Uh, Sir, Exactly How Did Those Washers Get There?

I imagine this guy had to be under the influence of some hallucinogens.

A MAN was operated on in Hornsby Hospital early today to remove 16 stainless steel washers from his penis.

Berowra Fire Rescue officers were called to alleviate the man from his awkward predicament at 3am.

It was not clear how the situation arose.

The man may well have thought long and hard about placing himself in the difficult situation.

Fire Rescue Officers spent more than an hour unsuccessfully attempting to remove the washers, before the man was taken into an operating theatre about 4.30am.

Surgeons took about 90 minutes to remove the washers using fire brigade equipment.

You can envision the reporter crying through the tears getting the copy out.

The man was in a satisfactory condition.

It is believed the only lasting damage may be to his pride.

Confusion Reigns: Islamic Group Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism

My head is spinning on this one.

Thousands of Muslims gathered in New Delhi on Saturday to denounce terrorism, with leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom issuing a fatwa declaring it as the "most inhuman crime".

"In its (Islam) eyes, on any part over the surface of the earth spreading mischief, rioting, breach of peace, bloodshed, killing of innocent persons and plundering are the most inhuman crime," read the fatwa, issued here at an Anti-Terrorism Conference.

Hmm. Let's see: rioting, breach of peace, bloodshed, killing of innocent persons; yup, that pretty much sums up modern Islam.

The conference, organised by Jamiat-Ulma-I-Hind, saw the participation of clerics, scholars and religious leaders of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs besides 70,000 people from across the country.

Reading out the fatwa, Deoband's cleric Riyasat Ali Bijnouri, quoted Holy Koran as saying: "Do not mischief on the earth after it has been set in order."

"Islam loves peace. Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence... and does not allow it in any form," the fatwa said.

The fatwa further read: "the religion of Islam has come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace."

Sure.

OK, I guess we can all rest easy now.

Change! Obama Flees Crazy Church

Now there's a man of principle, willing to stand up for his friends and spiritual mentors.

Uh, not really.

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign confirmed Saturday that he has resigned from the Chicago church where controversial sermons by his former pastor and other ministers created repeated political headaches for the Democratic frontrunner.

The resignation comes days after the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a visiting Catholic priest, mocked Obama's Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, for crying during the runup to the New Hampshire primary.

Previously, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ and Obama's minister for about 20 years, drew unwanted attention for the campaign when videos of his fiery sermons surfaced.

.

H/T: LGF.

U.S. Casualties in Iraq Lowest in Four Years; Media, Democrats Hardest Hit

You can't win for winning. Despite enormous progress in Iraq and today's news that casualty figures for U.S. forces are at their lowest level in over four years, we get a headline like this from the Associated Press.

Iraq deaths down, but for how long?

God, these people make me sick. No amount of good news could ever satisfy them. There's always a but.

U.S. military deaths plunged in May to the lowest monthly level in more than four years and civilian casualties were down sharply, too, as Iraqi forces assumed the lead in offensives in three cities and a truce with Shiite extremists took hold.

But many Iraqis as well as U.S. officials and private security analysts are uncertain whether the current lull signals a long-term trend or is simply a breathing spell like so many others before.

U.S. commanders also warn the relative peace is fragile because no lasting political agreements have been reached among the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities.

Talks on returning Sunnis to the government broke down this week, and tensions among rival Shiite parties remain high despite a May 11 truce that ended weeks of bloody fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City district.

Iraqis have experienced lulls in the past — notably after the January 2005 elections — only to see violence flare again.

"The security situation is much better than in the past three or four months, and I am making more money now," said Falih Radhi, who runs a food store in eastern Baghdad. "Despite this, I have a feeling that this positive situation won't last long and that violence may come back again."

Nevertheless, the figures for May are encouraging, especially coming as the United States continues withdrawing the nearly 30,000 reinforcements that President Bush sent to Iraq early last year to curb the wave of Shiite-Sunni slaughter.

All five of the "surge brigades" rushed to Iraq last year will be gone by July, lowering the troop strength to about 140,000, U.S. officials say. There are currently about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

At least 21 American troopers were killed in May — four in non-hostile incidents. That's one more than the lowest monthly figure of the war set in February 2004.

Meanwhile, Iraqi deaths were down, too.

At least 532 Iraqi civilians and security troopers were killed during the month, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press from Iraqi police and military reports. That's down sharply from April's figure of 1,080 and the lowest monthly total this year, according to the AP count.

It's garbage like this why the media is held in such contempt. Of course, that is the media that's actually still reporting from Iraq, considering coverage has declined by 92% since the surge success took root.

Media bias? What media bias?

Thanks to Gateway Pundit for the link.

'I Felt That My Heart Was About to Explode in My Chest...I Am Powerless'

Apparently, she'd rather explode herself instead of being broken-hearted.

Muslim extremist women are challenging al-Qaida's refusal to include — or at least acknowledge — women in its ranks, in an emotional debate that gives rare insight into the gender conflicts lurking beneath one of the strictest strains of Islam.

In response to a female questioner, al-Qaida No. 2 leader Ayman Al-Zawahri said in April that the terrorist group does not have women. A woman's role, he said on the Internet audio recording, is limited to caring for the homes and children of al-Qaida fighters.

What cavemen. Just imagine if a Westerner dared uttered such a contemptuous statement.

His remarks have since prompted an outcry from fundamentalist women, who are fighting or pleading for the right to be terrorists. The statements have also created some confusion, because in fact suicide bombings by women seem to be on the rise, at least within the Iraq branch of al-Qaida.

A'eeda Dahsheh is a Palestinian mother of four in Lebanon who said she supports al-Zawahri and has chosen to raise children at home as her form of jihad. However, she said, she also supports any woman who chooses instead to take part in terror attacks.

Another woman signed a more than 2,000-word essay of protest online as Rabeebat al-Silah, Arabic for "Companion of Weapons."

"How many times have I wished I were a man ... When Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahri said there are no women in al-Qaida, he saddened and hurt me," wrote "Companion of Weapons," who said she listened to the speech 10 times. "I felt that my heart was about to explode in my chest...I am powerless."

Such postings have appeared anonymously on discussion forums of Web sites that host videos from top al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. While the most popular site requires names and passwords, many people use only nicknames, making their identities and locations impossible to verify.

However, groups that monitor such sites say the postings appear credible because of the knowledge and passion they betray. Many appear to represent computer-literate women arguing in the most modern of venues — the Internet — for rights within a feudal version of Islam.

"Women were very disappointed because what al-Zawahri said is not what's happening today in the Middle East, especially in Iraq or in Palestinian groups," said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors militant Web sites. "Suicide operations are being carried out by women, who play an important role in jihad."

It's not clear how far women play a role in al-Qaida because of the group's amorphous nature.

Terrorism experts believe there are no women in the core leadership ranks around bin Laden and al-Zawahri. But beyond that core, al-Qaida is really a movement with loosely linked offshoots in various countries and sympathizers who may not play a direct role. Women are clearly among these sympathizers, and some are part of the offshoot groups.

In the Iraq branch, for example, women have carried out or attempted at least 20 suicide bombings since 2003. Al-Qaida members suspected of training women to use suicide belts were captured in Iraq at least three times last year, the U.S. military has said.

Hamas, another militant group, is open about using women fighters and disagrees with al-Qaida's stated stance. At least 11 Palestinian women have launched suicide attacks in recent years.

"A lot of the girls I speak to ... want to carry weapons. They live with this great frustration and oppression," said Huda Naim, a prominent women's leader, Hamas member and Palestinian lawmaker in Gaza. "We don't have a special militant wing for women ... but that doesn't mean that we strip women of the right to go to jihad."

