UN Calls for Peace During Olympics

Good luck with that. Really, it's just another meaningless resolution from a useless organization.

The UN General Assembly endorsed Wednesday the Olympic Truce, calling on all countries to respect it individually or collectively during the 29th Olympiad taken place in Beijing next year.

The resolution adopted by the assembly supported China's slogan "One world, one dream" for the Olympic Summer Games to be held August 8 to 24, and the Paralympic Games from September 6 to 17.

The adoption of the Olympic Truce, which has been a standard measure by the UN, came after China, the International Olympic Committee and many countries and organizations spoke in favour of the a time-honoured practice dating back to ancient Greece to stop all conflict during the Olympic sportive events.

Liu Qi, the president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympiad, asked the 192-nation assembly to continue the tradition.

"The UN and the Olympic Movement are natural allies," Liu said. "The Olympic ideal coincides with the UN purpose to promote peace."

Just make sure you remind the Islamists and assorted violent leftist groups before the games start.

Hate Crime of the Day at Columbia

Not in any way trying to diminish this most recent incident, but things are just getting stupid at Columbia, and honestly, nobody seems in any rush to solve any of these incidents, especially the purported noose hanging earlier this month.

Swastika found on professor's door at Columbia Teachers College

Police say a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College found a swastika painted on her office door, and the Police Department's hate crime unit is investigating.

Police were called to Teachers College on Wednesday morning after Professor Elizabeth Midlarsky, who is Jewish, discovered the swastika.

This is the second incident in less than a month involving a possible hate crime at Teachers College, Columbia University's graduate school of education.

Actually, it's at least the third, as Newsday failed to report this incident from last week.

More at NY1.

People around campus say they cannot believe yet another sign of hate was left at the school.

“I just couldn’t believe it was happening again,” said one Columbia University community member. “It’s like a bad dream, like the worst of Halloween. It’s just terrible, insensitive, hurtful beyond words.”

“We need to find out why this happening, why people would stoop to this level, really of juvenile, racist, anti-Semitic behavior,” said another. “We need to clean up our house. Something is obviously really wrong.”

UPDATE: LGF and Hot Air link. Thanks!

Downgrade Christmas, Says British Think-tank

Sure, this will go over well. A nice poke in the eye from a Labour Scrooge to get things started:

'We can no longer define ourselves as a Christian nation, nor an especially religious one in any sense.

'The empire is gone, church attendance is at historically low levels, and the Second World War is inexorably slipping from memory.'

Yes, maybe you ought to harken back to Churchill and figure out how to save a nation. Problem is, it may be too late.

Christmas should be downgraded in favour of festivals from other religions to improve race relations, says an explosive report.

Labour's favourite think-tank says that because it would be hard to 'expunge' Christmas from the national calendar, 'even-handedness' means public organisations must start giving other religions equal footing.

The leaked findings of its investigation into identity, citizenship and community cohesion also propose:

• 'Birth ceremonies', at which state and parents agree to 'work in partnership' to bring up children

• Action to 'ensure access' for ethnic minorities to 'largely white' countryside

• An overhaul of Britain's 'imperial' honours system

• Bishops being thrown out of the House of Lords

• An end to 'sectarian' religious education

• Flying flags other than the Union Jack.

Don Surber asks

“Birth ceremonies.” Didn’t they have one of those in “Rosemary’s Baby”?

Allahpundit is salivating over this choice cut.

What it’s calling for, in no uncertain terms, is social re-engineering on a broad scale to promote a “multicultural understanding of Britishness.”

Yup, it's over.

Boo! Silky Unveils Cheesy Halloween Ad

Starring Rudy Giuliani as the bogeyman.

Invokes old staples Karl Rove and Ann Coulter for good measure.

This nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue is not as remote as you might think—but you can keep it from coming true.

With just hours to go before our deadline for federal matching funds at midnight tonight, your contribution today will help John Edwards win the Democratic nomination—and scare off the Republicans in 2008!

Polls show that with candidates other than John Edwards at the top of the Democratic ticket, Democrats will have a tough time defending the blue states and winning the swing states we'll need to take the White House in 2008. We could even lose our majorities in Congress!

Seemingly every other day I get mail from Edwards urging recipients to quickly send money so they can make a deadline; conveniently, they always just make it in time.

Whatever the case, it's obvious he and other Democrats believe Giuliani will be the opponent next November and they clearly fear him.

They should.

World Toilet Summit Opens

Remarkably, neither George W. Bush or the United States has been blamed for the toilet crisis, though we'll give it time.

After all, the UN is involved in this.

A World Toilet Summit has opened in the Indian capital, Delhi, with more than 40 countries taking part.

The four-day meeting will examine solutions and technologies that can be used to provide a basic need for nearly half the world's population.

Wait until the Democrats get wind of this. They'll probably want to subsidize it and start rationing when you can take a dump.

The UN wants to remedy the situation by 2025.

But the problem is that it is quite expensive for most countries in the developing world to set up western-style toilets and sewage systems.

Western-style? Isn't that imposing our values on others?

Keep Talking, Chuckie

Fifty-three weeks before the 2008 elections and this vile creature, the ugliest man in America, is talking some serious trash.

Bombing Iran, says Chuck Schumer, would be a big political loser for Republican candidates in 2008.

“It would change the landscape against them, big time,” Mr. Schumer, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said about a scenario in which the Bush administration launches a military attack on Iran before leaving office. “I don’t think they are likely to do it, because they are so weak—not because they are chastened—but I also think it is very likely to be a negative political for them.”

Despite all the Bush administration’s saber rattling, the 56-year-old Brooklyn native believes the president’s political footing is too weak to build the case for another war, especially when the public is “far more skeptical of that the second time around.”

In an interview in his Third Avenue offices on Oct. 29, the top Democratic political tactician in Congress expressed unwavering optimism in his party’s chances to increase its majority in the Senate, even in the case of a traumatic event like war with Iran. He evinced similar confidence about the prospect of having the ostensibly polarizing Hillary Clinton at the top of the Democratic ticket, and about his Senate candidates having to campaign against the supposedly moderate Rudy Giuliani.

“The wind is at our backs as Democrats,” he said.

Forget about protecting America's vital interests, it's all about winning elections.

The thought of a nuclear Iran doesn't seem to concern him. Conservative Supreme Court justices, however, really frighten him.

He scares easily. No wonder he's so afraid of the Islamofascists.

And what of his fellow New Yorker, Rudolph Giuliani, whose Republican primary strategy is based on the notion that he’d be the party’s best performer in a general election?

Mr. Schumer thinks he’s simply too frightening.

“The idea of a campaign that just scares people, ‘We’re going to be attacked and I am the only one that can save you,’ is a very unappealing campaign,” said Mr. Schumer.

He added, “When Rudy Giuliani says that he is going to pick [Supreme Court] justices like [John] Roberts and [Samuel] Alito, I think it is very scary and it’s going to be politically harmful to him.”

It would please me to no end to see the smug look wiped off his face and watch his party returned to permanent minority status.

Was McCarthy Right?

Fifty years later, we're still debating it.

The Midnight Sun has a look at modern-day spying and says unequivocally that Tailgunner Joe was on the right side of history.

If you ever want to see an uninformed liberal twitch uncontrollably, remind them of the Kennedys and their history with McCarthy.

Good News: IDF is Using Elite Female Stripper Death Squads

Nothing quite opens the eyes like seeing strippers and death squads in the same headline.

Maybe it's too good to be true, but who cares?

The Palestinian Authority newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida carried a story this past week about IDF tactics that surpassed all previous accusations of supposed Israeli deviousness - poisoned candies, hormone-laced gum, poisoned wells, magnetized belts -in its bizarreness.

