Guess Who He Was Talking About

The following article from the WSJ has just a few editorial changes made.

Sen. John F. Kerry jumped on the flu-vaccine shortage yesterday with a new television ad blaming the situation on the President.

In the ad, a narrator says: "Three years ago, medical experts warned that a dangerous shortage loomed. Instead of fixing the problem, production of the vaccine was sent to a factory overseas -- the vaccines were contaminated. Now he wants Canada to help, even though his own policies make it illegal for us to import medicine from Canada.

"Seniors and children wait. Not enough vaccines for pregnant women. A mess."

Want to see the original, which is from 2004 or have you already guessed he wasn't talking about the current leader of the socialist free world

Dubya Tweaks Putie

Bush Tweaks Putin Before Last Talks
Even as President Bush downplays concerns about tensions between the United States and Russia, he is using a trip to Croatia to showcase some of the differences that have caused those tensions just before final talks with outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hours before the pair start working on a new "strategic framework" they hope to announce to guide relations beyond their time in office toward a less rocky future, Bush on Saturday is lauding U.S.-promoted developments in Russia's backyard.

In a speech to an invited group of up to 7,000 Croatians in a public square in Zagreb, the president is extolling the virtues of extending NATO membership and spreading Western-style democracy throughout all of Europe, including eastward to former Soviet states on Russia's borders.

That should give Pelousi and the Kooky Kult Kommandante something to screech about.

Ahead of Bush's arrival, thousands massed quietly and listened to local singers in St. Mark's Square, used as the site of the inauguration of every Croatian president for the past 700 years and considered "the center of Croatian politics." But while there was little chance of an unfriendly crowd there, as the invitations were given to the Croatian government to distribute, hundreds of anti-war demonstrators protested Friday night upon Bush's arrival in other parts of Zagreb.

Bush also met Saturday with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, signing a guest book to signify improved U.S.-Croatian relations.

By evening, Bush was to be at Putin's summer home at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the two men will cap an often contentious seven-year relationship that will come to end when Putin leaves office next month.

As if Putie's really leaving.

Over dinner,and again in talks Sunday, Bush and Putin are expected to make nice and emphasize the positive, such as the strategic framework and Russia's agreement this week to allow shipment of nonmilitary NATO supplies to Afghanistan through its territory.

Via The AP

UPDATE:
Missile Defense Deal Unlikely in Russia

NATO's Aboard

Bush wins NATO nod on missile defense
President Bush won NATO's endorsement Thursday for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. The proposal also advanced with Czech officials announcing an agreement to install a missile tracking site for the system in their country.

Despite a setback in his drive to see NATO expanded further eastward to include Ukraine and Georgia, Bush vowed not to drop the issue.

"NATO's door must remain open to other nations in Europe that share our love for liberty and demonstrate a commitment to reform and seek to strengthen their ties with the trans-Atlantic community," Bush said in brief remarks at an alliance meeting. "We must give other nations seeking membership a full and fair hearing."

Fellow NATO leaders, fearing a clash with Moscow, rejected Bush's appeal to allow the former Soviet republics to get on a path toward membership. But Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said the president plans to make a new pitch before he leaves office in January. The United States expects to raise the matter at a meeting of NATO foreign minister in December, Hadley said.

The president expressed regret that NATO also declined to offer full membership at this meeting to Macedonia. The invitation was blocked by Greece, which says the country's name implies a territorial claim to a northern region of Greece, also called Macedonia.

"Macedonia's made difficult reforms at home," Bush said. "It is making major contributions to NATO missions abroad. The name issue needs to be resolved quickly so that Macedonia can be welcomed into NATO as soon as possible."

Albania and Croatia were invited to join the alliance, now currently at 26 members.

Progress on missile defense represented perhaps the biggest boon to Bush from the summit. Russia has strongly opposed the plan.

NATO leaders were adopting a communique stating that "ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to allied forces, territory and populations." It also will recognize "the substantial contribution to the protection of allies ... to be provided by the U.S.-led system," according to senior American officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the statement's release.

The statement calls on all NATO members to explore ways in which the planned U.S. project, to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, can be linked with future missile shields elsewhere. It says leaders should come up with recommendations to be considered at their next meeting in 2009, the officials said.

Significantly, the document also calls on Russia to drop its objections to the system and to accept U.S. and NATO offers to cooperate on building it, the officials said.

The plan calls for 10 interceptor missiles based in Poland and a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic.

At a news conference in Bucharest on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwartzenberg announced that negotiations with the Americans have been successfully completed and that a deal would be signed in early May. No U.S. official was in attendance, but the Czechs distributed a joint U.S.-Czech statement that said, "This agreement is an important step in our efforts to protect our nations and our NATO allies from the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction."