They live with frustration and oppression? Really? Who is it oppressing them?

Thanks to Ace for the link.

'More Than 100 Enemies of Peace and Stability Were Killed'

At the rate the Taliban are getting their clocks cleaned in Afghanistan, one can only imagine the Democrats will soon call for an immediate pullout.

AFGHAN authorities said more than 100 Taliban-linked militants have been killed in an operation to retake a remote district from the rebels in south-western Afghanistan

The rebels were killed during two days of operations by Afghan security forces and their international allies in Bakwa, a remote district in the south-western province of Farah, the interior ministry said.

"During two days of operations more than 100 enemies of peace and stability were killed,'' ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said

Naturally, AFP can't bear to call these mutants what they are. Or were, actually.

Over 100 rebels were killed in military operations in southwestern Afghanistan, authorities said Saturday, as dozens more people were killed or injured in other violence throughout the country.

The interior ministry said Afghan security forces backed by foreign military allies killed the rebels during two days of operations to retake the remote district of Bakwa in southwestern province of Farah.

The rebels had captured the district eight months ago, ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.

Thanks to Ace for the link.

Islamic Jihad Using Torture, Jimmy Carter Unavailable for Comment

For years any allegation that the United States has used certain methods of interrogation on terror suspects has been met with wails about waterboarding and worldwide condemnation from every lefttist group known to man.

Now that Human Rights Watch accuses an offshoot of the Jimmy Carter supported terror gang Hamas of torturing men they accuse of collaborating with Israel, the news is met with silence.

Human Rights Watch has urged the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip to investigate the abduction and alleged torture of three Palestinians by an Islamist militant group that accused them of spying for Israel.

The three were seized on May 20 by Islamic Jihad, which said they had helped Israeli forces kill several militants, including one of its leaders. After making taped confessions, the men were handed over to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry for prosecution.

A ministry spokesman, Ehab al-Ghsain, said the detainees bore signs of torture. Islamic Jihad denied having abused them.

The New York-based rights group issued a statement on Friday calling on Hamas, which took over Gaza a year ago after routing the forces of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to exercise sole responsibility for law enforcement.

"An armed group like (Islamic Jihad's) al-Quds Brigades has no legal right to arrest, detain or interrogate suspects," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division.

"The Hamas authorities in Gaza, who control the governing institutions there, have a duty to prosecute those responsible for these abductions and apparent use of torture," Stork said.

Hamas should charge the three suspected spies "with a recognisable criminal offence and try them in accordance with international standards" or free them, Human Rights Watch added.

Ghsain said Hamas had rebuked Islamic Jihad over the abductions, but no legal action against the group was planned.

You can bet your ass these guys suffered much more than any of the three terrorists we used waterboarding on.

Thailand Transfixed by Transvestite Pageant

I can't imagine this goes over too well with the headchoppers in the restive southern portion of Thailand. Apparently, though, it's a blockbuster on television.

A teenage transvestite who grew up on a military base was crowned Thailand's most beautiful transvestite late Friday, in an extravagant annual pageant which transfixed the nation.

Kangsadarn Wongdusadeekul, known by her stage name "Nonk," cried as she accepted her Miss Tiffany crown from last year's winner.

Nonk, 19, particularly impressed the panel of judges with her question round.

Asked if she would be happy to join the army as a man, she told the audience: "Last year I went to register as a soldier but my figure had changed so the government did not let me.

"We are beautiful -- so we have no need to be soldiers," she said, getting the biggest laugh of the night.

Her win brings considerable financial reward: 100,000 baht (3,200 US dollars) -- equivalent to a year's wages for a factory worker -- and a Honda car.

'Yes, Osama Has Finally Been Killed and It Took Us 20 Bullets to Silence Him'

It's true. Osama bin Laden is dead.

AN elephant named "Osama bin Laden" that has killed more than 11 people and injured dozens over the past few months was shot dead in eastern India, officials said today.

The wild male elephant had been terrorising villagers in two states, destroying their crops and homes.

Forest officials and a police team tracked down the rogue jumbo in the eastern state of Jharkhand late yesterday, where it was shot dead, Ravi Ranjan, a senior government official said.

"Yes, Osama has finally been killed and it took us 20 bullets to silence him," Mr Ranjan told Reuters from Jharkhand today.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link.

Nuke Blueprints for Sale

Gives you a very comforting feeling, doesn't it?

Nuclear bomb blueprints and manuals on how to manufacture weapons-grade uranium for warheads are feared to be circulating on the international black market, according to investigators tracking the world's most infamous nuclear smuggling racket.

Alarm about the sale of nuclear know-how follows the disclosure that the Swiss government, allegedly acting under US pressure, secretly destroyed tens of thousands of documents from a massive nuclear smuggling investigation.

The information was seized from the home and computers of Urs Tinner, a 43-year-old Swiss engineer who has been in custody for almost four years as a key suspect in the nuclear smuggling ring run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani metallurgist who in 2004 admitted leaking nuclear secrets and is under house arrest in Islamabad.

The Khan network trafficked nuclear materials, equipment and knowhow to at least three countries: Iran, Libya, and North Korea.

President Pascal Couchepin stunned his Swiss compatriots last week by announcing that the Tinner files, believed to number around 30,000 documents, had been shredded. The extraordinary move, prompting demands for a parliamentary inquiry, was warranted to prevent the documents "getting into the hands of a terrorist organisation or an unauthorised state", according to Couchepin.

Of course, thanks to Khan and Tinner, that's probably too late.

However, there are widespread fears this has already happened or still could. "We know that copies were made," said Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on the illicit networks at the British-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). "Both US intelligence and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog] had been pursuing this with great urgency and diligence. But what happened to the other copies that [Tinner] made? It is worrisome that there are other plans floating around somewhere out there."

At some point could the media stop referring to the IAEA as a "watchdog"? The only thing they've been watching is a number of countries going nuclear under their watch.

Divorce is Like 'Being Tied to the Back of a Pickup Truck and Dragged Down a Gravel Road'

Wow, very subtle. Now who's the genius who has the temerity to liken a divorce with a gruesome murder?

Why, none other than perennial Father of the Year candidate Alec Baldwin, who is writing a book purported to "educate" the masses on the pitfalls of divorce.

Lesson 1: Don't berate your daughter over the phone while being taped and caught calling her a thoughtless little piggy.

Personally, if I were to ever be divorced, the last person I'd seek advice from is an unhinged actor with obvious temper problems who's prone to wild exaggeration.

Likening a divorce to the gruesome murder of James Byrd is sure to attract an audience.

Good grief.

Alec Baldwin - notorious for calling his daughter a "thoughtless little pig" on a voicemail - is now penning a book ironically aimed at educating parents and children going through divorce.

In the tome, "A Promise to Ourselves," he calls himself the "helpless" victim of a bitter divorce battle with actress Kim Basinger, the mother of his daughter, Ireland.

He says the book won't trash his ex-wife but admits that "it might have been in everyone's best interest if we never married."

It might be in your own best interest to dummy up.

In his expletive-laced phone message released in April 2007, Baldwin was heard ranting at Ireland, saying her "mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn't care about what you do! You've made me feel like s- -t!"

In print, Baldwin unleashes his attack on the legal system, which he claims destroys reputations. Divorce is like "being tied to the back of a pickup truck and dragged down a gravel road," he pens in the book's introduction.

Perhaps this moron should just shut up and move on with his life.

