Heartbreaking, Isn't It? Vast Majority of Young Palis Are Depressed

I guess if I was stuck in that hellhole I'd probably also be bummed out. The big difference between them and the rest of civilization is most others strive to do something about their plight and improve their lives. These people just find ways to murder Jews and blame their probably on everyone but themselves. So this doesn't even merit breaking out the world's smallest violin. Interesting to note just 14% of them consider themselves human.

The vast majority of Palestinian youth are depressed, but do not believe that violence is helpful in resolving the Middle East conflict, said a UN report released on Tuesday.

"More than 80 percent of young Palestinians are depressed and 47 percent identify themselves as Muslim rather than Palestinian," the United Nations Development Programme report said.

"Depression was more marked in the Gaza Strip, where 55 percent said they were 'extremely' depressed," it said.

Sixty-nine percent of those questioned "believe that the use of violence as a means to resolve the conflict is not very helpful, while only eight percent believe it is an important tool."

When asked to define their identity, 47 percent called themselves Muslims, 28 percent Palestinians, 14 percent humans and 10 percent Arabs.

Sure seems to be some evidence correlating being a Muslim and being depressed. They'd probably find some solace in not being so angry and--perish the thought--seeking a new religion.

Coming soon from the UN: A report examining why American liberals are so miserable.

Czechs Won't Take Obama's Gitmo Graduates

Czechs likely to refuse to accept Guantanamo prisoners

The Czech Republic will probably refuse to accept prisoners from the U.S. Guantanamo prison, Mirek Topolanek, outgoing Czech Prime Minister and chairman of the senior ruling Civic Democrats (ODS), told the Impuls Radio today.

He said the National Security Council today recommended not to accept the Guantanamo prisoners and added that Guantanamo would be one of the topics during U.S. President Barrack Obama's visit to Prague at the weekend.

Topolanek, whose government offered its resignation last Thursday after the Chamber of Deputies voted no confidence in it two days earlier, said he expected Obama to express the U.S. position on the situation in Afghanistan and the planned missile defence radar base in the Czech Republic during his visit.

{....]

Apart from meeting the heads of 27 EU member states and delivering a speech Obama will also have bilateral talks with Czech representatives.

Topolanek said, however, the talks would be formal.

He said he expected the U.S. request for transferring some of the Guantanamo prisoners to the Czech Republic to be one of the topics during Obama's talks with Czech officials.

Obama intends to shut down the U.S. prison situated in Cuba where people suspected of terrorism are detained.

"Many countries have a similar view. We do not expect to yield to the pressure for accepting the prisoners," Topolanek said on Impuls Radio.

"We held a meeting of the National Security Council today that did not recommend this step. We have no facilities for it. It will bring many problems," Topolanek said.

The planned building of a U.S. missile defence base in the Czech Republic could also be one of the topics, Topolanek said.

"The Americans expect that we are expecting them to express some position on the issue. We are expecting the Americans to announce no fundamental changes [in their position,]" Topolanek said.

He said the U.S. administration was now mainly solving the domestic economic problems.

"The radar is certainly not the number one topic in their foreign policy," he said.

No, it certainly isn't. The foreign policy of Obama is to give a hummer to Amahdinejad, Komrade Hugo and Putin. SecDef Gates says that the US is not prepared to shoot down Kim Jong mentally-Il's ICBM. I strongly suspect that the real reason is that El Jefe' is scared shitless that it would be just like February 28, 2008.

Topolanek added that the installation of the radar in the Czech Republic would probably be delayed.

The Czech government signed two treaties on the construction of a missile defence radar base in the Brdy military district, 90 km southwest of Prague, with the previous U.S. administration of president George Bush.

The Chamber of Deputies has not yet ratified the treaties and the opposition is opposed to them.

Obama is likely to present his key address European speech of the year during his two-day visit to the Czech Republic at Prague Castle around 10:00 on Sunday after his talks with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, according to CTK's unofficial information.

Obama's complete agenda is to be officially released this week.

On Sunday afternoon, Obama will probably meet former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

When you hang your allies out to dry, Barry, don't expect them to do you any favors.

Man Charged With DUI, But Never Left Bar Stool

Well, actually he did leave the bar stool when he crashed it. You could say this is a man really dedicated to his drinking.

Police say that Kile Wygle, 28, had one too many before wheeling his homemade oddity around the neighborhood on March 4.

Wygle was charged with driving the bar stool while under the influence of alcohol and driving while under suspension. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and asked for a jury trial. No court date has been set.

According to a report by Officer Michael Trotter, Wygle told him that his bar stool can reach a speed of 38 mph but that he was traveling only about 20 mph when he wrecked.

At Licking Memorial Hospital, where Wygle was treated for minor injuries, he chuckled about his bar stool. Wygle told Trotter that he'd had about 15 beers before the wreck. The man refused to take a blood-alcohol test.

When Trotter informed Wygle that he was investigating a traffic crash, Wygle reportedly replied that he wasn't driving a vehicle -- he was driving a bar stool.

The man's ride consisted of a bar stool with a padded seat welded to a frame that also contained a 5-horsepower motorcycle engine that operated a chain drive attached to a rear wheel. A lawnmower steering wheel turned the front wheels.

Apparently motorized bar stools are quite popular in some parts of the country. Maybe I have to get around more, but I can't say I've ever seen one.

Bar-stool racing appears to be popular in Wisconsin and some other parts of the country, and motorized bar stools are available for purchase online.

Perhaps they should also have designated bar stool drivers.

Oh, The Torture: Miss Universe Visits Club Gitmo

Rumor has it some prisoners volunteered for torture after seeing this babe arrive.

This week, Guantanamo!!! It was an incredible experience. We arrived in Gitmo on Friday and stared going around the town, everybody knew Crystle and I were coming so the first thing we did was attend a big lunch and then we visited one of the bars they have in the base. We talked about Gitmo and what is was like living there. The next days we had a wonderful time, this truly was a memorable trip! We hung out with the guys from the East Coast and they showed us the boat inside and out, how they work and what they do, we took a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!

We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills. All the guys from the Army were amazing with us. [I bet they were--ed.]

We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting. We took a ride with the Marines around the land to see the division of Gitmo and Cuba while they were informed us with a little bit of history.

The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable, we were able to enjoy it for at least an hour. We went to the glass beach, and realized the name of it comes from the little pieces of broken glass from hundred of years ago. It is pretty to see all the colors shining with the sun. That day we met a beautiful lady named Rebeca who does wonders with the glasses from the beach. She creates jewelry with it and of course I bought a necklace from her that will remind me off Guantanamo Bay :) I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful.

Via The Lede.

Update: Jules Crittenden has many more tasty photos of the lovely Dayana.

Can't Blame These Democrats for Auto Woes

When you have Democrats driving around in opulent automobiles, you could argue they're doing their best to keep the auto industry afloat. Of course we're paying for it, however.

The U.S. auto industry may have been sliding down the tubes the last few years, but folks like Rep. Charles Rangel can't be blamed for it.

Federal records show the dean of New York's congressional delegation had been shelling out $777 a month from his office account to cruise around in a leased GM Cadillac DeVille, although aides say he recently ditched the ride.

As President Obama delivered some tough love to Detroit Monday, members of Congress have been plowing taxpayer bucks into big leases - and not all on U.S. cars.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) went in high style in a Lexus, made by Japanese automaker Toyota, with a monthly lease of $998, according to House records the Daily News obtained for the fourth quarter of 2008 - the most recent available.

And Ulster County Democrat Maurice Hinchey tooled around in a snazzy 2007 BMW 530i that cost taxpayers $499 a month.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens), who doled out $147 a month for a Chevy Impala.

Only $147 a month? Where can I get that deal?

