Another Marine Needs Your Help

Got this from over at Blackfive. There is a Marine who is now involved a legal case and fighting for his freedom. I am not taking sides in the fight other then to say that by reading the accounts of actions, which were in Fallujah, and of course involve him being charged with the unlawful killing of a non combatant. I do not know all the facts, in fact, I am pretty sure nobody does.

All I do know is that some liberal civilian judge in California now has a chance to put a Marine on trial for something he probably can never understand. The incident occurred at the height of the fighting in Fallujah.

This Marine needs some help and support. Go over to Blackfive and read the post he has up about this case and the information he does have.

Folks, shit happens in war, but when we start having detached personnel start to stand in judgment of those who must make decisions in microseconds or under extreme duress and fear of their lives then we can no longer have an effective military fighting force. Whether the judge or any of the other people pursuing the prosecution of this case realize this or not, that is the chilling effect it will have.

When soldiers are more worried about facing prosecution at home then they are killing the enemy, all you wind up with is more body bags coming home filled with hesitant soldiers.

UN Admits Anti-Poverty Program Is In Shambles

Makes you wonder why we keep pouring more money into this corrupt, inefficient mess known as the United Nations.

Also makes you wonder why the Democrats never miss an opportunity to pander to them. Probably because both entities just love sucking on the public teat and want to guilt-trip the taxpaying suckers out there into doing more to help the children.

For all the waste and fraud we've seen, this one may take the cake.

The multibillion-dollar procurement business of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the U.N.’s flagship anti-poverty agency, is a gigantic shambles, according to UNDP’s own investigators.

Moreover, UNDP’s management has privately acknowledged that fact and is scrambling to fix the mess — even as it loudly denied concerns of a procurement scandal that have been raised by FOX News, among others.

In a confidential report obtained by FOX News, UNDP’s auditors have described the UNDP procurement organization that is spending well over $2 billion annually as:

— overwhelmed by its caseload at headquarters and in the field, while procurement ballooned from $800 million in 2003 to $2.5 billion in 2006 and $2.2 billion last year;

— often failing to provide plans to support its buying activities, which the report says causes many purchases of goods and services to be carried out on an "ad hoc basis" (in fact, more than $595 million worth of non-existent purchases were recorded, although the audit notes that they were not paid for);

— wallowing in shoddy paperwork and faulty bidding processes, which contributed to a "high number of waivers of the competitive process and to quality problems in the procurement process in general";

— lacking the expertise to evaluate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of its most expensive and important purchases in civic construction and high-tech communications;

— drastically unqualified: Fully half of the organization’s procurement staff around the world were not certified for the basic requirements of their jobs, while the auditors also found the six-hour course for those who were certified to be "inadequate." Additionally, the auditors noted, "there are entire offices without a single certified buyer";

— suffering from an "apparent" conflict of interest at the top, where the people charged with vetting the procurement process for flaws are also members of the procurement office staff.

But wait, there's more!

Even more ominously, the same auditors point out that UNDP:

— has no sure way of knowing whether it is doing business with organizations that the U.N. itself has condemned for terrorist ties and says UNDP country offices find the current manual system of cross-checking with U.N. terrorist sanctions lists to be "cumbersome and inefficient";

— has no formal policy for suspending or removing vendors for poor performance or corruption;

— and doesn’t ask new vendors for the identity of their owners or other corporate ties. This raises the possibility that vendors caught out for corruption or poor performance could simply switch names and reapply for approved status.

Read on. It actually gets worse.

The Dirty Little Secrets About the Recently Passed Farm Bill

Choice quotes from the debate to over ride the President's veto of the Farm Bill and some choice comments of my own.

You can read all about it here.

Sen Judd Gregg (D-NH): In favor of the veto:

I said in my earlier talk, where did all the economists who worked in the Soviet Union go, all those folks who sat behind desks and thought about 5-year plans and how to disconnect supply from demand and how to set arbitrary prices which caused the Soviet Union, a nation which was one of the great producers of agricultural products, to become basically a net importer of product? Where did all those economists go when the Soviet Union failed? It appears they moved to the Midwest and the South and developed our farm programs.

