is absolutely wrong. From the beginning of his political career, Mugabe was not just a Marxist but one who repeatedly made clear his intention to run Zimbabwe as an authoritarian, one-party state. Characteristic of this historical revisionism is former Newsweek southern Africa correspondent Joshua Hammer, writing recently in the liberal Washington Monthly that "more than a quarter-century after leading his guerrilla army to victory over the racist regime of Ian Smith in white-minority-ruled Rhodesia, President Robert Mugabe has morphed into a caricature of the African Big Man."

But Mugabe did not "morph" into "a caricature of the African Big Man." He has been one since he took power in 1980 -- and he displayed unmistakable authoritarian traits well before that. Those who were watching at the time should have known what kind of man Mugabe was, and the fact that so many today persist in the contention that Mugabe was a once-benign ruler speaks much about liberal illusions of African nationalism.

Mugabe's formative political education began in 1964, during a decade of imprisonment for subversive activity against the white minority regime that ruled Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia. While imprisoned, Mugabe earned degrees in law and economics by correspondence courses from the University of London and became a revolutionary Marxist. After he was released, he helped lead a civil war against the government.

As we've noted here recently, the people of Zimbabwe have been reduced to eating their pets, are being crushed under runaway inflation and the country is in desperate shape.

Yet the silence from the left is deafening. Probably because they love Marxist revolutionaries so much.

And over several years in the early 1980s, Mugabe executed what arguably might be the worst of his many atrocities, a campaign of terror against the minority Ndebele tribe in which he unleashed a North Korean-trained army unit that killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people.

Yet, even in the midst of these various crimes, Mugabe never lost his fan base in the West. In 1986, the University of Massachusetts Amherst bestowed on Mugabe an honorary doctorate of laws just as he was completing his genocide against the Ndebele. In April of this year, as the campus debated revoking the degree it ought never have given him, African American studies professor Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, who had been in favor of honoring Mugabe two decades ago, told the Boston Globe: "They gave it to the Robert Mugabe of the past, who was an inspiring and hopeful figure and a humane political leader at the time."

Read the rest.

If you needed any idea of how clueless some are, check out this nonsense.

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has stood and continues to stand in defence of and championing the cause of the oppressed, redistributing wealth and getting the fundamentals of a just society right.

Oppressors, exploiters, looters of wealth, those against the embodiment of our independence say he is too old and must go.

Meanwhile, here's another story of food shortages.

Zimbabwe harvested only one-third of the wheat it needs this year — a drastic shortfall the government blamed on constant power outages, official media reported Sunday.

Stores throughout the impoverished country — once considered the breadbasket of Africa — were telling customers that bread would not be available until further notice.

Most bakeries closed last week as flour deliveries ceased, worsening the situation for a nation already struggling with severe shortages of gasoline and food supplies, including its staple diet item of corn.

The government said Tuesday it would import 100,000 tons of wheat to supplement this year's yield of 145,000 tons — well short of the government's 375,000-ton target. The first 35,000 tons of the imported wheat were delayed, however, at the Mozambique port of Beira as authorities sought hard currency to pay for it.

Many have blamed Zimbabwe's agricultural decline on the government's seizures of white-owned commercial farms, begun in 2000, for redistribution to black owners.

Coming soon: Liberals crying out for us to "do something!"

Thomas Friedman is Over

Thomas Friedman wishes 9/11 never happened, because it's made us all stupid.

He'd much rather discuss the bridge collapse in Minneapolis or the state of the facilities at LaGuardia Airport. Or emissions standards.

Anything except the fact we're at war.

In the end, his latest column is just another shot at Rudy Giuliani.

Yawn. Thomas Friedman is so over.

More from Jules Crittenden, Don Surber, Wizbang, Stop the ACLU.

NFL Week 4

Coming off a hideous Week 2, we'd hoped for some better results last week, but the downward spiral continued with another abomination in Week 3 at 3-11-2, bringing the 2007 ledger to a ghastly 14-29-5. The only thing worse than my picks were the garish throwback uniforms worn by the Eagles. Please, throw them back.

Out of nowhere, the Eagles exploded for eight touchdowns, the Saints and Rams, considered potential Super Bowl teams in some quarters, haven't won a game, Denver stunk it up against the Jags, San Diego lost at surprising Green Bay and I learned not to pick against New England, even when they're laying 16.5 points.

So let's see if I can approach respectability before I start having my dog make picks. That would really be a problem, since I don't even have one.

As always, the picks are for recreational purposes, or if you want to make some money, do the exact opposite.

SUNDAY

Jets -3.5 BILLS: Buffalo will be starting rookie Trent Edwards and although Jets don't exactly inspire confidence as a road dog, things are already getting ugly in Western New York. If they can bottle up Marshawn Lynch, it could be a blowout. Jets 27-17.

DOLPHINS -4 Raiders: Miami welcomes back Daunte Culpepper, who did nothing in his one year in South Florida. Raiders have eben respectable, but Fish are desperate and will take it out on immobile Culpepper. Dolphins 26-14

Texans -3 FALCONS: Great week for Michael Vick. Fails a drug test and gets sued. I suspect he won't be back at QB for the Falcons any time soon. Matt Schaub runs salt in the wounds in Atlanta. Texans 30-13

BROWNS +4 Ravens: This will probably be one of my weekly ties. The Browns have played well the past couple of week while the Ravens have been uninspiring in two narrow home wins. Raven squeeze by, barely. Ravens 24-23

LIONS -3 Bears: Midwest correspondent 3 wood says: "Griese will not make as many mistakes at Grossman (nobody could), but he is a short thrower and the Lions secondary will be able to cheat up and sit on the short routes. Benson has a real slow first step and cannot get to the hole in time, so the running game will go nowhere. The banged up Bears "D" will not be able to cover the Lions receivers, the Lions were embarrassed last week by the Eagles and will come out mad, I take the Lions by 21 points." Good enough for me. Lions 31-10

Packers -1.5 VIKINGS: 3 wood also says the Vikings stink and the Packers are strong up front on both sides. He's right. Packers 26-10

COWBOYS -13 Rams: Last week I went with Buffalo and the huge number and got burned. Rams can't score, Stephen Jackson is out, and Dallas is scoring at will. Cowboys 34-14

PANTHERS -3 Bucs: Tampa comes back to earth as Carolina grinds out home win. They've usually has the Bucs' number. Panthers 24-16

49ERS + 2 Seahawks: Punchless 49ers need to get offense on track, or the Alex Smith doubters will be howling. Lots of Frank Gore in this one. Niners won at Seattle late last year and can play division rival tough. A field goal should decide this. 49ers 27-24

Steelers -6 CARDINALS: Stay with the hot team, my neighbor's dog told me. Steelers 33-17

CHARGERS -11.5 over Chiefs: Chargers are angry and if Norvelous Norv wants to survive in San Diego, he starts by burying the Chiefs at home. Chargers 44-10

COLTS -9.5 Broncos: It's been a couple years, but every time I see Denver playing at Indy, the Colts score about 49 points. Broncos have some problems and visiting the Colts isn't a solution to them. Colts 49-17

SUNDAY NIGHT

Eagles -3 GIANTS: Giants showed some heart on defense last week, but now the Eagles show up coming off 56-point laugher. Not good. Plus, they usually have fun with the NYG in primetime. As always, The Olbermann Rule is in effect, so find something else to do for the pregame and halftime. Like check my picks to see how badly I did. Eagles 28-24

MONDAY NIGHT

Patriots -7 BENGALS: New England smoked then at Cinci last years and can't see the Bengals stopping them at all. New England won't score 38 every game. Patriots 45-24

Being Gay in Iran

The insipid comment by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University insisting there were no gays in Iran was probably the one comment that received any derision while he was speaking there. All the rest of his drivel was lapped up by the imbeciles in attendance.