The Palestinian Authority newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida carried a story this week about IDF tactics that surpassed all previous accusations of supposed Israeli deviousness - poisoned candies, hormone-laced gum, poisoned wells, magnetized belts -in its bizarreness.

According to an Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front page report, the IDF has turned to using armed, female strippers in its war on upstanding Palestinian boys. The newspaper reports that when the Arab rock-throwing begins, IDF soldiers run for cover. Then, the story continues, after some time of hiding, an Israeli woman stands up on top of a barricade and begins to perform an alluring strip tease. Innocent Arab teenage boys, distracted from the business of rioting, are enticed to approach, when, according to the newspaper, the woman -- an IDF soldier -- shoots them with a pistol she had hidden in her underwear.

Ben Hur gets the hat tip for this one, although I'm really annoyed at myself for not having had the radar up for this one.

Update: More from Hot Air.

Little Hitler Warns of "Quagmire"

Looks like the Democrat talking points are slow in getting to Lil' Mahmoud.

He should know that his buddies on the left aren't saying much of anything about Iraq lately because the news is all pretty good. And frankly, quagmire is soooo 2003.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran warned the United States on Wednesday it would find itself in a "quagmire deeper than Iraq" if it attacked the Islamic state, and Russia stepped up efforts for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear row with the West.

The warning by the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, a target of new U.S. sanctions announced last week, added to angry rhetoric between the two old foes that has prompted speculation of possible U.S. military action.

U.S. President George W. Bush this month suggested a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War Three but the White House said on Tuesday it remained determined to resolve the stand-off peacefully.

"If the enemies show inexperience and want to invade Islamic Iran, they will receive a strong slap from Iran," Jafari said in comments carried by the semi-official Fars News Agency.

"The enemy knows that if it attacks Iran it, will be trapped in a quagmire deeper than Iraq and Afghanistan, and they will have to withdraw with defeat," he told a parade in north-central Iran, without mentioning the United States by name

These freaks have no idea how hard they're about to get slapped.

By the way, I notice Reuters cropped the above photo so you don't see the pipsqueak standing on the milk crate. Have to keep up appearances.

Kid Playing With Matches Started California Wildfire

OK, so it wasn't global warming, wasn't Iraq, and it wasn't Blackwater.

Officials: Boy with matches started fire

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - Officials blamed a wildfire that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week on a boy playing with matches, and said they would ask a prosecutor to consider the case.

The boy, whose name and age were not released, admitted to sparking the fire on Oct. 21, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht said Tuesday. Ferocious winds helped it quickly spread.

"He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," Hecht said in a statement.

The unapologetic insane troika of Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer and Randi Rhodes were unavailable for comment.

By the way, isn't it curious how quickly the national drive-by media fled California?

Shhh! Economy Grows at 3.9%

More grim news for Democrats. Of course, once again, the experts were wrong.

How much you want to bet this isn't mentioned on the network news tonight?

Economy Logs Brisk 3.9 Percent Growth

WASHINGTON -- The economy picked up speed in the summer, growing at a brisk 3.9 percent pace, the fastest in 1 1/2 years and an impressive performance even as a credit crunch plunged the housing market deeper into turmoil.

The latest snapshot of the country's economic health, released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, suggested that the economy is demonstrating much resilience and thus far holding up well to the strains in the housing and credit markets, which had intensified during the third quarter and rocked Wall Street. Individuals ratcheted up their spending. U.S. businesses sold more goods abroad and boosted some investment at home. Those were some of the main factors helping to push up overall economic activity in the July-to-September quarter.

The third quarter's growth rate was up slightly from a 3.8 percent pace logged in the second quarter. It marked the strongest showing since the first quarter of last year.

The increase in third quarter gross domestic product exceeded analysts' forecasts for a 3.1 percent growth rate for the period. Gross domestic product is the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.

Melodramatic Sock Puppet Coming Unglued

Bush is a lawbreaker! Cheney's a criminal!

Now best-selling author and renowned constitutional attorney Sockety McSockpuppet is going after Jay Rockefeller.

Leading telecom advocate Fred Hiatt this morning turned over his Washington Post Op-Ed page today to leading telecom advocate Jay Rockefeller, the Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman, to explain why it is so "unfair and unwise" to allow telecoms to be sued for breaking the law. Just as all Bush followers do when they want to "justify" lawbreaking, Rockefeller's entire defense is principally based on one argument: 9/11, 9/11, 9/11.

The nutroots crackup is in full bloom.

Is it OK to have popcorn this early in the morning?

Attacks, Casualties Plummet in Iraq; WaPo Yawns

Don Surber has the details.

The news is good, so why is this not on Page One?

It's only a matter of time before Dingy Harry takes credit.

Shocker: Someone Finally Asks Pantsuit a Tough Question

What's it been, seven years in office and this woman hasn't had to answer a difficult question from the feckless media?

Well, actually, this is a no-brainer: Should illegals aliens get driver's licenses?

Obviously, the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers don't agree with Eliot Spitzer's insane plan.

Now Mrs. Clinton fumbles a routine question she should have been prepared for.

Hillary Rodham Clinton stumbled badly at last night's Democratic debate when she repeatedly refused to give a direct answer about whether she supports Gov. Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens - and got slammed by her opponents for evasive double-talk.

"I was confused on Sen. Clinton's answer," said Sen. Barack Obama, who backs the plan. "I can't tell whether she was for it or against it."

He added, "One of the things that we have to do in this country is be honest about the challenges that we face."

Of all people, the Sandwich King took her to task.

Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut said a driver's license was "a privilege, not a right," and that illegals shouldn't be allowed to get one.

Clinton shot back that "I did not say that it should be done," prompting Dodd to counter, "You said yes."

"No I didn't, Chris," Clinton insisted.

The Democratic front-runner said illegal immigrants are "driving on our roads. The possibility of them having an accident that harms themselves or others is just a matter of the odds."

But she did not clearly say whether or not she backs Spitzer's plan.

That prompted MSNBC moderator Tim Russert to ask, "Do you . . . support your governor's plan to give an illegal immigrant a driver's license?"

Again, Clinton wouldn't respond directly, saying, "We want people to come out of the shadows," and adding Spitzer is "making an honest effort to do it."

"Unless I'm missing something, Senator Clinton said two different things in about two minutes," said former Sen. John Edwards.

There she is, folks, your already-coronated Democrat nominee.

Good luck propping her up for another year.

Hot Air has video from last night.

Lance Rebounds From One Square

Lance Armstrong has apparently gotten over Sheryl "One Square" Crow pretty quickly and has been spotted canoodling with stick-figure gazillionaire Ashley Olsen.

ODD couple alert: Ashley Olsen has a new, older man. The 21-year-old twin showed up to the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel Monday night with Tory Burch's ex, Lance Armstrong, 36. Our bar spy said, "They came together with a group of friends. Ashley drank red wine, sat on his lap and they were making out all night. They left together around 2 a.m."

As a sign of commitment, she's now wearing a blue bracelet around her waist.

Due to Rampant Violence, City of Peace and Love Cancels Halloween Bash

Maybe if these violent liberals just cleaned up their act and behaved like civilized human beings, everyone could enjoy Halloween.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - City officials want the hundreds of thousands of people who usually flock to an annual Halloween street party here to stay home or go elsewhere after several episodes of violence in recent years.

Officials have advised would-be revelers through fliers, public service announcements and juvenile probation officers that they won't find many treats in the Castro District, home in past years to the largest Halloween happening in the San Francisco Bay area.

What they will find are hundreds of extra police officers, shuttered restaurants, stepped up sobriety checks and no bus or train service after 8:30 p.m.