I lead with the Democrat who is opposed to the bill simply because just about all of the other idiots who support this bill then go on to attack his statements, which is fine, that is what debate is all about. What struck me in reading the transcript is that all of the other senators went after either the Washington Post or Senator Gregg.

Sen Saxby Chambliss (R-GA): In favor of over riding the veto

About 73 percent of the outlays in this bill go to the nutrition title to provide for the food stamp program, to provide for the school lunch program, to provide for payments to our food banks. All of those programs are designed to feed people who are hungry and needy in this country.

So let me get this straight, this bill isn't about the farmers at all, but who dares to oppose a bill with Farm Aid in the title right.

Sen Richard Durbin (D-IL):

In the other case, called Almendarez, a Federal district court refused to consider a suit brought by low-income people who need assistance in a language other than English to apply for food stamps. The Department's regulations clearly provide rights for families that need language assistance. Now the act explicitly confirms that those regulations are enforceable. Future cases can be decided on the merits, as they should be.

Anybody want to guess how much it is going to cost to find somebody who speaks Swahili to comply with the new mandates in this bill? You think having interpreters for the dozens of languages spoken in this country to represent clients at trial was expensive just wait till your local farm board has to have Korean linguists on the speed dial. And if the person doesn't speak English just how is the average Joe supposed to figure out what language is being spoken?

Sen Thomas Harkin (D-IA):

Mr. President, I want to respond to a couple things my friend from New Hampshire said. He talked about the sugar provisions in the bill and the support price of sugar, that it is over world prices. I always point out to people that when you go in a restaurant, or anywhere you go to eat, the sugar is free. You get these little packs of sugar wherever you go. You go to Starbucks, you get free sugar. You go to the airport, and you go down and get a cup of coffee, or something like that, there is free sugar. It cannot get much cheaper than that.

Uh, Mr Harkin, do you really think the cost of that sugar isn't added into the price of the product being sold or do you really believe that coffee costs four bucks a cup like they do at your local Starbucks? Just for your information a lot of us don't drink designer coffees.

Anyway the deed is done. Most commodities are now set at a set price mandated by the government. Oh you didn't know that was what this bill was really about? That is what is comes down to so even if the price of the produce comes down in the open market our price will not go below the fixed price.

Senator Gregg once more:

These programs have no relationship to the market or setting prices for commodities, which are basically totally out of tune with the market. They have no relationship to market forces. As a result, the American consumer ends up with a much higher bill and the short end of the stick.

Take sugar alone. Sugar prices in this bill are at least twice the world price for sugar. So the American consumer ends up getting hit for a much higher cost for any product that uses sugar. And just about any food commodity of any complexity uses sugar.

Georgia Representative Looking Out for You

Unfortunately, it is my representative, David Scott (D-GA). In an effort to address the issues of developing a common sense energy policy for America, to tackle the issue of defeating the radical Islamic movement, and to provide a definitive solution for the illegal immigration program he has proposed H.R. 2356.

Adds Father's Day, the third Sunday in June, to the official occasions for the display of the U.S. flag.

That's right, in light of all the pressing issues facing this country in regards to national security, sound fiscal policy and answers to our energy issues, he has somehow found the time to sponsor a bill that will allow you to fly your flag on Father's Day. Unless you live in one of those subdivisions ruled by one of those all powerful homeowners associations normally headed by some guy with a Napoleonic complex.

I have no idea how many late hours were spent by the good congressman, no doubt toiling away late into the night and pushing his staff almost to the point of exhaustion doing the research and working on the right wording so that he could have a resolution worthy of the American people.

'She is Very Radical, Very Sly and Very Dangerous'

She's radical, a criminal, dangerous, promoting jihad against the West and preaches extremist Islam.

So naturally, she's provided a three-page spread and glowing profile in the New York Times.

Unreal.

On the street, Malika El Aroud is anonymous in an Islamic black veil covering all but her eyes.

In her living room, Ms. El Aroud, a 48-year-old Belgian, wears the ordinary look of middle age: a plain black T-shirt and pants and curly brown hair. The only adornment is a pair of powder-blue slippers monogrammed in gold with the letters SEXY.

But it is on the Internet where Ms. El Aroud has distinguished herself. Writing in French under the name “Oum Obeyda,” she has transformed herself into one of the most prominent Internet jihadists in Europe.