Well, despite his absurd claim, there indeed are gays in Iran, and some have gone on record, anonymously, of course, since the penalty for being gay in Iran could well be death (see photo).

Maybe that's why Ahmadinejad claimed there were no gays. Perhaps he'd figured they'd all been murdered in the "peace-loving" nation.

Despite Denials, Gays Insist They Exist, if Quietly, in Iran

When Reza, a 29-year-old Iranian, heard that his president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had denied in New York that homosexuals were in Iran, he was shocked but not surprised. Reza knows the truth. He is gay.

Leaning back in his black leather desk chair at home in Tehran, he said there were, in fact, plenty of gay men and women in Iran. The difference between their lives and those of gays in Europe and North America is one of recognition and legitimacy.

“You can have a secret gay life as long you don’t become an activist and start demanding rights,” he said, speaking on the condition that his family name not be used because he feared retribution.

Reza, who shaves his head and often wears an earring in his left ear, has lived in Europe extensively. Gay life in Iran, he said, “is just complicated in the same way that it is for other groups, like workers and feminists, who don’t have many rights.”

Since Mr. Ahmadinejad uttered his words at Columbia University last Monday, discussion of homosexuality has been stifled here. Sociologists and other analysts normally willing to discuss such issues on the record with a reporter suddenly were not.

Hmm. I wonder why?

But, speaking anonymously, several said that the president had clearly been caught off guard by the question because no one at an Iranian university would have dared to ask him such a thing. They also argued that it was probably better for Iranian gays that Mr. Ahmadinejad denied their existence since that made it likelier that they would be ignored and let alone.

For a country that is said to have no homosexuality, Iran goes to great lengths to ban it. Gays are punished by lashing or death if it is proved that they have had homosexual relations. Two gay teenagers were executed in 2005 in Mashad, a northeastern city.

Fear of persecution is so strong that some gay men and lesbians have sought and received asylum in Western countries.

The Iranian Student News Agency reported in 2005 that a lesbian had been killed in prison by other inmates whom, it was alleged, she had forced to have sex with her. Tehran’s chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, said in May in an interview on state-run television that the police were looking for men who dressed and looked like homosexuals.

But Iran has also taken the unusual step of encouraging sex change operations for those with homosexual tendencies. While religious authorities here view homosexuality a clear sin, transsexuals are considered ill and in need of the help that such an operation can provide.

Although they're often monitored, gay websites have become more popular and accessible.

The Internet has made socializing easier for gays in the past several years, according to those interviewed, who said they had found many gay friends online.

There are dozens of gay and lesbian Web sites and chat rooms, which the authorities monitor and block. But ways around the bans are found, and new Web sites are opened. Hamjens.com [warning--graphic content there --ed.] invites gays to find their “Iranian dream date.”

Gays say the key to living in Iran without government interference, even as couples, is keeping a low profile. Some have been arrested for looking “too feminine” but are generally fined and released.

Tehran has several famous areas, like Karim-Khan Street, or Mellat, Laleh and Daneshjoo parks, where gays meet and where gay prostitutes seek customers. “It does not take them even 10 minutes to get picked up,” said Amir, 24, a graphic designer who is gay. “There are men from every class,” he said. “Some of them are bisexual and call it being naughty.”

Read the rest.

Good Argument for the Death Penalty

I guess mass executions are out of the question. OK, just joking. Though seriously, if more states had the death penalty and actually enforced it, this overcrowding among the seasoned citizen criminal community wouldn't be an issue.

Aging inmates clogging nation's prisons

HARDWICK, Ga. - Razor wire topping the fences seems almost a joke at the Men's State Prison, where many inmates are slumped in wheelchairs, or leaning on walkers or canes.

It's becoming an increasingly common sight: geriatric inmates spending their waning days behind bars. The soaring number of aging inmates is now outpacing the prison growth as a whole.

Tough sentencing laws passed in the crime-busting 1980s and 1990s are largely to blame. It's all fueling an explosion in inmate health costs for cash-strapped states.

Tough sentencing laws are to blame? How about blaming the criminals themselves? Or is that too harsh?

The graying of the nation's prisons mirrors the population as whole. But many inmates arrive in prison after years of unhealthy living, such as drug use and risky sex. The stress of life behind bars can often make them even sicker.

Boo-hoo.

Estimates place the annual cost of housing an inmate at $18,000 to $31,000 a year. There is no firm separate number for housing an elderly inmate, but there is widespread agreement that it's significantly higher than for a younger one.

In addition to medical costs there are other, less obvious expenses. For instance, elderly inmates can't climb to the top bunk so they sometimes need to be housed in separate units that require more space.

Iran: CIA a "Terrorist Organization"

Well, if they say it, it must be so.

Iran Labels CIA 'Terrorist Organization'

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's parliament on Saturday approved a nonbinding resolution labeling the CIA and the U.S. Army "terrorist organizations," in apparent response to a Senate resolution seeking to give a similar designation to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The hard-line dominated parliament cited U.S. involvement in dropping nuclear bombs in Japan in World War II, using depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, supporting the killings of Palestinians by Israel, bombing and killing Iraqi civilians, and torturing terror suspects in prisons.

"The aggressor U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency are terrorists and also nurture terror," said a statement by the 215 lawmakers who signed the resolution at an open session of the Iranian parliament. The session was broadcast live on state-run radio.

The resolution, which is seen as a diplomatic offensive against the U.S., urges Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government to treat the two as terrorist organizations. It also paves the way for the resolution to become legislation that—if ratified by the country's hardline constitutional watchdog—would become law. The government is expected to wait for U.S. reaction before making its decision.

That will be a long wait.

It appears they had assistance from the nutroots in drawing up this resolution.

Meanwhile, an LA Times nitwit declares Ahmadinejad a winner this week.

McGovern Endorses Pantsuit

Mrs. Clinton has snagged the all-important George McGovern endorsement. No stopping this freight train now. Though we can only hope this hag loses 49 states like her idol did.

In a nod to the far-left fossil, she's also copying his ridiculous idea of giving $1,000 to every child born in America, only adjusted for inflation, she's upped the ante to $5,000.

September 29, 2007 -- Hillary Clinton's White House bid reportedly is set today to receive the endorsement of the Democrats' most radical ever presidential nominee: former Sen. George McGovern, who topped his party's ticket in 1972.

Which could explain why Hillary seems to be feeling all '70s nostalgic.

Back in 1972, recall, McGovern proposed that every single American be given a $1,000 check, no questions asked, regardless of financial need.