MOHAMED THE BRIT AND GITMO

Do you think it possible that statistically speaking ALL of the in-mates at Guantanamo Bay are innocent little lambs? That is the line repeatedly peddled by the likes of the BBC if you read the latest items concerning the squealing from "British" inmate Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed gamely follows Al Queda training manual instructions and claims he was tortured. When he was captured by US forces, this cleaner from West London was travelling between Pakistan and Afghanistan, trying to resolve his .. ahem.. personal drug problems. As you do. His only crime was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and now those pesky Yanks have gone and charged him with conspiring to commit terrorist offences in the US, including plotting to plant a so-called dirty bomb to spread radiation. Naturally the BBC immediately undermines this by stating that a previous AQ terrorist suspect in the shape of Jose Padilla got off when the same charges were made against him. It deliberately OMITS adding that Padilla was convicted by a US jury of conspiring to fund Jihad and the killing of people overseas. More BBC deception, giving you half the story in order to try and convince you that poor doe-eyed Mohamed is innocent. It strikes me that the BBC just loves providing airtime to the parasitic left-wing lawyers for these Gitmo captives who can then use this bully pulpit to further blacken the reputation of the US military and Presidency. In the case of this illegal Ethiopian asylum seeker - now labelled as "British" - the BBC is merely continuing its own war on the United States.

Cross posted on Biased BBC.

'I Had a Girl Fight Once'

Drawing naughty mental pictures.

You know you are too.

H/T Ace.

Goracle, The Opera

Dude must have taken a serious knock to the head.

Italian composer sees music in Al Gore's film

Italian composer Giorgio Battistelli says he believes operatic treatment of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" will help people see the world's environmental predicament from a fresh point of view.

"Opera makes you reflect," he said in a phone interview Friday. He is working on an opera based on Gore's book and film about climate change.

Artists in general "make you see things differently, make you see things in a new light. When we see a painting by Francis Bacon or a film of Sydney Pollack, we get a very precise idea of the problems of our century," Battistelli said.

He began work on the opera a year ago, and the Milan opera house La Scala plans to present it during the 2011 season as part of celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification in 1861.

"I thought it could be a good idea to deal on this important occasion with a subject that involves not only Italy but the world," Battistelli said.

The opera will be told through characters and not a narrator, he said.

La Scala's chorus will figure prominently, and Battistelli said he plans to include the figure of the former U.S. vice president in the story.

"It will be about the tragedy of our present situation," Battistelli said. "It is a great challenge, of course, to write an opera on such an unusual subject. It is certainly not the story of Romeo and Juliet."

'The American People Need Change'

Looks like the Iranians are stealing Barack Obama's mantra.

"We don't want to make a problem for the American presidential candidates, but this election is among a limited number of American presidential elections where foreign policy plays a key role," Mottaki said a day after a U.N. conference on Iraqi reconstruction held outside Stockholm.

"The American people need change," he added.

Just keep mouthing Obama's cliches. That'll cause him enough problems.

Prisoners Voting in Puerto Rico Democrat Primary

Democrats have long pushed to have prisoners vote. Who knew it was a reality in Puerto Rico?

Arturo Vazquez is locked up for assault and robbery, but he and hundreds of other prisoners may have a say in choosing the next president of the United States, casting early ballots Friday in Puerto Rico's key Democratic primary.

Along with only two U.S. states, this Spanish-speaking Caribbean territory lets
imprisoned felons vote. And Sunday's primary is hugely important: It may clinch the nomination for Sen. Barack Obama or buoy his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Vazquez made no bones about his choice after he voted in one of several curtained cardboard booths erected in a lunchroom with steel tables.

It wasn't Clinton.

"No woman should ever be president of the United States. It ought to be a man," said the burly convict with dark, close-cropped hair and a gray prison jumpsuit. He told a reporter he marked an 'X' for Sen. Barack Obama on the ballot which he slipped into a cardboard box.

But some other inmates at Correctional Institute 501 in this San Juan suburb argued that it's time for a female president.

A dozen inmates interviewed by The Associated Press at the compound of white buildings surrounded by barbed wire said they were grateful for the opportunity to help nominate a future American president.

Elliot Dones, 32, serving a seven-year sentence for robbery, said he is excited that the United States is showing interest in what Puerto Ricans have to say.

"I feel great. I feel mostly that we matter to the United States,» said Dones, who voted for Clinton.

Omar Gonzalez, counting down a prison sentence for attempted murder, hopes Puerto Rico's economy is strong enough to give him a job when he is released -- and believes that will depend in part on policy decisions made in Washington and who wins the presidency.

"Health plans, education, jobs -- these are things I'm counting on when I get out," said the 29-year-old, who sports a cross tattoo on his right forearm, after voting for Obama. Gonzalez said television news reports on the Illinois senator influenced his vote. Other inmates said they followed the campaign in newspapers.

Yesenia Lociel, a corrections department spokeswoman, said 130 of the 448 medium and maximum-security inmates at the prison asked to vote -- a turnout percentage comparable to local primary elections. Inmates in other prisons across the island were also voting on Friday, two days before the general population votes.

Crazy Man Rants About Dunkin Donuts

Fascists like Michelle Malkin.

Somewhere, a village is missing its idiot.

She Throws Like a Girl

At least she's easy on the eyes.

Look at the Bright Side: They're More Civilized Than the Palestinians

They just want to be left alone.

In a palm-hut encampment, members of an "uncontacted" Amazon tribe fire arrows at an airplane above the rain forest borderlands of Peru and Brazil earlier this month. The black and red dyes covering their bodies are made from crushed seeds and are believed to signal aggression, native-rights experts say.

Released yesterday, the photo—one of several—was taken by officials from Brazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI).

Peruvian officials and energy interests have publicly expressed doubt that uncontacted tribes exist in the Amazon.

But the new photos are more proof that uncontacted, seminomadic tribes do exist in the increasingly threatened Amazon rain forest, according to Survival International, an international indigenous-rights group that works closely with FUNAI.

"We are very confident the photos are genuine," said Miriam Ross, a spokesperson for Survival International, which estimates that half of the hundred or so uncontacted tribes in the world live in the rain forests of Brazil and Peru.

It's a jungle down there.

Update: Mike at the Monkey Tennis Centre unearthed some more photos.

High Comedy: Obama Attacks McCain Over Iraq

After rejecting John McCain's invitation to tour Iraq together, the Obama camp is now insane enough to actually attack McCain over his knowledge of the subject.

You can't make this stuff up.

Even more amusing, they use a fraud to go out and question McCain's cred.

Surrogates for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign pushed back against Sen. John McCain today, questioning the expected Republican nominee’s comprehension of foreign policy, strains on the U.S. military, and his strategy for the Iraq war.

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the party’s 2004 presidential nominee who has shared close ties to McCain and reportedly flirted with putting McCain on his presidential ticket, offered a harsh rebuke of the Arizona senator’s recent and regular criticism of Obama as a candidate too inexperienced to lead the country, particularly as it pertains to Iraq and national security.

Kerry, like McCain a Vietnam War veteran, ticked off a list of McCain’s missteps on Iraq, including misstating the troop levels in Iraq at a Wisconsin town hall meeting Thursday, and his recent highly publicized flub incorrectly identifying Iranians as training al Qaeda.

Do the Obama people really want to get into people's flubs?

Now the McCain camp fires back.

Team McCain just held a media conference call with the campaign's foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann and Senator Jon Kyl, who conclude that no, Obama doesn’t want to go there. "It's instructive that the Obama campaign, rather than deal with that real issue and Obama's lack of experience, is trying to nitpick the verb or the tense of the verb about the surge troops being home," said Kyl. Obama hasn’t been to Iraq since January 2006, and McCain has been five times since then.