The Poles have yet to agree to the plan. But in Warsaw on Thursday, talks picked up between Polish and U.S. officials about Bush's plan to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. As part of any deal, Poland wants aid from the United States in modernizing the Polish military.

The backing from NATO and the announcement with the Czechs provides Bush with a powerful leg up in his negotiations with Moscow over the issue.

Russia charges the intent of the system would be to weaken its nuclear deterrent capabilities and upset the balance of power in Europe. Bush has repeatedly denied that, saying the facilities are designed to protect Europe against a potential missile attack — or even just nuclear blackmail — by Iran. The dispute has become heated at times, with confrontational, Cold War-style rhetoric from Moscow.

Bush is seeing Russian President Vladimir Putin twice this week — during the NATO summit and in one-on-one meetings planned for this weekend in Sochi, Russia. White House officials have talked optimistically in recent days that the weekend meeting could break the missile defense logjam.

Bush has essentially rejected Russia's suggestion that the U.S. substitute an early warning radar in Azerbaijan for the Europe-based system. But U.S. officials have been working to come up with a list of concessions and assurances that could resolve Moscow's fears, such as offering to let Russia share in the information the system collects and promising not to activate it without a verifiable threat.

[....]

EU appeasement monkeys are seething.


Read it all at The AP/Yahoo!

Previously: Talking Down The NATO summit

About Lame Duck Presidencies

Interesting developments while Dubya's in Romania.

Putin, Bush may sign missile shield document
A joint document to be signed by the Russian and U.S. presidents on April 6 will include issues related to missile defense, a Kremlin source said on Tuesday.

George W. Bush will meet with Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia's resort city on the Black Sea, for more discussions on NATO's expansion and U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"Experts are working hard on a document within the strategic framework of Russian-U.S. cooperation," the source said.

"[The presidents'] joint statement will include provisions on missile defense," he added.

He also said the upcoming meeting would provide "a road map" for future presidents in both countries.

While some of Old Europe's heavy hitters grasp their oui-ouis and tremble in abject fear, ol' Dubya and New Europe again challenge Vladimir Paranoid to join the 21st century.

So-o-o-o-o, what's happened to bring Putie aboard the Good Ship Real World?

Heh. Maybe this.

Bush said earlier on Tuesday that there would be no deal with Moscow on withdrawing American support for NATO bids by the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine in exchange for Russia's acceptance of a U.S. missile shield in Europe.

Speaking at a news conference in Kiev after talks with President Viktor Yushchenko, Bush signaled his support for the two ex-Soviet states' requests to enter the Membership Action Plan (MAP), a precursor for membership in the Western military alliance.

Asked by a reporter about rumors that Washington could strike a bargain with Moscow, he said: "That is a misperception - I strongly believe that Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP, and there's no tradeoff, period."

The U.S. intends to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, which it says will provide defense against 'rogue states' such as Iran. Moscow views the plans as a direct threat to its own security.

Moscow also vehemently opposes NATO's further expansion around its borders. The Kremlin threatened in February to target missiles at Ukraine if Kiev joins NATO and allows Western military facilities on its territory.

Bush's visit to Kiev is a stop-over before a trip to Romania for the April 2-4 NATO summit. Putin has also been invited to the summit.

Koslings v. PuffHo: Who will be first to spin this into proof of the Bushchimphitler-Pajamashadeen-Jooooish Conspiracy?

And what about eeeevil Halliburton?!?

Via RIA Novosti, Russian News & Information Agency

See also: U.S.-Czech treaty on radar base may be announced at NATO summit


Also at A Tangled Web

UPDATE: Dr. Rusty links. Thanks!

Talking Down The NATO Summit

Take some European pacifism, add some aversion to the concept of national defense; stir well.

Now add some BDS . . . .

Europe Waits Out the Bush Administration
[....]

'Foundation of the Alliance'

Beginning this Wednesday, leaders of NATO states will meet in the Romanian capital Bucharest, where they will air differences that, in the assessment of the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs, have long torn at the very "foundation of the alliance."

The agenda includes Afghanistan, a perpetual bone of contention, the expansion of the alliance eastward and the controversial plans for an American missile defense system. NATO is deeply divided on most issues. It appears former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was right after all, when he divided the continent into an "old" Western and a "new" Eastern Europe.