Even his fellow Democrats ridiculed the idea - especially when McGovern admitted that he had no idea how much it would cost and how it would be paid for.

Now comes Clinton with her own 21st-century version of McGovernomics.

Yesterday, she told the Congressional Black Caucus' annual legislative conference that she thinks every baby born in America should be given not $1,000 but $5,000 - inflation, don't you know? - in the form of a "baby bond."

"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so when that young person turns 18, if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college," she said.

Like McGovern, Hillary didn't offer any ideas on how much it would cost or how Uncle Sam would foot the bill.

So let's do some math here.

In 2004 (the latest year for which official figures are available), there were 4.116 million live births in America. At five grand apiece, that works out to nearly $21 billion - each and every year, which only gets bigger and bigger.

Why is a senator who keeps carping about alleged GOP "tax breaks for the rich" calling for the children of the rich to be given $5,000 each?

It's unclear where the money would go if the child doesn't finish high school.

Presumably it will be confiscated and "donated" to her presidential library.

Shocker: NJ Democrat Indicted

Don't worry, I'm sure there's another Democrat to replace him.

In another stunning development, it only took three paragraphs for the AP to mention his party affiliation.

That now makes 8,467 elected Democrats indicted in New Jersey since last week.

NJ mayor indicted on corruption charges

NEWARK, N.J. - A town's mayor and his wife surrendered to the FBI on Friday and were charged with diverting campaign funds and taking cash in exchange for aiding a bar owner.

David Delle Donna, mayor of Guttenberg, is the latest of several New Jersey mayors to face charges in recent years in a state plagued by government corruption [ed. -- all of if it Democrats, of course]. Mayors of Asbury Park, Camden, Hoboken and Paterson have been sent to prison. The former longtime mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, is under indictment.

Delle Donna, 49, a Democrat who has been mayor since 2002, and his wife, Anna, 58, were arrested at the FBI office in Newark, federal prosecutors said. Anna Delle Donna has been a member of the town's planning board since 2002.

OK, I exaggerated a bit earlier, but this is just the latest in a long line of indicted Democrat public officials recently. Still, the people in this state keep electing these criminals.

Eleven public officials were arrested Sept. 5, including two state legislators, two mayors and three city councilmen. They were charged with taking money to influence who received public contracts, according to federal criminal complaints.

In July, former Newark Mayor Sharpe James was indicted. James, who remains a Democratic state senator, is accused of using city-issued credit cards to pay for personal trips and expenses while mayor.

Girl on Child Porn Tape Found

When I first saw news of this earlier today, I felt nauseous.

There are truly evil people out there.

Hopefully this poor child can recover.

As for one Mr. Stiles, I'll leave that up to the authorities. I'd have different plans for him.

Assuming his innocence, of course.

NV Authorities Find Girl in Child Porn Tape Safe

LAS VEGAS — A young girl who was seen being sexually assaulted in a homemade videotape has been found and is safe with family members and sheriff's officials, an investigator said Friday.

"We found the victim. She's safe," Nye County sheriff's Detective David Boruchowitz told The Associated Press.

Widespread media accounts of the case led to the crucial tip that helped find the girl, Boruchowitz said. He did not provide details of her identity, where she lives or how she was located.

Earlier in the day, authorities put the name "Madison" to the haunting face of the young girl authorities believe was 4 or 5 years old when she was raped and sexually assaulted in the video.

Authorities named fugitive Chester Arthur Stiles as a "person of interest." Stiles, 37, whose last known address was Las Vegas, is also wanted on an unrelated state warrant on a charge of lewdness with a minor younger than 14 and a federal charge of being a fugitive, said Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo.

Investigators determined that the video of the attack was recorded over the video of an 11-year-old girl taped in October 2005 through a window of a Pahrump home, DeMeo said

CNN account here.

I appears this video was made somewhere between 2003 to 2005.

The Impeccable Conversion

What can we say?

The judge is Austrian, mein freunds.

Discredited Irving plans comeback tour
Ten months ago he was languishing in an Austrian jail, less than halfway through a three-year sentence with his career - and professional reputation - in tatters.

This week David Irving, the discredited British historian who was described by a high court judge as a Holocaust denier and a racist, says he is launching a comeback with a speaking tour of British cities and a series of new books. "I have kept a low profile for several months because I have had to sort out where to live and to address my financial situation," said Mr Irving, who was declared bankrupt in 2002 after an unsuccessful libel action over claims he was a Holocaust denier. "But now I am ready to start again."

Mr Irving's career has been littered with controversy, culminating with his arrest in Austria in 2005. He was sentenced to three years in jail after a judge ruled that two speeches he made in 1989, dismissing the Auschwitz gas chambers as a "fairy tale" and questioning the existence of extermination camps, breached Austrian law. His appeal was upheld, with the judge saying the crimes were a long time ago and that Mr Irving had undergone an "impeccable conversion".

However, drinking tea on the sofa of a 10-bedroom house he has begun renting near Windsor, Mr Irving says that his views on the Holocaust have crystallised rather than changed. He says that he believes the Jews were responsible for what happened to them during the second world war and that the "Jewish problem" was responsible for nearly all the wars of the past 100 years: "The Jews are the architects of their own misfortune, but that is the short version A-Z. Between A-Z there are then 24 other characters in intervening steps." Mr Irving was due to address a meeting in Coventry last Friday - although that event was disrupted by protesters - and held another meeting at his home on Saturday. He plans to speak in Halifax and Birmingham as well as at several unnamed universities.

Last night, news of his attempts to kickstart his career were met with disbelief and anger from Jewish groups and political opponents. Lord Foulkes, of the Labour Friends of Israel, said: "It is a frightening thought that he is still pursuing his agenda." Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies, said Mr Irving no longer had any legitimate claim to be a serious historian. However, Mr Irving still insists he is a respected academic. He says that a document, which he is 80% sure is genuine, suggests that 2.4 million Jews were killed in Poland, but goes on to claim that the gas chamber at Auschwitz was fake. "It was not the centre of the killing operations - it has only become a focus because it is the site that is best preserved. Much of what is shown the tourists there is faked postwar - watchtowers, even the famous gas chamber."

That dovetails nicely with Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___.

He added: "In my opinion now the real killing operations took place at the Reinhardt camps west of the Bug river. In the three camps here [Sobibor, Belzec, and Treblinka] Heinrich Himmler's men (mostly Ukrainian mercenaries) killed possibly as many as 2.4 million in the two years up to October 1943. There is now nothing to be seen of the Reinhardt camps, neither stick nor stone, so few tourists go there. I have visited all four sites earlier this year."

Pressed as to whether this change undermined his previous stance, Mr Irving replied: "It is a crystallisation of my view." Asked if he now accepts there had been a Holocaust against the Jewish people he said he was "not going to use their trade name". He added: "I do accept that the Nazis quite definitely, that Heinrich Himmler, organised and directed a programme, a clandestine programme, for the liquidation of European Jews ... and that in 1942-43 alone over 2.5 million Jews were killed in those three camps." He added that Hitler was "completely in the dark" about the programme.