"The real point is that al Qaeda has been significantly, significantly degraded in Iraq as well as other places, that the surge that General Petraeus put into place last year has significantly worked, that violence is significantly down, and that as a result of these successes, we are able to bring troops home," said Kyl. Three of the five surge brigades are home and the rest will be home by July, so McCain wasn't incorrect in his statement that we have "drawn down to pre-surge levels."

Scheunemann focused on the Obama camp's dismissive response to the idea of a trip to Iraq with McCain and Obama's numerous gaffes this week. "Senator Obama has said he will follow his withdrawal plan which amounts to retreat and surrender regardless of the events on the ground, regardless of the advice of military commanders," said Scheunemann, responding to a reporter who questioned McCain's verb usage. "If we're going to talk about verb tenses in this level of detail rather than the fact that Senator Obama doesn't care enough about what's going on in Iraq to either meet General Petraeus or to take the time to visit the country in the last 873 days, let's talk about some of the other things Senator Obama has said, like campaigning in 57 states...or...a nonexistent uncle that helped the Red Army liberate Auschwitz."

Obama is by far weakest against McCain when it comes to military affairs and national security, and it's absurd they'd even want to get into a debate over it, thereby drawing more attention to his ineptitude. Then again, Kerry blundered away any shot at the White House by trying to build up his dubious military history only to have it torpedoed by the Swift Boat Vets for Truth, who exposed him as a serial prevaricator.

Doing Obama's bidding here won't help Gaffe Man, who's probably just desperate to change the subject after another psychotic friend of his grabbed headlines yesterday.

What Do You Expect on the Island of Kos?

No, the island isn't named after that self-aggrandizing little freak, so they don't speak moonbat there. Apparently, though, it's really popular with Germans.

He's Ba-a-a-ack

It damn sure would be nice if McCain - or Dubya - or any other so-called Conservative politician had a pair even half the size . . .

Climate concern ripped as 'religion'
Czech leader condemns it
Environmentalism, says Czech President Vaclav Klaus, is the new communism, a system of elite command-and-control that kills prosperity and should similarly be condemned to the ash heap of history.

The provocative Mr. Klaus, an economist by training and former prime minister, said in an interview that today's global warming activists are the direct descendants of the old Marxists who trampled on individual freedoms and undermined free markets in pursuit of a greater good.

"I understand that global warming is a religion conceived to suppress human freedom," he told editors and reporters at The Washington Times. "It is used to justify an enormous scope for government intervention vis-a-vis the markets and personal freedom."

The 66-year-old Mr. Klaus was in Washington this week for talks with senior U.S. officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, and to tout his new book, "Blue Planet in Green Shackles," about the dangers to life, liberty and prosperity posed by the modern environmental movement.

His Washington meetings included discussions on a pact to situate key parts of a U.S. missile defense shield in the Czech Republic. A top Bush administration priority, the system is designed to defend against attacks from rogue states such as Iran.



Mr. Klaus said he expected the Czech parliament to ratify the pact by the end of the year, but acknowledged it "won't be an easy debate."

Russia has fiercely opposed the system, something the Czech president said may actually build public support for the plan back home.

"The stronger the Russian position opposing the system, the easier it is in the Czech Republic to get support," he said.

Having experienced decades of Soviet domination during the Cold War, Czechs are "extremely sensitive to any patronizing from that part of the world," he said.

Especially when Vladimir Paranoid and/or a stooge or two steps forward to extol the virtues of the Soviet Russian good neighbor policy.

Mr. Klaus was a leading figure in the first Prague governments after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and was prime minister when the former Czechoslovakia broke into two countries in the "Velvet Divorce" of 1993.

He barely won a second five-year term as president in February amid divisions in the rival Social Democratic Party.

An admirer of conservative former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he has emerged as a leading voice in Europe for free markets and individual rights.

He opposed the first drive for a European Union constitution, which collapsed when French and Dutch voters rejected it. The Czech parliament is expected to ratify an amended EU constitution by the end of the year.

He's not particularly fond of the new European Union constitution Treaty of Lisbon. The Heritage Foundation has an excellent overview of this farce.

The outspoken Mr. Klaus does not appear to mind being out of step with his government at times.

He criticized the Czech Republic's decision last week to recognize the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, over the fierce objections of Belgrade.

GLOBAL WARNING: Czech President Vaclav Klaus thinks global-warming activists are elitists who threaten freedoms and free markets.

Mr. Klaus said his experience with the breakup of Czechoslovakia convinced him that any separation had to come from within and accepted by all parties.

"If we had had U.S. or EU commissioners coming into Czechoslovakia telling us how to divide the country, there would have been shooting," he said. "I'm sorry that in [the United States], the substance of this argument was not appreciated."

That formative experience growing up under communism, said Mr. Klaus, has led him to his own strong views on the modern environmental movement, which he charged has failed to do a basic cost-benefit analysis in its drive to force people to obey its dictates.

While saying he was not a "total libertarian," Mr. Klaus observed, "For most of my life, I lived under a regime where the public debate was manipulated. That is why I feel so strongly about this."

Former Vice President Al Gore - whom Mr. Klaus has challenged to a public debate - won the Nobel Peace Prize and the Czech Republic ratified the Kyoto climate treaty seven years ago, but Mr. Klaus insisted he had the world's "silent majority" behind him in the green debate.

"I don't feel alone," he insisted.

He rejected the "fashionable" idea of a cap-and-trade pollution control system, endorsed by Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain and his two Democratic rivals, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Under cap-and-trade, the government would set a ceiling under which companies could trade "credits" on how much carbon they produce.

"It's a scheme to play the market and I refuse to accept that concept," he said. "Please don't try to play the market."

More practically, he said, government bureaucrats will be so afraid of setting the cap too low - stifling all economic activity - that they will set the ceiling too high, making it "meaningless."

Mr. Klaus pointed to the sharp rise in global energy prices as a sign the market is a far better engine for social change than politicians or bureaucrats.

The recent price increase "is so much more than any government would dare to do," he said. "Can you imagine if the U.S. Congress tried to introduce such a tax to cut consumption? The Congress would disappear tomorrow morning."

Unfortunately President Klaus, on your last point, we can only hope.

Busy with important paperwork, al-Gore was unavailable for comment.


Via The Washington Times

Bob Dole Goes Nuclear on McClellan

Ouch.

This will probably make him Worst Person in the World on that low-rated cable show tonight.

"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," Dole wrote. "No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."

"No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm," Dole added. "When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years"
...
Concludes Dole: "You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?"

Dole's spokesman confirmed that the email is authentic.

Hillary Gets Hammered

Drinks for all my friends!

Hillary Clinton took time out from her punishing campaign schedule to enjoy a glass of whiskey with a group of journalists.

The Democratic presidential hopeful was flying back from Rapid City in South Dakota, one of the few states yet to hold its primary when she decided to let her hair down a little.

Her relaxed mood may give rise to speculation she is preparing to concede to her Democratic rival Barak Obama.

Earlier in the campaign, Mrs Clinton regularly took time out to enjoy a drop of the hard stuff with voters but she avoided informal contact with reporters.

Teacher Tortures Blind Boy For Not Learning Koran

The joys of Islam.

Such a beautiful, peaceful religion.

A BLIND seven-year-old student at an Islamic school in eastern Pakistan has died after his teacher punished him for not learning the Koran, police said today.

Muhammad Atif was hung upside down from a ceiling fan and severely beaten by his teacher, Qari Ziauddin, at the seminary or madrassa in Vihari, near Lahore on Thursday, they said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had ordered in inquiry into the death, an official statement said.

"The Prime Minister has expressed his deep sorrow and concern over the tragic death of Muhammad Atif, who reportedly died as a result of corporal punishment by his teacher,'' the statement said.