"This is really a public safety decision," said Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who represents the Castro and spent the better part of a year trying to arrange an alternative city-sanctioned gathering. "I'm disappointed my message is one of, 'Please don't come.'"

The festivities started decades ago as a homegrown celebration for San Francisco's gay and lesbian community, but has drawn a scarier element in recent years. In 2002, five people were stabbed. Three years ago, someone wandered the crowds wielding a chain saw.

Liberalism: A failure wherever it's tried.

Of course, I'm sure the vile Folsom Street Fair will always go on.

Sockety McSockpuppet Meets Miss Ketel One

Gosh, I'm so sorry to have missed this epic.

UPDATE II: I'll be on the Randi Rhodes Show today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern to discuss the Boylan matter. Local listings are here and live audio feed is here.

A blithering idiot with multiple sock puppets (though he is a best-selling author and famed constitutional attorney) being interviewed by a delusional drunk.

Stimulating radio. Must have tripled her ratings to at least six people, including four of Greenwald's sock puppets.

How long does Sockety plan milking this trainwreck for?

More on this idiot at protein wisdom.

Giraffe Named After Red Sox

In just a few short months, he'll be able to hurl insults with the best of them.

To honor the Red Sox four-game World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, staff at the Franklin Park Zoo on Monday named a baby giraffe "Sox."

In a statement, Zoo New England President and Chief Executive Officer John Linehan said the staff chose the name because of the female calf's long, lanky legs.

Other names considered were "Red," "Fenway," "Champion," and "Boston."

I guess Churlish Blowhard was taken.

Pelosi Unveils Democrat Agenda

Playing with toys, while the grown-ups do the heavy lifting.

How long until the Democrats toss her under the bus?

UPDATE: Don Surber links. Thanks!

The owner of the second most informative blog in the known universe is quite a fan of Mrs. Speaker.

Tin-Foil Kook Questions Bush's Sanity

The hero of the nutroots serves up the red meat.

Kucinich questions Bush's mental health

PHILADELPHIA - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich questioned President Bush's mental health in light of comments he made about a nuclear Iran precipitating World War III.

"I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board on Tuesday. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."

Kucinich, known for his liberal views, trails far behind the leading candidates in most Democratic polls. He was in Philadelphia for a debate at Drexel University.

Bush made the remarks at a news conference earlier this month.

He said: "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

Kucinich said he doesn't believe his comments about the president's mental health are irresponsible, according to a story posted on the newspaper's Web site.

"You cannot be a president of the United States who's wanton in his expression of violence," Kucinich said. "There's a lot of people who need care. He might be one of them. If there isn't something wrong with him, then there's something wrong with us. This, to me, is a very serious question."

Whatever Happened to Ari Fleischer?

At Pajamas Media, Webutante catches up with former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

Having kept a relatively low profile since leaving the White House, Fleischer has some plans for the future of the GOP and Jewish voters.

It was at that moment I saw Ari Fleischer in a totally new light: He was a modern day Moses leading his people out of slavery, into freedom. But rather than leading them out of the land of Egypt, he was taking them out of the bondage of the Democratic party.

Freedom and The Promise Land for Ari and his growing conservative Jewish contingent was now found in 100% strength from a strong military and no nonsense foreign and domestic policies that would no longer tolerate appeasement on any front. And yes, many of the new Jewish Republicans were still more socially liberal, but as far as he was concerned, all other issues facing this country today paled in comparison to the War on Terror, the War in Iraq, and having strong Homeland Security.

There's much more here.

Possible Cure for Surgical Pain: Hot Sauce!

It's not recommended you try this at home, but why do I see certain people gashing themselves and pouring some hot sauce on the open wound?

Doctors test hot sauce for pain relief

WASHINGTON - Devil's Revenge. Spontaneous Combustion. Hot sauces have names like that for a reason. Now scientists are testing if the stuff that makes the sauces so savage can tame the pain of surgery.

Doctors are dripping the chemical that gives chili peppers their fire directly into open wounds during knee replacement and a few other highly painful operations.

Don't try this at home: These experiments use an ultra-purified version of capsaicin to avoid infection — and the volunteers are under anesthesia so they don't scream at the initial burn.

How could something searing possibly soothe? Bite a hot pepper, and after the burn your tongue goes numb. The hope is that bathing surgically exposed nerves in a high enough dose will numb them for weeks, so that patients suffer less pain and require fewer narcotic painkillers as they heal.

"We wanted to exploit this numbness," is how Dr. Eske Aasvang, a pain specialist in Denmark who is testing the substance, puts it.

Chili peppers have been part of folk remedy for centuries, and heat-inducing capsaicin creams are a drugstore staple for aching muscles. But today the spice is hot because of research showing capsaicin targets key pain-sensing cells in a unique way.

Comedy Gold: DUmmies Waterboard Each Other

Allahpundit is most amused.

So am I. Though I imagine the satire defense will soon be sprung, if only to show how gullible the rightwing noise machine is.

On the other hand, this guy looks stupid enough.

I was thinking about the AG confirmation and how Mukasey isn't certain that waterboarding constitutes torture. And then I started thinking about how Rudy Giuliani doesn't believe waterboarding is torture either.

So I figured I'd find out for myself. I mean if it isn't torture, it can't be that bad, right?

Let me tell you this, it's not pleasant. And we were operating under circumstances where we absolutely knew that the other person wasn't going to kill us with the technique.

I was wiped out after four tries. My best time was 20 seconds, and I literally gritted it out. It took about all I had, so much so that right afterward on my last try I barely lasted 9 seconds.

My brother tried it a few more times than I did. He beat me on average times, but his highest was 18 seconds.

Mommy and daddy must be so proud, except for that flood in the basement.

Burning Man Freakazoid Tries Torching SF Church

Remember this guy?

Seems to be more than just a merry prankster.

Alleged Burning Man arsonist accused of trying to burn Grace Cathedral

The man accused of setting the Burning Man on fire four days early has been arrested for allegedly planning to set Grace Cathedral ablaze, San Francisco police said today.

Paul David Addis, 35, was arrested on the cathedral steps at 11:40 p.m. Sunday by police who said they had been tipped that someone intended to set fire to the Episcopal church, police spokesman Sgt. Steve Mannina said.

Addis was wearing an old ammunition belt that carried small explosives, Mannina said. He was booked on suspicion of attempted arson, possession of an incendiary substance, possession of explosives and possession of explosives with intent to terrorize a church.

A bomb dog was brought in to search the area and found no other explosives at the California Street cathedral.

Deputy Chief Morris Tabak said Addis had only a small amount of explosives.

"Did he have the capability to do substantial damage? Absolutely not," Tabak said.

Tabak said police didn't know what Addis' alleged motive was. "He said something about it was his religious right," Tabak said.

Tabak said he expects a judge will order a psychiatric evaluation for Addis, who was being held on $488,000 bail.

Addis was arrested early Aug. 28 in Nevada and charged with felony arson for allegedly lighting the icon of the annual Burning Man festival on fire four days before its scheduled immolation. The fire was doused within half an hour, and the figure was rebuilt in time for the official burning at the festival's end in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.

It's probably more likely he was saying something about the religious right, rather than it being his religious right, but I'll leave that up to the men in white coats to figure out.

Whatever the case, this unstable man needs to be off the streets.

Also here.

Via Memeorandum.

UPDATE: More on this crackpot Addis here.

Addis is a spontaneous dude himself, and serious messaging aside, speaks, he said, "with tongue firmly in cheek." At 35 or 37 years old - he prefers 35, which is the age that Nevada police gave the media - he is a self-described "retired" intellectual-property lawyer who quit law in 2000 to pursue a career as an artist. He is currently touring as the star of his production of "Gonzo, a Brutal Chrysalis," a play about the life of another fire-lover, gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. It played earlier this year in San Francisco and has dates scheduled this month in Seattle and in October in Los Angeles.