She calls herself a female holy warrior for Al Qaeda. She insists that she does not disseminate instructions on bomb-making and has no intention of taking up arms herself. Rather, she bullies Muslim men to go and fight and rallies women to join the cause.

“It’s not my role to set off bombs — that’s ridiculous,” she said in a rare interview. “I have a weapon. It’s to write. It’s to speak out. That’s my jihad. You can do many things with words. Writing is also a bomb.”

Ms. El Aroud has not only made a name for herself among devotees of radical forums where she broadcasts her message of hatred toward the West. She also is well known to intelligence officials throughout Europe as simply “Malika” — an Islamist who is at the forefront of the movement by women to take a larger role in the male-dominated global jihad.

The authorities have noted an increase in suicide bombings carried out by women — the American military reports that 18 women have conducted suicide missions in Iraq so far this year, compared with 8 all of last year — but they say there is also a less violent yet potentially more insidious army of women organizers, proselytizers, teachers, translators and fund-raisers, who either join their husbands in the fight or step into the breach as men are jailed or killed.

“Women are coming of age in jihad and are entering a world once reserved for men,” said Claude Moniquet, president of the Brussels-based European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center. “Malika is a role model, an icon who is bold enough to identify herself. She plays a very important strategic role as a source of inspiration. She’s very clever — and extremely dangerous.”

And the New York Times finds has no problem helping her spread the message of hatred.

Isn't that special?

Ms. El Aroud began her rise to prominence because of a man in her life. Two days before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, her husband carried out a bombing in Afghanistan that killed the anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud at the behest of Osama bin Laden. Her husband was killed, and she took to the Internet as the widow of a martyr.

She remarried, and in 2007 she and her new husband were convicted in Switzerland for operating pro-Qaeda Web sites. Now, according to the Belgium authorities, she is a suspect in what the authorities say they believe is a plot to carry out attacks in Belgium.

Again, is there anyone at the New York Times that exercises judgment? What is the point of giving this maniac a forum in what was once a respectable newspaper?

Her prolific writing and presence in chat rooms, coupled with her background, makes her a magnet for praise and sympathy. “Sister Oum Obeyda is virtuous among the virtuous; her life is dedicated to the good on this earth,” a man named Juba wrote late last year.

You couldn't get better propaganda with a paid ad, for crying out loud.

Now, even as Ms. El Aroud remains under constant surveillance, she is back home rallying militants on her main Internet forum and collecting more than $1,100 a month in government unemployment benefits.

“Her jihad is not to lead an operation but to inspire other people to wage jihad,” said Glenn Audenaert, the director of Belgium’s federal police force, in an interview. “She enjoys the protection that Belgium offers. At the same time, she is a potential threat.”

A clear and obvious threat, yet a major newspaper finds it a swell idea to give her free worldwide promotion.

You suppose a devoutly pro-life Republican woman would be given such kid glove treatment?

After her husband’s mission, Ms. El Aroud was briefly detained by Mr. Massoud’s followers. Frightened, she was put in contact with Belgian authorities, who arranged for her safe passage home.

“We got her out and thought she’d cooperate with us,” said one senior Belgian intelligence official. “We were deceived.”

Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière, who was France’s senior counterterrorism magistrate at the time, said he had interviewed Ms. El Aroud because investigators suspected that she had shipped electronic equipment to her husband that was used in the killing. “She is very radical, very sly and very dangerous,” he said.

Yes, and when the day comes where those who follow her message carry out a murderous plot, what will the New York Times then have to say?

Nothing, in all likelihood.

Update: Thanks to Dr. Rusty for the link.

Intolerant Democrats Strong-Arm Lautenberg Challenger

Democrats love paying lip-service to the notions of tolerance and diversity. Yet watch how they behave when one of their sacred cows is taken on in a primary.

All of a sudden they're screaming about unity.

It's curious to see how Rep. Ron Andrews is being treated now that he's taking on 84-year-old Frank Lautenberg in the Democrat Senate primary.

Even more amusing is seeing how Lautenberg spins the age factor, considering he made age a central theme of his 1982 Senate run against then 72-year-old Millicent Fenwick, when he questioned her fitness for office. Considering Lautenberg would be 91 if he serves another full term, his age is fair game, especially when you consider the endless stories about John McCain being 71 years old.

