Islamophobia? What Islamophobia?

Ever since 9/11, when Muslim terrorists murdered thousands of Americans, we've heard about an alleged surge in hate crimes against Muslims, especially from the unindicted co-conspirators at CAIR.

Well, as it turns out, it's all BS.

Shocking these thugs would lie to us, isn't it?

See the IBD story.

Not only are anti-Islamic hate crimes way down, but they're a fraction of overall religious hate crimes. The overwhelming majority of such crimes target Jews, something CAIR and other Muslim groups don't seem all that concerned about.

In 2006, a whopping 66% of religiously motivated attacks were on Jews, while just 11% targeted Muslims, even though the Jewish and Muslim populations are similar in size. Catholics and Protestants, who together account for 9% of victims, are subject to almost as much abuse as Muslims in this country.

Last year's anti-Islamic hate crimes totaled 156. While just one hate crime is one too many, that's a 68% drop from 2001.

The FBI report gives lie to CAIR's alarmist narrative of "Islamophobic" lynch mobs marching on mosques across America. In reality, Americans have been remarkably, and admirably, tolerant and respectful of Muslims and their institutions since 9/11.

It's plain that CAIR, which claims to be the "Muslim NAACP," has been hyping tensions.

Which is why the media should ignore their bogus claims.

More from Captain's Quarters, Sundries Shack and Michelle Malkin.

Porn: The Early Years

Looks like the French have been sitting on a secret stash for quite some time.

Tales and pictures of naughty nuns, lustful queens and randy noblemen go on display for the first time today when the French National Library unlocks its secret archive of erotic art.

The show of 350 works, ranging from manuscripts by the Marquis de Sade to early pornographic photography, is causing a stir because the library’s trove of licentious literature – known as L’Enfer (Hell) – has been the stuff of fantasy since the early 19th century.

L’Enfer, to which “immoral” works were often consigned after police seizure, was closed in 1969. Now that morals have changed, the Paris transport authority has even joined the fun, converting a Métro station into a teaser for the exhibition. Underground trains will slow down at the disused Croix-Rouge station so that passengers can glimpse erotic engravings.

Hell got its name in the 1830s when the library isolated from its vast collection works that were deemed to be “contrary to good morals”. The original works, which survived police bonfires and theft by curators, include a rich collection from the libertine age of the 18th century. Top among them is Thérèse Philosophe, a 1748 novel about the initiation of a lustful young woman that was a bestseller of its era. Some great names were consigned to Hell, including Voltaire, whose heroic-comic poem La Pucelle (The Maid) sparked scandal and the wrath of the King and the Pope in 1762.

Now everyone wants to go to Hell.

Food Prices to Rise, Global Warming to Blame

Global warming is the cause of everything. Just the other day, we noted divorce and bagpipes caused environmental damage, now food prices will rise because of the weather. Of course the fact prices naturally rise over time has nothing to do with it.

Food prices are set to rise around the globe after years of decline, with climate change making it harder for the world's poorest to get adequate food, according to a report released Tuesday.

Rising global temperatures as well as growing food consumption in rapidly developing countries such as China and India are pressuring the world food system, meaning that food prices will rise for the foreseeable future, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Joachim von Braun, the director of the Washington-based research group, said food prices have been in a declining trend since scientists began developing high-yield plant varieties decades ago, "but the days of falling food prices may be over."

"The last time the world experienced such food price increases was in 1973 to 1974 ... but today the situation is completely different. For one, the climate risk and climate change situation has increased, the climate vulnerability has increased," von Braun told reporters in Beijing.

The institute said in a report that hunger and malnutrition could rise as poor agricultural communities most sensitive to the environment, such as in Africa, are hurt. Dependency on food imports will also increase as cereal yields decline in those countries.

Greater demand for food by the world's growing population as well as increased energy costs, which affect the price of everything, are more likely factors. But why address those when you have global warming hysteria to pound over our heads?

Anti-torture Blogger Back on YouTube

Last week YouTube closed the account of Egyptian anti-torture activist Wael Abbas.

Now it appears he may be able to post again at the video site.

The video-sharing Web site YouTube has restored the account of a prominent Egyptian anti-torture activist, and said on Monday he may repost graphic images of purported rights abuses if he puts them in proper context.

Wael Abbas said last week that YouTube had suspended his account and that around 100 images he had posted, including clips of police brutality, purported voting irregularities and anti-government demonstrations were no longer accessible.

YouTube, owned by search engine giant Google Inc, said in a statement that it was committed to preserving its site as an "important platform for expression of all kinds" while ensuring that it remains a safe environment for users.

"Our general policy against graphic violence led to the removal of videos documenting alleged human rights abuses because the context was not apparent," the statement said.

"Having reviewed the case, we have restored the account of Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas. And if he chooses to upload the video again with sufficient context so that users can understand his important message, we will of course leave it on the site."

Considering YouTube is filthy with pro-jihadi propaganda, this represents a small step toward sanity. Now if they only cleaned up some of the garbage on their site.

Cantwell Aide in Kiddie Sex Bust

Looks like one James McHaney, an aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), has a thing for prepubescent boys.

A U.S. Senate aide was arrested Friday after allegedly arranging a lunchtime sexual encounter with a teenage boy, according to federal court records. James McHaney, 28, was nabbed by FBI agents after he arranged the afternoon liaison via a "cooperating witness" working with investigators. According to the below felony complaint and an accompanying statement of facts filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the CW and McHaney were conversing online Friday afternoon when the CW asked whether McHaney was interested in engaging in anal sex with a 13-year-old boy. "I'll be there," McHaney allegedly replied. He later asked for a photo of the child with whom he and the CW would have sex and whether the boy had "any pubes." When told no, McHaney allegedly replied, "That's hot." McHaney was nabbed in the lobby of an unnamed "predetermined location," where he had arranged to meet CW. Until his arrest Friday, McHaney had worked as the D.C. scheduler for Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. A caller to Cantwell's office was told late today that, as of last Friday, McHaney no longer worked for the Washington state politician.

H/T: Thanos.

I wonder if he knows Larry Craig?

UPDATE: Also at Hot Air.

UPDATE II: You have to love this headline:

Ex-aide to Cantwell arrested in sex sting

Uh, yes, he's now an ex-aide. But he wasn't when he was busted.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A former aide to Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell is in federal custody after being arrested on a charge of sexually exploiting a minor.

James Michael McHaney was arrested by FBI agents after he was accused of trying to set up a meeting with an undercover witness posing online as a teenaged boy.

Until his arrest on Friday, McHaney was a scheduler for Cantwell. He appeared in federal court on Saturday.

More now at RedState. The Kos Kidz, meanwhile, take the high road.

Cantwell Aide Arrested for Acting Like a Republican

Unfortunately, he was one of ours...

Translation: We could care less about kids getting molested, so long as it's a Republican.

UPDATE III: More from The Politico.

Update - Cantwell's chief of staff, Michael Meehan, just released the following statement on McHaney's arrest: "Late Friday afternoon the FBI informed our office that a Senate employee was arrested. The employee was immediately fired. Our office has and will continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing federal criminal investigation. Senator Cantwell has zero tolerance for crimes against children."

McHaney was at work when the online conversation with the FBI's CW took place, meaning Cantwell's office may be asked to turn over any e-mails or other records related to McHaney, if he was using Senate computers or phones to conduct his allegedly illegal activity.

More also at Wizbang.

UPDATE IV: Glenn Reynolds, Right Voices and Blue Crab Boulevard link. Thanks!

Meanwhile, The Seattle Times notes his previous employment history.