A lawyer. It figures.

Bias Case at Columbia Goes Largely Ignored

For an incident that occured last Thursday, you think there would have been a bit more attention.

Considering the amount of coverage the purported noose hanging incident received at Columbia, it's curious why there's a virtual media blackout with this latest reported case.

Another Bias Incident Investigated At Columbia University

Police are looking into a new bias incident at Columbia University.

The provost of Teachers College told students Friday that two faculty members received an anti-Semitic cartoon and anti-Zionist letters. School officials have not released the names of the two professors.

Police say the hate crimes unit is aware of the incident.

Earlier this month, a noose was found hung on the office door of an African American faculty member at Teachers College. Anti-Semitic graffiti was also found in a bathroom stall in one of the university's buildings.

That's it. Four measly paragraphs.

No protests, no marches, no demands for special programs, raised awareness of anti-Semitism, or worldwide news coverage.

Whatever happened to that noose investigation, by the way?

The Columbia Spectator, which also devotes four paragraphs to the story, doesn't seem to want to know.

Didn't there used to be a journalism school of some repute at Columbia?

Belichick Kicks Them While They're Down

There's a difference between beating people and going out of your way to kick them when they are down. The Colts are beating people. The Patriots are kicking them when they are down. John Clayton of ESPN has an excellent article on Bill Belichick's low class act:

Running it up: Belichick, Pats take no prisoners

On Sunday, Belichick kicked a Hall of Fame coach while he was down, running up the score on Joe Gibbs' Redskins to 52-7. This comes a week after Belichick reinserted quarterback Tom Brady midway through the fourth quarter of a 49-28 win over the Dolphins.

What seemed cute three weeks when Brady threw an unnecessary last-minute touchdown pass to Kyle Eckel while whipping the Cowboys 48-27 has turned ugly.

So why is Belichick running it up on people?

He wore the black hoodie in the Week 1 spy incident and accepted his punishment. Now, he's making the league pay with blowouts

So Belichick is PO'd that he got caught cheating, and is taking it out on the league. Yesterday, he brought new meaning to low class:

That's why he …

• … kept Brady on the field for an 88-yard drive six minutes into the fourth quarter despite already leading 38-0. On that 14-play drive, the Patriots went for a fourth-and-1 at the Redskins' 7 and ordered a 35-yard bomb to Randy Moss.

• … went for a fourth-and-2 at the Redskins' 37 on the next possession while leading 45-0. Backup QB Matt Cassel hit Jabar Gaffney with a 21-yard pass. Two plays later, Cassel scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown run to open a 52-0 lead.

Asked why he would go for two fourth downs in a blowout, Belichick responded, "What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?"

What you don't do Bill, is get 40 points up on an injured and undermanned team and still have your All-pro QB throwing bombs, doing QB sneaks on 4th down to get 1st downs, faking spiking the ball and throwing into the endzone, blitzing the other team late in the game, and needlessly pounding the team into the ground.

I'm not knocking the players, they are doing what they are told on the field. But Belichick knew the 'Skins had only three healthy corners going into the game, one got hurt early, and he still went out of his way to pound on them.

Still, there's no doubt what he's really doing. Redskins veterans Phillip Daniels and Marcus Washington, who have 18 years combined NFL experience, both said they had never seen a team run up the score the way the Patriots are doing.

Face it, folks, Belichick plans to lay waste to the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell took away a first-rounder, so the Patriots will take away your firstborn. Belichick has assembled perhaps the most dominating team in NFL history, and he's intent on destroying all opponents in his path.

This is just plain stupidity by Belichick. He is needlessly risking injury to his better players just to stick it to the league. And remember, what goes around comes around.

Other teams are noticing how the Patriots kick people when they're down, and it does not sit well with them. One of these Sundays, injuries will catch up to the Pats, the ball will bounce the other way, and they will get down in a game. And when that happens, watch for some big time payback. And I don't want to hear a word from Belichick when it happens.

This will not end well for Patriots fans.

Crackpot Krugman: Islamofascism a "Figment of the Neocon Imagination"

The New York Times may want to reconsider the decision to allow everyone to see the nonsense coming from their esteemed stable of columnists, especially this kook.

He works in all the leftist buzzwords: neocons and fearmongering among them, accusing the right of paranoia and racism and basically calls everyone crazy if you don't think like him.

I wonder if he even sits back and reads what he's writing. In one breath, he labels Iran a fourth-rate military power, yet warns that attacking them will only make them stronger.

Huh?

Yes, the Iranian regime is a nasty piece of work in many ways, and it would be a bad thing if that regime acquired nuclear weapons. But let’s have some perspective, please: we’re talking about a country with roughly the G.D.P. of Connecticut, and a government whose military budget is roughly the same as Sweden’s.

Meanwhile, the idea that bombing will bring the Iranian regime to its knees — and bombing is the only option, since we’ve run out of troops — is pure wishful thinking. Last year Israel tried to cripple Hezbollah with an air campaign, and ended up strengthening it instead. There’s every reason to believe that an attack on Iran would produce the same result, with the added effects of endangering U.S. forces in Iraq and driving oil prices well into triple digits.

This piece is so incoherent, he goes from claiming we have nothing to fear from Al Qaeda and Iran, but sums up that they're a real threat, but he's more afraid of paranoid, fearmongering, racist Republicans.

Just to be clear, Al Qaeda is a real threat, and so is the Iranian nuclear program. But neither of these threats frightens me as much as fear itself — the unreasoning fear that has taken over one of America’s two great political parties.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Endorses Mrs. Clinton

This certainly comes as no surprise. Doesn't she look thrilled by the news?

The terror goons certainly have media access and know her husband pardoned terrorists in order to help her get elected in New York.

Her history with Marxist terrorists, of course, goes way back.

Expect much freaking out over this piece from Deroy Murdoch, but what you won't hear is any factual refutation.

Terrorists Prefer Hillary

Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is gaining fans, even on the West Bank.

“I hope Hillary is elected in order to have the occasion to carry out all the promises she is giving regarding Iraq,” said Ala Senakreh, West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a Palestinian terror group. “I hope also she will maintain her husband’s policies regarding Palestine and even develop that policy. President Clinton wanted to give the Palestinians 98 percent of the West Bank territories. I hope Hillary will move a step forward and will give the Palestinians all their rights. She has the chance to save the American nation and the Americans’ life.”

Senakreh and other top Islamo-fascists want Hillary in the Oval Office. These mass murders also have “gone negative.” They want GOP contender Rudy Giuliani dead.

Isn't that special. Looks like this guy is in line for a Media Matters fellowship.

Islamic Jihad’s Abu Ayman felt “emboldened” by Clinton’s demands that America retreat from Iraq. He said: “It is clear that it is the resistance operations of the mujahideen that have brought about these calls for withdrawal.”

“All Americans must vote Democrat,” insisted Jihad Jaara, an exiled Al Aqsa agent who commanded 2002’s siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

They obviously fear Rudy Giuliani, no friend of terrorists.

These terrorists’ love for Hillary mirrors their hatred for her leading GOP rival, Rudolph W. Giuliani.

“If I had the occasion to meet him I would hurt him,” said Ramadan Adassi, a West Bank Al Aqsa leader. “For the sake of the American people, Giuliani shouldn’t be elected. He is a disgusting guy, and I think Americans must think very hard about their future and their soldiers who will be killed when they come to elect their leaders.”

“Giuliani doesn’t deserve to live or even to be mentioned,” said Al Aqsa’s Ala Senakreh. “He hates Palestinians and we hate him.”

