Another Mysterious Israeli Hit?

When it comes to the Israelis, paranoia runs deep. Though I have to tip my cap to them. When they want someone dead they usually get the job done efficiently.

In a possible sequel to the Dubai assassination, Israeli spy planes flew uninvited and unannounced over Budapest the same day a Syrian man was shot to death in his car, Hungarian media reported yesterday.

Two Israeli air force Gulfstream V-type jets, equipped with sophisticated intelligence gear, flew more than 1,300 miles over Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania on Wednesday before flying over eastern Budapest and then disappearing, the reports said.

The incident occurred the same day Budapest police said a 52-year-old Syrian was gunned down while stopping his black luxury car at a traffic light on the east side of the capital.

The attacker fired several shots before stealing a black briefcase from the car and fleeing on foot, authorities said.

Police have yet to identify the victim or give a motive.

The incident follows the Jan. 19 assassination of a senior Hamas official in Dubai, which United Arab Emirates police blamed on an Israeli hit team. Investigators accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of planning the hit on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh for more than a year and using dozens of bogus passports or phony identities to enter Dubai.

Hungarian Defense Minister Imre Szekeres yesterday demanded an investigation of Wednesday's overflights, which the ministry said were made without prior notification from Israel.

The MTI news agency said experts believed the planes approached Ferihegy International Airport at a low altitude before veering off. They said there was no attempt to land.

The Israeli Embassy in Budapest said the planes were on a diplomatic mission, but did not elaborate. "Of course, they were not spy planes," said Ambassador Alice Bin-Noun.

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry refused comment when asked about a possible diplomatic motive for the flights.

Over the years, Israeli operatives, including Mossad agents, have been credited with assassinating dozens of targeted Arab terrorists, often in Europe.

Some attacks occurred far from the Mideast, such as in Athens, Paris, Rome, Cannes, Norway and even Uruguay.

Euro-Socialists: We'd Rather Die Than Accept American Help

Proving once again socialism is a mental disorder.

Central Europe Socialists reject U.S. missile shield

Central European Social Democrat parties rejected on Thursday a U.S. plan to build part of its missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying it threatened to bring about a new arms race.

Top Socialists from Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia said after talks in Prague that any such system must not be built unilaterally or bilaterally.

"We are concerned about the decision to deploy the system and are at one with the large majority of our populations in rejecting it," the parties said in a joint statement, which was signed among others by Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, Germany's SPD chief Kurt Beck, and Polish Socialist leader Wojciech Olejniczak.

They called on the European Union, the NATO alliance and the NATO-Russia council to consult on missile defense.

Beck said the statement was also a message to conservative German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom the Socialists jointly rule.

"We agreed we are against any new arms build-up in Europe," Beck said.

The ruling Hungarian Socialists attended the meeting but refused to join in.

"The Hungarian Socialist Party believes that if Europe is exposed to a terrorist threat we have to defend ourselves," said Imre Szekeres, deputy party chief and the country's defense minister.

I'm sure the terrorists are quaking in fear of the Hungarian Socialists.

This odd mindset of leaving yourself vulnerable because you fear an arms race is something I can't quite grasp.

If you protect yourself, that should lessen the fear of an attack, since your enemies will build arms regardless of what you do.

No wonder Socialism has crept toward the dustbin of history. The shame is there are still enough idiots practicing it.

Damn Capitalists

Lithuania joins carbon challenge roster
Lithuania has confirmed that it will join its Baltic neighbors in taking the European Commission to court over the level of its carbon dioxide emission allowance.

It is the seventh eastern European nation to take legal action, creating a serious headache for EC regulators.

Heh. Wait until New Europe floats the idea that in all matters EU, it should be one nation, one vote. That will cause some real headaches.

Lithuania has asked for a CO2 allowance of 11.2 million tonnes a year for the period 2008-2012, after the European Commission has halved its original allocation of 16.6 million tonnes to 8.8 million tonnes.

"Lithuania's government is going to appeal to the European Court of Justice over emission allowances," said Nemira Pumprickaite, spokeswoman for Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas August 10.

In Brussels, a spokeswoman for Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the Commission was confident that its decision would be upheld in court.

Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia as well as larger eastern European peers Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia have also decided to appeal to the EU court over the CO2 quotas as too restrictive for their growing economies.

Lithuania has said it will have to produce more electricity from fossil fuel plants, a major source of pollution, after the closure of its remaining Soviet-built nuclear reactor to fill the gap until a new nuclear plant comes on stream.

Leading presidential contender Ron Paul is trying figure out how to link this to Bush foreign policy blowback.