Before joining Cantwell's office, McHaney worked for the 2004 John Kerry presidential campaign and before that as an aide to former U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Ohio.

He was Kerry's travel coordinator in 2004.

UPDATE V: KOMO TV conveniently changed their headline after being ridiculed. Now it no longer reads Ex-aide to Cantwell arrested in sex sting; now it's been changed to Cantwell aide arrested in sex sting; quickly fired.

Some on the left have been making the ridiculous claim that people are rushing to judgment on this case. Doesn't it appear the Cantwell people rushed to fire him? They obviously know something.

UPDATE VI: NewsBusters links. Thanks!

Now They're Concerned

'The West Must Distance Itself from Putin's Swindle'
The European press reacted on Monday to Vladimir Putin's landslide victory with a mix of criticism and, in a few instances, praise. But most papers agree that the power struggle within the Kremlin is only just beginning.

The liberal Danish daily Politiken writes:

"As expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin garnered an overwhelming election victory. Even before (his victory), he claimed he would be given the 'moral right' to continue to determine his country's political course. ... After his victory he spoke of a festive atmosphere. But it has an ugly downside. Neither the campaign nor the election was deserving of this description. It was the most unfair election since the fall of communism. The state abused its power in the media. Opposition voices were suppressed. ... If the West doesn't strongly distance itself from this historic election manipulation, which one could at best describe as a swindle, it will muddy our own democracies. And we would also be abandoning Russians who haven't yet buried their hopes for democracy in their country."

The Rome daily La Repubblica comments:

"In his years in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin has succeeded in resurrecting the myth of Russian power that stems from an era before the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union. The Russians felt the need for this resurrection as a way of forgetting the humiliations that came along with the collapse of the Soviet empire and the tumultuous years under Boris Yeltsin. Vladimir Putin is the man who revived it."

Switzerland's Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes:

"To some extent, it remains astonishing how nervously and aggressively Putin and his army of propagandists have reacted to every form of criticism or opposition to the Kremlin.

Nothing astonishing about it mein Herr. Paranoid people have enemies to, ya know!

No one seriously questions the fact that the economic boom that has happened during Putin's terms has made him even more popular. And he and his vehicle of power, the United Russia party, likely could have gained a solid lead in the Duma election wiithout having to resort to methods that included the application of massive pressure and manipulation in the run-up to the election."

"It appears that potentates like Putin -- with their pronounced autocratic tendencies, a tradition that is deeply rooted in Russian history -- are incapable of trusting the democratic persuasiveness of their arguments and in some respects their formidable achievements. The old Lenin saying that "trust is good, but control is better," seemed to be the central vision of the man pulling the strings inside the Kremlin during this election."

Italy's Corriere della Sera writes:

"Vladimir Putin can book an election triumph, based on true endorsement, but it is also the result of excessively deployed authority. And that's why the true battle for power is just beginning in Russia. After all, it was precisely this Kremlin chief who turned Sunday's election into the first round of the Russia presidential election in March 2008, knowing full well that he would soon have to change offices. A plebiscite mandate was supposed to guarantee his 'moral right' to remain Russia's leader, even if he is in an office other than the presidency. To that end, the Russians have pushed aside allegations of election manipulation and have instead given their approval to Putin."

The liberal Vienna daily Der Standard writes:

"Will the Kremlin chief's words be followed by corresponding actions after he leaves the office of president? If he decides to continue to exercise his enormous remaining influence through the United Russia party (with its inevitable majority in the newly elected parliament), we will see if he is serious about what he has been saying. But if he allows himself to be named prime minister after leaving the office of president, circumventing the constitution, we will know that, in truth, he is merely seeking personal power.

Ya think?

A weakening of the office of the president in Russia, the only institution that is vested with political legitimacy, will lead the country on a path to chaos. The practice of changing the playing rules in order to retain power will also remain after the all-powerful man leaves the political stage, but the superficial stability of his leadership will not."

Zurich's Tages-Anzeiger writes:

"There is little doubt that the Russian president will interpret this result as a vote of confidence -- and that it also justifies his desire to remain in power. If he is no longer able to remain president in spring, then another function will be found for him -- be it prime minister, head of parliament or in the role of a 'national leader'. But Putin's victory is a false one. The allegations of manipulation brought by the opposition are a dark shadow hanging heavy over the election result. Still, Putin has no reason to fear any Ukranian-style Orange Revolution. At the same time, he shouldn't feel overly secure, because a government that has to gain a victory through undemocratic means, is not as firmly in the saddle as the election result might lead one to believe."

The right-liberal Bulgarian newspaper Dnewnik writes:

"Russian and Western election observers were unable to hide their shock on Sunday over the absolute pressure imposed on the vote in the giant country by the Putin administration. ... It was exercised regularly and transparently enough that one could say that Putin held true to his promise of honesty. It's not his problem that other people imagined a different outcome -- probably like the European leaders who live in a complete fantasy world with their dream of drawing Russian natural gas without Putin's political policies also flowing through the pipes."

Funny how a newspaper in a former Soviet slave-state understands what Gazprom - Vladimir Paranoid's ambassador to Europe - is all about.

The liberal Romanian daily Evenimentul Zilei writes:

"Elections and free-market economies are viewed as a symbol of recovery, and Vladimir Putin's iron hand as a necessary phase during the transition from post-communist chaos to a liberal democracy. But Russia has destroyed a number of myths about democracy and confirmed the failure of the recipes and frameworks that the West has applied to transition countries. ... Russia's economic strength, which has in no way buttressed democratic transformation, has instead empowered Moscow's oppressive regime. In Russia, the traditional authoritarian model has been restored using the tools of capitalism, and the Russians appear to be contented with that."

The State Department's Russian expert was unavailable for comment.


Via Spiegel International.

See also Riding The Cronies To Victory.


Also at A Tangled Web

Fly MILF Air!

How stupid can people be?

Check out this marketing genius.

Airline's 'MILF' Promo Not What You Think

Act fast and you too can cash in on the "MILF" promotion.

The fire sale by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Spirit Airlines promises "Many Islands, Low Fares" deals as low as $9 for future travel dates between Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas.

While the prices may be right, it's that promotional acronym that's raised eyebrows among customers and now has the company feeling "uncomfortable."

Before MILF became shorthand for a Spirit Airlines promotion, the acronym hit the mainstream as an obscene descriptor of a mother considered to be sexy.

The term was popularized in the raunchy 1999 feature film "American Pie," in which Jennifer Coolidge plays Stifler's Mom, an attractive, voluptuous woman who ultimately seduces a high school adversary of her son Steve, played by Seann William Scott.

In 2003, the band Fountains of Wayne released the song "Stacy's Mom," which ultimately peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard charts and became the No. 1 most downloaded song for iTunes. The song and accompanying video, which features an adolescent boy fantasizing about his mother's friend, rose to No. 1 on MTV's "TRL."

It's impossible to know exactly what percentage of Americans are familiar with the slang acronym, but Spirit Airlines maintains that the executive who authorized the MILF promotion did not know the connection.

"Not at all," Juan Arbelaez, the director of communications for the company's Latin American market, told ABC News when asked whether the airline was aware of the racy implications. "We started receiving some e-mails today."

Idiots.

Clinton, Inc. to Obama: We Know What You Did in Kindergarten

I have this much credibility left

This is pathetically juvenile.

Yet coming from the Clintons, it's all to predictable.