Al Aqsa’s Abu Hamed said Giuliani “can hate Arafat and the Palestinians, but he knows that nobody is hated in the world more than his leadership, his party, his president, and his Zionist friends.”

Why the hard feelings? Perhaps because Giuliani has snipped terrorists’ bomb wires for 31 years.

Read the rest.

Sure He's a Quack, but the Libs Love Him

Looks like the Brits are on to the buffoon Michael Moore.

Quack Michael Moore has mad view of the NHS

The fourth estate has always had a bad name, but it seems to be getting worse. Journalism should be an honest and useful trade, and often still is. But now that journalism has more power than ever before, it seems to have become ever more disreputable. In recent years it has been brought lower and lower by kiss-and-tell betrayals, by “reality” TV, by shockumentaries and by liars, fantasists, hucksters and geeks of every kind, crowing and denouncing and emoting in a hideous new version of Bunyan’s Vanity Fair.

Outstanding among these is Michael Moore, the American documentary maker. He specialises in searing indictments, such as Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine, and has, without a doubt, a genius for it. Although his films are crude, manipulative and one-sided, he is idolised by millions of Americans and Europeans, widely seen as some sort of redneck Mr Valiant-for-truth.

Nothing could be further from the truth. His latest documentary, Sicko, was released in cinemas last week. Millions of people will see it and all too many of them will be misled.

Sicko, like all Moore’s films, is about an important and emotive subject – healthcare. He contrasts the harsh and exclusive system in the US with the European ideal of universal socialised medicine, equal and free for all, and tries to demonstrate that one is wrong and the other is right. So far, so good; there are cases to be made.

Unfortunately Sicko is a dishonest film. That is not only my opinion. It is the opinion of Professor Lord Robert Winston, the consultant and advocate of the NHS. When asked on BBC Radio 4 whether he recognised the NHS as portrayed in this film, Winston replied: “No, I didn’t. Most of it was filmed at my hospital [the Hammersmith in west London], which is a very good hospital but doesn’t represent what the NHS is like.”

Much more from Don Surber.

Liberalism is built upon a foundation of lies and misrepresentation, which is what Moore is all about.

What's pathetic is the left is too close-minded to be able to distinguish between fiction and fact.

Sarkozy Walks Out on 60 Minutes

I knew there was something I liked about this guy.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy showed flashes of temper and abruptly terminated a television interview aimed at introducing him to US audiences.

In the 60 Minutes interview, broadcast in the US on Sunday, the French president sparred with the reporter, called his press secretary an imbecile, said he was too busy to make time for a "stupid" interview and ended the whole conversation abruptly when asked about the state of his marriage to Cecilia.

The Sarkozys' divorce was announced about two weeks later.

"If I had something to say about Cecilia, I would not do so here," he said before cutting off further questions.

So Long, Farewell, Enjoy Your Money

It's all about A-Rod.

DLTDHYOTWO, you greedy SOB.

Not content to make outrageous sums of money and never produce in the post-season, he decides to try and steal a little thunder from the Red Sox.

What a jerk.

“I got a call from Alex tonight, and he is going to opt out," Scott Boras, Rodriguez's agent, told The Post last night during Game 4 of the World Series. “He was just too unsure with new ownership talking about a transition where the organization is going right now. He is not sure what is going to happen with [free agents] Mariano [Rivera] and [Jorge] Posada, and if Andy Pettitte is coming back. He needs more time to assess where the Yankees are going in the future."

Yes, well those three will likely show loyalty to the Yankees and re-sign shortly. As for Rodriguez, if it was all about winning, he'd never have gone to Texas in the first place.

BTW, congratulations are in order for the Boston Red Sox, who are now 8-2 in their last 10 World Series games.

Muslim Killer Whines About Mistreatment

Not only does he claim prision guards have confiscated his Quran, but they (gasp!) allegedly took some stamps.

Oh, the horrors.

Now the Supreme Court is hearing the case.

A Muslim inmate says prisoners around the country are regularly mistreated by their jailers because of religious faith. The Supreme Court is considering his case Monday.

The issue in the inmate's lawsuit is whether he can sue prison officials for allegedly confiscating two copies of his Quran and his prayer rug.

Abdus-Shahid M.S. Ali, a convicted murderer, says the books and rug are among the personal items that have been missing since 2003, when he was moved from a federal penitentiary in Atlanta to a facility at Inez, Ky.

Muslim inmates have been subjected to "very hard times and bad treatment" at the hands of federal, state and local prison employees because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Ali says in court papers.

Ali is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in prison for committing first-degree murder in the District of Columbia.

We could have avoided this if he was simply executed for his first-degree murder conviction.

In the Supreme Court, the question is whether federal prison officials qualify as law enforcement officers and are therefore exempt from suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946. The statute bars liability claims against law enforcement officers involved in detaining property. Two lower federal courts ruled against Ali.

Besides the two copies of the Quran and the prayer rug, Ali is missing stamps and other personal items worth $177 that he says weren't sent along to Big Sandy penitentiary in Kentucky.

UK Muslim MP Seething After Airport Incident

Perhaps had his fellow Muslims not become such a nuisance by flying planes into buildings and murdering innocent people worldwide, this poor fellow wouldn't have to suffer through the humilating indignity of having his bags checked and waiting around for 40 minutes.

Plenty of flyers out there going through this. Get used to it.

Muslim minister detained at airport

Britain's first Muslim minister said he was "deeply disappointed" after being detained at an American airport where his hand luggage was analysed for traces of explosive materials.

Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury and International Development Minister, was returning to Heathrow after a series of meetings and talks on tackling terrorism, when he was stopped at Dulles Airport in Washington DC.

He was searched and detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - the same department whose representatives he had been meeting on his visit to the country.

Mr Malik said: "After a few minutes a couple of other people were also taken to one side. We were all Muslims - the other two were black Muslims, both with Muslim names."

Mr Malik said he was particularly annoyed as a similar thing happened to him last year, when he was detained for an hour at JFK airport in New York by the DHS - despite the fact that he was a keynote speaker at an event organised by the department, alongside the FBI and Muslim organisations in New York.

The theme of that speech was tackling extremism and defeating terrorism.

Mr Malik said he received numerous apologies and assurances from the USA authorities after that incident.

After his detention, which lasted about 40 minutes, he said: "I am deeply disappointed.

I guess next time he comes to visit DHS, we just just let him through, no questions asked.

We just can't bother worrying about the risk of terrorism when the delicate feeling of Muslims are involved.

Dodd Stuck at Zero, But Has "Room to Grow"

This clown should have given it up months ago.

He's Ron Paul without the charm.

Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd may be trailing in the polls, but he says don't count him out of the race just yet.

Dodd appeared Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" and was presented with poll results showing him last in the eight-person field, with 0 percent support.

The most recent AP-Ipsos polls showed Dodd at 1 percent.

"Well, we've got a lot of room to grow here, as we say," he said.

Then, turning serious, the Connecticut senator noted that John Kerry trailed Howard Dean at this stage of the Democratic race in 2003, but came back to win the Iowa caucuses and ultimately the presidential nomination.

"I feel very good about where we are today, and I've certainly been around this long enough to know whether or not there's room to grow, whether or not you've got an opportunity to win the nomination," Dodd said. "And I believe there'll be three or four tickets coming out of Iowa before you go to New Hampshire, and I think that's a very open question."

Maybe he ought to go back to making sandwiches.

Better Yet, Let's Ban John Edwards Ads

Is this guy for real?

CONCORD, N.H. - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says prescription drug companies should have to wait two years to begin advertising their new products to consumers.

Edwards on Sunday was outlining a plan to regulate what he views as a proliferation of misleading drug ads. In the decade since the government relaxed rules on advertising directly to consumers, spending on prescription drug ads has nearly quadrupled to more than $4 billion a year, he said in prepared remarks.