Taliban Planning Massive 'Man-Caused Disaster' in Washington

Janet Napolitano, call your office, looks like there could be a possible man-caused disaster about to hit DC.

The commander of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly assault on a Pakistani police academy and said the group was planning a terrorist attack on the U.S. capital.

Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S., said Monday's attack outside the eastern city of Lahore was in retaliation for U.S. missile strikes against militants along the Afghan border.

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world," Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone. He provided no details.

Could just be the usual trash talk, but then again it could be the real deal. My question is, if this does come to fruition, will we be allowed to call it terrorism?

Of course since there's no longer a war on terror, we'll have to come up with a new phrase. Perhaps we can call it the Conflict Against Mean-Spirited People Who Just Aren't Down With Hopenchange.

More from Gateway Pundit.

New York Democrats Party Like It's 1975

With massive tax increases sparing nobody, the state of New York turned back the clocks to the gory days of the mid-1970s when residents fled in droves as the state crumbled under the weight over onerous taxation that finally led to reforms first instituted by then-Governor Hugh Carey.

Well, never ones to avoid repeating history, New York Democrats are now instituting crushing new taxes on everything from electric bills to fishing licenses.

Just wait until Barack Obama whacks them with federal tax increases.

A Big Apple family of five with a combined income of $450,000 will end up shelling out at least an additional $5,200 a year more under the budget agreed to by Gov. Paterson and legislative leaders.

A middle-class family of four with a $95,000 income could have to cough up over $850 more than they did a year earlier, according to The Post's calculations.

And a swinging single guy living in the city will likely put out another $336.72.

The hefty increase includes higher taxes slapped on staples like cigars and 12 packs of beer -- as well as expected hikes in subway fares, since the budget made no provisions for the cash-strapped MTA.

The heads of The Post's fictional family of five will pay the most in new taxes thanks to their income of $450,000.

They'll fork over $4,320 extra in state income tax alone thanks to the "millionaire's tax," which whacks households earning over $300,000 with a 1 percent hike.

The Post reached that number by adjusting their taxable income with $3,000 in deductions for their three children, and the $15,000 standard deduction.

As steep as their new bill is, their more affluent neighbors will be hit even harder. New Yorkers who earn over $500,000 will see their personal income tax rate jump from 6.85 percent to 8.97 percent.

Those hikes -- which are supposed to expire after three years -- are expected to raise around $4 billion this year.

As someone who was growing up in NYC in the 1970s, I recall the most booming business back then was moving companies, as families couldn't get out fast enough.

Mayor Bloomberg recently cited studies showing merely 40,000 city residents pay half the freight, so don't expect all of them to stick around, including some notable celebrities.

So when they leave, the middle class will get hit even harder, and many of them can't just pick up and leave.

The accidental governor, David Paterson, has clearly broken his promises to revive business and reverse the loss of productive citizens. But why should he care, he'll be out of office in another couple of years and probably living large in the Obama administration.

All this does is spell doom for the city and state.

The budget created by Gov. Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is a monstrously bloated, tax-and-spend plan that, in one fell swoop, reverses a three-decade-long effort to strengthen business and prevent taxpayers from fleeing the state.

The wrecking ball of a new state budget, approved in Kremlin-like secrecy by the troika, also ranks as one of the biggest betrayals in process and substance by a governor in New York history.

The reform effort being reversed by Paterson & Co. began in 1975, when then-newly elected Democratic Gov. Hugh Carey, ending 16 years of Republican rule, famously declared that the "Days of Wine and Roses" were over.

Carey wasn't talking about Gov. Rockefeller's sybaritic lifestyle, just his fiscal policies that, along with Mayor Lindsay's, brought a fiscal crisis -- worse in some ways than the current national recession -- that nearly bankrupted the city and state.

Carey was followed by Mario Cuomo, who, in 1987, slashed the state's top income-tax bracket and even cut the capital-gains tax.

But Cuomo, like Paterson, sought to impose billions of dollars in new taxes and fees during a severe recession, worsening the state's economic climate and setting the stage for his defeat at the hands of George Pataki.

Republican Pataki, even with a $5 billion projected deficit on taking office in 1995, balanced the budget and cut the income tax's top rate once again.

Ironically, while Paterson's Democratic allies in the Legislature gleefully claim to be reversing Pataki's tax cuts for the wealthy, he cut tax rates for the highest earners less than they were cut under Democrats Carey and Cuomo.

"This budget basically represents a reversal of 30 years of New York tax policy," said the Manhattan Institute's E.J. McMahon.

As a New Jersey resident, I'm in no position to gloat much, as Jon Corzine is busy emptying our wallets as well, but at least we can say we're not New York. Plus Corzine is trailing badly in polls and may well find himself seeking other employment six months from now.

Democrats just never learn from history, they just enjoy recreating it.

Orwellian Reality

As we get closer to the official rollout of Messiah Motorworks LLC™, the Brits & Euroweenies have come up with something that is sure to become a big hit in certain circles of totalitarian persuasion. Call it a juiced-up version of OnStar.

Big Brother is watching: surveillance box to track drivers is backed

The government is backing a project to install a "communication box" in new cars to track the whereabouts of drivers anywhere in Europe, the Guardian can reveal.

Under the proposals, vehicles will emit a constant "heartbeat" revealing their location, speed and direction of travel. The EU officials behind the plan believe it will significantly reduce road accidents, congestion and carbon emissions. A consortium of manufacturers has indicated that the router device could be installed in all new cars as early as 2013.

However, privacy campaigners warned last night that a European-wide car tracking system would create a system of almost total road surveillance.

Details of the Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems (CVIS) project, a £36m [US$ 51,500,000 ed.] EU initiative backed by car manufacturers and the telecoms industry, will be unveiled this year.

But the Guardian has been given unpublished documents detailing the proposed uses for the system. They confirm that it could have profound implications for privacy, enabling cars to be tracked to within a metre - more accurate than current satellite navigation technologies.

The European commission has asked governments to reserve radio frequency on the 5.9 Gigahertz band, essentially setting aside a universal frequency on which CVIS technology will work.

The Department for Transport said there were no current plans to make installation of the technology mandatory. However, those involved in the project describe the UK as one of the main "state backers". Transport for London has also hosted trials of the technology.

The European Data Protection Supervisor will make a formal announcement on the privacy implications of CVIS technology soon. But in a recent speech he said the technology would have "great impact on rights to privacy and data".

Paul Kompfner, who manages CVIS, said governments would have to decide on privacy safeguards. "It is time to start a debate ... so the right legal and privacy framework can be put in place before the technology reaches the market," he said.

The system allows cars to "talk" to one another and the road. A "communication box" behind the dashboard ensures that cars send out "heartbeat" messages every 500 milliseconds through mobile cellular and wireless local area networks, short-range microwave or infrared.

The messages will be picked up by other cars in the vicinity, allowing vehicles to warn each other if they are forced to break hard or swerve to avoid a hazard.

The data is also picked up by detectors at the roadside and mobile phone towers. That enables the road to communicate with cars, allowing for "intelligent" traffic lights to turn green when cars are approaching or gantries on the motorway to announce changes to speed limits.

Data will also be sent to "control centres" that manage traffic, enabling a vastly improved system to monitor and even direct vehicles.

"A traffic controller will know where all vehicles are and even where they are headed," said Kompfner. "That would result in a significant reduction in congestion and replace the need for cameras."

Although the plan is to initially introduce the technology on a voluntary basis, Kompfner conceded that for the system to work it would need widespread uptake. He envisages governments making the technology mandatory for safety reasons. Any system that tracks cars could also be used for speed enforcement or national road tolling.

Roads in the UK are already subject to the closest surveillance of any in the world. Police control a database that is fed information from automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, and are able to deduce the journeys of as many as 10 million drivers a day. Details are stored for up to five years.