In third grade, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want To Be a President.' His third grade teacher: Fermina Katarina Sinaga "asked her class to write an essay titled 'My dream: What I want to be in the future.' Senator Obama wrote 'I want to be a President,' she said." [The Los Angeles Times, 3/15/07]

In kindergarten, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want to Become President.' "Iis Darmawan, 63, Senator Obama's kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. He wrote an essay titled, 'I Want To Become President,' the teacher said." [AP, 1/25/07 ]

They even released an updated version later Sunday.

Via The New Editor.

More from Hot Air, The Hill, Michelle Malkin, Memeorandum.

Ugly Attacks in Germany

Some really ugly incidents in Germany over the weekend with the perpetrators likely far-right goons, according to police.

Completely inexcusable behavior.

There's just no place for such ugliness in a civilized world.

Pregnant Woman Hospitalized in Racist Attack

The eastern German city of Magdeburg saw a series of hate crimes over the weekend. Suspected right-wing extremists attacked five Iraqis -- including a pregnant woman -- and four Africans in two separate incidents, and a Jewish community center was also vandalized.

A 20-year-old pregnant Iraqi woman was among several victims of what were believed to be racially motivated attacks in the eastern German town of Magdeburg this weekend.

A group of Germans attacked five Iraqis on a night bus on Saturday night, police reported Sunday. The group of two women and three men were verbally abused as they were getting on the bus around 10 p.m. A German man punched one of the woman in the face at the bus stop, and a second man pushed her against her two-year-old child's stroller. The woman, who is pregnant, had to be taken to hospital suffering from abdominal pain, police said. The police detained two suspects but later released them.

Huh? Why are these thugs simply released?

In a second attack, three men and a woman from Niger were allegedly harassed and racially abused by three men who are believed to be German. A fight developed, during which two of the Africans were injured. A passerby alerted the police who came and broke up the fight. A police officer who tried to detain two of the suspects was attacked and injured by the group of assailants, which had grown to six or seven people, and the two suspects managed to flee. The group split up before additional police could arrive.

In a third incident, a Jewish community center in the city was vandalized on Sunday. An intercom box was torn off the wall of the building, causing €300 worth of damage. Police have not ruled out an anti-Semitic motive.

Germany's domestic intelligence service, which monitors far-right activity, is investigating all three cases.

Maybe this is what happens when other attacks results in lenient punishment, perhaps.

Give That Chimp a Scholarship

In an unrelated study, researchers also showed that chimps banging on keyboards produced more coherent stories than your average Kos Kid.

Seriously though, what does this say about the state of education?

Never mind that TV show that asks if you're smarter than a fifth-grader. Is your memory better than a young chimp's?

Maybe not.

Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.

That challenges the belief of many people, including many scientists, that "humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions," said researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

"No one can imagine that chimpanzees—young chimpanzees at the age of 5—have a better performance in a memory task than humans," he said in a statement.

Matsuzawa, a pioneer in studying the mental abilities of chimps, said even he was surprised. He and colleague Sana Inoue report the results in Tuesday's issue of the journal Current Biology.

One memory test included three 5-year-old chimps who'd been taught the order of Arabic numerals 1 through 9, and a dozen human volunteers.

They saw nine numbers displayed on a computer screen. When they touched the first number, the other eight turned into white squares. The test was to touch all these squares in the order of the numbers that used to be there.

Results showed that the chimps, while no more accurate than the people, could do this faster.

One chimp, Ayumu, did the best. Researchers included him and nine college students in a second test.

It may be just a matter of time until we see a Chimps for Ron Paul movement spring up.

Will the Dems do Fox News?

What if the Dems wanted to debate on Fox News, as some sort of repentance for the shoddy performance turned in by CNN in the handling of the YouTube debate and Fox said no?

All this time the Dems have been trashing Fox News and in fact consider them to be nothing more then the propaganda arm of the current administration, but now with no doubt that MSNBC is further to the left then a bunch of Ron Paul supporters and CNN showing their blatant attempts at skewing the Republican debate and in the process shooting their credibility to the level of the New York Times, the last cable news agency with any credibility is Fox, regardless of your political leanings.

So do the Dems now try to make nice with Fox and in some way try to distance themselves from this scandal? Have no doubts, in listening to people talk about this incident they equally blame CNN, the Democrats and to a large degree Hillary in particular for what happened. Everybody associated with this perverse act of propaganda programming has been tainted.

It is to the point that a lot of people I know have determined they will not vote for anybody who being favored by the press. And that is from either party. A lot of people are coming to the conclusion that the "front runners" in either party are those who the reporters and journalists have decided to make front runners.

Why else is there no news about Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Bill Richardson and the other cast of characters running for President? Granted none of this is scientific research or can be validated by numbers, but the most heard expression lately is "whoever they say is leading ain't who I am voting for."

The worst part of this scenario is that folks plain won't vote. Also here in GA people are sick and tired of hearing about Iowa and New Hampshire. What is the rest of the country just chopped liver? Our votes don't count? Are we just supposed to take whoever they vote for and follow in lockstep?

Last I checked the population of Atlanta is greater then either one of those states. NH has about 1.2 million and Iowa comes in at about 3 million meanwhile ATL has a little over 4 million. Oh yeah I forget we ain't nothing but redneck, bigoted, racist, knuckle dragging, bible thumping, pickup truck driving, inbred idjits. So yeah we don't count. Let's let the New England blue noses and Midwest corn farmers make our decisions for us.

Anyway, I got off topic. The topic being how do the Dems make nice with Fox News now or do they? If they remain silent on the CNN issue then it is guilt by association. They at least need to come out and deny any active participation in what transpired.

So far they haven't, and just like the slander of Gen. Petraeus by another one of their proxies MoveOn, rather then distance themselves they remain silent and let the front group, in this case CNN, take the heat. Since they don't deny it, it must be assumed that they not only agree with what happened, but maybe had a big hand in making it happen.

So Dems who else do have working for you? It seems that the Democrat party is ruining a lot of organizations and people all in the name of gaining political power. But y'all keep doing it. You will find out the America ain't nearly as blind and easily fooled as you might hope for or think.

The world does not begin and end in New York City and once the campaigns move out of those areas, away from the reporters and agencies who report on our politics like they do the war in Iraq, from the Green Zone, we might start seeing a different picture emerge.

Oh and NY Times, Fred ain't lazy but he is crafty.

Hillary Embraces Socialism

Hillary Clinton's socialist leanings are coming to the surface. Get a load of this:

Senator Clinton to urge freeze on foreclosures: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is expected on Monday to call for a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures and a five-year freeze on the rates of adjustable rate mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

Sources told Reuters on Friday that the U.S. Treasury Department was finalizing a similar plan with mortgage industry leaders.

Socialists like Clinton never grasp that you cannot legislate how the market values items. If you set a price higher than market value, no one will buy it and if you set it below market value, no one will sell it.

The result of this move will be to make it practically impossible for anyone to get a mortgage.

If you think the housing market is screwed up now, just wait until you see what this does to it.

Police Doubt Miss Puerto Rico Pepper Spray Tale

Sigh.

What has this world come to when we can't even trust beauty pageant contestants?

It's a moral crisis.

Investigators poured a little salt on the wounds Miss Puerto Rico Universe claims she suffered at the hands of an alleged pepper-spray attacker.

Police probing the alleged sabotage of Miss Puerto Rico Universe Ingrid Marie Rivera's clothing during the Nov. 23 competition said tests showed no traces of capsicum, the pepper spray's active ingredient, Reuters reported.

The 24-year-old Rivera said she broke out in hives and swelling during the pageant and was forced to ice down her face and body between events.

"I guess she has a lot of explaining to do," police spokesman Stephen Alvarez said on Saturday.

Police Superintendent Pedro Toledo said his department now would focus its investigation on whether anyone lied to his detectives, which would be a felony.