It was a moment worthy of fanfare: the opening of a new district office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in New Jersey last month.

Federal prosecutors, law enforcement officials and members of Congress, including Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, assembled at the federal building in downtown Newark, a city plagued by gun violence.

But soon after Representative Robert E. Andrews arrived, an organizer took him aside, at the urging of Mr. Lautenberg’s assistants, and asked him to leave. He retreated, as his colleagues headed to the microphones.

This is what life has been like for Mr. Andrews since early last month, when he startled the Democratic establishment by mounting a primary challenge against Mr. Lautenberg, the state’s senior senator. Mr. Andrews has waged an aggressive campaign, raising questions about the 84-year-old Mr. Lautenberg’s age and barraging him with tough television advertising.

In turn, his fellow Democrats in the state’s Congressional delegation are shunning him, avoiding teaming up with him on legislative work and seldom speaking with him.

And in ways that are striking even in the rough-and-tumble of New Jersey politics, his colleagues are pressuring others to shun him, too, sending word to lobbyists and industry executives that if they donate to the Andrews campaign, they could find their access to other members’ offices cut off.

“This is the kind of old-school politics that I decided to stand up and fight against,” Mr. Andrews said.

Lautenberg lamely spins the age issue. You'd have to think Democrats wouldn't mind seeing this fossil fade away into the sunset, but are probably more concerned Andrews could lose in the general election.

The fight is more bitter than many contests between candidates of opposite parties. Mr. Andrews, 50, has released ads resurrecting Mr. Lautenberg’s famous attack on 72-year-old Congresswoman Millicent H. Fenwick in 1982, when he questioned her fitness for the office. The ad suggests that the same question can now be asked about Mr. Lautenberg.

In the interview, Mr. Lautenberg, who was 58 when he ran against Ms. Fenwick, said the issue he was raising then was not so much her age as her state of mind and effectiveness.

“President Ford called her eccentric,” Mr. Lautenberg said of Ms. Fenwick.

Behind the scenes, the battle is equally intense, with donors saying they are getting none-too-subtle messages to get behind Mr. Lautenberg.

In an interview, an executive in the telecommunications industry said his company received a call last month from the office of another New Jersey congressman, Frank Pallone Jr., strongly discouraging contributions to the Andrews campaign. The executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation, said he felt “we were being strong-armed.”

Instant Karma: Dimwit Actress Banned in China

Now if we could only have her banned in the United States, all would be well with the world.

OK, just kidding about banning her here, not that I bother to watch anything she's in.

But let this be a lesson to Sharon Stone and Hollywood. Saying stupid things can have financial repercussions. Maybe some day they'll figure this out, and realize why Sean Penn movies continue to be box office bombs.

Sharon Stone's "karma" comment is having an instant effect on her movie-star status in China.

The 50-year-old actress suggested last week that the devastating May 12 earthquake in China could have been the result of bad karma over the government's treatment of Tibet. That prompted the founder of one of China's biggest cinema chains to say his company would not show her films in his theaters, according to a story in The Hollywood Reporter.

"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said Thursday during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"

Ng See-Yuen, founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, called Stone's comments "inappropriate," adding that actors should not bring personal politics to comments about a natural disaster that has left five million Chinese homeless, according to the Reporter.

Shootout in Harlem, Al Sharpton Unavailable for Comment

Monday evening saw seven people shot in Harlem and now there are wails for healing, anti-gang messages and, reflexively, more gun control.

Yet one name is missing in every news account I read: Al Sharpton.

Yoo-hoo, Reverend Al. How about protesting in your own backyard?

Oh, that's right, there were no police involved. So no threats, no shakedowns, no tying up traffic, no multimillion-dollar lawsuits.

It's just black kids shooting other black kids, so he doesn't give a damn.

Never mind.

Shocker: NJ Democrat Pleads Guilty

An even bigger shock: The New York Times mentions his party affiliation in the first sentence. They must be getting annoyed with all those Name That Party stories.

A prominent New Jersey Democrat who had served simultaneously as the mayor of Orange and a state assemblyman pleaded guilty in Federal District Court on Tuesday to one count of attempted extortion, and in state court to another count of official misconduct.