However, the government has been told that ANPR speed camera technology is "inherently limited" with "numerous shortcomings".

Advice to ministers obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act advocates upgrading to a more effective car tracking-based system, similar to CVIS technology, but warns such a system could be seen as a "spy in the cab" and "may be regarded as draconian".

Introducing a more benign technology first, the report by transport consultants argues, would "enable potential adverse public reaction to be better managed".

Simon Davies, director of the watchdog Privacy International, said: "The problem is not what the data tells the state, but what happens with interlocking information it already has. If you correlate car tracking data with mobile phone data, which can also track people, there is the potential for an almost infallible surveillance system."

And somewhere along the line one neocoM or another will step up to the plate and assure the masses that it's for the children.

Via The Guardian

Tingly-Leg Man: Palin Was Like a Mail-Order Bride

You stay classy, Chris Matthews.

H/T Hot Air.

Michelle Obama: 'Barack's Losing His Mind'

Hey, it's a direct quote, so don't blame me.

First Fan Barack Obama needs to chill out about his daughter's affinity for hoops, so says the First Lady.

"Barack's losing his mind," Michelle Obama told Oprah Winfrey, when the TV queen asked about 7-year-old Sasha's interest in basketball during an interview for O Magazine.

"I was like, 'Settle down -- don't act too excited, or she will not want to do it," Michelle Obama said.

Don't forget they keep reminding us they want to protect the privacy of their children, and what better way than to go on national television and keep blabbing about them?

Mercifully, there won't be another kid to exploit.

Michelle Obama laughingly took offense to rumors and Internet reports that she's sporting a baby bump.

"I was like, 'Baby bump?' As hard as I work on my abs?"

The First Lady told Oprah in no uncertain terms there is no baby.

"Here's the scoop: Not pregnant. And not planning on it," Michelle Obama said.

"Not pregnant" Oprah repeated.

"Not pregnant," the First Lady replied.

Website Shows Arafish's Bedroom: 'It Was His Lifestyle'

Nice propaganda piece from the AP.

Yasser Arafat's official Web site posted pictures Monday that it said showed the late Palestinian leader's modest bedroom, offering a glimpse into the way he lived under Israeli siege during the final two years of his life.

The spartan room included a single bed, a lamp and a narrow closet containing Arafat's iconic wardrobe: five military-style suits and four checkered black-and-white Palestinian scarfs.

Arafat lived under siege for two years at his West Bank compound, after Israel accused him of being behind a wave of suicide bombings. He died in a French hospital in November 2004. Arafat is buried in the same compound and the bedroom will be incorporated into a museum documenting his life.

The bedroom contained no windows and could only be accessed through a guard's room, precautions against possible assassination. The sparse guards' room had three bunk beds for his protectors with helmets strewn on the beds alongside gas masks.

Aside from the small bed and blanket, Arafat's room had a worn-out patch of carpet, a drawing said to be by his daughter, Zahwa, a television set and video player and a prayer mat resting upon a chair. The room had three books — including the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

Thankfully no photos were shown of the penis that infected him with AIDS.

Cloying Hag to Launch 'Nonpartisan' Investigative Journalism Venture

Sure, this annoying wretch will be throwing around millions to get the dirt on Democrats.

The Huffington Post said Sunday that it will bankroll a group of investigative journalists, directing them at first to look at stories about the nation's economy.

The popular Web site is collaborating with The Atlantic Philanthropies and other donors to launch the Huffington Post Investigative Fund with an initial budget of $1.75 million. That should be enough for 10 staff journalists who will primarily coordinate stories with freelancers, said Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post.

Work that the journalists produce will be available for any publication or Web site to use at the same time it is posted on The Huffington Post, she said.

My question is, will each story produced have to be adorned with photos of her?

The Huffington Post skews liberal, but its founder promised that the work done by the investigative fund would be nonpartisan. The group would be discredited quickly if it puts out faulty information, said Nick Penniman, the fund's executive director.

"We care about democracy, not Democrats," he said.

Sure. Considering the Huffington Post has put out faulty information and is already discredited, that's pretty much redundant.

Brits Nab Five in G20 Bomb Plot

The story doesn't mention any names or identify the (ahem) political ideology of those involved, but take a wild guess. I'm assuming the next report will ID them as South Asian youths. If it's not them, you have to figure it's some anti-capitalist anarchy group.

Five people suspected of terrorist offences are being questioned by police today in connection with an alleged plot to target the G20 summit.

Three men and two women have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in Plymouth over the last three days after officers uncovered a cache of weapons and suspected extremist material during a house search.

They are being questioned over claims they planned to target the meeting of the world's most powerful political leaders in London later this week.

The five were held after officers found weapons, imitation weapons, suspicious devices and 'material relating to political ideology' during a house search, a police spokesman said.

The arrests will heighten tensions ahead of this week's summit in London.

A massive police operation is in place to protect the world leaders, including President Obama who is due to arrive in the capital tomorrow.

The alleged plot was uncovered after officers conducted a series of raids following the arrest of a 25-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage on Friday evening.
As police searched his home they found the weapons and suspected extremist material.

Several suspicious devices were also seized and sent for detailed forensic examination.

Three people at the property were arrested for drugs offences. Further investigations led police to a 19-year-old man who was arrested yesterday

Cost-Conscious Obama Bringing Entourage of 500 With Him to Europe

Just imagine if George W. Bush did something like this during a recession. We'd never hear the end of it.

But he's King Obama, so nobody in the White House press corps will say a word. In fact, you have to get this news from Europe.

More than 500 officials and staff will accompany the president on his tour this week - along with a mass of high-tech security equipment, including the $300,000 presidential limousine, known as The Beast. Fitted with night-vision camera, reinforced steel plating, tear- gas cannon and oxygen tanks, the vehicle is the ultimate in heavy armoured transport.

In addition, a team from the White House kitchen will travel with the president to prepare his food. As one official put it: "When the president travels, the White House travels with him, right down to the car he drives, the water he drinks, the gasoline he uses, the food he eats. America is still the sole superpower and the president must have the ability to handle any crisis, anywhere, any time."

Lord knows what the tab will be for such extravagance.

Let's hope he at least doesn't humiliate us again by giving out DVD sets to his hosts that don't work.

Wonderful: Top Obama Legal Nominee Has No Problem With Sharia Law

Think that's bad? This maniac also lumps in the United States with North Korea and the Saddam-era Iraq. Oh, and forget U.S. law. This guy would gladly surrender our sovereignty to world opinion. If all that isn't bad enough, consider Obama plans to install him at the State Department.

God help us.

JUDGES should interpret the Constitution according to other nations' legal "norms." Sharia law could apply to disputes in US courts. The United States constitutes an "axis of disobedience" along with North Korea and Saddam-era Iraq.

Those are the views of the man on track to become one of the US government's top lawyers: Harold Koh.

President Obama has nominated Koh -- until last week the dean of Yale Law School -- to be the State Department's legal adviser. In that job, Koh would forge a wide range of international agreements on issues from trade to arms control, and help represent our country in such places as the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

It's a job where you want a strong defender of America's sovereignty. But that's not Koh. He's a fan of "transnational legal process," arguing that the distinctions between US and international law should vanish.

What would this look like in a practical sense? Well, California voters have overruled their courts, which had imposed same-sex marriage on the state. Koh would like to see such matters go up the chain through federal courts -- which, in turn, should look to the rest of the world. If Canada, the European Human Rights Commission and the United Nations all say gay marriage should be legal -- well, then, it should be legal in California too, regardless of what the state's voters and elected representatives might say.

He even believes judges should use this "logic" to strike down the death penalty, which is clearly permitted in the US Constitution.