Last night Gerry Gable, of the anti-fascist organisation Searchlight, said: "This man is a hardened rightwing extremist and this latest development proves he is determined to pursue his agenda."

Jimmy Carter was unavailable for comment.

Via Guardian Unlimited.

Hugo, Mahmoud Declare Manlove

Don't these two make a cute couple in that psychotic dictator sort of way?

The swarthy munchkin made his way to crumbling Venezuela today, full of the usual bluster, where he was greeted by Kevin Spacey's new buddy Hugo Chavez.

The leaders of Iran and Venezuela cemented an alliance aimed at countering the United States while the Iranian president reached out to a new ally in Bolivia and declared that together, "no one can defeat us."

After being vilified during his U.N. visit this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled on to friendlier territory Thursday, first stopping in Bolivia where he pledged $1 billion in investment and then visiting Venezuela to meet President Hugo Chavez.

"Together we are surely growing stronger, and in truth no one can defeat us," the Iranian leader said through an interpreter. Apparently referring to the U.S., he said, "Imperialism has no other option: Respect the peoples (of the world) or accept defeat."

Chavez greeted the Iranian leader warmly on a red carpet in front of the presidential palace, where they both stood before microphones and let loose with rhetoric challenging Washington.

"We will continue resisting to the end in the face of imperialism," Ahmadinejad said. "And the age of imperialism has ended."

Chavez embraced the Iranian leader, calling him "one of the greatest anti-imperialist fighters" and "one of the great fighters for true peace."

These clowns ought to take that comedy shtick on the road.

Regular cutups.

U.S. Combat Deaths in Iraq Continue to Plummet

I've noticed recently the ghoulish grim milestone updates of U.S. deaths in Iraq have mysteriously dried up since the number of fatalities continues to decline.

As we approach the end of the month, Reuters buries the latest number deep within this story, but still notes the total since March 2003 is now around 3,800, which historically is remarkably low for a war that has gone on well over four years.

This site tallies up the numbers by month, and it's easy to see the direction things are going.

May of this year had the highest casualty rate since April 2004, with 126. Since then, we've suffered 101 in June, 79 in July, 84 in August, and now 59 for September.

It's easy to see that since the troop surge began earlier this year, things have stabilized to a great degree and even the Democrat presidential candidates now admit we cannot just bug out of Iraq or there will be total carnage.

So let's see how many headlines this gets once the month is over.

No doubt whatever the final number is, it will probably get very little notice from the biased media.

Hersh: Bush Has "Accepted Ethnic Cleansing"

Spiegel Online has an interview today with "investigative journalist" Seymour Hersh, a bitter old crank whose best days never occurred.

Needless to say, he makes a slew of ridiculous accusations and statements completely unsupported by any facts.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is this just another case of exaggerating the danger in preparation for an invasion like we saw in 2002 and 2003 prior to the Iraq War?

Hersh: We have this wonderful capacity in America to Hitlerize people. We had Hitler, and since Hitler we've had about 20 of them. Khrushchev and Mao and of course Stalin, and for a little while Gadhafi was our Hitler. And now we have this guy Ahmadinejad. The reality is, he's not nearly as powerful inside the country as we like to think he is. The Revolutionary Guards have direct control over the missile program and if there is a weapons program, they would be the ones running it. Not Ahmadinejad.

One small problem here. Hersh and those of his ilk on the left are the ones who call everyone they disagree with Hitler. From the smallest policy disagreement to any larger issue, if you disagree with the left, you're immediately labeled Hitler.

Needles to say, Mao, Stalin, and Krushchev were bad actors. They don't need to be labeled Hitler. Their names are infamous enough.

More stupidity ensues.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: So what are the options in Iraq?

Hersh: There are two very clear options: Option A) Get everybody out by midnight tonight. Option B) Get everybody out by midnight tomorrow. The fuel that keeps the war going is us.

Victory is not an option, apparently.

SPIEGEL ONLINE:So what are the lessons of the Surge (more...)?

Hersh: The Surge means basically that, in some way, the president has accepted ethnic cleansing, whether he's talking about it or not. When he first announced the Surge in January, he described it as a way to bring the parties together. He's not saying that any more. I think he now understands that ethnic cleansing is what is going to happen. You're going to have a Kurdistan. You're going to have a Sunni area that we're going to have to support forever. And you're going to have the Shiites in the South.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: So the US is over four years into a war that is likely going to end in a disaster. How valid are the comparisons with Vietnam?

Hersh: The validity is that the US is fighting a guerrilla war and doesn't know the culture. But the difference is that at a certain point, because of Congressional and public opposition, the Vietnam War was no longer tenable. But these guys now don't care. They see it but they don't care.

Climate Change "Threatens Equality"

Ah geez ... it is becoming very clear that the the Marxist moonbats have adopted "global warming" as the Trojan Horse they will use to spread communism, and the BBC can't wait to shill for them.

Equality 'threatened by climate'

Climate change is the "greatest long-term threat" to achieving global equality, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has told the United Nations.

Mr Miliband said although all countries were affected by climate change, the poorest people within the poorest countries would suffer the most

So we start out with the moonbat call of "women and poor hardest hit," then the crapola really flies:

Mr Miliband urged co-operation between nations to improve global equality and therefore stability and prosperity.

"Inequalities are not just morally offensive - they are dangerous.

"Inequality fuels extremism, it undermines support for an open, global economy, it corrodes trust and respect and reciprocity between nations," he told the assembly.

*Sigh*

What really causes extremism is when Marxists confiscate private property in their quest for "equality of outcome." Let's take a look in the real world of how attempts for equality of outcome have worked out, shall we? I offer for your consideration:

*Soviet Union - Millions killed and imprisoned, economic train wreck in 1980's.

*Communist China - Millions killed and imprisoned, lack of economic growth until recent move toward free markets.

*Cuba - Imprisonment of dissenters and economic devastation.

*Zimbabwe - Imprisonment of dissenters and economic devastation including 7,600% inflation and people are eating their pets to avoid starvation as I write this.

...

You get the picture.

And the BBC shills for these morons every chance they get.

George Rodham $oro$ Goon Squads Attack Limbaugh

Stinging over the condemnation of their MoveOn.org ad smearing General Petraeus, the leftwing hit squads have decided to quickly change the subject and concoct some phony nonscandals this week.

First, the George Rodham Soros-funded thugs went after Bill O'Reilly for his allegedly racist comments, and the media lapdogs ate up it.

Even more pathetic is the nonstory involving Rush Limbaugh, and they're absolutely foaming at the mouth.

Are they so stupid to think the Senate is actually going to condemn Rush for this?

Naturally, the pinhead Democrats, completely disregarding the facts, play right along with their masters, and even more ridiculous, they now have phony war hero John Kerry carrying water for them.

Truly pathetic.

John Hawkins and Dan Riehl weigh in to add a bit of sanity to this latest smear campaign. More also from Bryan at Hot Air.

UPDATE: Here's Rush at the top of his show today. Now maybe the media will find out who Jesse MacBeth is. Hillary and Soros' thugs conveniently omitted any reference to him.