The Eastern Europeans valiantly defend American positions, while Western allies have long since written off US President George W. Bush, for whom the Bucharest NATO summit will be his last. "The Europeans are in a wait-and-see mood," says Stephen Larrabee of the Rand Corporation, an influential American think tank. "They want to wait out the Bush administration."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, of all people, stands at the head of those seeking to slow down NATO's plans. If Bush has his way, the alliance will be expanded to include more than just Croatia, Albania and Macedonia. A "membership action plan" has even been put in place to facilitate rapid entry into the alliance for Ukraine and Georgia.

Another Sensitive Project

Secretary General Scheffer and the Eastern Europeans support the plan, which has encountered bitter resistance in Moscow. "No Russian president can ever accept the NATO membership of Ukraine," says current President Vladimir Putin. Merkel supports his position, although for different official reasons.

As in not wanting to offend Vladimir Paranoid, Angie?

"Many Western European partners agree completely," said German defense expert and Green Party member Alexander Bonde after a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Bonde is convinced that they are hiding behind the Germans and are "confident that Ms. Merkel will remain resolute."

The Germans are also expected to try to delay another sensitive project: the Americans' controversial missile defense plan. Berlin diplomats have stated that the summit will "generally" support the Bush project to station 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic, the goal being to defend against Iranian missiles, if need be. But at Berlin's urging the triumphant announcements Washington wants will not happen.

So, other than fearing Putie, why are the Heinies lukewarm to the idea?

Because the American missiles cannot protect Europe completely, the United States wants to develop a second missile defense system -- at its partners' expense. This system would protect Turkey and Norway to the north against a nuclear threat from Iran, but it would also cost enormous sums of money. Experts estimate that it would require an increase in the German defense budget of at least €1 billion ($1.58 billion), leading to a total of more than €30 billion ($47.4 billion). Officials at the Chancellery say that this would not be politically feasible, prompting Berlin to postpone a decision on the second system.

And avoid 'offending' Vladimir Paranoid.

'German Combat Battalion in Kandahar'

These delaying tactics reflect the hope that a new US administration under Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would not support the costly missile defense system as adamantly as Republican President Bush.

Given the Bolshevik Revolution within the New Democrat party, neither Obama nor Hillary will be the next White House occupant.

But even a new US president will not make things easier for Germany in Afghanistan. One thing that Bush and all of his potential successors have in common is the call for more German troops. They agree that what Obama calls the "dirty work" in the embattled south and east should no longer be left entirely to the Americans, Canadians, British and Dutch.

"The Americans," says a member of the staff of German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, a Christian Democrat, "are still dreaming of a German combat battalion in Kandahar." Scheffer, who shares their dreams, wants the remaining Europeans to deploy troops to the combat zones "in solidarity." According to Scheffer, there can be "no division of labor in which some specialize in fighting while others handle the cleanup work."

This is another area where Merkel is applying the brakes. She repeatedly insists that she is opposed to a "contest of dangerousness," and that Germany will stick to its deployment in the quieter north, even though, as she adds, "isolated assistance" elsewhere, "when friends are in need," is a matter of course.

The north can also be dangerous, as the German military, the Bundeswehr, experienced only last week near Kunduz. Three soldiers were injured, two seriously, when the force from the explosion of a Taliban explosive device swept their "Dingo" armored vehicle off the road.

The French Show

In response to pressure from the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), government experts' deliberations on whether to significantly expand Germany's Afghanistan mandate have been placed on ice for the time being. The Bavaria-based sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) is anxious not to enter into such a politically risky proposition before its state parliamentary elections in September. Even Bush understands the domestic political pressures faced by the Merkel administration, a relieved German diplomat reported from Washington. "We will not be pilloried in Bucharest," the diplomat said.

By contrast, French President Nicolas Sarkozy now plans to make a show of France's efforts in Afghanistan. Paris diplomats in Brussels have announced that the president wants to send 1,000 regular troops and 200 members of the special forces to support the US in the east and Canada in the south. There are currently about 1,500 French soldiers in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in relatively calm Kabul.

NATO will finalize two documents on Afghanistan in Bucharest. One is meant for the public and describes in general, superficial terms the goal of "self-supporting stability." The other document, a "political and military plan of action," is to remain confidential.

The secret document is based on ideas that Defense Minister Jung presented to his counterparts last fall "as part of an exit strategy." Jung spoke at length about "networked security" and reconstruction, while the "fight against the insurgents" was generally mentioned as an aside. The US's priorities, so far, have been precisely the reverse.

Precarious Situation

The secret compromise document now contains a graduated plan intended to enable NATO to eventually pull out its troops. The document specifies dates by which Kabul is to satisfy certain requirements for drug enforcement and the development of a justice system, and which regions NATO could gradually turn over to Afghan forces.