Police said the teacher had been arrested on charges of torturing and murdering the boy.

"Qari Ziauddin, who teaches Koran to boys in Qari Latif Islamic school, hanged Atif upside down with a ceiling fan in the school after beating him with sticks, which caused his death,'' local police official Akram Niazi said.

They should do the same to this monster.

Eight Fulbright Scholarships Available

There are eight Fulbright Scholarships that won't be getting used this year so maybe this is good news for some of you that might have applied. The reason they are available is because eight residents of Gaza who had received the scholarships won't be using them.

Hadeel Abu Kawik was supposed to spend next year in the United States on the prestigious Fulbright scholarship program, but now it appears she will remain trapped in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli blockade.

Word that the U.S. State Department was canceling her scholarship came after Abu Kawik, 23 and a computer engineering student, went through a lengthy process for the scholarship that included interviews, exams and an English test.

"I was building my hope on this scholarship," she said Friday.

Seven other Gaza students also lost their grants. The decision was made because they would not be able to get exit visas from Israel, according to State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

Wahhhhh!

What was surprising is that although this is an AP article, apparently the editors were asleep since bits like this were allowed to slip through.

The teeming coastal territory and its 1.5 million inhabitants have been controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas for nearly a year. Israel has kept its border crossings closed to everything but humanitarian aid in an attempt to weaken the group and end frequent rocket barrages aimed at Israeli towns.

Somebody, not necessarily a Fulbright scholar, may want to do the math and add up all of the money that is given to the Palestinians by everybody else in the world and the UN and see how much per person that works out to? They get more money per year then most states here in America get to run their states and the populations are a helluva of lot bigger. But hey, it ain't your money, right?

Well, actually it would be your money if the government didn't take it.

To the residents of Gaza, you made your bed, now sleep in it!

Living in the Closet

She must have kept very quiet.

A homeless woman who sneaked into a man’s house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing.

Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man’s closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said Friday.

The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months.

When Stupid Meets Crazy: 'This is a Primary Document of American History'

Scott McClellan's 15 minutes of fame and usefulness to the leftwing media may have reached its crescendo when he appeared with the most psychotic member of the media.

Read the transcript if you have some brain cells you'd like to kill, but the self-aggrandizing host sums up his over-inflated sense of worth with this gem:

OLBERMANN: Scott McClellan, I don't want to get too fulsome on you, I don't think you're going to be dining out on the book for the rest of your life, but I think this is a primary document of American history. I'm very impressed with it and I thnk at some point, people will be teaching history classes based on it.

By next week, nobody will remember this rat McClellan, and this idiot thinks people will be teaching history classes based on his book?

Time to re-up on your meds, Olberdunce.

I guess he didn't mention Jeff Gannon during his fawning 'interview':

Whenever I hear Scott McClellan talking about ‘media credibility,’ I strain to remember who it was who admitted Jeff Gannon to the White House press room and called on him all those times.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post's resident clown chimes in.

These people really takes themselves seriously.

'Left Wing Hater' Comes Unglued

Poor Socky McSockpuppet. He must think they were talking about him.

After hearing his repugnant comments, I e-mailed Allen last night and asked him several questions, including (full email is here): "Is anyone who believes that the media was too deferential to the Bush administration in the run-up to the war a 'left-wing hater?'" and "Can you give a few examples of the 'left-wing haters' you were referencing?" and "Are there 'right-wing haters'? If so, any examples you can provide?" Allen sent me a completely non-responsive reply that had nothing to do with what I asked. When I emailed him again and emphasized that I was particularly interested in his use of the term "left wing haters," this is the reply he sent me...

How juvenile is this guy? Obviously he doesn't see himself in the same light normal people do, and if he's so blind he doesn't realize how much bilge is spewed daily from leftwing hates sites, then he's beyond help.

HOW WE CAN DEFEAT AL QUEDA!

So, who thinks that we should consider TALKING to Al Queda in an effort to stop them slaughtering us? We've tried daisy cutters, so should we try dialogue?

The man tipped to be the next head of the London Metropolitan police, PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde does, believes it is vital that we engage with the crazed lunatics that make up Islam's cutting edge.

Taking time out from his hectic schedule as head of the world's most politically-correct and absolutely useless police service, Northern Ireland's PSNI, Sir Hugh talks to the left wing Guardian newspaper and argues that it's not IF but rather WHEN we should enter dialogue with the militant Islamics. He bases this view on his experience in Northern Ireland where he now enjoys convicted IRA bombers and bankrobbers sitting on his Policing Board. I guess he looks forward to the day when the masterminds behind the 7/7 massacre can get a job running London transport. That would be his idea of a victory.

Here's the deal - once appeasement enters the soul, it never goes away. Sir Hugh is an appeaser par excellence. He sees nothing wrong with the appeasement of the IRA in Northern Ireland and therefore it seems natural, even desirable to him, that we appease Al Queda. Orde manifests the politically correct mindset so prevalent in the highest echelons of British policing - he understand that there is no will to DEFEAT terrorists so it is best to cut your losses and talk to them instead. Looking forward to seeing those Al Queda psychopaths flying in -first class - to London to have a bit of a chat with Sir Hugh and his appeasing pals.

Just hope the planes don't divert from the run in to Heathrow....

Cross posted on A TANGLED WEB

Good News: Another Psychotic Obama-Linked Preacher

There is some mad craziness still going on at Barack Obama's church.

Get a load of this maniac.

More here.

Father Michael Pfleger, a fiery liberal social activist and a white reverend at an African-American church -- St. Sabina’s Catholic Church on the South Side of Chicago -- is a longtime friend and associate of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, having known him since the presidential hopeful was a community activist. In September, the Obama campaign brought Pfleger to Iowa to host one of several interfaith forums for the campaign.

Their relationship spans decades. Pfleger has given money to Obama's campaigns and Obama as a state legislator directed at least $225,000 towards social programs at St. Sabina's, according to the Chicago Tribune.

A new Youtube video making the rounds shows Pfleger speaking at Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ, just last Sunday, mocking Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, for having cried in New Hampshire, suggesting that she wept because she thought as a white person and wife of a former president she was entitled to the presidency.

Michelle Malkin has more.

Damage control from Obama.

“As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause," Obama said in a statement.

Lame. A guy who claims to want to unite people is surrounded by those who hate and divide. A tad incongruous.

BTW, Barry, are you still smoking or not?

New Yorkers to Paterson: Uh, We Do Have A Constitution In This State

We noted this morning that New York Governor David Paterson decided on his own that he would circumvent the will of the people and the state constitution by willy-nilly declaring that the state would recognize gay marriages performed in other states.

Well, obviously, it's justifiably meeting with resistance. Naturally, anyone disagreeing with Paterson will likely be declared a homophobe and therefore null and void, but it's worth reminding the new governor that he's not King. In fact, it it weren't for the good graces of New Yorkers trying to wipe the taste of Eliot Spitzer out of their mouths, Paterson's reign as governor might have only lasted a couple of weeks once people found out he was a former dope-smoking philanderer. He might not want to overreach so soon, especially while doing it surreptitiously.

Opposition surfaced Thursday against Gov. David Paterson's directive to state agencies to recognize gay marriages legally performed in other states and countries.

The Rev. Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms said the Democrat "slapped the people in the face by circumventing their representatives," while New York's Catholic bishops said "just as the state cannot declare a man to be a 'mother' or a woman to be a 'father,' it can not declare a same-sex union to be a 'marriage."

Paterson issued a memo earlier this month saying that gay New Yorkers who marry where it is legal will have the right to share family health care plans, receive tax breaks by filing jointly, enjoy stronger adoption rights and inherit property.