The primacy of international legal "norms" applies even to treaties we reject. For example, Koh believes that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child -- a problematic document that we haven't ratified -- should dictate the age at which individual US states can execute criminals. Got that? On issues ranging from affirmative action to the interrogation of terrorists, what the rest of the world says, goes.

Including, apparently, the world of radical imams. A New York lawyer, Steven Stein, says that, in addressing the Yale Club of Greenwich in 2007, Koh claimed that "in an appropriate case, he didn't see any reason why sharia law would not be applied to govern a case in the United States."

Read the rest. The next time some liberal ignoramus tells you Obama is a centrist, show them this column.

Here's a 2007 profile of Koh from The Volokh Conspiracy. It isn't pretty.

Surprise! Biden's Daughter Had Previous Marijuana Possession Arrest

I guess all this means is she and Obama have more in common than her father does with Obama. Sure, Obama never got popped for possession, as far as we know (the media isn't interested in pursuing it, of course), but we do know he used to like the spliffs, mon.

A decade before a friend came forward trying to sell a video that he claimed showed her snorting cocaine, Vice President Joseph Biden's daughter was busted for pot possession.

Ashley Biden "was a hot freshman that every guy wanted to be with," said Nat Berman, a Tulane University classmate, who said he bailed Ashley out of jail after her 1999 marijuana arrest in New Orleans, for which no conviction was recorded.

"She was very attractive.

"Everybody at Tulane knew that she was a party girl," Berman said. "She wore some pretty short shorts -- a lot."

Hmm. A party girl wearing short shorts? Why, I think I dig this babe.

Berman told The Post that Ashley -- currently a social worker at a Delaware child-welfare agency -- called him in September 1999 to say she was "on her way over" to his off-campus home "to hang out."

An hour or so later, after she didn't show up, Berman said he received a call from Ashley, who "said she was in jail."

"She was freaking out. She was like, 'I'm in this cell,' " Berman recalled. "She was not happy."

Berman said he paid a bail bondsman "between $200 and $400" to bail Ashley out, and then drove her home.

New Orleans court records confirm Ashley's September 1999 marijuana-possession arrest but do not detail any conviction.

You don't suppose daddy used his influence to get her off maybe?

Maybe a reporter can ask this at today's White House briefing. I'll bet nobody has the onions to do so.

Apparently nobody cared she had another previous arrest. Just imagine if, say, Bristol Palin ever got busted. You think we'd hear about it?

Fun With Bacon

We report, you decide. Or they report and we embed the link. I caught this over the weekend but had limited time online since I was traveling. And if I ever get stuck in that Atlanta airport for five hours again I'll scream.

Anyway, enjoy.

Biden's Daughter Snorting Coke On Video?

I find it difficult to believe the daughter of the Vice President would be stupid enough to knowingly snort cocaine on video and this smacks of a shakedown. On the other hand, she is a Biden, so who knows? Whatever the case, the guy peddling this video sounds like real scumbag.

A "friend" of Vice President Joseph Biden's daughter, Ashley, is attempting to hawk a videotape that he claims shows her snorting cocaine at a house party this month in Delaware.

The anonymous male acquaintance of Ashley took the video, said Thomas Dunlap, a lawyer representing the seller.

Dunlap and a man claiming to be a lawyer showed The Post about 90 seconds of a 43-minute tape, saying it was legally obtained and that Ashley was aware she was being filmed. The Post refused to pay for the video.

The video, which the shooter initially hoped to sell for $2 million before scaling back his price to $400,000, shows a 20-something woman with light skin and long brown hair taking a red straw from her mouth, bending over a desk, inserting the straw into her nostril and snorting lines of white powder.

She then stands up and begins talking with other people in the room. A young man looks on from behind her, facing the camera. The lawyers said he was Ashley's boyfriend of a few years.

The camera follows the woman from a few feet away, focusing on her as she moves around the room. It appears not to be concealed. At one point she shouts, "Shut the f- - - up!"

The woman appears to resemble Ashley Biden, 27, a social worker for a Delaware child-welfare agency and a visible presence during her father's campaign for the White House.

The dialogue is difficult to discern, but the woman makes repeated references to the drugs, said the lawyers, who said they viewed the tape about 15 times.

"At one point she pretty much complains that the line isn't big enough," said the second lawyer, who declined to identify himself. "And she talks about her dad."

Idiot Takes Al Gore's Advice, Hilarity Ensues

How's that saving the planet nonsense working out? Uh, not so well. Take the sad case of this dolt who watched Algore's propaganda flick and went home like a good little zombie and bought a bunch of compact fluorescent bulbs.

Pure hilarity.

It sounds like such a simple thing to do: buy some new light bulbs, screw them in, save the planet.

But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of dos and don’ts.

Take the case of Karen Zuercher and her husband, in San Francisco. Inspired by watching the movie “An Inconvenient Truth,” they decided to swap out nearly every incandescent bulb in their home for energy-saving compact fluorescents. Instead of having a satisfying green moment, however, they wound up coping with a mess.

“Here’s my sad collection of bulbs that didn’t work,” Ms. Zuercher said the other day as she pulled a cardboard box containing defunct bulbs from her laundry shelf.

One of the 16 Feit Electric bulbs the Zuerchers bought at Costco did not work at all, they said, and three others died within hours. The bulbs were supposed to burn for 10,000 hours, meaning they should have lasted for years in normal use. “It’s irritating,” Ms. Zuercher said.

Irritation seems to be rising as more consumers try compact fluorescent bulbs, which now occupy 11 percent of the nation’s eligible sockets, with 330 million bulbs sold every year. Consumers are posting vociferous complaints on the Internet after trying the bulbs and finding them lacking.

You can't fix stupid.

I wouldn't be surprised to find out Gore is getting a cut from each bulb sold.

People are just so naive.

They're Really Having a Ball

Think twice about continuing if you plan on eating any time soon. Unless you like to eat testicles, that is.

It's not every story that makes me think seriously about all the synonyms for testicles.

But, well, the Oakdale Testicle Festival isn't just any festival.

So let's get them all out of our system now: gonads, balls, nuts, rocks, bollocks and family jewels. I could go on, but should stop while I have some dignity intact.

As the name suggests, the event celebrates cattle unmentionables in all their glory. A joint fund-raiser for the Oakdale Rotary Club and Cowboy Museum, the event is now in its 28 years.

For years, the fete was called the Calf Fry as the largest fundraiser for the town's Rotary Club. But then the group joined forces with the Cowboy Museum and the more direct, more catchy Testicle Festival was launched in 2003. Since then, the festival has gone from fewer than 200 guests to more than 450 a year.

The evening is less a strolling, browsing around festival and more of a sit-down, chow-down dinner. Some 400 pounds of the unique dining experience are fried up in a secret recipe and served to guests for $50 a ticket ($65 if you wait and get it at the door).

The event fills Oakdale's largest hall, the FES Hall. Last year, it raised $28,000.

But enough with the boring details, give us the gory details. You know, what do they taste like?

Christie Camarillo, executive director of the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, swears they're delicious.

"They kind of taste like chicken. I say it's between fried calamari and chicken liver," she said. "I've had them fixed all different ways, but you can't beat how the Rotarians do it."

Earth Hour Idiocy: Maybe the UN Should Go Dark Permanently

Here we go with the feel-good nonsense known as Earth Hour, where cities and groups around the world go dark for an hour in a symbolic gesture to show how morally superior they are while trying to foist "climate change" restrictions on us.

For one hour on Saturday evening, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., exterior lights will shut off at a score of New York City landmarks, including the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, the United Nations headquarters, City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. But New Yorkers need not worry — we hope — about a recurrence of the citywide blackouts of 1965, 1977 and 2003.