But neither the Germans nor the Americans and British are interested in setting too specific a timetable. Berlin fears that this would force it to enlarge its NATO contingent and send additional war material, like helicopters, to Afghanistan. The Americans, British and Canadians are hesitant to announce a fixed withdrawal date. Because of the precarious situation in the east and south, they would probably be the last to bring their soldiers home.

If one thing is certain, it is that the NATO Secretary General's dream of transforming the 2009 anniversary summit into a conflict-free, visionary and harmonious meeting will not come true.

The Americans would have preferred to celebrate in Berlin, but Sarkozy wants to celebrate his country's return to the military structures of NATO, from which the French armed forces removed themselves in 1966 at the behest of President Charles de Gaulle.

The anniversary summit, which is now to be held in Strasbourg and its smaller German neighbor across the Rhine River, Kehl, is unlikely to last very long in the first place. French diplomats recently insisted that the Bucharest meeting, initially planned for three full days, be shortened to no more than 48 hours. President Sarkozy's "capacity," astonished NATO diplomats were told, is "limited to two days."

Never misunderestimate a Fwenchman's delusions of grandeur.

Via Spiegel International

The Perfidy Continues

This was originally posted by our friend, Carl in Jerusalem and provides further insight into our involvement in Israel. All text in bold is not part of Carl's original publication, but has been added for the purpose of highlighting US policy towards Israel.

Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert has approved the construction of a new Arab town 20 kilometers south of Shchem (Nablus) and 35 kilometers north of Ramallah along Highway 505, the main east-west highway through Samaria. The town is to be located in 'Area B,' which is under Israeli security control and will house 30-40,000 hostile 'Palestinians' in its first phase and 70,000 within ten years. Olmert did not bring the plan to the cabinet for approval before committing to Secretary of State Rice last night that the town would be built. DEBKA is calling the plan a 'major strategic restructure' of Samaria:DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s sources report that the new town site will encompass the Palestinian villages of Qabalan, Oseria and Qudela and straddle Trans-Samaria Highway 505 opposite Tapuach junction. The US planners intend the new town to provide territorial contiguity between Nablus and Ramallah. At the same time, it will cut off Israeli villages in the Jordan Valley from the settlement blocs in Samaria.

The new Palestinian urban entity, which our sources reveal Olmert first learned about in his talks with President Bush on June 19, will be the first Arab town to go up in the region in 1,500 years, since the foundation of Ramleh. [I actually find that 1500 figure hard to believe. CiJ]

During his White House visit, Olmert learned that the Americans regard the Palestinian town as a primary project for consolidating Mahmoud Abbas’ government. It is designed to provide tens of thousands of jobs for West Bankers, whose unemployment rate has soared to 70 percent since the Palestinian uprising was launched against Israel in 2000.

American town planners and architects hired by the US government have prepared initial diagrams after secret visits to the site. During her current tour, Rice showed the plans to the Israeli prime minister, Abbas and Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad.

The problem still outstanding is financing. It was hoped that the Saudis would put up part of the initial investment for the foundations. When he brokered the Mecca accord for a Palestinian unity government earlier this year, the monarch pledged $250 million in aid to the Palestinians. However, this hope was dashed, when King Abdullah flatly refused to hear of aid to the Abbas regime in his talks with the US secretary in Jeddah Tuesday.

I'm surprised Olmert (apparently) hasn't pledged Israeli money to pay for it yet.

But the key to this story is that it means that the Jewish towns in the Jordan Valley are going to be cut off from the rest of the country except if they go south to Jericho or north to Beit She'an.

In the meantime, Olmert won't allow so much as a new caravan in the Jewish towns of Judea and Samaria. He and his corrupt, Jew-hating government have to go, quickly, before they can do more permanent damage.

Carl in Jerusalem

Also at Israel Matzav

.

Dishonoring Pat Tillman

Leave it to someone in the Kooky Kult of Koslam to take something legitimate and reduce it to Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___, another example of what passes for civility within the Web's premier cesspool of progressive group-think.

We all remember Pat Tillman. He had turned down a multi-million dollar offer to play for the St. Louis Rams, choosing instead to accept a $500,000 offer to stay in Arizona and play for the Cardinals.

He became an American hero when he walked away from that contract to answer a higher calling: to serve his country, his response to 9/11.

In announcing Pat's death in 2004, the world was told that he died during an ambush in Afghanistan. I was one of the millions who watched as Pat's body was committed to the grave, in full belief that he had given the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield in combat with an evil, maniacal enemy.