Paterson cited a February ruling in a New York Appellate Division court in which the judges determined that there is no legal impediment in New York to the recognition of a same-sex marriage.

While gay rights advocates hailed the move, the feeling was not unanimous.

State Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who opposes gay marriage, questioned the constitutionality of Paterson's action, but said in a Thursday morning news conference that he hadn't yet seen the memo.

Bruno said he was surprised when he read news reports about the memo and plans to speak to Paterson. Bruno also noted the state's highest court has found gay marriage isn't legal within the state. The high court hasn't yet taken up the issue of whether gay marriages performed legally out of state are valid in New York.

"You have to understand that the court, the highest court here in New York state, made it very very clear that the only union that is legal in New York state, to perform a marriage ceremony, is between a man and a woman," Bruno said, citing a 2006Court or Appeals ruling.

State Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long said Paterson should allow gay marriages to be recognized only if the Legislature legalizes gay marriage.

"The California judges overturned the will of the California people and Governor Paterson is apparently trying to do the same thing in New York," he said.

Memo to Joseph Bruno: Stop being such a nice guy. Paterson's predecessor is no longer in office due in part to his trying to ruin you (of course, that hooker thing played a much larger part), so you might want to remind Paterson that impeachment is always an option.

Paterson weakly defended himself.

Paterson defended himself Thursday, saying: "This is not an end run around the Legislature. I am following the law as it always has existed."

He said failure to issue the directive would leave the state open to lawsuits claiming the state deprived gay couples of civil rights enjoyed in other states.

So he's following the law "as it always existed" yet the Supreme Court has not yet ruled.

Sneaky. Very sneaky. Which, of course, is the only way they ever get this enacted.

Could you imagine the howls from the media and the left if Republican governors just on a whim made laws by themselves?

It's no small irony Paterson wants to pull this stunt by recognizing marriages in other states where gay marriage was also decreed by judicial fiat in defiance of lawmakers and the will of the people.

It's incredible the level of contempt these liberals have for people.

A Tree Grows in the Park

What is so important about posting a picture of a bunch of people in a park? It is where that park is located. Without me telling you you might think it is anywhere in the world. Well it is in Baghdad. Feel free to distribute this to your favorite liberal. I am not asking you to take my word for it either. This picture was taken on May 27 and here is the original source, an Iraqi newspaper.
Just so you know, I don't spend my days poring over foreign language publications, Nahh, I have a better source. Our deployed soldiers who blog in their free time. In this case it is Greyhawk.

McClatchy Newspapers Once Again Being Used as Useful Tool ?

I stumbled across this story over at Memeorandum, and out of curiosity decided to go see what it was all about. On the surface I think that once again the McClatchy newspapers are being used by the propaganda arm of the Islamists. It won't be the first time. While they ran with the story and they have a picture of the coin in question they did not offer that they had done any sort of independent verification of the writing on the coin.

I do not read or write Farsi or Arabic so any readers who do, feel free to go the link and enlarge the picture and translate away.

I really don't believe the story and the military is of course once again wasting valuable man hours and resources to investigate the story since they have finally learned that allegations like this must be responded to promptly, and I am sure that any information that comes out proving the story to be false will not make it into their papers. While the paper did approach a Marine spokesman, I wonder why they decided to run the story now before the Marines had completed their investigation.

I really find the story unbelievable. It is some of the quotes contained in the story that give rise to my skepticism.

"The occupier is repeatedly trespassing on God and his religion," said Omar Delli, 23. "Now the occupier is planting seeds of strife between the Muslims and Christians. We demand the government in Fallujah have a new demonstration to let the occupier know that these things are humiliating Islam and the Quran."

The constant use of the word "occupier" is standard fare for folks like the Mahdi army and from Iranian backed agents.

UPDATE: Celtic, one of the folks who left a comment, after engaging in the obligatory childish name calling associated with anti war and leftist crowd, left a link to another McClatchy story which seems to confirm the story of one (1), count 'em, 1 Marine who was handing out the coins. It was not part of an organized effort, Marines were not handing out the coins to residents as a normal routine, which is what the tone of the original article would lead you to believe. It appears to be a case of one over zealous Marine acting on his own. Not quite worthy of all the attention it was given.
I stand by my characterization of McClatchy newspapers being a tool of the Islamists since they still feel it necessary to continue quoting the rhetoric about the occupiers, although strangely none of these occupiers were present in the market place that the interview took place. I always thought an occupying would you know, sort of be omnipresent and visible.

FIFA Reinstates Iraq's Soccer Team

Most people are probably somewhat aware of the one bright spot over the last year regarding Iraq was the pride and admiration that the country displayed when their national team made it to the World Cup tournament. Well recently FIFA, that is the international ruling body for soccer, had suspended the Iraqi national team over what it claimed was interference by the government into the sports program.

Soccer's governing body FIFA lifted the international ban on Iraq, allowing Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Australia to go ahead.

FIFA had suspended Iraq on Tuesday over what it said was government interference in the domestic running of the sport by dissolving the national Olympic committee and all sports federations.

FIFA went on to stress that this was just a temporary reprieve and they had more questions they want answered by the Iraqi's before they would lift the ban completely.

The Iraqi disbanded their Olympic sports committee and national sports committee, primarily over allegations of corruption within those groups. Iraq is trying to rebuild those organizations and I am glad the FIFA took a reasoned approach and while they are allowing them to continue to compete and have those contest count they are also holding out the option that if the answers and actions of the Iraqi government are not adequate they can once again suspend the national team from being considered for World Cup competition.

Here's hoping the Iraqis get it together, because this team making it to the World Cup last time for a little time came the citizens of the country the hope of a brighter future. As long as there is hope, the human spirit can persevere.

'It's the Manhattanisation of Mecca'

They just better hope none of their disgruntled citizens decide to fly planes into them.

"It's the Manhattanisation of Mecca. The Saudis want to build skyscrapers. The worry is that as they level hills and mountains they will destroy sites of cultural interest."

Yes, we're all well aware of Saudis destroying sites of interest.

A report by the Saudi British Bank, one of the kingdom's biggest lenders, estimates that £15bn will be invested by local and foreign companies in construction and infrastructure in Mecca in the next four years. Up to 130 new skyscrapers are anticipated, including the Abraj Al Bait Towers, a seven-tower project that will be one of the largest buildings in the world, with a 2,000-room hotel, a 1,500-person convention centre, heliports and a four-storey mall that will house hundreds of outlets.

With all the construction planned, it's nice to see they also have a sense of humor.

Next week Mecca - which is strictly off limits to non-Muslims - will host a three-day conference on the importance of dialogue with other religions. The event, to be opened by King Abdullah, will feature scholars and academics from the Islamic world.

Murdoch: Obama Will Win By Landslide

The man portrayed by the left as evil incarnate is saying Barack Obama will win by a landslide in November.

This isn't supported by the polls at this time, but with more than five months to go, anything can happen. We already know one Murdoch who's hosting overseas fundraisers for Obama, so it wouldn't be a shock if her father jumped on board.

AUSTRALIAN expatriate Rupert Murdoch today predicted a Democratic landslide in the US presidential election against a gloomy economic backdrop over the next 18 months.

Mr Murdoch has yet to endorse a US presidential candidate but considers Barack Obama very promising, the News Corp (parent company of the publisher of NEWS.com.au) chairman said in an interview by two Wall Street Journal reporters at an annual conference for high-tech industry insiders.

News Corp recently acquired ownership of the Journal and its parent company Dow Jones & Co.

"You have got the Obama phenomenon. You have got, undoubtedly, a recession ... The average American is really getting hurt financially and that all bodes well for him (Obama)," Mr Murdoch said.