The lights are being shut off intentionally as part of a worldwide observance of Earth Hour, an event that began in 2007 in Sydney and was organized by the Australia chapter of the World Wildlife Fund.

As our colleagues at the Green Inc. blog noted earlier this week, the event will start in Fiji and then roll around the globe by time zone throughout the day. Cities slated to participate include Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Nashville, Oslo, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto and Warsaw.

“This will be a pivotal year in the future of our planet as we look to Congress, President Obama and global leaders to take immediate and decisive action on climate change,” Carter Roberts, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement. “Having New York City go dark for Earth Hour will send a powerful message to the world that the U.S. is ready to assume a leadership position in solving one of the most serious challenges facing our planet today. By turning out the lights, the people of New York City will be casting a vote in support of the future of the Earth.”

Of course in the minds of these twits, if you don't play along with this nonsense, you don't care about the Earth. The horrors!

My question is why just an hour? If these people are so intent on saving the planet, why not two hours? Ten hours? The whole day? How about just turning back the clock a couple centuries and go totally dark and live by candlelight?

Will Carter Roberts really be in the dark for an hour, or will he be sitting around checking his BlackBerry and texting his moonbat friends while patting himself on the back?

Well, I'm not going to play along. As I sit here in a hotel in an undisclosed location, I just turned on all the lights and turned the thermostat in my room to an environmentally damaging 62 degrees.

Even the Hollywood boobs are getting in on the action.

The actor Edward Norton is the official ambassador for Earth Hour 2009.

Maybe Ed can show us his electric bill so we can see how much energy he's consuming.

Considering the UN is partaking in this, I have a suggestion for them: Turn off the lights permanently and leave New York. You'll save a lot of energy and we'll be free of an adundance of hot air from all the enemies of America.

Update: Heh.

Via Ace's headlines.

Slam-Wow: Annoying Pitchman Busted for Slapping Around Hooker

You'd think such a prize like this guy wouldn'thave to pay for the ladies.

The spike-haired infomercial pitchman for the the ShamWow absorbent towel on late-night TV has been charged with slapping around a hooker after a trick went bad for him in Miami Beach, according to published reports.

Vince Shlomi, 44 -- who also peddles the Slap Chop kitchen tool -- allegedly went on the attack after paying $1,000 for a woman he met at a bar to come back to his room for sex last month, TheSmokingGun.com reported yesterday.

He told cops that, as the 4 a.m. liaison began, Sasha Lenea Harris bit his tongue "and wouldn't let go."

Shlomi then allegedly punched Harris until she finally let go.

Wonderful: Hezbollah Smuggling Drugs Through Mexico

Let's see if Mrs. Clinton's smart diplomacy can do anything about this. I wonder if she's even aware of it.

Hezbollah is using the same southern narcotics routes that Mexican drug kingpins do to smuggle drugs and people into the United States, reaping money to finance its operations and threatening U.S. national security, current and former U.S. law enforcement, defense and counterterrorism officials say.

The Iran-backed Lebanese group has long been involved in narcotics and human trafficking in South America's tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Increasingly, however, it is relying on Mexican narcotics syndicates that control access to transit routes into the U.S.

Hezbollah relies on "the same criminal weapons smugglers, document traffickers and transportation experts as the drug cartels," said Michael Braun, who just retired as assistant administrator and chief of operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

"They work together," said Mr. Braun. "They rely on the same shadow facilitators. One way or another, they are all connected.

"They'll leverage those relationships to their benefit, to smuggle contraband and humans into the U.S.; in fact, they already are [smuggling]."

His comments were confirmed by six U.S. officials, including law enforcement, defense and counterterrorism specialists. They spoke on the condition that they not be named because of the sensitivity of the topic.

What's so sensitive about it? Will it hurt Obama's outreach efforts with the Iranians?

'Probably the Dumbest Criminal in Pennsylvania'

Strike that. This may be the dumbest criminal on the planet.

A retired police chief said he was robbed by "probably the dumbest criminal in Pennsylvania," at a police officers' convention on Friday morning. John Comparetto said as he came out of a stall in the men's room, a man pointed a gun in his face and demanded money. There were 300 narcotics officers from Pennsylvania and Ohio at the gathering.

Comparetto gave up his money and cell phone. But when the man fled, Comparetto and some colleagues chased him. They arrested a 19-year-old man as he was trying to leave in a taxi.

The suspect is also awaiting trial on four previous robbery charges.

Bin Laden Planning New 'Man-Caused Disasters'?

Looks like Barack Obama will stop cracking jokes for a fe minutes today and announce troop increases in Afghanistan, all while reports indicate Osama bin Laden may still be active.

The strategy will have a unified military goal -- to disrupt, dismantle and eventually destroy al Qaeda's sanctuaries in Pakistan and its support network and prevent it from establishing safe havens in Afghanistan.

The officials said al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, were believed to be in an unknown location in Pakistan plotting fresh attacks on the United States and its allies. U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan after al Qaeda launched the September 11 attacks on the United States.

If the administration stresses its focus on combating al Qaeda too much, it risks exacerbating Afghans' fears that the West is not interested in their welfare and will abandon them. That could play into the hands of the Taliban.

Under the new strategy, the United States will also "aggressively" pursue a regional diplomatic effort; set benchmarks to measure its performance as well as those of NATO member states, Afghanistan and Pakistan; and boost economic aid to Pakistan to shore up the weak civilian government.

Initial descriptions of the strategy left many questions about Pakistan unanswered.

Many experts believe the nuclear-armed country's instability and its al Qaeda safe havens present a far greater threat to U.S. national security than Afghanistan.

As part of the new diplomatic effort, the United States will engage India, Russia, China and Iran, and Obama's special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke, will hold bilateral meetings with Afghanistan and Pakistan every six to eight weeks, the officials said.

'If We Can't Say the Word Freedom Out Loud, God Help Us'

Sad to say, but freedom is on the way out. As in the absurd decision to rename the Freedom Tower. But considering terrorism is now a man-caused disaster and the War on Terror is now an overseas contingency operation, this is only the logical next step.

Freedom is out of fashion at Ground Zero.

Once hailed as a beacon of rebirth in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the Freedom Tower has been stripped of its patriotic name -- which has been swapped out for the more marketable "One World Trade Center," Port Authority officials conceded yesterday.

More than seven years after the terror attacks and amid an effort to market the tower to international tenants, sentiment gave way to practicality.

"As we market the building we will ensure that the building is presented in the best possible way," said PA Chairman Anthony Coscia.

"One World Trade Center is its address. It's the address that we're using. It's the one that's easiest for people to identify with, and, frankly, we've gotten a very interested and warm reception to it."

Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles Burlingame was the pilot aboard American Airlines Flight 77 that was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon, said the renaming of the tower is one more example that the nation is forgetting 9/11.

"If we can't say the word freedom out loud, God help us," she said.

"I understand the decision from a marketing point of view. But it saddens me that it's no longer economically viable to declare who we are."

The issue of the name change -- toward which the PA has been shifting for more than a year -- came up at a news conference after the agency signed a lease with its first major tenant.

A Chinese firm, Vantone Industrial Co., will lease six floors. A four-page press release for the lease signing included the name "Freedom Tower" twice -- only in parentheses.

The only other tenants so far are the federal and state governments.

"Freedom Tower" was coined by then-Gov. George Pataki, who oversaw the initial designs for the reconstruction of the World Trade Center and wanted a tower to rise a symbolic 1,776 feet at a time of heightened patriotism.

Pataki yesterday bristled at the name change.

"The Freedom Tower is not simply another piece of real estate and not just a name for marketing purposes. In design and name, it is symbolic of our commitment to rise above the attacks of Sept. 11," he said.

"Where One and Two World Trade Center once stood, there will be a memorial with two voids to honor the heroes we lost. In my view, those addresses should never be used again.