The original complaint was filed by the pageant's security director, Alvarez told Reuters. Rivera has not given any statements to police investigators.

Magali Febles, the director of the beauty pageant, insisted that the sabotage took place and said she would ask authorities to test for other substances.

Organizers also said Rivera's bags, containing clothing and credit cards, were stolen during the event, and that a bomb threat was called in the day before the final competition, forcing the cancellation of some events.

Previously.

College Republicans Thank Mrs. Clinton

Somehow, I doubt she'll appreciate the thanks.

As if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't have enough problems with sagging support among Democratic presidential-primary voters, now she's the darling of College Republicans, who are praising the New York senator for backing President Bush's war policy in Iraq.

When Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana arrives to headline a $500-a-plate fundraiser for the former first lady today in Warwick, R.I., his motorcade will be greeted by student activists from six campus chapters of the College Republican Federation of Rhode Island (CRFRI).

Students will display "signs and banners ... to thank [Mrs. Clinton] for voting for the war in Iraq and for pledging to continue the presence of troops to fight al Qaeda in Iraq if she is elected president," CRFRI said in a press release pointing out that young Hillary Rodham was president of the College Republicans at Wellesley during the 1960s.

"From one former College Republican chapter president to another," CRFRI Chairman Ryan Bilodeau said in a remarkably straight-faced statement, "I would like to welcome presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign to Rhode Island and thank her not only for the vote she cast in 2002 that authorized the war in Iraq, but also for her recent commitment to keep combat troops in Iraq to fight al Qaeda if she is elected president next year."

Meanwhile, desperate to milk Friday's hostage crisis in New Hampshire, The Pantsuit claims to have volunteered to negotiate with crackpot Leeland Eisenberg.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton volunteered to personally negotiate with the crackpot who took over one of her New Hampshire campaign offices, she revealed yesterday. Clinton offered to speak directly to suspect Leeland Eisenberg, 46, in the hours he was holed up with hostages he took at her Rochester headquarters on Friday, she said.

Why do I not believe this for a second?

Imus Returns ... With "Black Texas NY Jew"

Radio talker Don Imus debuted this morning on WABC radio 770 in New York and has a new partner.

IMUS GAL A BLACK TEXAS NY ‘JEW’

Well, that seems to cover enough bases.

The black sidekick joining shock jock Don Imus on his return to the airwaves today is an Oxford-educated Texas cowgirl whose career has ranged from broadcast journalism to stand-up comedy, sources told The Post.

Karith Foster, a Harlem resident who grew up outside Dallas, was brought on by Imus to ease tension stirred up by his racist comment about the Rutgers women's basketball team, which got him booted in April, sources said.

Foster was raised in upscale Plano, Texas, which she describes on her Web site as having “the ethnic diversity of a Klan rally."

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Released

Pathetically, she claims to still have "great respect" for Islam. Perhaps she's just mouthing that until she gets out of that hellhole.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- A British teacher jailed after she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was released Monday hours after Sudan's president pardoned her, a British Embassy spokesman said.

The teacher, Gillian Gibbons, said she did not intend to offend anyone and had great respect for Islam.

"She is in British Embassy custody and is with the deputy British ambassador," embassy spokesman Omar Daair said. He would not give her exact location or say when she would leave Sudan.

Gibbons was sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation for insulting Islam because she allowed her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, seen as a reference to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The teacher's conviction under Sudan's Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons and many Muslims worldwide. It also inflamed passions among many Sudanese, some of whom called for her execution.

UPDATE: More from Hot Air and Michelle Malkin.

Say Goodbye to Venezuela (UPDATE) Chavez Loses!

UPDATE 12/3 8 am:

Well, things changed after we retired for the evening.

Check out Fausta's, VNV, Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, Devil's Excrement, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Babalu and Assorted Babble for the latest. More reaction via Memeorandum.

HuffPosters are despondent and bash Bush.

AP version here.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Humbled by his first electoral defeat ever, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.

"I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense," he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reforms by 51 percent to 49 percent.

Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight — with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.

Some shed tears. Others began chanting: "And now he's going away!"

Without the overhaul, Chavez will be barred from running again in 2012.

If this report is accurate, Venezuela is headed down the tubes.

Chavez headed for victory: gov't sources

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appeared headed for victory on Sunday in a referendum on allowing the leftist to rule for as long as he keeps winning elections, government-linked sources said, citing exit polls.

Three exit polls showed Chavez won by between six and eight percentage points in a vote where turnout was low, the two sources said.

If confirmed, it would be by far the slimmest victory margin in the career of a man who wants to rule for life and turn the major oil exporter into a socialist state.

Gateway Pundit has more.

Other's following the referendum include Fausta's Blog,
Venezuela News And Views, Michelle Malkin, Devil's Excrement, Hot Air, Babalu.

UPDATE: Strange events continue. Many sources are saying Chavez won here, but at Devil's Excrement, they say this may not be the case.

8:09 PM From a good source, the Government withdrew its advertising from tomorrow's paper celebrating the victory

8:32 PM Mood shifting towards No win

More again here.

My NO contact (a serious one, I can assure the readers that) wrote me to let me know me that the NO won but the government will announce a SI victory. Chavez has announced that he will call for a press conference for right after the CNE result. The NO camp denounces the Reuters brief which cites only government sources as their basis for the SI victory.

It is quickly becoming a mess.

However there is one thing we can be absolutely sure, all the leaks that went to Reuters will not be investigated and even less punished by the CNE tomorrow, you can be assured to that.

Putin Heads For Landslide Victory

Intimidation and dirty tricks help Putin to massive landslide
President Vladimir Putin appeared to be heading for a landslide victory in Russia's parliamentary elections last night amid widespread reports that millions of citizens were coerced into voting for his party, United Russia.

Early results from the Central Election Commission indicated the party was leading with 63% of votes, with the Communist party trailing a distant second on 11.5%. Two other partners looked set to scrape into the State Duma: the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, with 10.6%, and Fair Russia, another Kremlin-linked party, with 7.1%. Exit polls indicated similar figures.

[....]

Read it all at The Guardian.

Previously Say It Ain't So, Kameraden!.

As Darkness Descends

"Putin understands very well the pitiless laws of the system he has built up step by step over the past seven years," political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky wrote earlier this year. "If he takes that final step of agreeing to a third term, he is accepting a life sentence. ... The darkness at noon of the Kremlin will engulf him forever."

Putin's Future Uncertain After Election
President Vladimir Putin seems certain to claim Sunday's election triumph by his political party as a mandate to lead the country even after his term ends in May.

Now the main question is what specific job Putin might take to retain control - and who will be his choice for the next president.

Putin is widely credited here with leading his country out of the social and political wilderness of the 1990s when the collapse of Soviet power nearly led to the disintegration of Russian society.

"I voted for our United Russia because life has become better now under Putin, and we don't want any changes or revolutions," said Alla Kosaryeva, a 70-year-old retiree who lives in St. Petersburg.

There is little incentive for Putin to relinquish power over Russia, which is flush with revenue from oil and natural gas and where his power arguably rivals that of many of his Soviet and czarist predecessors.

Candidates for president may register until Dec. 23. Many are expected to do so, but only Putin's hand-picked successor seems to have a real chance of winning.

Whoever is chosen is likely to be a figurehead, or could even step aside early to allow Putin to recapture the presidential office. Currently the constitution prohibits a president from running for a third consecutive term.

Two-thirds of Russians polled by the respected Levada Center recently said they would support Putin serving another term. But Putin has repeatedly promised not to run, and a reversal would be out of character for the stern, tough-talking former KGB spy.

Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist and political analyst, believes that Putin will become United Russia's party chief and that the future president would follow his orders - recreating to some extent the Soviet-era model in which the government was subservient to the Communist Party.

"A president will be nominated by United Russia, and he will obey party discipline," she commented recently.

Sunday's election, meanwhile, eliminated all of Putin's liberal opponents from parliament. Amended election rules barred individual races that in the past allowed mavericks to win seats.

If Hillary starts losing primaries . . . .

"We will continue our fight for democracy and liberal values," retiring deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov told the Associated Press in an interview Friday. "Not in the parliament, but in society. It's like in Soviet times, we are becoming dissidents because there are no legal ways to be in the opposition."

Many both here and abroad would interpret any maneuver to keep Putin in power as a major milestone in Russia's long retreat from the democratic reforms of the 1990s.

Putin's Russia is not a totalitarian state, and the current rift with the West is not yet a new Cold War. There is no gulag filled with political prisoners, no official censorship, no proxy wars being fought in the Third World.

But under Putin, the Kremlin has taken control of crucial industries. It has extended its control to Russia's far-flung provinces. Nominally independent institutions, including the courts, the media and parliament, have been brought to heel.

Abroad, Putin has challenged Western policies, accusing Washington of using "diktat" in its foreign policy. The Kremlin, in turn, has been accused by its enemies of waging a covert cyber war against Estonia, of helping rig Ukraine's 2004 elections and of ordering the killing of a former KGB officer in London using a radioactive poison - allegations Russian officials have strenuously denied.

By choosing to make the Kremlin once again Russia's sole center of power, analysts say, Putin has also resurrected some of the weaknesses that plagued the czarist and Communist systems.

Those familiar with Kremlin politics say Putin sometimes issues orders that, filtered through Russia's numerous layers of bureaucracy, are never executed.

A topdown system of government which tries to control the media and local elections, critics point out, may find itself pursuing disastrous or unpopular policies.

Russia's past absolutist governments were also faced with periodic succession crises, which sometimes led to bloodshed. So far there's no evidence that Putin's departure would lead to violence.

But Moscow's decision to use the parliamentary and presidential elections to ratify the Kremlin's choice of leadership, rather than permit a more open competition, has created a political crisis rare for Western democracies.

Putin is not just the leader of the Russian state, he is the arbiter of disputes among different Kremlin cliques and divides the corporate and political spoils. Without him, the Kremlin might split over such issues as how far Russia should go in confronting the West and consolidating state control of Russia's major industries.

If Putin were to step down, many analysts say, Russia could go through a period of accelerated redistribution of assets reminiscent of the case of the one-time billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former chief of Yukos Oil Co., whose company was broken up and sold for alleged back taxes following his 2003 arrest.

If Putin remains in office, though, some think he will inevitably become Russia's leader for life. The pressures on him to stay would grow with each passing year, as his presence was increasingly needed to maintain a balance among bitterly divided factions.

"Putin understands very well the pitiless laws of the system he has built up step by step over the past seven years," political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky wrote earlier this year. "If he takes that final step of agreeing to a third term, he is accepting a life sentence. ... The darkness at noon of the Kremlin will engulf him forever."

---------

Douglas Birch is the AP chief of bureau in Moscow and has covered Russian affairs since 2001.

Via The AP.

See also Putin's Party Overwhelms Russia Election.

Also at A Tangled Web

Study: Divorce Harmful to the Environment

More news for the inherently stupid.

INCREASING incidences of divorce around the world have a negative impact on the environment, leading to a less efficient use of energy and resources and bigger expenditures on utilities, a new study says.

"Divorce usually causes a former spouse to move out and form a new household, thus increasing the size of materials and land for housing,'' said the study by researchers at Michigan State University.

Higher divorce rates "have led to an increasing number of households and ... the average household size and efficiency of resource use per person are lower than in divorced households than in married households".

In the United States, the proportion of divorced households jumped from 5 per cent in 1970 to 15 per cent in 2000, and numbers have surged even in China where divorce has not been traditionally as common, the study said.

In 2005, US divorced households spent as much as 56 per cent more on electricity and water per person than married households, and used up to 61 per cent more resources per person than they did before the separation took place.

If divorced households operated with an efficiency similar to married households, "more than 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water could have been saved in the US,'' it said.

Don't these researchers have something more useful to study?

UPDATE: As if this isn't stupid enough, LGFer Killian Bundy passed along this gem.

THEY were once outlawed for being used as seditious weapons of war. Now, bagpipes have been blasted as an environmental menace.

Over-intensive logging means that the African wood used to make Scotland's national instrument faces being wiped out.

Conservation groups are letting out skirls of protest, urging musicians and instrument manufacturers to make sure their pipes come from eco-friendly sources.

As part of the campaign, Scots are being asked to fund the planting of "bagpipe trees" in a bid to atone for the environmental damage.

Corrupt News Network

The fallout continues for CNN after the pathetic sham of a debate Wednesday night. What was at one time a credible news organization has become a journalistic laughingstock, and they have only themselves to blame.

Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times unleashes on CNN following the fraudulent YouTube fiasco brought to us by what is laughingly called the most trusted name in news.

In fact, this most recent debacle masquerading as a presidential debate raises serious questions about whether CNN is ethically or professionally suitable to play the political role the Democratic and Republican parties recently have conceded it.

Selecting a president is, more than ever, a life and death business, and a news organization that consciously injects itself into the process, as CNN did by hosting Wednesday's debate, incurs a special responsibility to conduct itself in a dispassionate and, most of all, disinterested fashion. When one considers CNN's performance, however, the adjectives that leap to mind are corrupt and incompetent.

Read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Jonah Goldberg has CNN's Virtual Reality in the New York Post today.

By now you've probably heard that CNN made such a laughingstock of itself at the recent YouTube debate in Florida that it could only have been worse if host Anderson Cooper conducted it in fluent Klingon.

In what was billed as a glorious exercise in democratic do-goodery and civic seriousness, CNN opened its gates to the American people and, to their surprise, the network's relentlessly touted credibility ran out the door like a dog in heat. Nearly a third of the questioners in the debate proved to be if not outright plants of the Democratic Party or other liberal interests, then at least very far from the "ordinary Americans" this whole circus was supposed to be catering to.

It's doubtful CNN will ever get back to leading the cable news race, and after this dreadful performance, they may want to reconsider what exactly their mission is.

Pimping for Democrats isn't going to win much of an audience.

More Men Accuse Craig

I wonder what lame denials Larry Craig will make now?

David Phillips. Mike Jones. Greg Ruth. Tom Russell.

Four gay men, willing to put their names in print and whose allegations can't be disproved, have come forward since news of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea. They say they had sex with Craig or that he made a sexual advance or that he paid them unusual attention.

They are telling their stories now because they are offended by Craig's denials, including his famous statement, "I am not gay, I never have been gay." Those words, spoken on live national TV on Aug. 28, are now memorialized on a just-released-for-Christmas Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure.

David Phillips is a 42-year-old information technology consultant in Washington, D.C., who says Craig picked him up at a gay club in 1986 and that they subsequently had sex.

Mike Jones is a former prostitute who told the world he had sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last year. The former Colorado Springs evangelist at first denied it but eventually confessed. Jones says Craig paid him for sex in late 2004 or early 2005.

Greg Ruth was a 24-year-old college Republican in 1981 when he says he was hit on by Craig at a Republican meeting in Coeur d'Alene.

Tom Russell, now 48, is a former Nampa resident who lives in Utah. Russell said his encounter with Craig occurred at Bogus Basin in the early 1980s.