The official, Mims Hackett Jr., 66, told United States District Court Judge Jose L. Linares that he accepted a $5,000 bribe in August from someone he thought was an insurance broker in exchange for using the power of his office to help the company obtain more work.

The broker was an informant working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, however, and Mr. Hackett now faces a possible 18 to 24 months in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Linares on Sept. 15.

“They wanted me to influence one of the officials in the city to help get insurance for the city,” Mr. Hackett said in court Tuesday morning. “They offered that to me, and I accepted.”

He was among 11 public officials ensnared last year in a federal sting investigating municipal insurance contracts.

There's still work to do, however, as the Star Ledger conveniently omits his party affiliation.

Sex and The Pity: OK, Please Go Away Now

If you live in the New York area, it's seemingly impossible to escape the excruciating hype surrounding this annoying group of women. Now that the movie adapted from a cable television show that ended years ago has arrived, the inane hype has taken on ridiculous proportions.

Pathetic 40-somethings lined up outside Radio City wearing ill-fitting shoes, squealing like pre-pubescent girls at a David Cassidy show is more than unappealing. It's downright degrading. Even my wife, bless her heart, has had enough, and she used to watch this program.

Now after years of buildup, the movie is a flop. What a shocker. There's only so much you can milk out of what used to be 25 minutes of narcissism and egregious self-absorption.

NEW Yorkers put up with noise, lack of privacy, tiny expensive apartments and countless other daily insults. But will they shell out 12 bucks for what amounts to a 21/2-hour "very special" TV episode of "Sex and the City" that feels like it was written and directed by an audience focus group in Omaha?

If the ecstatic reaction at the screening I attended is any indication, they might - at least if they're not heterosexual males bored by the movie's endless fashion montages, shameless product placements, lethally slow pacing and utterly predictable plot.

Or if they're not feminists distressed by the movie's regressive, unmistakable subtext: that unless she's a sexual compulsive, a woman is nothing without a man of her own.

I was a big fan of the TV series derived from Candace Bushnell's book, which defined turn-of-the-21st-century New York and its proudly independent single women in a way that no movie did - at least until it jumped the shark around the fifth season.

An even harsher reactions here.

Michael Patrick King, who wrote and directed the film, does an able job in ensuring that the whole thing doesn't just seem like a bunch of episodes slung together.

Yet, in spite of its great length, he doesn't succeed in adding to what we know about any of the characters: they've become frozen, Spice Girls-style types - angsty, neurotic, predatory, princess - rather than individuals who might evolve or surprise us.

The short shrift given to endearing men such as Harry is also a shame. What really grates, now more than ever, is how much time is given over to advertising. Shoes, dresses, handbags, coffee, removal companies: it seems that almost every inch of the screen is full of product placements and designer labels, branded like the jumpsuit of a grand prix driver.

Now, can they please go away?

Jihadi Goes to Pieces

I hope he was terrorized those last few seconds of his miserable existence.

Funny thing is, he just quit smoking.

Via LiveLeak.

H/T JCM

So, Islam Is a Race Now?

I'm getting confused. All the sniveling and caterwauling has the mind boggled. We've been told the world's Muslim population is anywhere from 700 million to upwards of 856 billion, give or take a few hundred million and depending on unreliable census data and rampant polygamy.

So now we have some puke in Australia bleating about racism because a school board wouldn't greenlight the construction of a 1200-student madrassa school.

Naturally, this guy comes from the curiously titled group FAIR (Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations. Could just be coincidence, but that name sounds awfully like one used by a group of Hamas-supporting terror co-conspirators here in the United States.

A SYDNEY council's rejection of a proposed Islamic school is a victory for racism, a Muslim community organisation says.

Camden Council last night voted unanimously to reject a proposal for a 1200-student Islamic school, a decision that followed months of heated community meetings and the release of an adverse report by the council's planners last week.

Mayor Chris Patterson said the council's decision was based on concerns surrounding the impact on traffic flows, loss of agricultural land, highlighted in the planners report and not on religious grounds.

But the independent think tank FAIR (Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations) said the decision came as no surprise and was "a reflection of unwarranted fear and ignorance about Islam".