At FoxNews.com, Radley Balko reported on November 2, 2005:

We now know that Tillman died in friendly fire, shot accidentally by members of his own platoon. Soldiers interviewed in subsequent investigations have since testified that it was apparent to everyone involved that Tillman died from friendly fire the moment he was taken off the battlefield. A series of serious errors by Army commanders and Tillman’s fellow soldiers — none of them by Tillman himself — led to his unnecessary death. These events were tragic, but they certainly don’t reflect poorly on Tillman, his bravery, or his memory.

It’s also now clear that U.S. Army brass knew early on how Tillman died, but allowed alternative histories to permeate the media and sink in with Tillman’s friends and family for weeks. They even hid the truth from Tillman’s brother, who was in the same platoon, but didn’t witness Tillman’s death. He was immediately flown back to the U.S. with Tillman’s body.

Tillman’s public memorial service, held on May 3, 2004, took place a day after Army Secretary Les Brownlee was officially told of Tillman’s fratricide. There, Tillman was posthumously awarded a Silver Star in which the Army described battlefield events that clearly never happened. It wasn’t until May 28 that the Army told the Tillmans the real circumstances surrounding Pat’s death.

The [Washington] Post reports that investigations documents show this decision was not based on a sudden desire to release the truth, but because many Army Rangers would be returning over Memorial Day, and they could no longer hold fast to the Army’s version of the story.

A subsequent investigation into the cover-up of Tillman’s death found “gross negligence” among commanders of and soldiers in Tillman’s platoon, and called for stern punishments. But here it gets odder: The officer who issued that report was quickly replaced by a higher-ranking officer.

The [San Francisco] Chronicle has since discovered that since the original report was issued, soldiers and commanders were allowed to go back and change their testimony. The subsequent report is more reluctant to place blame, and calls for less severe punishment. More disturbing, the commanding officer who gave an ill-considered order to break up Tillman’s platoon — which the original report determined to be a key mistake leading to his death — was not only given an opportunity to revise his testimony to the first investigator, he was given immunity, and was allowed to disburse punishment to those below him.

One of those punished, Tillman’s platoon leader, had correctly protested the commanding officer’s order. Tillman’s platoon leader, who took shrapnel to the face during the incident, was subsequently dismissed from the Rangers.

[...]

It would have been tough for the military to concede its own ineptitude caused the death of the war on terror’s poster soldier in any setting. But just days after Tillman’s death, the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. The military was in desperate need of some good news. Recycling Tillman’s selfless bravery put torture stories on the backburner for at least a news cycle or two.

What’s tragic is that the military’s duplicity in all of this has buried the better story — what a remarkable man Tillman was. Tillman, we’ve since learned from media interviews with friends, family, and fellow soldiers, was a thinker. He defied easy classification. He was a poet, kept a journal (which vanished after his death), and subscribed to the Economist. He admired Winston Churchill, but was also interested in anti-war academic Noam Chomsky. He read Emerson and Thoreau. He wasn’t religious, but had read the Bible, the Koran, and the book of Mormon. He brought along a portable library of classic novels for his platoon pals to read.

Citing as a primary source a website that's home to nearly every conspiracy theory you've ever heard -- and many you haven't -- Kestrel9000, an asshat of the Koslamistan kind, proudly announces

We have confirmed that Tillman had arranged to meet with a leading anti-war intellectual, Noam Chomsky, upon his return stateside. One can imagine the panic in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the vision of the much trumpeted poster-boy hero of the War on Terror returning home and speaking out against the evil charade of the War.

Confirmed what? As shown above, FoxNews ran with that information in 2005.

And other aspects of Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___ are debunked as well. The 2005 FoxNews report concluded with

Perhaps most interestingly, Tillman opposed the war in Iraq. He’d told platoon mates he thought the war was “illegal,” and a distraction from the war on Al Qaeda, but fought in Iraq anyway, owing to a sense of duty.

We lost a complicated, interesting, fascinating guy 18 months ago, a guy who exhibited the kind of critical thinking that seems to be in short supply among the men who commanded him. They, and we, owe Tillman a lot. Truth and accountability would be a good start.

It would make for an excellent start.

Truth and accountability, the only things the Tillman family has asked for since it was disclosed that Pat died as a result of "friendly fire". Their many requests have been answered with nothing but stonewalling and a few sacrificial lambs.

Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___ suggests that Pat Tillman was executed on the orders of either Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld; perhaps both.

I'll believe that when the Magic Kingdom welcomes Jews as tourists and allows them to tour Mecca and Medina.

There is a conspiracy in play, however. A conscious decision was made to withhold from the Tillman family the confirmation that Pat died in a "friendly fire" incident. How high up the chain of command this initially went -- and who chose to perpetuate it -- needs to be determined and publicly disclosed. There must also be revealed at what level the decision was made to erect barriers preventing the Tillman family from ascertaining what happened. And we must be told why the stonewalling continues.