Mahmoud's Freakshow Hits Bolivia

The hairy munchkin has taken his traveling freakshow down to South America, where today he met up with Jon Stewart's good pal Evo Morales.

Iran's leader courts Latin American leftists

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Bolivia on Thursday as part of the U.S. foe's drive to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with leftist Latin American leaders.

Ahmadinejad and Bolivian President Evo Morales signed cooperation accords on energy and industry, swapping compliments in a lovefest sure to rile U.S. diplomats and the country's rightist opposition.

"The people of Iran and Bolivia have decided to build their countries together, hand in hand ... they've decided to be friends with one another in difficult situations," Ahmadinejad told a news conference in La Paz, in translated comments.

Ahmadinejad is also due to visit Venezuela on Thursday, where he will meet with President Hugo Chavez, the region's most outspoken critic of Washington, to discuss a series of energy agreements.

Deeply at odds with the West over its nuclear program, Iran has gained influence in Latin America as anti-U.S. sentiment has risen among leftist leaders such as Chavez and Morales.

Speaking of leftists, does anyone know if Mama Moonbat is down in Venezuela awaiting his arrival? A judge would like to speak with her.

Chimp Not Human, Court Declares

So does this mean Chimpy McHitlerburton isn't a human being?

Court won't declare chimp a person

VIENNA, Austria - He's now got a human name — Matthew Hiasl Pan — but he's having trouble getting his day in court. Animal rights activists campaigning to get Pan, a 26-year-old chimpanzee, legally declared a person vowed Thursday to take their challenge to Austria's Supreme Court after a lower court threw out their latest appeal.

A provincial judge in the city of Wiener Neustadt dismissed the case earlier this week, ruling that the Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories had no legal standing to argue on the chimp's behalf.

The association, which worries the shelter caring for the chimp might close, has been pressing to get Pan declared a "person" so a guardian can be appointed to look out for his interests and provide him with a home.

Group president Martin Balluch insists that Pan is "a being with interests" and accuses the Austrian judicial system of monkeying around.

"It is astounding how all the courts try to evade the question of personhood of a chimp as much as they can," Balluch said.

A hearing date for the Supreme Court appeal was not immediately set.

I'll tell you this much, the chimp looks more human than this animal.

AP Poll Claims Blacks and Whites "Polarized" Over O.J.

Another worthless poll spun by the Associated Press to create racial division.

WASHINGTON - The nation is sharply polarized over O.J. Simpson's armed robbery case, with whites far likelier than blacks to say the former football great is guilty of the charges and is being treated fairly, according to a poll released Thursday.

By 70 percent to 10 percent, whites said they believe the charges against Simpson are true, according to the Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Blacks were far more divided, though still tilting slightly toward believing he is guilty, 41 percent to 37 percent.

About three-quarters of whites said they believe Simpson has been treated fairly by the Las Vegas authorities who arrested him earlier this month on charges of seizing sports memorabilia items at gunpoint from two men in a hotel room. By about the same number, whites also said they think Simpson will receive a fair trial.

So majorities of both blacks and whites think Simpson is guilty, but since a greater majority of whites believe so, there's a great racial division?

Seems to be the "sharp divide" is amongst blacks themselves.

But I guess a headline reading "Poll: Simpson divides whites, blacks" is preferable at AP rather than one that reads "Poll: Simpson divides blacks".

Reuters Reporter is Source for His Own Story

I think I've seen it all now. An story from Reuters reporter Noor Mohammad Sherzai quotes extensively from ... Noor Mohammad Sherzai.

And Sherzai claims U.S. troops opened fire on civilians in Afghanistan.

If this story is proven to be bogus, will he claim he misquoted himself?

U.S. fire scatters crowd after Afghan bomb

By Noor Mohammad Sherzai

BATI KOT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. troops opened fire on civilians near the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Thursday after a failed suicide car bomb attack on their convoy, a Reuters witness said.

There was no immediate comment on the reported incident either from U.S.-led coalition forces or from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The witness said three suicide bombers in one vehicle attacked a convoy of U.S. troops in the village of Bati Kot, 15 km (9 miles) east of Jalalabad, but none of the soldiers was hurt.

Two of the bombers were immediately killed in the blast. The third, dressed in a police uniform, survived only to be shot dead by troops, the witness said.

A fire brigade vehicle arriving at speed at the scene then suffered brake failure and rammed into the U.S. vehicles. Troops inside then opened fire, wounding a number of bystanders.

"I saw everything," said Reuters correspondent Noor Mohammad Sherzai. "I saw the suicide bomb attack ...

"I saw the fire brigade vehicle rushing to the area at top speed, somehow its brakes failed and hit one police vehicle and coalition vehicles, then the Americans started firing at the people and everyone lay flat on the ground and then fled the area."

Sherzai said a number of people had been wounded in the attack, but he did not know how many. "I ran away to save my own life."

Sherzai and other reporters at the scene said many shots were fired and Afghan police were among those fleeing the scene.

"I was running away as fast as I could, but some of the police overtook me," Sherzai said. The police, he said, "were very angry because the Americans were shooting and wanted to shoot back but others stopped them".

Not to nitpick here, but maybe Reuters ought to have another person write the story just to make it look legitimate.

UPDATE: First of all, thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the Insta-lanche, John Stephenson for linking at NewsBusters and Stop the ACLU, and Hot Air headlines for the links.

Lawhawk at A Blog for All has a lot of questions:

Is Sherzai inventing details on the incident? How did he know that the brakes on the firetruck gave out? How could the military know either? Is he claravoyant? It was a rapidly developing situation, and the possibility for further Taliban attacks were quite high given what had just transpired.

Ed Driscoll notes:

Hey, if Reuters' Adnan Hajj can rework the Beirut cityscape for a more dramatic photo, why can't a Reuters reporter insert himself into his own story?"

Meanwhile, reader Dan Collins notes a Google search for "Noor Mohammad Sherzai Reuters" and variations of the name returns only this story (and links to this post).

Who is this Sherzai and why are there apparently no other stories by this individual?

Another reader, Skeptical Tom, asks:

Uh, what exactly brought Sherzai to be in a position to witness a vehicle-bourn suicide attach on a (moving?) Coalition convoy? Was he embedded? Dumb luck? Or, was there a tip off that something might occur at those coordinates at that time? Further, Sherzai states that there were "other reporters at the scene" who also happened to by "lucky"? If the attack were on an outpost, checkpoint or other fixed target, I might be less skeptical. However, unless the reporter/witness was part of the convoy itself, I question the happenstance of the whole affair.

Reuters suffered a tremendous credibility hit with the Adnan Hajj Fauxtography scandal, and now they have a mysterious "reporter" quoting himself?

UPDATE II: Reader grayp points out the name Noor is likely female. Still, I can't find anything else authored by this individual. Another reader took the time to point out the obvious, that two others authors were listed at the end of the story:

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in Kabul and Sayed Salahuddin in Gereshk).

What "jarhead" fails to note is they are in different locations than the bylined author. Of course I had known this earlier since I read the entire story, but felt it wasn't relevant. And it isn't.

Of course we hope it's not this Sayed Salahuddin.

Hamid Shalizi is indeed a Reuters reporter with a history.