"The decision based on planning grounds is only a smokescreen for the real issues which were related to community tensions and potential social upheavals if the school was approved," FAIR executive director Kuranda Seyit said in a statement today.

Community tensions I'm sure the Muslims had nothing whatsoever to do with.

"I see this as a victory for racism.

"The fact is that Muslims are diverse and come from more than 65 different ethnic groups and everybody is suffering because of the negative perceptions about Muslims.

OK, so Muslims comes from 65 different ethnic groups. By my math, that would included members of assorted races.

So, exactly how would this unanimous ruling be racist? What, is the Islamophobia card losing steam?

"I am not sure where people get their information from and how they form their ideas but I can bet you a dollar per resident that they have never actually met a Muslim before."

Weak. You'd have to be pretty sheltered not to have met a Muslim. But by chance if they hadn't, see a whiny twerp like Seyit as a representative of the community might well turn people off.

Get Ready For More Congressional Hearings

Last week's socialist circus performances by Schmuck Schumer (Moron-NY) and Kameraden Madame Maxine Waters (Moonbat-CA) may well be soon eclipsed after they become aware of this. Bring it on.

Energy giants smell windfall from sulphur

A Kazakh worker pours liquid sulphur at the Tengizchevroil refinery. Large quantities of crude oil is produced at Chevron’s Tengiz project
An ugly waste product of oil refining has been transformed into a golden windfall for energy companies as demand for fertilisers drives the price of sulphur to unprecedented levels.

For decades oil refiners have struggled to shift stockpiles of the yellow chemical, which is used to make sulphuric acid, essential in the manufacture of fertilisers. Food shortages and higher grain prices are boosting demand for fertilisers, and in only a year the price of sulphur has risen more than tenfold from $50 a tonne to $500 a tonne, according to ICIS, the chemicals-pricing service.

The extraordinary surge in the price of sulphur is expected to generate windfall profits for some oil companies, notably Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron, as well as Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Aramco and Adnoc, the Abu Dhabi national oil company.

“Shell is one of the most-efficient producers of sulphur,” Barry Clarke, a sulphur market analyst for Pentasul, said. Shell produces about 3.5 million tonnes of sulphur, much of it from its Canadian oil sands business, and its cost, Mr Clarke reckons, is merely the rail freight cost of getting the sulphur to a port, about $25 a tonne.

Mr Clarke agrees that sulphur, once a burden, could earn the oil industry billions this year. “It’s going to show up in the earnings of companies,” he said.

Congressional hearings to be announced in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ...

The price is expected to rise further with spot cargoes changing hands for as much as $700 a tonne. Demand for metals is also keeping sulphur bubbling, as sulphuric acid is used in the mining industry to leech metal from ore.

So large was the sulphur surplus a decade ago that mountains of the chemical were being formed, notably in Kazakhstan, where high-sulphur “sour” crude oil is produced in large quantities at Chevron’s Tengiz project. A spokesman for Chevron confirmed that the stockpiles were beginning to erode as the company was finding demand for more than the annual output from the Tengiz field.

“Last year we sold a record 2 million tonnes,” he said. “We sold 126 per cent of production.”

Chevron wants to raise output to 3 million tonnes, further levelling its stockpiles, and Shell has recently developed a separate global business, based in Canada, to market its sulphur output.

Patrick Romeo, general manager of sulphur marketing for Shell, said that the market was undersupplied. The reason for the extraordinary price surge, he said, is that sulphur producers cannot respond to price increases and produce more. Sulphur output is purely a function of the amount of “sour” crude oil and sour gas that is processed by refineries. Mr Romeo said: “There is not much you can do about producing more sulphur. We are trying our best to put everything we have in stock into the market.”

The cost of sulphur and phosphates, another essential fertiliser ingredient, is sparking protests from politicians in developing countries, such as India, where the Government subsidises fertiliser to keep costs down for poor farmers.J.S. Sarma, secretary to the government department of fertilisers in India, said that prices were abnormally high and not justified. “I would not be honest if I said that it is not putting a strain on [India’s] financial resources,” he said.

The estimated cost to the Indian Government of the fertiliser subsidy is $22 billion (£11 billion), more than double last year’s figure.