I was hopeful that President Bush would address this matter during his weekly radio address today. He didn't. He talked only of the importance of revising FISA.

Mr. President, we get it, you're preaching to the freakin' choir.

Don't be surprised if some day a staff member reports that Moonbat Nation has a new chant that's mirrored on their signs:

Tillman Died And George Lied
What credibility you have remaining will further erode each day you fail or refuse to address this despicable and shameful matter.

After all, if a government is willing to lie about how a soldier died, how much trust should the people continue to invest in that same government?

Conscious decisions have been made to continue denying the one thing the family of Pat Tillman -- and many Americans -- asks for.

FULL DISCLOSURE NOW


Also at LGF -- Ft. Hard Knox

Memo To The Kooky Kult of Koslam

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Dubya gets rock star treatment while he was in New Europe, now this.

US Unveils Communism Victims Memorial Co-funded by Česke Republika

The Czech government and leading political parties have financially contributed to the memorial to victims of the communism that was unveiled in Washington in the presence of U.S. President George W. Bush Tuesday.

The aim of the memorial is to prevent the world's communist regimes from being forgotten,

And just as important

to honour those putting up resistance to such regimes, and to inform the next generations about the threat of tyranny.

The Czech government contributed 150,000 crowns to the project and a half of the same sum was also provided by the Czech senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) and the junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) together.

Interesting how the Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy (Communist Party of Bohemia & Moravia [KSČM]) isn't on the donor list. Fancy that!

Bush said at the unveiling ceremony that he accepts the memorial with pride on behalf of the people of America.

He said it is necessary to point to the crimes of the despotic regimes for the sake of the dead and also to prevent similar horrors from repeating.

Historians estimate the number of victims of communism at more than 100 million.

Undoubtedly, Truthers are in a frenzy preparing Kosling Conspiracy Theory No.___.

Reasonable speculation would be that one theory will prove that this monument is really a secret tribute to the unseen, but ever present, forces of the Bushchimphitler-Pajamashadeen-Joooish Conspiracy; that use of the 100 million figure was ordered by eeeevil Cheney; and that there was no such thing as communism.

As Harry Reid Screeches For Amnesty Help

The Bush administration may suspend a major post-9/11 security initiative to cope with increasingly angry complaints from Americans whose summer vacations are threatened by new passport rules.

A proposal under consideration would temporarily waive a requirement that U.S. passports be used for air travel to and from Canada and Mexico, provided the traveler can prove he or she has applied for a passport, officials said Thursday.

Would that work like a temporary tax?

The proposed six-month suspension in the rules is aimed at clearing a massive backlog of passport applications at the State Department that has slowed processing to a crawl, they said.

But the plan has run into opposition from the Homeland Security Department, which controls U.S. border points and fears the move could make it easier for terrorists or other undesirables to enter the country, the officials said.

Instead of a passport, travelers could present a State Department receipt showing their passport application was being processed.

It is being reviewed by Homeland Security, the White House and members of Congress, who have been deluged with complaints from furious constituents, according to four officials at the agencies involved.

Amazing. As announced Nov. 22, 2006, the current rules

Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)

The proposed implementation timeline has two phases:

Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.

Nothing new there to cause the current crisis. And they can't be referencing

As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.

Sorry, but this isn't passing the smell test.

Unless, of course, an overwhelming majority of Americans traveling abroad are complete morons, waiting until the last minute before applying for their passports.

G8 Leaders Agree To Climate Deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G8 would negotiate within a UN framework to seek a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol by the end of 2009.

No mandatory target was set for the cuts, but Mrs Merkel's preference for a 50% emissions cut by the year 2050 was included in the agreed statement.

UPDATE: Bush agrees to CO2 cut, with strings attached

· US will consider deal to cut emissions by 50%
· China and India must be included, says president

George Bush last night pledged the United States to a "substantial" cut in greenhouse gas as the west's leading industrial nations agreed to negotiate a new climate change deal within the next two years.

After strong lobbying from EU leaders, Mr Bush agreed to "seriously consider" a proposal that would result in a 50% cut in carbon emissions by 2050 but made it clear that US involvement depended on India and China being included in any agreement.

Long forgotten is the fact that William Jefferson Clinton never submitted the Kyoto Accord to the Senate for ratification. Never, the Goracle notwithstanding.

Scattered Protests Reveal Uncertainty

Curiously, the Bush is Eeeevil US media didn't report this one.

Despite pledges of mass protests, only several hundred opponents of the planned U.S. missile base in the Czech Republic briefly gathered at key sites in Prague Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

[....]