Next thing you know we'll be having Club Gitmo guests living on the dole on American soil.

Oh wait...

Obama Recession Deepens, NY Times Hardest Hit

Excuse me while I show my compassionate side and ... laugh my ass off.

Dear Colleagues,

In a note just distributed, Arthur and Janet informed us that the company, regrettably, must take even more aggressive steps to control our costs. Clearly, our course is not getting any easier. The recession, especially the deteriorating advertising climate, is exacting a bitter toll, despite all that we have already done to reduce spending.

This morning, we notified about 100 employees on the business side of The Times that their jobs were being eliminated. We thank these dedicated colleagues for all they have contributed to The Times over the years.

The broader announcement today outlines a temporary salary reduction for the remainder of the year for all non-union employees, including the top leadership of the company. It is our hope that these cost-cutting measures will allow us to avoid further layoffs.

The details of the salary reduction will be communicated to you shortly by your senior managers. Although employee pay will be cut by 5% for the remaining three-quarters of the year, you will be entitled to 10 additional personal days off over the nine months. Next year, we plan to return salaries to their current levels. Of course, such a decision depends on the state of our business.

In addition, we will be asking that our Guild-represented colleagues make a similar sacrifice. The Company plans to discuss this with the Guild leadership this afternoon, in a spirit of shared sacrifice and as a way to otherwise avoid layoffs in the newsroom.

Navigating this difficult passage for our business has not been easy. We need to do what we can to reduce spending in the face of falling revenues. At the same time, it is vital we do everything possible to maintain the quality and reach of the journalism that is the hallmark of The Times and to support the resourcefulness and competitive edge of the Media Group's business operations.

Decisions such as today’s underscore the scale of the challenges facing us as we confront not only the structural changes reshaping our industry but also the deepening global recession.

We honor those who will no longer work alongside us and extend our gratitude to them for their contributions. Further, we want to thank every one of you who are sacrificing a portion of your pay over the remainder of the year.

Sincerely,

Scott, Bill, Martin & Andy

Sure, they go and cut staffers at probably the only section worth reading at that fishwrap. How about lopping off those overpaid hacks on the editorial page?

The Three Stooges Ride Again

Talk about typecasting. The powers that be in Hollyweird are making a full length movie about the Three Stooges and have cast Sean Penn, Jim Carrey, and Benicio Del Toro as the slapstick comedy trio. Most people may know Sean and Jim but Benicio is not a household name. He was last seen in an over long, boring yet award winning film from the entertainment self congratulation community depicting Che Guevara.
Penn will play Larry Fine, del Toro the leader Moe Howard, and Carrey is in negotiations to star as Curly Howard, who was known for his hitch-pitched voice and his “nyuk nyuk nyuk” catchphrase.
Might this be the straw that breaks the camel's back? I mean c'mon you are messing with one of the few American icons that has not been subjected to revision.

Ka-Ching! Rahm Emanuel Raked in Big Bucks at Freddie Mac

I wonder if he'll be retroactively taxed at 100% for the money he made?

Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors.

One of those board members was Rahm Emanuel, now chief of staff to President Obama. Emanuel earned at least $320,000 for his 14-month stint at Freddie Mac.

Emanuel plays a critical role in addressing the nation's mortgage woes and fulfilling the administration's pledge to impose responsibility on the financial world -- the type of responsibility that appeared to be absent at Freddie Mac.

Emanuel, 49, is a veteran Democratic strategist and fundraiser who served three terms in the U.S. House after helping elect President Clinton and serving as his White House political director. The Freddie Mac money was part of $16 million that Emanuel earned in three years as an investment banker a decade ago.

Clinton appointed him to the Freddie Mac board in February 2000.

The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, according to company proxy statements. A spokeswoman for Emanuel disputed that.

Emanuel and other new directors qualified for more than $300,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate.

Judge Freezes Peter Madoff's Assets

It may be a good idea right now to freeze the assets of anyone related to Bernie Madoff, don't you think?

A Brooklyn Law School student, who says his trust fund was thrown away in the Bernard Madoff mega-Ponzi scheme, yesterday got a judge to freeze the assets of Madoff's brother.

Peter Madoff, who had been trustee of law student Andrew Ross Samuels' now-destroyed $480,000 trust fund, is barred from selling any property or withdrawing any money at least until after an April 3 hearing in state Supreme Court in Nassau County.

Peter Madoff "knew or should have known" his brother's Manhattan investment firm was a fraud when he placed Samuels' fund with the firm, said Steven Schlesinger, Samuels' lawyer.

"It's good to see we're making progress towards getting the money," said Samuels, who said he wanted to use the funds to get started with his career.

Samuels' father, Howard, accused Peter Madoff of being "either incompetent or in cahoots [with his brother.]"

Peter Madoff was the compliance officer and senior managing director of his brother's firm.

In a stunning development, it turns out Peter Madoff also liked to shower money on Democrats, with the odious Chuckie Schumer a prime beneficiary. Chuckie received at least seven contributions from Peter over the years (and many more from brother Bernie), and Hillary Clinton got herself a few in recent years. Those Madoffs sure love the Democrats.

Horror! Eric Cantor Decides to Watch Lip-Syncher Rather than TelePrompter Reader, Left Melts Down

If someone can explain the newsworthiness of this, please have at it. This could well be the dumbest story to emanate from the fever swamps in years.

There was more than one whip at last night's Britney Spears concert in Washington DC.

GOP aides confirmed to the Huffington Post that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) attended the pop concert at the Verizon Center, where Britney appeared on stage brandishing a leather lash.

One House GOP leadership aide said Cantor went at the request of a fundraiser. "If suffering through a Britney Spears concert will raise one more dime to help Republicans take back the House, then I'm glad Cantor's willing to do it."

A House Democratic aide shot back, "Looks like Eric Cantor's not that innocent."

Maybe I'm missing something, but is there a requirement that the House Minority Whip has to watch Obama read off his oversized TelePrompter?

This apparently is scandalous news among the Journolist set. Why, even the Washington Post feels obligated to report this earthshaking news.

Some of the retarded left equates this with Obama filling out his NCAA pool, though I guess only they can explain that.

Full disclosure: I once ran into Britney and her posse near the W Hotel in Manhattan one hot July night about six years ago. They asked me if I had any coke. I didn't. I suggested to them they shouldn't ask strangers on the street for drugs, scolded them and told them to run along. Five years of misery for Britney followed. Draw your own conclusions.

I thought that interlude was weird enough. Then I read the Huffington Post tonight.

My bad.

Tedious: Dems Running Against Rush Limbaugh in NY Special Election

You have to figure they're holding off on their secret weapon--the coveted Meghan McCain endorsement--if this utterly predictable strategy doesn't work. I guess they figure there are still a couple of idiots out there who still don't realize this quote is taken entirely out of context. Even lamer, they're not even using the proper quote, which was "Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails." .

Democrats are seeking to use conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh to rally their base in advance of next week's special election in New York's 20th district.

A new direct mail piece from businessman Scott Murphy's campaign features an angry shot of Limbaugh over the words "I hope Obama fails." At the bottom of the piece in parentheses is written "Somebody wants you to stay home on March 31st...."

On the back of the mailer, an Obama drawing is featured with text superimposed over it that accuses "Rush Limbaugh and his lackeys in Washington" of trying to "be a roadblock to the change America desperately needs."

Democrats have been using Limbaugh's comments -- made at his keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month -- to raise money almost since the moment they were made but using Limbaugh as a turnout tool is a new wrinkle in this strategy.

A new wrinkle?

Please.