UPDATE III: Here is the Reuters handbook. Under the part about quotes, it doesn't mention quoting yourself in a news story.

Attack of the Agnostic Nazi Skinhead

This girl has some issues. Of course, if you're an agnostic Nazi skinhead, that goes without saying.

L.I. 'NAZI' GIRL IN BIAS-BASH BUST

September 27, 2007 -- A Long Island college student was busted for allegedly attacking three Orthodox Jewish girls, and breaking one of their noses, after proclaiming she's an agnostic Nazi skinhead.

But the Hewlett teen's dad is Jewish and she attended Yom Kippur services the night before she and a male friend instigated the bias attack on the girls, police said. Her mom is Roman Catholic, police said.

Eva Adi, 17, punched out the Jewish girls, ages 15 and 16, at 2 a.m. Sunday on a Cedarhurst street corner where the victims were smoking tobacco in a water-filled hookah, said Nassau Detective Lt. Lawrence Feffer.

Feffer said Adi had been "hanging out" and drinking beer with a male friend in Hewlett when she made anti-Semitic comments to two Orthodox Jewish boys before the pair drove the boys to a street corner in Cedarhurst.

There, they met the three girls, also Orthodox teens, who had all told their parents they were staying at their friends' houses in order to stay out late and smoke the hookah with some other friends.

Adi and her unidentified male friend left, but returned later when the three girls were alone, said Feffer. He said Adi told the girls she was "an agnostic Nazi and a skinhead and didn't like Jews," apparently repudiating the backgrounds of her parents.

The husky Adi then allegedly "sucker-punched" one girl, breaking her nose. Adi then chased a second victim and punched her in the face, injuring her. Adi's male friend also pummeled the three girls, Feffer said.

Feffer said Adi "targeted them because they were Jewish." Adi was arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime, a felony for which she faces up to four years behind bars, as well as aggravated harassment.

Warriors and Philosophers

Warrior (wôr'ē-r, wŏr'-)
noun
1. One who is engaged in or experienced in battle.
2. One who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause, or conflict:

phi•los•o•pherPronunciation: (fi-los'u-fur), —n. 1. a person who offers views or theories on profound questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other related fields. 2. a person who is deeply versed in philosophy. 3. a person who establishes the central ideas of some movement, cult, etc. 4. a person who regulates his or her life, actions, judgments, utterances, etc., by the light of philosophy or reason. 5. a person who is rationally or sensibly calm, esp. under trying circumstances. 6. Obs.an alchemist or occult scientist.

LTC (RET) Dave Grossman probably said it better with his analogy of the sheep and the sheepdog.
In my attempt to expand upon that analogy I prefer to put it in terms of the 2 classes of people in our society. The warriors and the philosophers. Overall warriors include the military and law enforcement.
The military is a symbol of what we view as the best of man. What we strive for. Warriors are doers and philosophers are the academics, politicians, and reporters who view themselves as the best of man, but lack the one thing warriors have – courage. Not just physical courage but moral courage too. Warriors have the ability to take a life but use remarkable restraint in this power they have. They are most often seen helping people and only use the instruments of violence when it is first visited upon them.
Society needs both, but when one attempts to destroy the other, once this balance is upset, the culture which allows it crumbles.
Warriors are normally in the background and the philosophers are left to bask in the limelight. What happens when the warriors assume the stage is the philosophers after a brief period of sharing attempt to shove the warriors off the stage. Philosophers while enjoying the liberties and freedoms accorded them by the warriors none the less try to diminish the role the warriors play in such matters.
When the barbarians breech the wall it is the warriors fault. When the barbarians are beat back they once again turn their attention to the warriors.
Prime example of this was Desert Storm, The first Gulf War. Iraq took over Kuwait. We mustered forces and the beat them back. The war was stopped suddenly and abruptly. Not because of any tactical or strategic reasons on the ground but rather because we did our job too good. As soon as the pictures of the Highway of Death was beamed into the living rooms off America the pressure began to stop us. As a result the door was not slammed on the retreating Republican Guards units and as they say, the rest is history.
Now in the current conflict it seems that the more gains we make against the Islamic fascists the more the philosophers attack the warriors.
Our military took over all of Iraq in a little over 30 days, but that great military feat has been completely overshadowed and brushed aside in favor of the Abu Gharib story.
In Afghanistan the same story. We accomplished what the Soviet Union couldn’t do in 10 years only to have the main story be the location of Bin Laden.
Now the philosophers have become so emboldened as to directly attack the warriors.
The warriors will do what they have to do mainly because they live and die in a world where there is no theories, no debates, no discussions of what is, is. Success to a warrior only means that he gets to live another day to don 100 lbs of equipment, endure 100+ degree heat, cold food, and more body aches then an entire Motrin factory can address.
Success to the philosopher is to get the warrior to stop.
Only one is happy when that occurs before the barbarians are driven from their lands never to return. One will endure hardship to accomplish this. The other lacking any such hardship, supposes to speak for them. With no such goal as the warrior they are not speaking for and can not speak for the warriors.
When you talk of withdrawal of troops and your only argument is that it is for their safety you need to ask yourself if not for these people willing to endure such burdens who is going to stand at the wall and hold back the barbarians?
I have my own warrior philosophy. When the politicians pick up the phone and call the warriors, just like the Spartans of old, they need to sit down and wait for the warriors to contact them and tell them the job is finished. They shouldn’t dictate strategy, tactics or engage in open communications with the enemy. Any talk with the enemies of this country should come only in the form of us dictating the terms of their surrender. If you can’t support our warriors then at least don’t act as enablers of the enemy, giving them the motivation to kill just one more of our warriors, or give them inspiration to endure just a little more. That is what is happening today. The enemy is losing battles and men hand over fist, but everywhere they turn they see more and more people supporting their cause and attacking their enemy, proving the righteousness of their cause. Wars are only won when the enemy looses the will to wage war. We can beat him all day long on the battlefield, inflict staggering casualties on his forces, but so long as one of them believes his side has a chance of winning you can never defeat him.
So to the philosophers who have not yet felt the sting of the enemy’s weapons let’s make a deal. I won’t tell you how to act, how to teach your class, or edit your news stories if you won’t tell the warriors how to fight a war. Deal??

Racist Mugabe Goes Black to the Future

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe continues on in his quest to completely destroy his own country with his Marxist/racist polices.

Zimbabwe targets foreign business

The Zimbabwean parliament has passed a bill to move majority control of foreign-owned companies operating in the country to black Zimbabweans.

The goal is to ensure at least a 51% shareholding by indigenous black people in the majority of businesses.

First, with a country imploding economically, you want to be attracting as much business and foreign capital investment as possible, not threatening companies based on race.

Second, it is interesting to note the total silence on this from the race hustler community of the MSM, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Go up to the quote and replace the word "black" with "white", then ask yourself what kind of outcry you would be hearing if that were the case.

So, I hear you wondering, what does the great UN have to say about this travesty?

Mugabe condemns Western 'attacks'

The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has accused the United States and Britain of a relentless campaign to destabilise and vilify his country.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr Mugabe criticised George Bush's human rights record and policies on Iraq."