Monday evening, some 200 protesters, most organized by the Communist Youth Union, waved flags and chanted slogans in front of the U.S. Embassy but promised mass demonstrations like those that filled Wenceslas Square with 2,000 people May 26, never materialized.

With no mass uprising of the proletariat, Soviet Russian president Vladimir Paranoid must be --- seething.

Dubya Nails One

Speaking at a conference of pro-democratic activists, Bush mentioned the fates of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and former East Germany that toppled communism almost 18 years ago when also the Iron Curtain was removed, in connection with his country's effort to spread and defend freedom against current threats.

He said that Europe has at last been a continent of peace, but new threats to freedom have emerged.

"I leave Prague with a certainty that the cause of freedom is not tired, and that its future is in the best of hands," Bush said at the close of his half-an-hour speech for which he got a standing ovation.

That said, the Prague Monitor searched for attendees that were critical of his comments. They found some, although their criticism was rather milquetoast, with little substance.

Bassem Eid, head of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, said Bush has not really fulfilled his promises about support of democracy. It was positive that people expect a change thanks to Bush, but it did not seem that any change took place, Eid told CTK.

He said that Western countries mainly focus on their economic interests and support Arab leaders instead of really helping the civic society.

Analyst Fraser Cameron, former aide to the European Commission, said he believes that the U.S. way of democracy promotion in the Middle East has failed.

We're Getting Close

A near-flying pig moment: UK's Guardian is beginning to get it.

A Bush administration source cautioned against any breakthroughs in US-Russian relations at the G8 summit. Hopes have been transferred to a more relaxed meeting at the Bush holiday compound in New England, scheduled for July 1-2.

. . . US concerns include the crackdown by Mr Putin on pro-democracy activists in Russia, increasing centralisation and the possibility that he will not stand down, as required by the constitution, at the end of his term in office. There are fears that Mr Putin could exploit the showdown with the US as an excuse to extend his stay.

Under Russia's constitution, Mr Putin is obliged to step down next spring after two four-year terms as leader. Mr Putin has always insisted he will leave office on schedule. But over the weekend he said he was too young to retire - a hint that he may be considering a continued political role.

Most analysts believe Mr Putin will indeed leave office unless he is convinced that Russia faces a serious external threat. But Mr Putin's recent attacks on the west - and the sharp decline in US-Russian relations - could be interpreted as a sign that the threat has now arrived.

If SDI isn't enough, there's always Putie's very recent concern about bioterrorism.

The pro-Kremlin United Russia party today said it would discuss with Mr Putin the issue of having longer presidential terms - probably from 2012 - lasting for five or even seven years. "We will have a meeting in early July and I believe we will discuss this initiative in detail,' Boris Gryzlov, the party's leader and Duma speaker said today.

All this and George Soros isn't in Moscow to give moral support to the Soviet Russian paranoid.

Well, There He Goes Again

Soviet Russian president, Vladimir Paranoid, is showing that he's a master at winning friends and influencing people.

President Vladimir Putin yesterday declared that a new arms race and cold war with the west had begun and announced that Russia would retaliate against US missile defence plans in Europe by pointing its missiles at European cities.

He also indicated that he would not shy away from fights with the German chancellor Angela Merkel on human rights and harshly accused Britain of "politicising" the murder of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko.

Putie & human rights? LOL

On missile defence, Mr Putin said that if the Bush administration installed elements of a missile shield in eastern Europe, Russia would retaliate by training nuclear missiles on European targets. Russia has not specifically aimed its missiles at Europe since the end of the cold war but, asked if it might do so again if the US missile shield went ahead, Mr Putin said: "Of course we are returning to those times. It is clear that if a part of the US nuclear capability turns up in Europe, and, in the opinion of our military specialists will threaten us, then we are forced to take corresponding steps in response."

"What will those steps be? Naturally, we will have to have new targets in Europe."

The Euroweenies may wet their panties, but the Czechs and Poles (and the rest of New Europe) will never roll over for you, Putie.

"We want to be heard, we want our position to be understood. But if that does not happen, we lift from ourselves any responsibility for the steps we take in response, because we are not the ones who are initating the arms race in Europe."

Mr Putin's comments, in an interview with selected media from G8 countries at his dacha outside Moscow, appear calculated to inflict maximum panic among western leaders ahead of the G8 summit.

Putie, STFU.

Britain & Germany demand UN framework for 'global warming'

Sounds like the perfect opportunity to give them the same prescription for long life and good health that Dick Cheney gave to Loony Leahy.

Britain and Germany yesterday joined forces to warn President George Bush that talks on climate change must take place within a United Nations framework and not in an ad hoc process floated last week by Bush.