According to Pentasul, the world produces about 47 million tonnes of sulphur annually, but the world’s ravenous demand for food is telling the sulphur market that 49 million tonnes is needed. Meanwhile, the opening of new mining projects adds further pressure on demand, creating huge price spikes.

Shell is confident that the price surge is temporary, and the company is developing products, such as sulphur-based concrete, anticipating a future surplus. It said: “There will be more sulphur in the market in the longer term and it will be overproduced as the world uses more unconventional oils, such as oil sands. Unconventional oil means more sulphur.”

Desperate to find a link to global warming climate change further perpetuate his hoax, al-Gore was unavailable for comment.

Via TimesOnline

BBC Fawns Over Pakistan's Most Wanted Terrorist

The BBC seems to take great pride in being invited to interview Pakistan's most dangerous terrorist, Baitullah Mehsud, as they prominently announce on the web site "By Invitation Only". The article then goes on to list Mehsud's greatest hits, so to speak, such as the assasination of Benazir Bhutto.

This sure seems to be a strange way of describing the meeting.

With such a reputation, it is not surprising that there is a sense of awe as this short, plump, bearded man greets us.

I don't think I would use the word awe. Fear, trepidation, uneasiness, maybe, but I don't think awe would be in there.

The interview concludes with this quote from Mehsud.

"There can be no deal with the US."

I say good deal and I take him at his word. Now I don't know if the Obammessiah wants to sit down and talk to this learned and very religious man, but me personally, I would pick up the hotline to the Pentagon and tell them to warm up the B-52's.

Of course, the story has plenty of references to the usual accusations they use against our military. You know, things like innocent people's homes being bombed and stores being destroyed. Just remember, those same people trotted out for the interviews to tell of the destruction are also these people.

In our garden meeting, "Amir Sahib" (honoured leader) - as Baitullah Mehsud is affectionately called by his men - smiles and shakes his head when this query is raised.

Around us, dozens of militants armed to the teeth listen intently to their leader.

Blowing Things Up While Protecting the Environment

Consider the possibilities. You can now kick ass with impunity while racking up carbon credits. So what if the guy handing out the credits is dead? You'll feel better about yourself, and isn't everything about self-esteem anyway?

New explosives could be more powerful and safer to handle than TNT and other conventional explosives and would also be more environmentally friendly.

TNT, RDX and other explosives commonly used in military and industrial applications often generate toxic gases upon detonation that pollute the environment. Moreover, the explosives themselves are toxic and can find their way into the environment due to incomplete detonation and as unexploded ordnance. They are also extremely dangerous to handle, as they are highly sensitive to physical shock, such as hard impacts and electric sparks.

To make safer, more environmentally friendly explosives, scientists in Germany turned to a recently explored class of materials called tetrazoles. These derive most of their explosive energy from nitrogen instead of carbon as TNT and others do.

Tiny bombs were made from two promising tetrazoles with the alphabet-soup names of HBT and G2ZT. These materials proved less apt to explode accidentally than conventional explosives.

Now if they could just make all those bombs coming from Hollywood less toxic.

Video here.

Barflies for Obama

I guess this passes as news. Who'd have thought the young folks who hang out at bars would prefer this empty suit over John McCain or Mrs. Clinton?

Among other constituencies, Barack Obama appears to have won over the nation's bar crowd--the majority of which said they'd rather toast a win with Obama as opposed to Hillary Clinton or John McCain, according to the latest Rock the Vote survey.

The interactive survey, which ran on TouchTunes jukeboxes in bars nationwide from April 28 through May 11, asked bar patrons about the presidential candidate and current social issues. It also allowed people to enter their email address to receive a voter registration form from Rock the Vote, which resulted in nearly 10,000 registrations.

"The response far exceeded our expectations," said Heather Smith, executive director of Rock the Vote, regarding the demand for registration information.

In response to the question, "Which candidate would you most like to have a beer with?", a full 29% chose Obama, while 22% picked Clinton and 20% named John McCain.

Midwesterners voted Obama as their guy to imbibe with--31.2%--while Clinton was most likely to be offered a barstool in the Southwest--24%. McCain, meanwhile, was the top choice in the Southeast--23%.

Put as much stock in such a voter sample as you would in a group of kindergarten kids voting. With any luck most of those voting here will have a hangover and stay home on election day.