Yep, the guy who is codifying racism in his country is ripping the west for human right violations, and the UN is giving him a platform to do so.

And so it goes...

Shocker: Mrs. Clinton Tied to Shady Soros Group

Hard to believe the pristine Pantsuit would have shady connections, isn't it?

Funny how the criminal George Soros just keeps popping up. MoveOn, Media Matters, ACT ... are there any of these brownshirt Democrat groups he isn't funding?

There's a huge stench emanating from the Clinton campaign, but apparently, the Democrats just don't care.

Fined group tied to Hillary

Officials of a defunct pro-Democratic group that was hit with a near-record campaign-finance fine last month hold strong ties to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, documents show.

At least four persons who worked for the America Coming Together (ACT) fundraising group, which the Federal Election Commission recently fined $775,000, work directly for the Clinton campaign or hold top positions with consulting firms hired by it.

In addition, the group's former president, longtime Clinton aide Harold Ickes, has been identified as a volunteer adviser to the Clinton campaign. In FEC filings, the campaign listed a debt to Mr. Ickes of more than $2,000 for travel-related costs.

Funded with millions of dollars from billionaire George Soros, America Coming Together (ACT) misused about $70 million in "soft money," uncapped donations that aren't supposed to be used to urge election or defeat of a candidate, the FEC determined, saying that some of the money was spent on direct-mail and telemarketing efforts aimed against President Bush and Republicans in key battleground states in 2004.

Laurence Gold, ACT's attorney, said the FEC's fine marked "the conclusion of three years of politically motivated charges by the Republican Party and ill-conceived allegations by self-styled campaign 'reform' groups."

It's not clear how much control the former ACT officials have had in the day-to-day fundraising activities of the Clinton campaign, which found itself the focal point of controversy surrounding jailed fundraiser Norman Hsu in recent weeks.

The Clinton campaign did not return phone or e-mail messages this week.

A fundraiser for Mrs. Clinton and other Democrats, Hsu remains in jail without bond on charges he bilked investors in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Mrs. Clinton's campaign has said she is returning money from donors linked to Hsu.

Pantsuit Snags Meathead Endorsement

Truly stunning news. Bloated Hollywood idiot endorses Socialist dreamgirl.

Whodathunkit?

Rob Reiner endorses Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is picking up the key endorsement of director Rob Reiner, giving her campaign a further boost in the race for key Hollywood politicos as she solidifies a commanding lead in many polls.
Reiner, one of the entertainment industry's most politically active figures, says that he waited until now to endorse Clinton after meeting with all of the candidates except Mike Gravel.

"Based on the experience I have had in politics, and I have been on the front lines in a lot of these fights, I came around to realizing that we do need the most experienced and most qualified person to run the country," Reiner said on Wednesday

His nod sends a further signal that Clinton is locking up her entertainment industry support after an unexpectedly strong challenge earlier this year from Barack Obama.

Most qualified person would obviously rule out Mrs. Clinton, but did you expect anything less from this schmuck?

Vick Fails Drug Test; Pleads Stupidity

Buh-bye, dumbass.

A federal judge ordered Michael Vick to be put on electronic home monitoring today for failing a drug test for marijuana.

Vick had been free on supervised release while he awaited his sentencing Dec. 10 for a dogfighting conspiracy charge. One of the conditions for his release was to refrain from using or possessing unlawful drugs and to submit to tests.

Vick submitted a urine sample Sept. 13 that tested positive for marijuana, according to a document filed today in U.S. District Court in Richmond.

Due to the failed test, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ordered Vick be restricted to his residence from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night and to submit to electronic monitoring.

Hudson also ordered Vick to continue or begin substance abuse therapy and mental health counseling if deemed necessary by Vick's supervising officer.

Vick also must submit to random drug testing. That could include urine testing, the wearing of a sweat patch, a remote alcohol testing system or any form of screening or testing for prohibited substances.

Hudson's order came a day after a Surry County grand jury indicted him on two state felony charges related to dogfighting. Vick is set to be arraigned Oct. 3 in the state case.

Is this guy hopelessly stupid or what?

Navy to Modify "Swastika" Barracks on Coronado

It's not clear whether this was some kind of practical joke back in the 1960's, but it sure doesn't look good leaving it this way for forty years.

No doubt our friends on the left will find an eerie parallel between this building design and some nefarious neocons.

Navy to alter swastika-shaped barracks

CORONADO, Calif. - The Navy will spend as much as $600,000 to modify a 40-year-old barracks complex that resembles a swastika from the air, a gaffe that went largely unnoticed before satellite images became easily accessible on the Internet.

The Navy said officials noted the buildings' shape after the groundbreaking in 1967 but decided against changing it at the time because it wasn't obvious from the ground. Aerial photos made available on Google Earth in recent years have since revealed the buildings' shape to a wide audience.

The Navy approved the money to change the walkways, landscaping and rooftop solar panels of the four L-shaped barracks, used by members of the Naval Construction Force at the Navy's amphibious base at Coronado, near San Diego.

"We don't want to be associated with something as symbolic and hateful as a swastika," Scott Sutherland, deputy public affairs officer for Navy Region Southwest, told the Los Angeles Times.

H/T on the photo to Ringo.

Fastest Update Ever: Thanks again to Ringo for this gem. It's the Illuminati!

The Illuminati get their rocks off on hiding their symbols in plain sight - they've done so for thousands of years - the pyramid on the dollar bill, the obelisk at the site of the Kennedy killing, the many pentagrams hidden in the design of Washington DC, the new glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre (constructed out of 666 panes of gold plated glass), the Statue of Liberty (in actuality the ancient Babylonian deity, and secret masonic symbol - Queen Sumerimus - we are told that the Statue of Liberty means freedom, but deep in our ancient mind at the subconscious level, it means obedience) all of these messages are there to proclaim that they, this illuminati are present everywhere, yet invisible to the unknowing eye.

This secret control and manipulation of these powerful ancient symbols is one of the great strengths of the illuminati - they understand how these symbols work on a subconscious level - this is the secret knowledge that they keep at the core of their systems of human control - at the apex of THEIR knowledge - it's about one thing - human control.

Abu Ghraib as Art

These leftwing bedwetters will just never get over the "horrors" of Abu Ghraib, and now a washed up 60's relic, Gerald Laing, has resurfaced to glom on and get some attention.

Have another hit, dude.

'Look Mickey, I've Hooked a Big One'

After a 30-year break, the contemporary of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein has put brush back to canvas in protest of the Iraq war. The artist, born in northern England in 1936, stopped creating Pop Art paintings in the 1960s but returned to the form this year for the show, painting pictures that show the humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib as well as the bombing of Baghdad. "These show the decay of the American dream," he told the wire service Reuters. "We are losing freedoms very fast. Things like freedom of speech that we took for granted in the 1960s have already gone."

"These pictures make a point," he added. "They will always be there for people to see. Blair may be gone from office -- with Bush soon to follow -- but these images will endure," he added. "They are a constant reminder of these shameful events."

If freedom of speech is gone, how is it he gets to make these portraits, put them on display, and get free publicity in a newspaper?