"You have probably the making of a complete phenomenon in this country," Mr Murdoch said in describing what he predicted will be a sweeping victory for Democrats in November.

The recent special election for a US Congressional seat held by Republicans in Mississippi showed how powerless that party may be in the face of a rising political tide, Mr Murdoch said.

Despite his portrayal as some extreme right-winger by the left, Murdoch is most unpredictable. He was making nice with Hillary Clinton for a couple of years, and could well jump on the Obama bandwagon.

Murdoch is associated with conservative political views but has a reputation for a pragmatic streak in major national races where he has shown a willingness to switch sides when he detects major political changes afoot.

According to the latest Rasmussen numbers, McCain leads Obama 47-43%, but trails Clinton by a point if matched against her.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link.

Selling Your Soul to Soros

Sells soul to the devil

I hope Scott McClellan is reveling in the adoration of the far-left crowd that spent years savaging him. He'll be the toast of the liberal elite for, oh, about 48 hours and then he'll be kicked to the curb like yesterday's trash.

Then he'll have no friends, no self-respect and no future, except maybe as a political analyst on MSNBC. In other words, he's finished.

A real stunner to find out a George Soros operative is the brains behind the book.

Of course, the connections to Soros, while obvious, will do nothing to quell the well-organized hit on George W. Bush. And the other rats in Congress are falling right in line.

McClellan's credibility (or what little he ever had) will be shattered within days, he'll be exposed as the feckless, incompetent fraud that he is. But the ugly, angry left now has a little something more to bludgeon the president with.

Paterson's Sneaky Gay Marriage End-Run

What a shocker. Another sneaky Democrat pulling a fast one on an unwitting public and basically enforcing gay marriage without a vote by the people or legislation by elected officials.

Why are proponents of gay marriage so afraid to let the will of the people be heard?

Because they know it will lose every time, as it has across the nation.

If New York's governor had any guts he would run on the issue in 2010. But he's a Democrat, so screw the people.

I have no problem if states either pass legislation or the people vote for gay marriage. But judicial activism or dead of night moves like this by public officials only further antagonize opponents. This is a democracy, not a dictatorship.

Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

“Very shortly, there will be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, and probably thousands and thousands and thousands of gay people who have their marriages recognized by the state,” said Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side and has pushed for legalization of gay unions.

O'Donnell, by the way, is the openly-gay brother of a certain celebutard.

Massachusetts and California are the only states that have legalized gay marriage, while others, including New Jersey and Vermont, allow civil unions. Forty-one states have laws limiting marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Legal experts said Mr. Paterson’s decision would make New York the only state that did not itself allow gay marriage but fully recognized same-sex unions entered into elsewhere.

The directive is the strongest signal yet that Mr. Paterson, who developed strong ties to the gay community as a legislator, plans to push aggressively to legalize same-sex unions as governor. His predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, introduced a bill last year that would have legalized gay marriage, but even as he submitted it, doubted that it would pass. The Democratic-dominated Assembly passed the measure, but the Republican-led Senate has refused to call a vote on it.
...
Groups that oppose gay marriage said the governor was essentially trying to circumvent the Legislature.

“It’s a perfect example of a governor overstepping his authority and sidestepping the democratic process,” said Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national organization opposed to same-sex marriage. “It’s an issue of public policy that should be decided by the voters.”

Even when Democrats slip one by the public, it's never enough for those in the minority.

While gay rights advocates widely praised the spirit of Mr. Paterson’s policy, some saw more than a little irony in the fact that New York has yet to allow gays to marry.

“If you’re going to treat us as equals, why don’t you just give us the marriage license?” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda. “So this is a temporary but necessary fix for a longer-term problem, which is marriage equality in New York State.”

OK then, put it to a vote and let the people decide.

Naturally, the AP trumpets recent actions in California and New York as wins for gay advocates. Is it really winning when you thwart the will of the people?

Seems more like cheating to me.

Understanding 'Carbon Ration Cards'

We Report.
You decide.


Programming note: You won't want to miss the conclusion.

See also Eco-lunacy: Brits Want To Force Carbon Ration Cards'.


H/T: Mark

U.S.-Based Hezbollah Supporters to Face Trial

Well, they won't be on trial until January, by which time I'm sure they're banking on hope and change having swept the nation and a new era of good tidings towards the Iranian-backed terror gang Hezbollah will be firmly in place.

Two men accused of agreeing to broadcast the Hezbollah television channel al-Manar to U.S. customers will face trial on terrorism charges in January, a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman set January 5, 2009, as the trial date for Javed Iqbal, 44 and Saleh Elahwal, 55, in what defense lawyers said was one of the more unusual terrorism cases moving through U.S. courts.

Iqbal was arrested and initially charged in August 2006 on allegations he negotiated on behalf of his Brooklyn-based company HDTV Ltd with representatives of the Beirut-based al-Manar network to air the channel in America.

Iqbal, a Pakistani who moved to the United States more than 25 years ago, and Elahwal, who lives in New Jersey and who prosecutors say also operated HDTV, were indicted three months later. Initial court documents said they were paid more than $111,000 by al-Manar between December 2005 and March 2006.

Both men have been released on bail after pleading not guilty to 11 charges, including providing satellite services to al-Manar, providing support to Hezbollah and violating the United Nations Participation Act of 1945.

If convicted on all the charges, they each face a combined maximum of more than 100 years in prison.

Hezbollah, an Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shi'ite Muslim group with a powerful guerrilla army, was designated by the U.S. Secretary of State as a terrorist organization in 1997.

The U.S. Treasury branded al-Manar a terrorist organization in March 2006, saying it supported Hezbollah's fund-raising and recruitment activities.

Elahwal's lawyer, Ed Sapone, said little precedent had been set for a case that centered on accusations of supporting terrorism by providing satellite communications. Iqbal's lawyer was unavailable for comment.

Granted, Sapone was a Silky Pony supporter, but now that the Breck Girl is safely in the Obama camp, I'm sure he'll put in a good word.

God Help Us: Lerch as Secretary of State

Let the nightmares begin.

The airplane came to a stop, the door opened and out popped Tony Blair. At the bottom of the stairs to greet the former British prime minister on Saturday was Sen. John Kerry, looking every part the diplomat.

Four years after a failed presidential bid and amid a race for a fifth Senate term this fall, Kerry's moves have prompted some questions:

_Is the Massachusetts Democrat positioning himself to be secretary of state in a potential Barack Obama administration?

_Could a Kerry appointment create not one but two Senate openings in Massachusetts, assuming Sen. Edward Kennedy cannot complete his term after being diagnosed last week with brain cancer?

Kerry aides insist he's not angling for the job and point to his long involvement in foreign affairs. It started with his famous testimony as a 27-year-old veteran questioning the Vietnam War before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It continues today, at age 64, as the No. 3 Democrat on the same panel.

But envisioning him in the post would hardly be a stretch given Obama's chances at securing the Democratic nomination, a general election shaping up as a "change" campaign and Kerry's relationship with the Illinois senator.

One one hand, it would be helpful if the presumptive nominee gave the American people some idea what kind of freakshow his cabinet would like like.

On the other hand, he may not want to show his hand too early since it would only increase his chances of losing in a crushing landslide.

Putting a boob like Kerry in at State is sure to help such chances.

Congratulations, Liberals: You've Permanently Wrecked British Society

Ouch.

Tell me where he's wrong.

The collapse of Christianity has wrecked British society, a leading Church of England bishop declared yesterday.

It has destroyed family life and left the country defenceless against the rise of radical Islam in a moral and spiritual vacuum.

In a lacerating attack on liberal values, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, said the country was mired in a doctrine of 'endless self-indulgence' that had brought an explosion in public violence and binge-drinking.