"With such aggressive and often misleading drug company marketing, it's too easy for advertising — instead of doctors or proven results — to influence families' health decisions," Edwards said in excerpts of his speech provided to The Associated Press. "But the (Food and Drug Administration) has been an ineffective watchdog, reviewing only a small fraction of ads.

"It's time to stand up to the drug companies and their lobbyists who have rigged the system. It's time to stand strong for families, patients and doctors," said Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina.

Besides the two-year delay on new-drug advertising, he would require drug companies to get FDA approval before launching major ad campaigns. He also would increase penalties for companies that violate truth-in-advertising laws and would require companies to disclose more information about a drug's side effects and effectiveness compared to placebos and alternative drugs.

Any time a slippery operator like the Silky Pony brings truth-in-advertising into the discussion, the BS meter goes off the charts.

Seriously though, is there any aspect of our lives the Democrats don't want to regulate?

Meanwhile, I see Silky visited Coulter Saturday.

I wonder is he cleared that with Ma Edwards first?

Happy Halloween: Minorities Hardest Hit

Good grief. Is there anything the media won't put a damper on?

Obviously, children and parents shold take precautions when venturing out on Halloween, but trying to make this into a race issue is just ridiculous.

Maybe we should just ban Halloween altogether so nobody is offended.

Minorities less likely to trick or treat

WASHINGTON - Two-thirds of parents say their children will trick-or-treat this Halloween, but fewer minorities will let their kids go door to door, with some citing safety worries, a poll shows.

The survey found that 73 percent of whites versus 56 percent of minorities said their children will trick-or-treat.

That disparity in the survey is similar to the difference in how people view the safety of their neighborhoods, according to the poll by The Associated Press and Ipsos. Lower-income people and minorities are more likely to worry that it might not be safe to send their children out on Halloween night.

Here's a novel suggestion: How about escorting the kids?

Overall, 86 percent of those questioned in the survey said their neighborhoods are safe for trick-or-treating. Ninety-one percent of whites, compared with 75 percent of minorities, said they felt their kids would be secure when they went out seeking candy in their area.

Similarly, 93 percent of people earning $50,000 or more said their communities are safe for trick-or-treating, compared with 76 percent of those making less than $25,000.

Then there are those who are simply offended by Halloween.

Of those adults whose children will not trick-or-treat this year, one-quarter cited safety worries and about one-half said they do not celebrate Halloween.

"It's demonic," said Donna Stitt, 37, a nursing aide from Barto, Pa., with four young children. "People are celebrating the dead. I'm not into that."

NFL Week 8

We finally wound up above .500 in Week 7, coming in at 8-6 and bringing the 2007 slate to 39-56-7. Getting even for the season will be a monumental task, but we're nothing if not wildly optimistic. Extra added bonus for football fans this week: No Sunday night game means no going out of your way to avoid the oily and unctuous Keith Olbermann.

SUNDAY
Giants -9.5 DOLPHINS: The NFL heads to London and Miami fans wish the Fish would stay there. This concludes the creampuff portion of the Giants schedule, with Dallas coming up after the bye. Giants 38-10

Browns -3 RAMS: Rams may actually be worse than Miami, and that's saying something. Browns 27-6

BEARS -5 Lions: Detroit never wins on the road and the Bears have a little payback in mind after giving up 34 in the fourth quarter a few weeks back. Midwest correspondent 3 wood weighs in: "The Bears can not cover the Lions receivers, but Griese should be able to make enough first downs to keep the Bears "D" off the field at least half the time." He says Bears by three, I say they cover. Bears 26-20

Colts -6.5 PANTHERS: Coming off short week, Colts could be tripped up looking ahead to showdown with New England, but not likely against banged-up Carolina. Colts 34-20

TITANS -7.5 Raiders: Tennessee was fortunate to escape miraculous rally by Houston last week, aided by a ridiculous eight field goals from Rob Bironas. This week they'll only need him for extra points. Titans 31-13

VIKINGS +1 Eagles: Adrian Peterson left, right, up the middle. Minnesota may seriously want to consider getting an NFL quarterback. Vikings 16-13

Steelers -3.5 BENGALS: Pittsburgh should be angry after losing at Denver and they never lose in Cincinnati. Bengals a week away from having all their criminals back, a Chris Henry is eligible to return next week.Steelers 31-27

Bills +3 JETS: Bills are alone in second place in the AFC East. They'll remain there the rest of the year. Bills 17-13

CHARGERS -10 Texans: Democrats saddened they can't exploit the California fires any longer, so look for them to make up some new lies this week. Chargers 42-17

BUCS -4 Jaguars: Speaking of fires, Jags were torched by the Colts and lost their starting QB, David Garrard. They're in deep trouble. Bucs 16-10

Saints -3 49ERS: The only thing getting lit up in Northern California this week will be the punchless 49ers. Saints 31-13

Redskins +16.5 PATRIOTS: At some point, the Patriots will fail to cover. Skins aren't that bad and should muster enough offense to keep this reasonable. Patriots 35-20

MONDAY
BRONCOS -3 Packers: Looks like Denver won't have to worry about World Series Game 5 causing traffic problems. Brett Favre and the Pack coming back to reality. Broncos may have salvaged their season last week and may start stringing some wins together. Broncos 28-17

Ford: Clinton a Sex Addict

Certainly this comes as no surprise to anyone who's ever seen Bill Clinton in action. Except maybe his adoring wife, who was shocked to find out he was being serviced by a fat intern, and blamed it on the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.

Gerald Ford was disturbed by Bill Clinton's skirt-chasing ways - and thought he should check into a sex addiction clinic.

A new book on the late 38th President reveals he had strong views about the Clintons: He thought Hillary wore the pants and that Bill couldn't keep his zipped.

"He's sick - he's got an addiction. He needs treatment," Ford told Daily News Washington Bureau Chief Thomas M. DeFrank, author of "Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford."

Of course, Clinton never got any treatment, and he and his wife continue merrily along, lying through their teeth each and every day.

"I'll tell you one thing: He didn't miss one good-looking skirt at any of the social occasions," Ford said later.

"He's got a wandering eye, I'll tell you that. Betty had the same impression; he isn't very subtle about his interest."

Nevertheless, when the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-perjury scandal erupted and barreled toward impeachment, Ford was willing to help Clinton - to a point.

After the House voted to impeach Clinton but before the Senate's decision on whether to convict him, the sitting President phoned the ex-President.

"He said he needed my help and wanted to know if I could help," Ford recalled not long after.

Ford had written two Op-Ed pieces in which he called for Clinton to admit he had lied to federal investigators in exchange for censure over impeachment.

He told Clinton that he would help him, if he agreed to such a deal.

"Bill I think you have to admit that you lied. If you do that, I think that will help - and I'll help you. If you'll admit to perjury, I'll do more," he said.

"I won't do that," Clinton told him. "I can't do that."

Ford was stunned by Clinton's lack of contrition. "It's a character flaw," he concluded.

Meanwhile, these two charlatans were up in Harlem Saturday campaigning at a church, which is always condemned when Republicans do it, but just fine for Democrats. Naturally, they kept up their habitual lying, something the both of them are addicted to.

Sen. Clinton - greeted with a standing ovation and a maroon-robed choir singing "Victory is Mine" when she took the pulpit - said it was time to return America "to the basics" of providing jobs and revitalizing the economy.

"Let's end the cronyism and the no-bid contracts," she said, as she attacked the Bush administration for marginalizing the middle class, children and other groups.

"This president is perfectly happy to give no-bid contracts to Halliburton while he vetoes health care for children in America," she said.

Of course, it was Bill Clinton who doled out no-bid contracts to Halliburton long before the current president did, but let's not let the facts get in the way.