No word on whether this twit plans portraits of Sdaam Hussein's mass graves.

Israelis Whack Four in Gaza

[UPDATE] More photos below.

Car swarm to follow.

Israeli air strike kills 4 militants in Gaza

GAZA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Israel's air force killed four Palestinian militants in an attack on their car in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, witnesses and Palestinian security sources said.

They identified the dead as members of Army of Islam, a fringe militant group. Earlier reports had suggested the car belonged to an armed wing of the ruling Islamist Hamas.

Yes, I'm sure they had nothing to do with Hamas.

PressTV says a child has been injured. Get a load of this account.

A Palestinian child has been injured in an Israeli air strike against rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

The Zionist air force carried out three attacks on Wednesday morning in the north of the Gaza Strip, an army spokesman said.

A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad movement said that several of its members managed to escape the strike.

A rocket fired from Gaza struck Israel on Wednesday without causing casualties or damage.

The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad Movement's military wing, fires most of the rockets from Gaza into Israel in response to Israeli incursions into the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

UPDATE: LGFer insanity police tipped me to the above photo, though it's tough to tell from Ynet whether it's an archive shot. Whatever, serves its purpose. They appear to be doing a thorough inspection of the former vehicle.

UPDATE II: More scenes from a car swarm. Lots of car inspections going on there.

Palestinians inspect a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli air strike in Gaza September 26, 2007. Israel killed four Palestinian militants in an air strike in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and threatened a sweeping military operation in the Hamas-run territory to stem cross-border rocket fire. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)

Now, for a heart-rending and likely staged photo of a wounded Pali.

Palestinians carry a wounded youth during an Israeli army operation in the village of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007. Israeli tanks entered the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, in response to earlier rocket fire from the area by Palestinian militants, the army said. Palestinian hospital officials said four Palestinians were killed and at least 11 wounded by Israeli tank fire in Beit Hanoun.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

All The News That's Fit to Reprint: Herbert Plagiarizes Himself

This is just too rich.

Yesterday we chronicled a disgusting NY Times column from affirmative action columnist Bob Herbert.

Well, what do you know, he plagiarized himself.

Can the Times become any more of a journalistic laughingstock?

From the Liberty Pundit link above:

From yesterday’s op-ed:

“You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘Nigger, nigger, nigger,’ ” said Atwater. “By 1968, you can’t say ‘nigger’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now [that] you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things, and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.”

From the 2005 op-ed:

“You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘Nigger, nigger, nigger.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘nigger’ - that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now [that] you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.

From yesterday’s op-ed:

In one of the vilest moves in modern presidential politics, Ronald Reagan, the ultimate hero of this latter-day Republican Party, went out of his way to kick off his general election campaign in 1980 in that very same Philadelphia, Miss. He was not there to send the message that he stood solidly for the values of Andrew Goodman. He was there to assure the bigots that he was with them.

“I believe in states’ rights,” said Mr. Reagan. The crowd roared.

The 2005 op-ed:

Ronald Reagan, the G.O.P.’s biggest hero, opposed both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of the mid-1960’s. And he began his general election campaign in 1980 with a powerfully symbolic appearance in Philadelphia, Miss., where three young civil rights workers were murdered in the summer of 1964. He drove the crowd wild when he declared: “I believe in states’ rights.”

Yesterday’s op-ed:

Republicans improperly threw black voters off the rolls in Florida in the contested presidential election of 2000, and sent Florida state troopers into the homes of black voters to intimidate them in 2004.

The 2005 op-ed:

George W. Bush had to try so hard to disenfranchise black voters in Florida in 2000; and why Jeb Bush had to call out the state police to try to intimidate black voters in Orlando, Fla., in 2004.

All the news that's fit to reprint.

More at Hot Air, Sister Toldjah.

Pantsuit Could Cost Democrats; More Hsus Also Drop

Doubt you'll see this story get much traction as the Clinton machine has most of the press in their own personal lockbox.

Recall this item from August. Anyone ever hear from Dave Crooks again?

Hillary Clinton 'could cost Democrats dear'

A leaked Democratic poll has suggested that Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner in the race for the party's presidential nomination, could lose the 2008 election because of her "very polarised image".

Translation: Republicans can't stand the sight of her and Democrats only will vote for her to spite Republicans. They can't stand her either, but really, do they have a choice?

The survey by the Democratic pollsters Lake Research indicated that both Mrs Clinton and Barack Obama, second in the race, trailed Rudy Giuliani, the Republican front runner, in 31 swing congressional districts.

Former President Bill Clinton whispers to his wife Senator Hillary Clinton
The private memo, leaked to The Washington Post, painted what researchers described as a "sobering picture" for Democrats who believe that President George W Bush's disastrous favourability numbers almost guarantee they will capture the White House next year.

All polls show that Democrats are much more popular than Republicans. But when the names of individual candidates are used, the gap narrows considerably.

"The images of the two early [Democratic] favourites are part of the problem," the memo said.

The leaked poll found that Mr Giuliani, a centrist Republican with liberal stances on issues such as abortion and gay rights, leads Mrs Clinton by 49 per cent to 39 per cent in the swing districts.

Democrats, of course, are in fear, and just don't want to talk.

"We're not commenting on this poll," said Daniel Gotoff, co-author of the memo accompanying the Lake Research poll. "It was leaked and obviously not by us."

These people never shut up, but when it comes to discussing how unpopular The Pantsuit is, remarkably they dummy up.

I wonder why?

Frank Luntz, a leading Republican pollster, said: "This poll reveals what grassroots Democrats have been concerned about. Hillary is their choice ideologically but not necessarily politically and they're afraid she could lose.

"Democrats want to win more than anything else and they will compromise on policy to achieve electability." Mrs Clinton, he said, prompted a series of perceptions that could damage her.

"She never admits she's wrong. There's a lack of candour and a harshness to her. She doesn't have any of the typical challenges of a female candidate but that is in itself a challenge.

One major problem the story neglects is Norman Hsu, Mrs. Clinton's criminal fundraiser. The media largely wants this story to go away, but there are many more Hsus to drop, I'm sure.

Curious new details today.

Last fall, as the Nevada governor's race was heating up, Clinton agreed to help raise money for Democrat Dina Titus, a prominent party leader in a state that holds a key early presidential caucus. Clinton arranged for Hsu, at the time a little-known New York apparel executive with no apparent reason to take interest in Nevada politics, to give Titus $5,000 on Nov. 3, according to a person with knowledge of Clinton's fund-raising.

And in February, when former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack ended his own White House bid, he was about $450,000 in the red. A month after dropping out, Vilsack endorsed Clinton, and Clinton agreed to help him retire his debts. (Both insisted there was no quid pro quo.)

Over the next few months, some of Clinton's biggest fund-raisers gave Vilsack checks, including Hsu, who kicked in the maximum allowable contribution, $2,300, on May 3 after attending an event organized by Clinton's campaign, Newsweek reported this month. An associate of Hsu's, Paul Su, chipped in $1,000 on the same day.

Hmmm.

More on Hsu at A Blog For All, Hot Air.

UPDATE: I was reminded that Paul Su appears on the original list of donors as compiled by Flip Pidot.