A fifth gay man, who is from Boise but who declined to be named for fear of retaliation, offered a recent and telling account: He was in a men's restroom at Denver International Airport in September 2006 when the man in the next stall moved his hand slowly, palm up, under the divider. Alarmed, the man said he waited outside the restroom and then identified the man in the adjoining stall as Craig, whom he had met in Idaho.

Over to you, Larry.

H/T: Hot Air.

Report: Israelis Hit Syrian Nuke Plant

This story keeps evolving in bits and pieces, and it appears likely Syria was well into processing nuclear weapons.

ISRAEL’S top-secret air raid on Syria in September destroyed a bomb factory assembling warheads fuelled by North Korean plutonium, a leading Israeli nuclear expert has told The Sunday Times.

Professor Uzi Even of Tel Aviv University was one of the founders of the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona, the source of the Jewish state’s undeclared nuclear arsenal.

“I suspect that it was a plant for processing plutonium, namely, a factory for assembling the bomb,” he said. “I think the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] transferred to Syria weapons-grade plutonium in raw form, that is nuggets of easily transported metal in protective cans. I think the shaping and casting of the plutonium was supposed to be in Syria.”

All governments concerned - even the regime in Damascus - have tried to maintain complete secrecy about the raid.

They apparently fear that forcing a confrontation on the issue could spark a war between Israel and Syria, end the Middle East peace talks and wreck America’s extremely complex negotiations to disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

The political stakes could hardly be higher. Plutonium is the element which fuelled the American atomic bomb that destroyed the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Critics in the United States say proof that North Korea supplied such nuclear weapons material to Syria, a state technically at war with Israel, would shatter congressional confidence in the Bush administration’s diplomatic policy.

From beneath the veil of military censorship, western commentators have formed a consensus that the target was a nuclear reactor under construction.

But Even said that purely from scientific observation, he had reached a different conclusion - that it was a nuclear bomb factory, posing a more immediate danger to Israel. He said that satellite photos of the site, taken before the Israeli strike on September 6, showed no sign of the cooling towers and chimneys characteristic of nuclear reactors.

Syria’s haste after the attack to bury the site under tons of soil suggested that hundreds of square yards were contaminated and there were fears of radiation, the professor added.

Since then the Syrians have sealed up the location, levelled the site and diverted curious journalists to a place that had not been attacked by Israel.

A clueless Mohammed ElBaradei was unavailable for comment.

NFL Week 13

We had a promising start to Week 12 by sweeping the Thanksgiving Day games, but then the rest of the schedule arrived and we sank to 7-9 overall for the week. It's just been one of those years. The tally now stands at 71-95-9 for 2007 and apparently any hopes for even a .500 mark are long gone.

Still, we soldier on. We did pick Dallas correctly Thursday, so we start at 1-0 this week.

As usual, these picks are for informational purposes only, and if you want to buy any Christmas presents for your loved ones, you know better than to wager any money on these selections.

SUNDAY
Jets +1 DOLPHINS: The sheer humiliation at being an underdog to an 0-11 team should be more than enough motivation for the Jets, who've had 10 days to get over their Thanksgiving beatdown in Dallas. The league has apparently mandated Miami lose all their games by three, so this one is easy. Jets 20-17

RAMS -3 Falcons: We might reconsider this because of the Gus Frerotte factor, which begs the question: How is it Gus Frerotte is still collecting an NFL paycheck? Rams 31-17

Bills +5.5 REDSKINS: Who knows where the the Redskins' heads will be after Sean Taylor's murder, but we figure an emotional scene will lift them to a close victory. Redskins 24-21

VIKINGS -4 Lions: Vikings coming off thrashing of the Giants and should have Adrian Peterson back. Lions back doing what they usually do this time of year: losing a lot. Vikings 30-21

Texans +4 TITANS: Titans in freefall since losing Albert Haynesworth and considering these two had a wild shootout earlier this year, we like this one staying close. Titans 26-24

Jaguars +6.5 COLTS: Colts have had 10 days to rest up and heal a bit, but look for hot Jags to run the ball efficiently and stay close. Colts 23-20

Chargers -6 CHIEFS: Chiefs surprisingly won at San Diego earlier in the year, but at some point the Chargers have to win a couple in a row, and Chiefs are coming off a bad loss at home to Oakland. Revenge factor here. Chargers 31-14

EAGLES -3 Seahawks: Seahawks pretty lousy on the road and Philly really stepped up last week and showed the world how to play New England. Should have some carry-over here, plus it's cold and inclement in Philadelphia. Eagles 20-16

49ers +3 PANTHERS: Until Carolina wins a home game, I just cannot pick them. If this game is on in your market, go Christmas shopping. 49ers 17-16

Giants -1.5 BEARS: We'll leave this one to Illinois native and midwest correspondent 3 wood: "Bears are literally hiring guys off the street to play in the secondary, so Manning should be able to stare down receivers all day and still move the ball with no sweat. Look for Shockey to be wide open over the middle and the slant-in for 15 is there any time you want it. Bad Rex will make an appearance and turn it over at least twice. Just don't kick it to Hester and there is no way the Bears can win. Take any point spread you like." OK then: Giants 20-17

SAINTS -3.5 Buccaneers: Saints may be able to make a move in the NFC South if they win this, which should be enough motivation. Saints 31-20

Browns E CARDINALS: When a game is even, we figure go with the squad who's best against the spread, which is the Browns at 8-2-1. Browns 34-31

BRONCOS -3.5 Raiders: Raiders finally won a divisional game last week, on the road no less. May be a while until they do it again. Broncos 33-13

SUNDAY NIGHT
Bengals +7 STEELERS: If that field in Pittsburgh is even remotely close to the condition it was lat Monday, then expect few points. As always, the Sunday night Olbermann Rule is in effect. Steelers 14-10

MONDAY NIGHT
Patriots -20 RAVENS:Key stats: Patriots a manly 9-2 ATS, while the Ravens are a putrid 1-9-1. Enough said. Patriots 38-7

How the Democrats Won the Cold War

Remarkably, after the epic bombs Redacted and Lions for Lambs, now Hollywood will soon release a film explaining--get this--how the Democrats won the Cold War!

You can't make this stuff up.

TURNS OUT THE DEMOCRATS WON THE COLD WAR. WHO KNEW?

At last, Hollywood has (sort of) made a pro-CIA, pro-war, anti-Soviet movie: "Charlie Wilson's War." It's all about how Democrats defeated the Soviet Empire.

A better title for the movie would be “The Invisible Man," because the man who doesn't appear in it, and is barely mentioned in the background, is Ronald Reagan. Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer and even Rudy Giuliani - back when he was still “Rudolph" - are much more prominently name-checked than Reagan in the movie, which was directed by Sawyer's husband Mike Nichols.

The Dec. 21 release stars Tom Hanks as a 1980s Texas Congressman named Charlie Wilson, a coke-snorting, skirt-chasing, boozing liberal. Who better to write the script than Aaron Sorkin?

Wilson, backed by a Commie-hating right-wing Christian millionaire fundraiser played by Julia Roberts, helped funnel CIA assistance to the Muslim rebels in Afghanistan who originally tried to repel the Soviet invasion using weapons George Custer would have called obsolete. They needed Stinger missiles and eventually got them.

The film is going to flop, unless Christmas finds millions of Americans saying, “Hey, kids, now that everyone's unwrapped their presents, let's go see a movie about fighting in Afghanistan!"

