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Showing posts from March 26, 2006
This can mean only one of two things; either he's blackmailing her or she's mentally ill
De La Where is one of the more hospitable lefty DE blogs where the authors seem more interested in debate than cheap shots and point scoring. I comment there often, sometimes more than I post here! I find them a fair and polite lot even if I don't agree w/ them on most things. I've included one of their posts and my comments below b/c I think it's a very telling example of news today. Every story has it's counterexample. For every document dismissing any Iraq/Al-Qaeda link there's one that puts them together. For every judge that thinks the wiretap program oversteps the law, there's a counter example that shows they did not. Our own selective filters take in articles that reinforce that which we believe (or want to believe) is true. It's something I know I do and actively try to avoid. It's not always that easy. De la Where: Those damn judges will pay for this! I commented thusly: Well, then there's this: http://www.washingtontimes.com/natio
Cold War bunker found in Brooklyn Bridge? - Mar 21, 2006 I missed this story. Consider: A nuclear bunker created by the government in one of our largest cities in the nation was lost and forgotten for 50 years! Doesn't that mean it's possible there are a great many sites in Iraq that are either still hidden or forgotten?
Choosing Ignorance adds on to this post about cooperation, collusion and the difference between them. It seems to me there are a few possibilities here: 1. Saddam and al-Qaeda had nothing to do with each other. This ranges from disinterest to active animosity depending upon where on the political spectrum you fall. It is the most popular position among leftists. 2. Saddam used Al-Qaeda as a stalking horse against the US. This is more popular among extreme right wingers and ardently pro-war supporters. 3. Saddam and al-Qaeda had enemmies in common and decided to lay their differences aside for the time being to attack the greater evil(s). More popular among the Scowcroftian realpolitik crowd. 4. Saddam was worried about religious fundamentalists destabilizing his regime and sought to co-opt them if possible and infiltrate and destroy them if necessary. Seems to be emerging among intelligence analysts and other cynics. I believe 3 and 4 are the most likely. I think it's v
Investor's Business Daily poses the hard questions. Questions that will never be answered ad never see the light of day in the MSM world. I would love to see answers to these from various Imams locally as well as abroad. It would be very instructive.
AEI - Short Publications has the goods on The Paper Trail. Most dramatically, an Iraqi intelligence report, apparently written in early 1997, describes Iraqi efforts to establish ties with various elements in the Saudi opposition, including Osama bin Ladin. Until 1996, the Saudi renegade was based in Sudan, then ruled by Hassan Turabi's National Islamic Front. One of Iraq's few allies, Sudan served as an intermediary between Baghdad and bin Ladin, as well as other Islamic radicals. On Feb. 19, 1995, an Iraqi intelligence agent met with bin Ladin in Khartoum. Bin Ladin asked for two things: to carry out joint operations against foreign forces in Saudi Arabia and to broadcast the speeches of a radical Saudi cleric. Iraq agreed to the latter, but apparently not the former, at least as far as the author of this report knew. Notably, the report also states, "we are working at the present time to activate this relationship through new channels." This guts the idea that Sad
The information war continues. US troops defend raid, say Iraqis faked "massacre" The Iraqis have learned from the Jenin non-massacre that facts are unimportant, only perception. As long as they can refute and cast doubt, they'll win the infowar with vast swaths of the anti-Americans around the globe. This includes large portions of the domestic "anti-war" contingent. According to Iraq the Model, the cameraman says in Arabic that he cannot show "our" grenades and when he's reassured they're US grenades, he decides he can show them. Others have noted that the heavy machine gun shown is fixed and positioned for defense. This weapon is crew served and totally useless for assault teams. If the coalition forces had set it up, why would they point it toward the street, outward, when they had just come in from there? It makes no sense. This is naturally lost on journalists who have zero military experience and little observational skill. Reme
Food for my Inner Geek: Star Trek Outtakes Some of them are pretty good. Worth a look.
The cauldron bubbles . Some people are predicting a renewal of unrest and violence as the weather turns in France. The clip above is a French news report showing the violence. The news report is drawing a line between students who are protesting the labor law change that would allow employers to fire younger workers and that Muslim youths used this as cover to vandalize and rob. Oddly, there are reports of Le Pen cozying up to the Muslim groups domestically. What's he playing at? Is he trying to form a coaltion of some sort? What on earth could that look like? Or is he just trying to establish some credibility with the French middle to make himself more palatable for the next election cycle.