Rather than perpetuating the myth of an Iraqi civil war, she might also want to read up on what is actuially happening there, not that she cares.

UPDATE: Gateway Pundit links. Thanks!

Dude, Save the 'Shrooms!

What's the world coming to when people's right to hallucinate is infringed upon?

I imagine the UN will soon spring into action to resolve this international crisis.

Dutch protesters make bid to save "magic mushrooms"

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Protesters turned out on Amsterdam's central Dam Square on Saturday, hoping to stop the government from banning magic mushrooms and asking to "save the 'shrooms".

Carrying banners reading "When will they ban bread?" and "Boss of your own brain", more than 100 people, some wearing hats resembling the bright red cap of the popular fly agaric variety, protested to keep hallucinogenic mushrooms legal.

After several incidents involving tourists -- in March, a French teenager jumped to her death from a bridge after taking mushrooms -- the Dutch government plans to ban them.

Arno Adelaars, author of a book on magic mushrooms, said this would only drive users underground and what was needed instead was better information how to use mushrooms right.

"It's only foreigners who have this problem, the Dutch don't because they have good information," he said.

NY Times Faults Bush on Syrian Nuke Program

Just harken back to 2003 for a minute. Suppose George W. Bush called a press conference and told the world he had evidence Syria was building a covert nuclear facility and the United States was prepared to take action.

What do you suppose the reaction would have been from the media?

Well, now we know for sure they indeed were building such a facility and, thankfully, the Israelis took it out.

Yet here we now have the New York Times pointing the finger at the admiistration, taking them to task for not doing something.

Just imagine the reaction if we leveled the place four years ago.

Yet Another Photo of Site in Syria, Yet More Questions

To their credit, the Times manages to hold off until the second paragraph before taking Bush to task.

The mystery surrounding the construction of what might have been a nuclear reactor in Syria deepened yesterday, when a company released a satellite photo showing that the main building was well under way in September 2003 — four years before Israeli jets bombed it.

The long genesis is likely to raise questions about whether the Bush administration overlooked a nascent atomic threat in Syria while planning and executing a war in Iraq, which was later found to have no active nuclear program.

A senior American intelligence official said yesterday that American analysts had looked carefully at the site from its early days, but were unsure then whether it posed a nuclear threat.

In the time before the Iraq war, President Bush and his senior advisers sounded many alarms about Baghdad’s reconstituting its nuclear program. But they have never publicly discussed what many analysts say appears to have been a long-running nuclear effort next door.

If Bush came out on national television holding up satellite images of what he said was a Syrian nuke plant, the New York Times and the nutroots would have gone wild, accused him of doctoring photos.

You just cannot win with these people.

Of course, back in 2003, John Bolton raised the specter of Syria developing nukes, but was dismissed by some in the intelligence community.

Apparently, he was right all along.

The progress of the site in late 2003 also raises new questions about a disagreement at the time between intelligence analysts and John R. Bolton, then the State Department’s top arms control official.

In the summer of 2003, Mr. Bolton’s testimony on Capitol Hill was delayed after a dispute erupted in part over whether Syria was actively pursuing a nuclear weapon. Some intelligence officials said Mr. Bolton overstated the Syrian threat.

“There was disagreement about what Syria was interested in and how much we should be monitoring it,” Mr. Bolton said in an interview yesterday. “There was activity in Syria that I felt was evidence that they were trying to develop a nuclear program.”

I wonder who those intelligence officials are and whether they're man enough to step up and apologize to Bolton?

Recipe for Disaster: Rice Seeks Mideast Advice from Carter, Clinton

All I can figure is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has completely taken leave of her senses.

The absolute last people on the face of the earth she should be getting tips from are a guy who had his pants around his ankles for eight years and the worst president ever, an Israel-hating one at that.

Rice taps Clinton, Carter for Middle East advice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anxious not to repeat mistakes of past Middle East peace-making, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has turned to former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter for tips ahead of her own conference this year.

OK, you want to avoid repeating mistakes, so you get advice from the clowns who made them?

Huh?

Rice invited Carter, a vocal critic of Bush administration policies, to the State Department on Wednesday where the two discussed his Arab-Israeli peacemaking efforts in the 1970s, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Friday.

Their talks were "good and cordial," he said. They focused on the Middle East and not Carter's recent criticism of President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq and elsewhere.

A Soviet specialist, Rice also telephoned another former Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who tried, and ultimately failed, in his eight years in office to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together.

The mind boggles.

Rice has made clear she will devote all her energy in the Bush administration's final 14 months to get what others have failed to attain in the past -- a viable, independent Palestinian state living side by side with a secure Israel.

Give it up now. Only one side is interested in peace here, and it isn't the Palestinians.

Don't Worry, Dems, We Get the Message

Your message is coming through loud and clear. It's why you're at 11% in the polls.

Feel free to change it, but we won't be listening.

Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because the party’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.

“Our message sounds like an audit report on defense logistics,” wrote Dave Helfert, a former Appropriations spokesman who now works for Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Why are we defending [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program] instead of advocating a ‘Healthy Kids’ plan?”

Of course, they have a rational explanation for why the GOP gets their message through.

His memo is sharply critical of Republican policies but also suggests a neurological explanation for Republican message success: By using emotional appeals and warning of dire threats, Republicans can trigger neurons called “amygdalae” in the temporal lobe, which is the seat of the “fight or flight” response in the brain.

“Almost every Republican message contains a simple and direct moral imperative, a stark contrast between good and evil, right and wrong, common sense and fuzzy liberal thinking,” Helfert wrote. “Meanwhile, we’re trying to ignite passions with analyses of optimum pupil-teacher ratios.”

He's on to us.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin can't contain the laughter.

Have Another Drink, Randi

Miss Ketel One really needs to sober up and seek treatment.

I started just doing Google searches to try and figure out. You know, arson, arson, it was like crazy trying to figure out why is that being downplayed? Why is that, you know, just a small part of the story? And you know, every time I look for it what comes up, believe it or not, is that Blackwater wants to move to San Diego and build this giant complex in San Diego right where most of the evacuations are taking place and you know.

You just know wherever there is fire, this administration will be out there doing what it does best and that is fanning the flames, you know. It just spooks me, I can’t explain to you how creepy this whole thing is that you know, you’ve got these fires. Some of them are thought to be the work of arsonists and in the same breath you’ve got a community that’s on fire that just recently protested Blackwater West. Just recently said no to Blackwater and apparently you don’t do that.

I mean, I don’t even know what to think. You know, nobody is saying Blackwater set the fires, that is nobody that doesn’t want their house burned down. Nobody is saying that, but it is all so bizarre that this is America and you have to sort of sit there and wonder … arson, same place Blackwater West wants to be, people protesting. And then you find out that some of the guys that used to work for Blackwater are now in Schwarzenegger’s administration.

It’s all so creepy.

She's either completely insane or in the death throes of wetbrain.

More from Dr. Rusty.

Matt Ryan Wins the Heisman

If you missed it last night, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan all but wrapped up the Heisman Trophy with his remarkable performance in Blacksburg, rallying the Golden Eagles to a stunning 14-10 victory over Virginia Tech.

It was probably easy to miss, since Boston fans were otherwise occupied. If you get a chance, catch some video of his late game heroics. It was absolutely magnificent.

It will be difficult for anyone to beat Ryan out now, especially if surprising BC keeps winning.

For the first 56 minutes of last night's game at Virginia Tech, it appeared Boston College's dreams of dancing to Bourbon Street for a shot at the national championship were going to die.

Matt Ryan's hopes for the Heisman Trophy looked shot, too.

But, the Eagles persevered through a tough, rainy environment at Lane Stadium and got a little luck in what has become a magical season with an improbable 14-10 victory over the No. 8 Hokies.