Also at Macsmind.

H/T Larwyn.

Update: Thanks to Hot Air for the link.

New Home Sales Rise, Media Baffled

Don't worry, there's always a but.

Sales of new homes rose in April for the first time in six months although the unexpected increase still left activity near the lowest level in 17 years.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new homes rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units.

But the government revised March activity lower to show an even bigger drop of 11 percent to an annual rate of 509,000, which was the weakest pace for sales since April 1991. Economists believe that new home sales will remain weak for some time as the housing industry struggles with falling prices and rising mortgage foreclosures, which are dumping even more homes on an already glutted market.

The Commerce report showed that the median price of a new home sold in April dropped to $246,100 in April, down 4.2 percent from April 2007.

A separate report showed home prices falling during the first three months of this year at the sharpest rate in two decades. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index fell 14.1 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year decline since the index began in 1988.

Don't worry though, folks, all will be well by next year, at which point the media will credit the halcyon days of the Obama administration.

Economists believe that home prices will remain under pressure until the sizable level of inventories is worked down to more manageable levels. Many analysts don't expect to see a rebound in prices until sometime next year.

Clueless Obama Making It Up As He Goes Along

Another monster gaffe that will largely go ignored. Why? Because the media may be dumber than he is.

Obama also spoke about his uncle, who was part of the American brigade that helped to liberate Auschwitz. He said the family legend is that, upon returning from war, his uncle spent six months in an attic.

Auschwitz, of course, was liberated by the Red Army.

Update: The Obama Gaffe Machine Rolls On.

Update II: The Obama people get his story straight. Sort of. If this guy is going to speak off the prepared script about family history, don't get all pissy when people check the facts. You're a leading candidate for President. Start acting like one.

Red on Red: Castro Bashes Obama

I don't see what Fidel is complaining about. Given a little time, the Obamessiah will change his mind and go along with what Cuba wants.

Former President Fidel Castro says Sen. Barack Obama's plan to maintain Washington's trade embargo against Cuba will cause hunger and suffering on the island.

In a column published Monday by government-run newspapers, Castro said Obama was "the most-advanced candidate in the presidential race," but noted that he has not dared to call for altering U.S. policy toward Cuba.

"Obama's speech can be translated as a formula for hunger for the country," Castro wrote, referring to Obama's remarks last week to the influential Cuban American National Foundation in Miami.

Obama said he would maintain the nearly fifty-year-old trade sanctions against Cuba as leverage to push for democratic change on the island. But he also vowed to ease restrictions on Cuban Americans traveling to Cuba and sending money to relatives.

He repeated his willingness to meet with Raul Castro, who in February succeeded his elder brother Fidel to become the nation's first new leader in 49 years.

Castro said Obama's proposals for letting well-off Cuban Americans help poorer relatives on the island amounted to "propaganda for consumerism and a way of life that is unsustainable."

He complained that Obama's description of Cuba as "undemocratic" and "lacking in respect for liberty and human rights" was the same argument previous U.S. administrations "have used to justify their crimes against our homeland."

Maybe Obama can send his buddy William Ayers down to meet with the Castros.

IAEA Dimwits: Iran May Be Hiding Nuke Evidence

Having aided and abetted the Iranians in their pursuit of nukes, the toothless IAEA now pretends they've been misled.

Iran may be withholding information needed to establish whether it tried to make nuclear arms, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday in an unusually strongly worded report.

The tone of the language suggesting Tehran continues to stonewall the U.N. nuclear monitor revealed a glimpse of the frustration felt by agency investigators stymied in their attempts to gain full answers to suspicious aspects of Iran's past nuclear activities.

A senior U.N. official familiar with the investigation into Iran's nuclear program said none of the dozens of agency reports issued in that context had ever been as plain spoken in calling Tehran to task for not being forthright. He agreed to discuss the report only if granted anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to the media.

Iran has described its cooperation with the agency's probe as positive, suggesting it was providing information requested by agency officials.

Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA, said as much again Monday, telling The Associated Press that the report described "the peaceful nature of our nuclear actions."

"The Americans failed ... in shameful attempts" to co-opt the agency into delivering anti-Iranian findings, he said.

A very weak attempt at covering their asses.