You Can't Make This Up: Former CNN Anchor Now Working for The Onion

Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport

Funny enough, indeed, and in fact The Onion has more credibility than CNN. And MSNBC for that matter. I imagine this could be Keith Olbermann's next destination. Problem is he just isn't funny. No doubt this was a seamless transition for Bobbie Batista, going from a network where they make up news to a network where they make up news.

In yet another sign that the line between real news and fake news is getting thinner, one of CNN’s main anchors during the 1980s and 1990s, Bobbie Battista, has taken a step through the looking glass and can now be seen anchoring reports online for ONN, The Onion News Network.

Great News: Post Office Going Broke

Let me guess. Another bailout needed? Maybe since Obama is so damn popular they can put his face on all the stamps sold and voila, problem solved.

The U.S. Postal Service is going broke.

Postmaster General John Potter told the House that the post office may run out of money by the end of the year if it does not get aid.

He said that the post office is "facing losses of historic proportion. Our situation is critical."

The office simply cannot pay all its bills.

The postmaster said he will pay all the salaries, but that other bills might just have to wait. He also asked that mail delivery drop to five days per week.

Maybe Obama's volunteer army can help deliver the mail.

British Conservative Goes Nuclear on Gordon Brown

We need some politicians like this here in America.

"I see you've already mastered the essential craft of the European politician," Hannan told the prime minister. "Namely, the ability to say one thing in this chamber and a very different thing to your home electorate."

Obama needs a dressing down like this.

But Where's The Bacon?

Now that's a burger.

Well, at least the salsa is low-cal. The West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league baseball team, will be offering up major league cholesterol, carbohydrates and calories in an enormous hamburger being added to the menu this year at the Fifth Third Ballpark.

The 4-pound, $20 burger features five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and liberal doses of salsa and corn chips, all on an 8-inch sesame-seed bun. That's a lot of dough!

Hitler Very Upset T.O. Is Coming to Buffalo

Comedy gold.

H/T Chuck.

Quick, Someone Alert Jimmy Carter: Electronic Voting Not Secure

Can you believe it? Venezuelan thug Hugo Chavez would actually tamper with voting machines?

The CIA, which has been monitoring foreign countries' use of electronic voting systems, has reported apparent vote-rigging schemes in Venezuela, Macedonia and Ukraine and a raft of concerns about the machines' vulnerability to tampering.

Appearing last month before a U.S. Election Assistance Commission field hearing in Orlando, a CIA cybersecurity expert suggested that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his allies fixed a 2004 election recount, an assertion that could further roil U.S. relations with the Latin leader.

In a presentation that could provide disturbing lessons for the United States, where electronic voting is becoming universal, Steve Stigall summarized what he described as attempts to use computers to undermine democratic elections in developing nations. His remarks have received no news media attention until now.

Stigall told the Election Assistance Commission, a tiny agency that Congress created in 2002 to modernize U.S. voting, that computerized electoral systems can be manipulated at five stages, from altering voter registration lists to posting results.

I'm sure Democrats would never try any such chicanery.

Stigall, who has studied electronic systems in about three dozen countries, said most countries' machines produced paper receipts that voters then dropped into boxes. However, even that doesn't prevent corruption, he said.

Turning to Venezuela, he said that Chávez controlled all of the country's voting equipment before he won a 2004 nationwide recall vote that had threatened to end his rule.

When Chávez won, Venezuelan mathematicians challenged results that showed him to be consistently strong in parts of the country where he had weak support. The mathematicians found ''a very subtle algorithm'' that appeared to adjust the vote in Chávez's favor, Stigall said.

Calls for a recount left Chávez facing a dilemma, because the voting machines produced paper ballots, Stigall said.

''How do you defeat the paper ballots the machines spit out?'' Stigall asked. ``Those numbers must agree, must they not, with the electronic voting-machine count? . . . In this case, he simply took a gamble.''

Stigall said Chávez agreed to allow 100 of 19,000 voting machines to be audited.

''It is my understanding that the computer software program that generated the random number list of voting machines that were being randomly audited, that program was provided by Chávez,'' Stigall said. ``That's my understanding. It generated a list of computers that could be audited, and they audited those computers.

``You know. No pattern of fraud there.''

Barry O Throws MSM (and Teleprompter) Under The Bus

According to this AP article, Barry O, the President in Training Pants is going to be taking questions submitted via the web on Thursday. I guess all those teleprompter gaffes and a media that seems to be turning are just too much for him.

I am not foolish enough to think that he will field any questions from conservatives. He will no doubt pick and choose and, of course, questions submitted from Huffington Post and Firedoglake-type progressives will get priority, but it might be entertaining to see how he does and what he chooses to answers.

The poor teleprompter-in-chief has got to be feeling a little blue. At last night's fiasco, er, press briefing, Barry O used a big screen TV rather then a teleprompter.

You know what is so fun with this guy? He is so easy to manipulate using kidding. He is so self-conscious and wants everything about him to be so perfect that it is so easy to get into his psyche and bruise his ego. While it is fun to watch, it is not what you want from somebody sitting in the big boy chair in the Oval Office. Other world leaders see how this guy acts, many of them have already been insulted by this administration, and they too will use this personality flaw to further manipulate him.

Teenager Confesses in Murder of ABC Newsman George Weber

A sad story all the way around.

A 16-year-old Queens youth confessed early this morning to the grisly slaying of radio newsman George Weber, who was stabbed as many as 50 times in his Brooklyn apartment, The Post has learned.

Cops took the teen into custody upstate and brought him to the 76th Precinct station house.

He confessed around 4 a.m. today.

A source told The Post that Weber, 47, an ABC News radio broadcaster, and the teen had been e-mailing one another.

Meanwhile, new details of the chilling crime were revealed.

According to investigators, the knife sliced through Weber's neck, back and torso so many times that it was difficult to get an accurate count by the time the body was discovered two days ago.

Detectives poked through neighborhood trash and peered into sewers yesterday in search of the murder weapon.

Weber's ankles were duct-taped and wounds on his hands suggested he tried to fight off his attacker, the sources said.

The killer is believed to be a man the ABC News radio broadcaster brought home to his Carroll Gardens home for a sex romp. Sources said Weber, 47, hooked up often with men he met on Craigslist.

More here.

A 16-year-old confessed to stabbing WABC newsman George Weber during a drugged-up date with the older man, police sources said Wednesday.

The emotionally disturbed teenager was arrested early Wednesday morning after he admitted to cops that he had answered an ad Weber placed on the Internet looking for a partner in rough sex, police and law enforcements sources said.

"He saw the victim's ad looking for violent sex and said "I can smother somebody for $60" but it got out of hand," a source said.

View Hags Talking Nasty: 'Maybe We Should Send Mika a Vibrator!'

Talk about too much information. Baba Wawa getting in a little catfight with MessNBC's Mika Brzezinski.

MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski wasn't amused yesterday by Barbara Walters' on-air comment about a vibrator.

But that's OK, Mika. Barbara forgives you for being disgusted with her.

The vibrator kerfuffle started Monday on "The View" when, during a "Hot Topics" segment about shopping in the bad economy, Walters asked her co-hosts what "one luxury thing" they would buy.

"You mean besides a vibrator?" Joy Behar blurted out.

"For her, that's not a luxury, it's a necessity!" Walters retorted to the delight of her co-hosts and even did a little "look at me!" dance (with arms raised) to celebrate her naughty comment.

I'd say they're a necessity for that whole crew, except, of course, for the lovely Mrs. Hassselbeck.

Worst Person in the World Now Worst Baseball Blogger in the World

Good Lord, what is he thinking?