The movie has something for everyone - to dislike. Some liberals will say it isn't tough enough on Republicans (though at the end, it all but blames the U.S. for the rise of the Taliban, a notion I don't have space to get into here), possibly because it is being released by Universal, a division of Defense Department contractors G.E. (Color me skeptical that G.E. sends an Alec-Baldwin-on-“30 Rock"-figure to spy on Tom Hanks movies and polish the dishwashers on the set.)

George Crile, who wrote the book upon which the movie is based, didn't attempt to hide its provenance. Crile was basically a mouthpiece for a tale spun by the two guys who painted themselves as the heroes of the story: “The extensive recollections of Charlie Wilson and Gust Avrakotos [the CIA man played by Philip Seymour Hoffman on screen] form the backbone of the greater part of this narrative," Crile wrote in his source notes.

Read the rest.

This might be a shoo-in for the best comedy of the year.

Keeping History Alive

Stránský honors comrades in arms
Former prisoner keeps friends' memories alive at communist-era grave

It has been 48 years since someone last heaved an anonymous body into one of the 5-by-2-meter ditches on the outskirts of the Dáblice cemetery, but the convex partitions between the mass graves still remain visible.

Walled off from the rest of the graveyard by a row of rosebushes and hedges, a neat grid of headstones now covers the mossy patch of earth that once served as a dumping ground for 207 tortured and executed political prisoners.

On the 18-year anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, 84-year-old Stanislav Stránský saunters through the abandoned burial ground, picking up overturned flowerpots and adjusting the flickering candles near the headstones.

“When I first came here in 1989, this place was a bush,” he says, motioning to the dense thicket behind the cemetery wall. “There was nothing here, just holes in the ground where our friends were deplorably deposited.”

Stránský himself is no stranger to the Orwellian treachery of Stalinist-era prisons. For 10 years, he braved brutal beatings, interrogations and backbreaking work in forced labor camps. To this day, he calls himself a MUKL, an acronym for “man designated for liquidation” and a term political prisoners in the 1950s used to describe themselves.

Since 1990, he has been chairman of the Association of Former Political Prisoners (SBPV) and the chief force behind the rehabilitation of the Dáblice burial ground for the victims of the 1950s Czechoslovak communist regime.

[...]

A narrow path separates the mass graves from another haunting memorial: The meadow here is also dotted with flower pots, and the dates of birth and death on the minute, white headstones are often just days apart. They mark the graves of 37 children born in 1950s communist prisons.

“Not all of these children are the babies of political prisoners, but that doesn’t matter,” Stránský says. “We took them under our wing because they were born behind bars — in captivity.”

Preserving the past

Although mass graves first came to his attention nearly 40 years ago, Stránský wasn’t able to begin mending the burying ground until after the fall of communism.

“We had to tear through the brambles to get here,” he says. “Some of the victims’ relatives that heard about this place had placed makeshift crosses from rags and twigs in the ground.”

Even after the Iron Curtain fell, Stránský struggled to obtain the permits and funds to rehabilitate the area.
“After 1989, the government was still full of Bolsheviks, so I went through a lot of trouble to prove to public officials that doing this made sense — that it was something worth preserving for future generations,” he says. “The [cemetery keeper] wanted to bulldoze the place.”

[...]

Extraordinary circumstances

Stránský describes himself as an ordinary person.

“I’ve always done simple, honest work to make a living, which is the greatest capital a person can have,” he says.

Born in Bratislava and “christened by the Morava River,” he was forced to move to Prague with his Czech father in 1938, when a fear of Hitler caused Slovaks to distance themselves from their “Czech brothers.”

They certainly did 'distance' themselves.

At 15, Stránský attended an International Students’ Day protest against Nazi occupation that left Jan Opletal, a medical student, dead.

“We were flipping over cars and trams to barricade ourselves so the Nazis couldn’t get to us,” he recalls.

During World War II, Stránský was drafted to join the Protectorate government, where he remained until 1946. That year, shortly after the end of the war, the Communist Party emblem started appearing on military uniforms. Appalled by the political affiliation of the traditionally neutral military, Stránský, a 24-year-old sergeant, told his men to tear the symbols off.

“If they would have listened to me and just taken them off, it would have been fine,” he says. “But they didn’t just take them off — they destroyed them, and that’s when the trouble started.”

Stránský was immediately stripped of his rank and court-marshaled.

“I didn’t want to leave the service, but when a superior told me I had lost all chances of promotion, I realized I had no choice,” he says.

Upon returning to civilian life, Stránský worked for the Health Ministry, participating in international campaigns to prevent infant mortality and tuberculosis.

“In 1948, the local branch of the [Communist Party] accused [United Nations aid group] UNESCO of vaccinating people against communism, and the Danes and Norwegians that were working here with us were forced to leave the country,” he says. But the damage was done — Stránský now had contacts in the West.

Lured by rumors of a foreign-based resistance movement against the communist regime, he was able to cross the border and arrange a safe passage to West Germany, where he was placed in a refugee camp. After a two-month screening process, Stránský received political refugee status and a job at the International Refugee Organization.

But his life in exile was not to last. After spending months in limbo, he began to grow restless.

“I couldn’t just sit in Germany with my arms folded,” he says. “It was time for me to act.”

Thirsty for action, Stránský chose his own mission: “My assignment was to return to Czechoslovakia, find my contact and hand him secret information. And I completed it.”

But it would be decades before he would be able to return to Germany. In what would prove to be a life-altering mistake, Stránský made a stopover at his parent’s apartment, where he was arrested by the secret police (StB).

[....]

There's more at The Prague Post.

See also Graves of Heydrich's Assassins Found.

Also at A Tangled Web

Searching for a Clue

The two-bit, trash-talking thug is upping the ante now.

Just begging for a smackdown.

Let's hope he gets it Sunday.

Chavez warns US in bid for more power

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if the superpower interferes in a referendum this weekend over whether he can run for re-election indefinitely.

Mr Chavez also sought to fire up his backers for the tight vote by threatening to end diplomatic ties with Spain unless the former colonial power's King Juan Carlos apologised for telling him to shut up at a recent summit meeting.

The self-styled socialist revolutionary issued the warnings yesterday at a massive rally closing the campaign.

Mr Chavez has frequently issued threats about stopping crude sales to its top customer.

Venezuela has remained the No.4 oil supplier to the US despite fraying ties. Mr Chavez frequently accuses Washington of plotting to topple him. The US Government denies the allegations.

Much more at Fausta's, protein wisdom, Michelle Malkin.

Nuclear Bomb: 'Lions for Lambs' Could Lose $25 Million

In spite of the big names and the alleged antiwar mood of the country, it appears Lions for Lambs will be losing millions of dollars.

"Lions for Lambs" fails to roar for United Artists

"Lions for Lambs," the star-studded first film from United Artists since Tom Cruise and his longtime producing partner took over the fabled studio, has so far generated more yawns than roars at box offices.

After three weeks in theaters, the antiwar drama directed by Robert Redford with an A-list cast featuring Redford, Cruise and Meryl Streep, has grossed a meager $14 million in North American ticket sales and about $26 million more overseas.

That tally surpasses the $35 million reportedly spent to make the film, which was distributed domestically by UA parent company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and internationally by News Corp subsidiary 20th Century Fox.

Entertainment trade paper Daily Variety said the film was unlikely to gross more than $60 million in theatrical revenues worldwide and reported some industry watchers projecting the movie could lose as much as $25 million.

The film's anemic performance coupled with mostly negative reviews marked a disappointing start for the reconstituted studio that Cruise and onetime agent Paula Wagner took over after ending their producing deal at Paramount Pictures.

Perfectly capturing the far-left mindset of Hollywood, despite the disaster Wagner uttered this mind-bogglingly stupid statement.