As violent protesters clashed with police in Rostock ahead of next week's G8 summit in Germany, Washington was warned that Britain and Europe will not tolerate a separate process.

Cool. Your endless warnings to Iran were so productive, the partner you absolutely must have to finance this mishegas is already shaking in fear.

'For me, that is non-negotiable,' the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the need to ensure that climate change negotiations take place within the existing UN framework.

You go, girl.

Merkel underlined deep European unease with the President when she told Der Spiegel: 'In a process led by the United Nations, we must create a successor to the Kyoto agreement which ends in 2012. But it is important that they flow from the United Nations.'

I have a better idea: How about asking demanding that the UN move from NYC to Nuremberg? Zeppelin Stadium would make for the ideal headquarters. Delegates can retire to the Hofbräuhaus for refreshments after a long day of doing nothing.

BDS, Brazilian Style

President Bush went down to Brazil today and sure enough, the usual coterie of leftwing whiners were there to greet him, mouthing the usual pap.

Police clashed Thursday with students, environmentalists and left-leaning Brazilians protesting a visit by President Bush and his push for an ethanol energy alliance with Latin America's largest nation.

Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in Sao Paulo after more than 6,000 people held a largely peaceful march, sending hundreds of demonstrators fleeing and ducking into businesses to avoid the gas.

The fun wasn't just contained to Brazil. They're already warming up in Colombia.

Clashes between police and anti-Bush protesters were also reported in Colombia, where Bush is scheduled to visit on Sunday as part of his five-nation tour to Latin America.

Bush has spoken approvingly of Brazil's ethanol program, which powers eight out of every 10 new Brazilian cars. The proposed accord is meant to help turn ethanol into an internationally traded commodity and to promote sugarcane-based ethanol production in Central America and the Caribbean.

In Sao Paulo, some carried stalks of sugarcane — used to make ethanol — and a banner reading: "For every liter of ethanol produced, 4 liters of fresh water are consumed, monoculture is destroying the nation's greatest asset."

And in the southern city of Porto Alegre, more than 500 people yelled "Get out, imperialist!" as they marched to a Citigroup Inc. bank branch and burned an effigy of Bush.

Fearing that Brazil may clear pristine jungle to increase sugarcane cultivation for ethanol, Greenpeace activists hung a huge banner warning against increased reliance on ethanol as an alternative fuel. They placed the banner on a monument to the 17th century Portuguese explorers who conquered Brazil's Indians in search of gold and gems.

"We know that Bush and the United States are known for exploiting weaker countries into deals that will only benefit themselves without worrying about the environment," said Mariana Schwarz, a 25-year-old publicist.

"Bush and the United States go to war to control oil reserves, and now Bush and his pals are trying to control the production of ethanol in Brazil. And that has to be stopped," said Suzanne Pereira dos Santos, an activist with Brazil's Landless Workers Movement.

No blood for ethanol!

Meanwhile, we also see how much good Bush's pandering to Mexico has done.

And in Mexico City, which Bush is scheduled to visit Tuesday, about two dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy chanting slogans against the U.S. project to construct border fences and Bush's visit.

"Why is he coming here? It makes no sense, it's unreasonable, after all he's done," said protest leader Roman Diaz Vazquez, a lawyer. "We don't like him. Why is he coming, after he ordered the construction of the border wall?"

Carmelo Ramriez Reyes showed up for the protest in a devil's mask, carrying a placard reading "My name is George Bush, killer of Mexicans."

Democrats Revamp Surrender Plan

They're not yet ready to surrender their surrender plan.

House Democratic leaders are developing an anti-war proposal that wouldn't cut off money for U.S. troops in Iraq but would require President Bush to acknowledge problems with an overburdened military.

The plan could draw bipartisan support but is expected to be a tough sell to members who say they don't think it goes far enough to assuage voters angered by the four-year conflict.

Bush "hasn't to date done anything we've asked him to do, so why we would think he would do anything in the future is beyond me," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., one of a group of liberal Democrats pushing for an immediate end to the war.

Sharp cookie, that Woolsey. Next thing you know, she might realize Bush isn't paying attention to them for a simple reason. The American people do not want to turn tail and run.

The House Democratic proposal brought a sharp response from Republicans on Wednesday.

Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., called the plan a "fig leaf" to distract the public from what he said was Democrats' ultimate goal of cutting off funds for troops in combat.

"We support full funding for our troops who are in harms way — without strings attached," said Putnam, R-Fla., after emerging from a closed-door conference meeting.

Meanwhile, the Democrats plan to lard up the latest Iraq spending bill.

Priorities.