Like the relaxed pace and increased interaction of Spring Training wasn't thrill enough. This is the start of my 43rd year as a fan, my 43rd year attending games, and my 43rd year of keeping score. On Saturday in Phoenix, I witnessed, for the first time, a triple play. First and second, Oakland's Bobby Crosby with a solid one-hopper to Ryan Rohlinger of the Giants. Rohlinger unsuccessfully tried to tag elusive Oakland runner Matt Carson, fired to Matt Downs at second for one out, who relayed to Scott McClain at first for another. That's when it became evident Carson had been called out for leaving the baseline. A double play is, of course, scored by writing the position numbers (5-4-3) and circling them. A triple play requires two circles. Making my first "second circle" was the thrill of the spring

As an added bonus, he has a mugshot of himself on the site that dates back at least 15 years. Nothing like trying to recapture your youth, dude.

Love this comment.

Keith, for the record, did you wait for Tim Russert's corpse to reach room temperature before you started campaigning for his job?

Why are you subjecting mlb.com to your self-indulgent prattle anyway? Isn't there a bovine management blog out there more worthy of your abilities and education?

Heh.

H/T Thomas.

Another Groundbreaking Invention: Odor-Free Undies

Now if they can only do the same for socks.

THE smells that eminate from your undies - or so your closest friends or mum says - may be a thing of the past.
Japan's space scientists have developed a line of odour-free underwear and casual clothing.

Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to live on the International Space Station, is testing the clothes, called J-ware and created by textile experts at Japan Women's University in Tokyo, Reuters reports.

"He can wear his trunks (underwear) more than a week," said Koji Yanagawa, an official with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Wakata's clothes, developed by researcher Yoshiko Taya, are designed to kill bacteria, absorb water, insulate the body and dry quickly. They also are flame-resistant and anti-static, not to mention comfortable and stylish.

Japanese astronaut Takao Doi gave the clothes a trial run during a shuttle mission last year. Even after a vigorous workout, Doi's clothes stayed dry.

"The other astronauts become very sweaty, but he doesn't have any sweat. He didn't need to hang his clothes to dry," Yanagawa said.

Karl Marx, The Musical

Sure to be a hit with the Obamatons.

HIGH-kicking Chinese Marxists are set to bring communism's most famous tract to life - as a musical.

An all-singing, all-dancing stage version of Das Kapital is being produced in Shanghai to show how the thinking of Karl Marx is as relevant in today's economic crisis as when his book was first published in 1867, producers said yesterday.

"The entertainment and theatrical elements will help ordinary people better understand why the financial crisis is happening,'' said Zhang Jun, a Fudan University economics professor, who is an advisor on the production.

Those who don't understand after the play concludes will be sent to re-education camps and forced to listen to Senate floor speeches of Charles Schumer.

Barney Frank to Code Pink Skanks: 'We Really Need People to Grow Up'

You know you're out of control when this boob is telling you to grow up.

H/T Hot Air.

Just What We've Been Waiting For: A Clinton Movie

Uncanny resemblance to Hillary

No doubt the public has been clamoring for a movie about the Special Relationship between Bill and Hillary Clinton. Sure, they can probably get away with Dennis Quaid as Bill, but Julianne Moore as Hillary?

Puh-leeze. She's sure come a long way since playing a porn star in Boogie Nights.

Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid are set to play Hillary and Bill Clinton in the upcoming film "Special Relationship".

The movie will show how the former US President's "inappropriate relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky nearly ended his term in power.

Quaid reportedly beat four other leading actors - Russell Crowe, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin and Tim Robbins - to snag the role of Bill.

"This is a big role for both of them. Playing Hillary, a wife who stands by her unfaithful husband, will be something she can get her teeth stuck into," said a source.

No word on who's playing the fat intern.

I wonder if anyone will be playing Matt Drudge?

Obama Hate Machine Moves On to New Target

I guess Obama and his persons of hench have milked the AIG "outrage" for all it's worth and realize attacking Rush Limbaugh has badly backfired, so they're back to another favorite punching bag.

Soooo tedious.

Dear Friend,

You won't even believe this.

The Republicans have called on none other than Sarah Palin to headline their big fat-cat fundraising dinner.

You know they're going to use every last dime they raise to try to slam the brakes on President Obama's change agenda.

You know what I say? Thanks, but no thanks - how about you get back on that bridge to nowhere, Sarah.

We've got to beat her and the rest of those "no, baby, no" Republicans standing in President Obama's way by winning this FEC fundraising battle on March 31st. It's the only one in President Obama's first 100 days. It'll show everybody that America stands behind President Obama and Democrats fighting for change - not Sarah Palin and the "just say no" Republicans.

Yawn.

What prompts this? Well, as Ed Morrissey notes, somehow the RNC managed to raise more money than the DNC for February.

Go figure.

Obama Looks to Bypass Slavish White House Press Corps for Even More Sycophantic Media Outlets

Look for the White House to grant more access to bootlickers from MSNBC, the HuffPost and moonbat radio hosts like Ed Schultz. Apparently they're not satisfied with the Washington press corps that is trying to regain credibility by actually reporting the truth about this disastrous presidency.

Consider this a call for useful idiots.

At a time when his Washington honeymoon is turning into a hazing, President Barack Obama and his team are launched on a strategy to sail above the traditional White House press corps by reaching out to liberal commentators, local reporters and ethnic media.

The highest-profile moments in the new approach have been well-noted, such as the president giving an interview to progressive radio host Ed Schultz and Obama calling on a reporter from the liberal-leaning Huffington Post at his first news conference.

But those moves are only part of a much larger strategy aimed at communicating directly with audiences the White House believes are more sympathetic to the president’s agenda — and one in which much of the work is being done by Obama’s top advisers.

On the day Obama released his ambitious spending plan, the administration put White House budget director Peter Orszag on a conference call with liberal-leaning writers. Senior administration aides have followed up by promoting the budget to local radio talk shows during morning drive time.

Jared Bernstein, Vice President Joe Biden’s economic adviser and a favorite of the labor-liberal wing of the Democratic Party, also held a conference call with friendly reporters.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has done conference calls with black and Hispanic media outlets.

If they think this approach will work, all power to them. The only problem with this strategy is they'll be passing along their propaganda into the unquestioning echo chamber.

Good luck with that.

Maybe some day these folks will grow up and realize the campaign is over.

NYPD Suspects Gay Sex Slay in ABC Newsman's Murder

Police believe the murdered George Weber was killed by someone he may have met online.

Radio newsman George Weber was stabbed to death in a grisly "crime of passion" by a man he likely knew and let into his Brooklyn apartment, sources said yesterday.

Weber's half-naked body was found Sunday morning in his bloody Carroll Gardens apartment. The broadcaster was stabbed multiple times in the neck, back and upper torso.

Cops are investigating the murder as a gay slaying, police sources said.

Investigators said gay-porn pictures were scattered around his ransacked home, but it was unclear if anything was missing.

There was no evidence of forced entry and investigators believe Weber may have known his attacker.

Cops are trying to identify several men who posed in various pictures with the victim, according to investigators. The photos were found in Weber's home.

More from the Daily News.

WABC newsman George Weber was slain in a struggle so violent that his killer's blood splattered across the reporter's Brooklyn home, police sources said Monday.

Weber's lifeless body, his ankles bound with duct tape, was discovered in the bedroom of his Carroll Gardens apartment Sunday.

The radio reporter had been savagely attacked, with multiple cuts to his neck, torso, arms and hands, police said.

Blood was found throughout the ransacked apartment, but investigators think some of it belonged to the killer, believed to be a date Weber picked up Friday night, sources said.

One neighbor heard a scuffle, followed by several loud thumps Friday night, then silence. Witnesses have told cops they saw a man talking on a cell phone outside Weber's home Friday night.

Investigators suspect that Weber arranged to meet his companion over the Internet and were searching his e-mail and Web browser history, sources said.

Reached for comment, the Scituate Sodomizer called everyone homophobes.