Wagner acknowledged that "Lions for Lambs" failed to live up to expectations but defended the movie as worth making, both commercially and artistically.

"We are proud to have made Robert Redford's film as it was a timely and engaging story with top stars," she said. "You want every picture to be successful, but the reality of the business is that not every one will be."

Let's see how long the UA shareholders find such judgment worthwhile.

H/T: NewsBusters.

UPDATE: Instapundit and Riehl World View link. Thanks!

Manufacturing the News, Clinton-Style

Honestly, before the Clinton plant was used and exploited by CNN Wednesday night, when was the last time gays in the military was an issue?

I don't recall it even being mentioned during this election cycle--there are, after all, more pressing concerns with the military for those unaware.

But now that the Clinton machine has conveniently injected it into the news cycle (excellent timing, I might add, after Bill Clinton's blunder claiming he was against the Iraq invasion), it's suddenly taken on a new life.

Military opponents of the US "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning openly gay soldiers from serving in the military spoke out this week in Washington, in the latest criticism of the legislation.

Coinciding with the law's 14th anniversary Friday, 28 retired generals and admirals put their names to a letter to Congress, demanding that the controversial legislation be scrapped.

"We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy," the letter said.

"As General Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said when the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy was enacted, it is not the place of the military or those in senior leadership to make moral judgments," it said.

"As is the case in Britain, Israel and other nations which allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion and sexuality," the officers said.

Recall when Bill Clinton was inaugurated, this was the first thing he tackled. Do we really need to return to such a divisive issue?

Of course, if you're the Clintons.

Dividing people is all they know.

McClatchy Nitwit: 'Today's Republicans might not elect Reagan'

Mind-numbing stupidity from McClatchy's Steven Thomma.

Today's Republicans might not elect Reagan

WASHINGTON — They want to put his face on Mount Rushmore, but Republicans today are demanding such ideological purity that they might not even nominate Ronald Reagan for president if he were to run now.

Abortion? He was for abortion rights before he was against them.

Taxes? He raised them as governor, and raised them several times as president after his big 1981 tax cuts.

Immigration? He signed the law that Republicans now call amnesty for illegals.

Foreign policy? He negotiated with the head of the "Evil Empire."

In fact, they'd find him wrong on almost every hot-button issue of the 2008 campaign.

Most of those stands are overlooked in the Republicans' idealized rear-view idolization of Reagan as an unwavering conservative icon. But they serve as a reminder that even the revered Reagan was a pragmatic politician whose stands often changed and might not fit in today's politics.

Read the rest.

Along with completely misreading history, and who knows if this guy was even alive in 1980, Thomma completely ignores the main reason why Reagan was elected: Jimmy Carter.

I don't recall abortion being a huge issue in 1980 (in the end it never is, except with the media). Yes, Reagan "negotiated" with the Evil Empire, as Thomma puts it. We know what the end result was: No more Evil Empire.

And tell me this: If ideological purity is such a primary concern, why is it a relatively liberal Republican like Rudy Giuliani is leading the pack? If the Republicans demanded such ideological purity, we wouldn't give Giuliani the time of day.

Thomma and the rest of the media spend no time whatsoever fretting about the ideological purity of the far-left Democrats, yet seem quite consumed with how Republicans consider their own candidates. Worry about your people, and let us decide who our candidate is. We sure don't need your advice, thank you very much.

In the end, Reagan was the far superior candidate to Jimmy Carter, while Giuliani and all but one current Republican candidate (guess who that might be?) is far preferable to any Democrats.

Hillary fails her first test of leadership

Much has been written, movies have been produced, and fortunes made by folks who have dissected minute by minute what President Bush did on that fateful day in 2001 when Muslim extremists crashed planes into various buildings around our country. Well if those events and the actions of the President can be used to forever taint the image of President Bush as some sort of inept, bumbling, and indecisive fool, let's look at how one Presidential candidate handled her recent "Crisis of Command".

Everybody knows the story of a mentally unstable guy who walked into a Hillary Clinton campaign headquarters, presented what he said was a bomb and took several people hostage.

On 9/11 much was made of the actions of Bush in the first 7 minutes of finding out, but what did Hillary do in the first seven minutes. Well it is kind of hard to find out since she shields herself from the press so much, but reports indicate nothing. As the situation continued Hillary took the bold step of canceling all her engagements for the day, even though she had none scheduled in New Hampshire, but instead was 100's of miles away.

Well okay surely she will make a public statement, maybe try to reassure her followers that she is okay and she is hoping for the best for the people involved. Uhhh nope. There are anecdotal stories of her being in contact with members of her staff privately but no word from any of those workers that this actually took place.

The crisis ended well with nobody hurt around 5 PM EST, 6 hours later, but still no public statement by Hillary. In fact it would be almost 2 hours later before we see her publicly. Remember folks she is running to be the leader of the free world and at the first crisis she faced which involved real life and death situation, not hypothetical issues, she was absent.

Do you remember what President Bush did in the first 6 hours of the most vicious attack on American soil? He activated the various security apparatus and begin to immediately to force all commercial airliners to land. He locked down all aviation, gave a speech to reassure the American people, mobilized the government to perform their emergency procedures in part to ensure the chain of command would remain intact should something happen to him.

Hillary, ummmm nothing. Here is a statement she released.

"I made it very clear from the very first conversations that I had that I would take their direction," Clinton said. "They were the professionals. They were in charge of this situation."

Too bad she doesn't apply this same reasoning to our generals and troops fighting the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So folks if you are looking for a profile in courage I am afraid you will have to continue looking. When the chips were down Hillary did what Clintons do best. Go into hiding, deny and plot to figure out what kind of political advantage can be gained from the situation, and trust me the wheels were turning on how to politicize this situation.

The guy didn't have a gun so there went a gun control angle. He did suffer from mental health issues so I will bet you a dollar to a doughnut that she uses as the poster child for her health "reform" plan to include mental health coverage.

Don't take my word for it just watch her speeches in the coming days. This guy will go from being a perpetrator to a victim.

The most important thing that came of this is Hillary showed exactly what we can expect out of her in moment of crisis. NOTHING.

In the military when leadership fails quite often people get hurt or killed. But leadership also means more then making the tough decisions. It is being able to endure the shared hardships and being able to inspire your followers to do the unthinkable and dangerous. If hiding behind the scenes is how you are going to lead then you need to get the hell out of the way. By not even going public from a place of safety she showed that we are all merely pawns to be given up in protection of the Queen Bee.

She had her test of leadership and she failed.

The Sky Is Falling!

I agree with Professor Richard Lindzen from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who said: “future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early 21st century’s developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally averaged temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree, and, on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly uncertain computer projections combined into implausible chains of inference, proceeded to contemplate a roll-back of the industrial age”. --- Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic

'We Have Very Little Time to Act'
A world with 30 percent fewer species. Huge water shortages caused by disappearing glaciers affecting hundreds of millions of people. Tropical rain forests dying out as ground water disappears. An accelerating overall rise in world temperatures. All this and more could be the world's fate in just a few short decades.

That, at least, is the ominous tale told by the report released this spring by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This month, though, the IPCC said it had made a mistake. Our future is actually much bleaker. The original predictions had been based on current emissions of greenhouse gases. As it happens, such emissions are still climbing by 3 percent each year.

"Scientists are telling us we have a very small window of time in which to act," Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "We have 10 or 15 years to turn global emissions from their current upward trend to an extreme downward trend."


There's much, much more from the Bali Climate Change Conference

Hang on to your wallets, folks.