Ryan threw for two touchdowns in the final 2:11, including a 24-yarder to running back Andre Callender with 11 seconds left, to silence the sellout crowd.

Ryan could probably start for at least a dozen NFL teams right now. He'll likely be doing so this time next year.

I Wanna Go Home

A beautiful tribute from Karridine.

More here.

You can purchase it here.

Pantsuit Turns 60, Greedy Minions Count the Ca$h

She doesn't look a day over 59.

Well, I used to like Elvis Costello. Now that he's groveling before this horrible woman, he won't be in the rotation much longer.

"Happy Birthday, Mrs. President," crooned Costello, echoing Marilyn Monroe's serenade of President Kennedy.

I think I'm going to puke.

Does she really think anyone believes she's a Yankee fan?

Apparently, mini-actor Billy Crystal is slurping that Koolaid.

Clinton, standing under three giant pictures of herself, took the stage with a dig at Rudy Giuliani, the Yankees fan who said last week that he's rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series.

"I have been a fan -- and I remain a fan -- of the Yankees, no changes, no looking to curry favor with anybody else," said Clinton, turning the tables on the mayor, who has derided her loyalty to the team as political pandering.

Crystal made repeated references to Giuliani's baseball flip-flop, saying it was like Ann Coulter declaring she's kosher.

Wow, what a yukfest. Maybe some day she'll actually show up at Yankee Stadium. Perhaps when they schedule Chinese Dishwasher Day.

Now what's birthday bash without trashing some people, especially those who've got your number?

The campaign's birthday celebration offered Clinton an opportunity to reach out to older women, a group that's proven surprisingly Hillary-phobic.

"Women over 60 are going to be a tough sell for her," said Hunter College politics professor Andrew Polsky. "This is a generation of women who came of age before the era of feminism, and a higher percentage of them spent their lives as housewives who didn't have a career. To them, she's had an untraditional life and an untraditional career and that makes them uncomfortable with her."

Perhaps her nanny-state socialism has something to do with that as well.

More here.

Crystal returned after the Wallflowers, performed, and joked, "Giuliani just retracted the Red Sox thing, so now he's gonna vote for Cleveland."

An upbeat director Ron Howard said as he exited the theater that Crystal "wasn't vicious," but that the crowd was "happy to have" the joke.

Bill Clinton said his wife is "still . . . beautiful" at 60 and quipped, "She was 23 when we first met - poor child didn't know any better."

The event - where tickets ranged from $250 to $2,300 - raised $1.5 million, aides said.

Crystal's comic apex was around 1978 when he played Jody on Soap. It's been all downhill since.

By the way, is it just me or does anyone else find it unseemly that people use their birthdays to shake down campaign contributors?

Speaking of Mrs. Clinton's greed, Suitably Flip has the latest on her criminal fundraiser, Norman Hsu.

Kos Kid: Let's All Convert to Islam

I'll assume this is some of that edgy satire we've grown accustomed to from the nutroots.

They again, we are dealing with a Kos Kid, so proceed with caution.

Sure, there are a few people here and there who take religion seriously, but they are in such a small minority that their protests can be easily ignored.

All in all, converting to Islam would be a small price to pay for an end to the killing and maiming of our sons and daughters, not to mention the billions of dollars we could put to better use than fighting this perpetual war.

So let’s do away with our religious pretences, adopt Islam as our new faith, add a few extra holidays to our calendar, and get down to the real business at hand: pumping oil.

Ron Paul and Stormfront: Perfect Together

It's not as if anyone didn't know Ron Paul was attacting all sorts of weirdos.

Sure, maybe a bunch of misfits, outcasts and assorted harmless human debris.

But we cannot have anyone associated with the GOP accepting money from these devils.

Plenty here and here.

Why, it was just two weeks ago Dr. Paul snagged the elusive Stormfront endorsement. It's not as if he wasn't aware of these cretins.



Question: Who will be faster to denounce this--other GOP candidates or some opportunistic Democrats.

Aging Lothario Sues for Sex

Someone needs to have a talk with Grandpa.

FLIRTY OLD MAN: German Playboy, 77, Sues for Sex

Aging German playboy Rolf Eden has rarely taken no for an answer. And he's not about to start. He has filed charges against a 19-year-old for refusing to sleep with him. The complaint? Ageism.

It's no secret that Germany has a problem with ageism. Workers here who lose their jobs after the age of 50 are virtually assured of spending the rest of their lives on the dole. A recent plan to up the retirement age to 67 was lampooned because most Germans of that age are no longer employed anyway.

But aging German playboy Rolf Eden seems to have developed a somewhat warped view of what age discrimination actually is. According to Bild Zeitung on Thursday, the 77-year-old Eden has filed suit against a 19-year-old Berlin woman for the following reason: Despite a night on the town with Eden, which ended back at his place, she refused to have sex with him, saying the he was too old for her.

"That was shattering. No woman has ever said that to me before," Eden told the tabloid. "I was crushed." He has filed charges with the prosecutors' office, he said. "After all, there are laws against discrimination."

Al-Qaida Goes Nutroots: Fatwa on Al-Jazeera!

This ought to be fun.

Reminds me of when the nutroots scold the networks for not being as insane as they are.

Al-Qaida anger at Jazeera on Laden tape

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida sympathizers have unleashed a torrent of anger against Al-Jazeera television, accusing it of misrepresenting Osama bin Laden's latest audiotape by airing excerpts in which he criticizes mistakes by insurgents in Iraq.

Users of a leading Islamic militant Web forum posted thousands of insults against the pan-Arab station for focusing on excerpts in which bin Laden criticizes insurgents, including his followers.

Analysts said the reaction highlighted militants' surprise at bin Laden's words, and their dismay at the deep divisions among al-Qaida and other Iraqi militants that he appeared to be trying to heal.

"It's not about Al-Jazeera, it's about their shock from bin Laden," said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on Islamic militant groups. "For the first time, bin Laden, who used to be the spiritual leader who gives guidance, became a critic of al-Qaida and is confessing mistakes. This is unusual."

"God fight Al-Jazeera," railed one militant Web poster, calling the station a "collaborator with the Crusaders" for suggesting the tape showed weakness in al-Qaida and featuring discussions of how the tape reflected weaknesses and divisions among insurgents in Iraq.

The recording aired Monday contained unusually strong criticism of insurgents in Iraq from bin Laden, who urges them to admit mistakes and unify. Bin Laden even aknowledges [sic] that he advises himself not to be "fanatical" in his stances.

"Some of you have been lax in one duty, which is to unite your ranks," bin Laden said. "Beware of division ... Muslims are waiting for you to gather under a single banner to champion righteousness. Be keen to oblige with this duty."

"I advise myself, Muslims in general and brothers in al-Qaida everywhere to avoid extremism among men and groups," he said.

The tape was met with a cautiously positive response from at least one insurgent coalition that has been opposed to al-Qaida.

But the Al-Fajr Media Center, which usually posts al-Qaida video and audio tapes on the Web, accused Al-Jazeera of "counterfeiting the facts" by making the speech appear as exclusively critical of insurgents.

"Al-Jazeera directors have shamefully chosen to back the Crusaders' side, and the defenders of hypocrites and the thugs and traitors of Iraq," Al-Fajr said in a statement posted on several Islamic Web sites.

Another Web contributor even rattled off a five-stanza poem of rhymed couplets, comparing the station to a "miserable fly in the garbage" and concluding, "Your day will come, vile one. As long as we live, you won't be safe, Jazeera."

Meanwhile, did we have Osama in our sights a couple months ago?

Hmmm.

UPDATE: More from Michelle Malkin, Jules Crittenden.