In a blow to Gordon Brown, he mocked the 'scramblings and scratchings' of politicians who try to cast new British values such as respect and tolerance.

The Pakistani-born bishop dated the downfall of Christianity from the 'social and sexual revolution' of the 1960s.

He said Church leaders had capitulated to Marxist revolutionary thinking and quoted an academic who blames the loss of 'faith and piety among women' for the steep decline in Christian worship.

Dr Nazir-Ali said the 'newfangled and insecurely founded' doctrine of multiculturalism has left immigrant communities 'segregated, living parallel lives'.

Christian values of human dignity, equality and freedom could be lost as the way is left open for the advance of brands of Islam that do not respect Western values.

It's probably too late to save Britain, but the multicultural nitwits pushing the same agenda here in America might want to take note. It's not too late to save yourselves from national suicide.

Although I sense they hate America so much, nothing would make the left happier.

Meet President McCain

It runs 7:03, but make sure you pay attention beginning around the 4:00 mark.

Of course Obama would rather meet with Ahmadinejad. He'll make nice with him.

General Petraeus? Bambi won't like what he hears from him. Won't fit whatever his world view is.

That day.

Democrats have a serious liability on their hands. His name is Barack Obama.

Via Hot Air.

NJ Has One Candidate for All Congressional Seats

My main reason for visiting the DailyKos website:

If you use ad blocking software while viewing Daily Kos, you're getting all the benefits of our site but we're not getting any of the advertisement revenue associated with your visits. This site relies on ad revenue for daily operations: a decrease in the number of ads seen means a decrease in the funding available to run the site, to pay those that work on it, and to create improved site features.

This is possible by using the Firefox web browser with the Ad Blocking Add On installed in case you were interested.

Anyway there are other reasons for visiting the site. I like to get the talking points that Democrat Congress critters will be espousing from the floor of Congress in the coming days. I don't know which way the information flow goes, from Congress to them or vice versa, but it spares me from having to monitor CSPAN on a regular basis.

Anyway I found this nice little story about what happens when Democrats use their own little dirty tricks of politicking against each other.

Apparently, a current US Representative from New Jersey, Rob Andrews, wants to be a Senator. So he has decided to challenge that aging senior citizen Frank Lautenberg. Lautenberg is 84. Is there anybody in the Senate under the age of 65? Good googly moogly, it is time to send these folks to a retirement home before they start falling out on the floor of the senate while giving a speech. No wonder we can't get solutions for 21st century problems in America when we have all of these old folks nostalgic for the good old days of the 1920's.

Anyway, back on point. In order to run for the senate seat Andrews would have to give up his bid for reelection for his house seat. While it seems Mr. Andrews waited until all the way up to the last minute to make this decision, thereby essentially preventing any other Democrat to run for his seat. Nobody wanted to challenge him. But Mr. Andrews also came up a solution for the problem and to ensure the Dems had a candidate on the ballot. He got his wife to run!

The current working theory is that if Mr. Andrews is unable to defeat Lautenberg, and Mrs. Andrews manages to win her race, which from what I understand of this district in NJ is a given, she will step aside allowing a replacement to be appointed who of course will be her husband.

How convenient!

You got to love NJ politics. Soon there won't even be a need to spend all that money on ballots and polling places.

Remind me ask Jammie sometime if the ballots they received are already pre-filled out to assist in the voting process.

JWF says: My thoughts on Lautenberg-Andrews here. As for whether ballots arrive filled out, they may in certain areas, especially Newark. Thankfully, my local elections are unopposed GOP candidates.

Obama Gaffe-O-Rama: Police Memorial Used as Porta-Potty

Hey, these lefties piss on the cops all the time, so like, what's the big deal, man!

Portland police officers have asked for an apology after they said organizers of a Barack Obama rally set up Porta-Potties on a memorial honoring fallen officers.

Earlier this month, 75,000 people gathered in Waterfront Park in downtown Portland to hear Obama speak at a pre-primary rally.

Officer Thomas Brennan, a seven-year veteran with the Portland Police Bureau, said he was happy to help at the rally after being called in on his day off.

"On short notice, a lot of people had to cancel trips. But they were glad to do it," Brennan said. "It was very memorable, in more ways than one."

Brennan, who controlled the crowd near the Portland Police Memorial, noticed several Porta Potties set up in the middle of the memorial. Brennan had been at the site five days earlier for an annual memorial service and a flag was still set at half mast on the day of the rally.

"There was plenty of room elsewhere so space wasn't an issue," Brennan said. "So someone used some really poor decision making, whoever elected to put them there. I mean, it's somewhat hallowed ground, I guess you could call it."

After several days, Brennan attached a photo he took to a letter and e-mailed it to dozens of media outlets and the Obama campaign.

Brennan said officers haven't heard back from the Obama campaign. He said someone owes an apology to the families of the fallen officers.

The Obama people finally got back to them and used wheelchair access as an excuse.

Via Campaign Spot.

Gay Marriage Proponents Finally Find a Poll to Their Liking

If at first you don't succeed, just keep polling. Eventually you'll get your way. And when you do, it's time to celebrate. Who cares if the polling sample is hugely slanted left?

Last week it was this news:

Times Poll: Californians narrowly reject gay marriage

Of course, as Patterico points out by narrowly they mean 19 points. That headline, by the way, is the fourth incarnation.

Now today, something called the Field Poll comes out with--surprise!--a poll completely contradicting the LA Times, and we have a swing of 28 points.

Naturally, trumpets are blaring.

CALIFORNIA MAJORITY BACKS GAY MARRIAGE: Field Poll director calls results a milestone

In a dramatic reversal of decades of public opinion, California voters agree by a slim majority that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, according to a Field Poll released today.

By 51-42 percent, registered voters said they believed same-sex marriage should be legal in California. Only 28 percent favored gay marriage in 1977, when the Field Poll first asked that question, said Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director.

Decades of public opinion? How about public opinion from last Friday?

A statewide Los Angeles Times/KTLA Poll released last week showed different results: 54 percent of registered voters said they would support the initiative that would change the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

"When we get results that we think are surprising, we double- and triple-check our numbers, and that's what we did here," said DiCamillo. "Everything in this poll is consistent internally."

It's not unusual for two polls to have conflicting numbers, said Steve Kinney, a veteran GOP pollster.

"It's all in the methodology, who you actually talked to and whether they accurately represented that state as a whole," he said. "But even if you have confidence in your numbers, you're always scared if you come up with something totally different. Are you wrong, or is the other guy?"

In the end, the obvious discrepancy and dubious nature of polling won't matter a bit. Even if the majority do not want gay marriage, it'll be shoved down their throats anyway.

Naturally, at the home office for leftwing hate, they're typically understated and reach out to their opponents.

Californians STRONGLY In Favor of Gay Marriage

The right-wing haters who are likely to qualify their iniative [sic] may have overplayed their hands. Not only are they on the wrong side of history, on the wrong side of Arnold, but they are hoping for a yes vote in a state that loves to vote no on initiatives.

Of course, if you refer to the poll, you see under ideology a full 70 percent of those sampled consider themselves middle of the road (53-35%), moderately liberal (72-23) or strongly liberal (85-11))and they overwhelming favor gay marriage. If you look at the 30% considered moderately conservative (61-32) or strongly conservative (85-11).

When broken down by party, the sample is 43% Democrat, 33% Republican, 24% non-partisan. In other words, Republicans are outnumbered 67-33%. Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area comprise 46% of those polled.

In other words, this poll doesn't even come close to a fair representation of the population. Granted, California is a blue state, but you cannot possibly claim a poll where left outnumbers right 70-30% as valid.