FMSO DOC-EX is the Foriegn Military Service Office Document Examination. It houses the online scans of the documents captured after the war in Iraq. Most of them are untranslated and the administration wisely chose to unlease the power of the pundits by making them public. There is no small amount of risk here either. Could US/Coalition soucres and methods of intelligence gathering be compromised? Will any of our covert agents be at risk? This is a gamble, but let's see if it pays off. Kudos to the Bush team for trusting it's citizens for once.
U.S. Makes Seized Iraqi Documents Public . Let the Army Of Davids begin. I'm simply amazed they aren't hoarding these documents and keeping them in house. What will we find? I believe we'll see much that is contradictory. Much of it will be dull, boring meeting minutes and other domestic matters about oil production, Israel, Kurds and so on. It will be very telling to see if France, Russia and Germany show up. Will George Galloway be in there? I'm cautiously optimistic.
Convert Case Sparks Surge of Interest in Christianity Among Afghans . Law of unintended consequences strikes again! Headline from the future (6 months from now): Beheadings increase 200% as increase in apostasy convictions at record high.
BREITBART.COM - Moussaoui Says He Was to Hijack 5th Plane Sounds to me like he knew the government's case was in danger of tanking. I have no doubt he wants to be convicted. In his mind, it makes him a hero and a martyr. Is he lying? Possibly. We may never know. It's interesting that he threw Reid under the bus. What does it mean? Does he like this guy and think he's helping him somehow?
AEI has a piece on poverty in America and precisely what that means. It is impossible to deny that the standard of living for all Americans has risen in the last 30 or 40 years. The things that were once luxuries are viewed as necessities. Imagine buying a house w/o central air, color tv (let alone cable) etc. There are poor people in America it's just that many of them are better off than they were a generation ago. Even if they're still poor.
Worldmapper shows virtual representations of the globe based on weighted criteria. Interesting to see how widely each map changes. Check it out.
Panel OKs easing concealed gun rules . Huzzah! It's about time. Retrictive gun laws are a blight on our state and a pox on our freedom. I was in NC when they changed over from a "may issue" to "shall issue". The Observer's editorial board (bored) was up in arms (pardon the pun) and said it would look like the wild west with every traffic accident ending with gunplay. No such thing happened at all. Rather, the sun still rose and set and people were as before. The same will happen here. The Chief in the story raises the issue that it will make the job of the policeman harder. He will have to ascertain which gun wielder is the criminal. That may be so. He is, however, overlooking the other sailent fact that guns are more often used to prevent crime than cause it. Burgalars are more afraid of a resident with a gun than the police. Let's hope this one passes quickly.
The Brussels Journal has an article about the health of the European social model. It points to various data to suggest that thing are far worse than we are led to believe. I sumise the writer is correct in light of the happenings in France. The only way France would move to erode the welfare state is if it is in dire straits. That they are seeking to make it simply possible to be fired and people are rioting beggars belief. This is England before Thatcher. The French policitians do not have Thatcher's iron and will fold like Superman on laundry day. The tragic result will be that the decline will continue until the Fifth Republic falls and a major shakeup saves them from themselves.
Afghan court dismisses case against Christian convert, officials say . Huzzah! One cheer for Afghanistan and one for Islam. More please. Color my cynical but it will be interesting to see how long this guy lives. Either someone is going to issue a fatwa against him or he's going to meet with an accident.
'Marriage Is for White People' How's that for an alarmist headline? Read the whole thing and dispair. I hope the author is merely citing anecdotal evidence and that this trend will reverse itself somehow. I know there are people who bristle at the notion of "family values". It's something many people take as a personal assualt. That is, if you are not part of the traditional nuclear family you are inferior. Not so. It doesn't mean that. It means the nuclear family is optimal for society and we should do our best to encourage that arrangment. If you don't think so, let me know why, I'd like to hear it. That is not to say that all other families are bad or that all nuclear families are superior to anything else. Far from it. There are plenty of people who stay married who should divorce and plenty of kids who are better off being raised by grandparents or whomever than they would be with their own parents. The point is we need these bonds